Maybe, just maybe, Obama is smarter than some of you

[freshwest]

129. Definitely. I watched those groups whine about affirmative action as it really got rolling in the

Last edited Tue Sep 10, 2013, 04:45 PM - Edit history (1)

Carter years, extending rights to more people and while I found the diversity liberating, others didn't.

That increase meant more competition for those who said they were more qualified, and smarter, than the women and minorities entering their field of work. There was a period of whining over 'quotas, lowering standards,' and the implication was plain. Then came Reagan and his 'black welfare queen' routine and they became Reagan Democrats.

Reagan smashed unions, and they lost their rights along with others, and they were surprised. I could have said 'I told you so' but I'd been begging them to think beyond their aversion to sharing power in the workplace to the basis of the principles of unions, but they didn't listen. These were people who had benefited from the labor movement and the expansion of jobs and opportunities earned by all people. They were all progressive, liberal and for equality until they ceased to see themselves as part of a larger group of working people they had wanted to keep a leg up on.

It was so easy to divide them with slick corporate ego manipulation. The same folks went along our work being reduced, divided up and part of it given to lower paid minority firms or outsourcing, so long as they felt they were on top of things, doing the smart part of the work, thinking they would be better than blue collar.

I warned that this would lead to us all being unemployed. But they had come to feel that manual labor was for minorities, when before they felt pride and joy in a job well done with their hands. They thought they could still carve out a place on top in the new world they saw Reagan making.

Yes, there is a mentality, of which of the 'monkey' meme by a poster above (thank you, MIRT) shows, and those who dance around it, if they only thought for a minute, have it too but more nuanced. The reason it's hard to believe is that it's hidden in a place of fear of loss of status, being shoved down to a place they didn't want.

If a black POTUS truly can do a far better job than the whites who preceded them, what becomes of their position in society as WASP or whites, who are in reality, a minority in the world?

I find this to be the root of some so disinterested in basic human rights who now are complaining of liberties many millions of Americans never had. I received a retort wben I defended PBO's record on protecting the rights of women and minorities, by a poster who said he would not put up with his fourth amendment rights being violated just because the government doing so was for equal opportunity. I could have replied with:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014523420#post22

But I've been dealing with the 'I'm a victim, too' mentality for years that crops up from ttime to time, and is endemic with libertarians, baggers, paulites. Countering their sense of 'I'm being oppressed by Obama' results in abuse. I see it as an identity crisis, a feeling of being left behind. It's a bad place to be.

The Tea Party, Libertarian and Paul brand are about creating a new identity, since the old one has been discredited. But it doesn't have to be that way. People can have self-respect not based on feeling superior. In fact, the superior person does not go for ego games.

And yavin, I didn't know you were black, I'm sorry you've had to put up with what's been going on here at DU. I've seen more than on post where you brought up your dissatisfaction, which you expressed well. You don't post much but I like your posts. There are many of all kinds at DU and when I see ignorant posts that do nothing but puff up the one doing the bashing, I ignore them. I agree with your take on this issue, as I have seen it play out before my eyes, for most of my life.