Inauguration Crap

[DrBaltar]

In Dr. Balter's world, Obama's experience pales before that of Sarah Palin....

In terms of executive experience? Being governor, she does of course have him beat. But not by much. As Obama said in his defense, he did run a campaign for 18 months LOL. Should Palin be president? Hell no!

 

[Checkmite]

Oh well. I'm not shy - I've loved the festivities; I've been watching them since 8 AM this morning and I will keep watching as long as more stuff happens.

I'd defend all this "crap" by saying it only happens once every 4 years, but I can't even say that. The presidential inauguration has never, at least in my life, been the enormous celebration that it was today. I'm fairly confident that the crowd in DC for this event was the largest inauguration crowd in US history; perhaps the largest crowd for ANY event in Washington DC, ever. It's never mattered this much - nobody's ever cared this much.

It has been a very special day indeed. Anyone who doesn't feel that way is absolutely free to do so, of course; and I suppose nobody can prevent you from feeling or expressing your contempt for those of us who choose to be happy about what's going on.

 

[h.g.Whiz]

Obama vowed to protect the very thing that he considers flawed.

 

[ClassyElf]

How about that fat lady singing with the present on her head eh? Pretty craaaaazzzzy if you ask me.

 

[KingMerv00]

Obama vowed to protect the very thing that he considers flawed.

Do you think there is something wrong with that?

 

[Checkmite]

Obama vowed to protect the very thing that he considers flawed.

My family and friends are flawed as all hell, as am I; still, we make an effort to protect each other in the ways we can.

 

[Thunder]

I love Barack Obama!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Legend]

One thing that seriously pissed me off.

That old bloke's speech. Whatever it's called.

I thought, towards the end, hey this guys pretty funny, cracking jokes like this.

Then he came to whites.

"And Whites will embrace what is right".

What you old knob?

I'm scared to go on because for Christ's sake if I said one word on the matter I'd be racist because I'm the white bloke talking badly about a black bloke. Now we can't have that can we?

Of course we can't. But this absolute moron can stand up there and practically call every white a racist, because we need to "embrace what is right".

Never have I wanted to slap someone so hard in my life.

Alex.

P.S. I live in Australia. I stayed up until 3:00am watching the broadcast. I woke up at midday today.

 

[Checkmite]

One thing that seriously pissed me off.

That old bloke's Beatification? Was it? Something like that.

I thought, towards the end, hey this guys pretty funny, cracking jokes like this.

Then he came to whites.

"And Whites will embrace what is right".

What you old knob?

I'm scared to go on because for Christ's sake if I said one word on the matter I'd be racist because I'm the white bloke talking badly about a black bloke. Now we can't have that can we?

Of course we can't. But this absolute moron can stand up there and practically call every white a racist, because we need to "embrace what is right".

Never have I wanted to slap someone so hard in my life.

Alex.

P.S. I live in Australia. I stayed up until 3:00am watching the broadcast. I woke up at midday today.

Dude...what? How many positive words can you think of that rhyme with "white"? I mean, "fight", "blight", "might", "spite", "trite"....they just don't work.

I'm white, and I wasn't perturbed in the very least. I think you read too much into his words.

 

[Legend]

Read too much into his words? He said positive things about every colour, including red. That "black won't be told to get back". And at the very end, he said that "Whites will embrace what is right".

I'm sorry, but that's just pathetic. As if we're doing something wrong, or as if we need to do something better and that we're people who have to stop telling blacks to get back.

Honestly it was revolting and pure tripe.

Alex.

 

[davefoc]

I had hoped someone would start a more neutral thread on the inauguration.

What are the issues to be non-neutral about?

Some people weren't enthused about the inaugural ceremony and inaugural ceremonies in general. I thought it was stirring but not enough to watch very much of it. The whole topic seems a little difficult to find much to disagree on, neutrally or not.

OK, I'll try. I wasn't keen on Michelle Obama's dress.

 

[Slayhamlet]

Read too much into his words? He said positive things about every colour, including red. That "black won't be told to get back". And at the very end, he said that "Whites will embrace what is right".

I'm sorry, but that's just pathetic. As if we're doing something wrong, or as if we need to do something better and that we're people who have to stop telling blacks to get back.

Honestly it was revolting and pure tripe.

Alex.

"When yellow will be mellow" isn't all that complimentary either. Don't know whether he really meant to imply anything with that or if it was just an easy rhyme. The "white" part was an easy rhyme as well, but I'm sure that was quite intentional. This is pretty typical of Civil Rights era rhetoric, which nowadays sounds a bit dated and demagogic. It's to be expected, though. He's an old man, after all, and has been through a lot. I don't really see the need to get so worked up about it.

 

[Legend]

Blacks must embrace what is right.

Why does that sound so racist? Obviously, this one doesn't have the rhyme, but let's get over that and see what he's really trying to say.

He's trying to tell others to fix the same problem that he has. People like him disgust me.

Too much to write, I'd start ranting.

Alex.

 

[Checkmite]

Read too much into his words? He said positive things about every colour, including red. That "black won't be told to get back". And at the very end, he said that "Whites will embrace what is right".

I'm sorry, but that's just pathetic. As if we're doing something wrong, or as if we need to do something better and that we're people who have to stop telling blacks to get back.

Honestly it was revolting and pure tripe.

Alex.

Well, I'm just completely amazed. Is "embracing what is right" somehow not a positive thing?

Besides, I think it likely, and completely understandably, escapes your notice just how tied in fundamental ways this event is to the emergence of equal rights for black Americans in my country. Fifty years ago, a bunch of white people would've been turning firehoses and loosing dogs on a black man for even suggesting equality. Not other black men, or red men, or yellow, or brown - white. Black people in my country used to be oppressed, and horribly, by white people. Long after slavery ended. It may sting to be reminded of this, but it's factual history and always will be; and I will never begrudge someone as old as this fellow, who actually lived at a time when he wouldn't have been allowed to drink out of the same water fountain as me, to tell me what it was like and express hope for the future - in a joking manner or otherwise. He earned that right, even if he's done nothing else in his entire life.

I suppose you'll take it however you take it; best I can offer is, he was talking to me, not you. There's no need to get offended on someone else's behalf, especially when they're not themselves offended...

 

[332nd]

"When yellow will be mellow" isn't all that complimentary either. Don't know whether he really meant to imply anything with that or if it was just an easy rhyme. The "white" part was an easy rhyme as well, but I'm sure that was quite intentional. This is pretty typical of Civil Rights era rhetoric, which nowadays sounds a bit dated and demagogic. It's to be expected, though. He's an old man, after all, and has been through a lot. I don't really see the need to get so worked up about it.

It's a play on an old saying in the civil rights movement (and parts of the South) "If you're White, you're right. If you're Black, get back. (There were also variations like "If you're light {skinned like me} you're right.)

 

[Legend]

Well, I'm just completely amazed. Is "embracing what is right" somehow not a positive thing?

Sorry, must have missed something. Where exactly did I write that?

Towards the rest of your post, you're right.

What I'll say is that I have absolutely no racism in me towards African American people, at all. Can't stress that enough. I love their atmosphere.

One thing I don't like, however, is one-sided racism. And that is not directed at African Americans particularly, at all (like I said, I'm not racist toward them in the slightest). From anyone. White, Black or indeed, red. I don't care.

It's okay for us to say this about you, but it's not okay for you to say this about us. I thought his speech incinuated this.

As you say, however, he has lived through those times. On the other side, it is not 'those times' any longer. No one pays for the wrongdoings of their fathers. No one should not be cast into the same pool as the wrongdoings of relatives before our time. Is it fair to be persecuted for a crime you father committed? No! On a smaller scale, do you pay for the parking ticket of your father? No!

Not too long ago, our PM did a seriously stupid thing. He "apologised" to Indigenous Australians. Literally, he said the words, "I am sorry". Several times. As if, in some way, it was on our behalf, or that he, or us, owed the apology to them. Wrong. So stupidly wrong.

Perhaps he never meant it in the way I'm interpreting it, but it was a Presidential Inauguration. Listen by hundreds of millions of people across the world.

Alex.

 

[Checkmite]

It's a play on an old saying in the civil rights movement (and parts of the South) "If you're White, you're right. If you're Black, get back. (There were also variations like "If you're light {skinned like me} you're right.)

That adds even more direct context.

I'm wondering if the phrase itself (If you're Black, get back) originated as a reference to the policy wherein black passengers on public buses were required to stand and move to the back of the bus when a white passenger boarded and there were no more seats available (or even when there were other seats available, but Mr. White simply felt like asserting his dominance).

 

[tomwaits]

As a diehard chisox fan, I am very happy.

Cubs fans are a bunch of wankers anyway.

 

[Slayhamlet]

It's a play on an old saying in the civil rights movement (and parts of the South) "If you're White, you're right. If you're Black, get back. (There were also variations like "If you're light {skinned like me} you're right.)

Thanks for the context. After doing a little Googling, it seems the most common version of the phrase was immortalized by the blues musician Big Bill Broonzy in his anti-racist song Black, Brown, and White, which went: "They says,
If you was white, you'd be alright,
If you was brown, stick around,
But as you is black, oh brother,
Get back, get back, get back."

http://www.lyricstime.com/big-bill-broonzy-black-brown-and-white-lyrics.html

 

[bruto]

Well, I don't care who thinks it's crap or hype or whatever else. I watched it, and I enjoyed it.