# Can someone explain why it is controversial that Obama hugged Derrick Bell? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 8, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140 "2012-03-08T12:26:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/1 "2012-03-08T12:26:54Z")
I just don’t get it, but maybe that’s because I’m a pointy-headed ivory tower liberal. I know liberals all over Twitter have been having a good laugh over this nontroversy, but surely there’s some angle here or Hannity et al would never have floated it. Anyone get this at all? ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/2 "2012-03-08T12:38:20Z")
Nah, I can’t explain it. It seemed natural considering how Obama had just introduced Bell and spoke about how he liked and admired him. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/3 "2012-03-08T12:49:31Z")
Oh, come on. Is it really all that difficult to understand? Bell’s black, he’s a liberal, he’s black, he’s well educated, he’s held prominent positions at well-respected and Ivy league education institutions, he’s an advocate for diversity and racial equality, he’s black, and he was an activist. About the only thing that could make Bell worse and more threatening in conservative eyes is if he were gay. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/4 "2012-03-08T12:52:05Z")
_nm_ ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/5 "2012-03-08T13:40:47Z")
I’m usually pretty in tune with political comings and goings, but uh … link? Who the hell is Derrick Bell? When did Obama hug him? Did he give him a reach-around too, or was it one of those hip shoulder-bump things? What in the wide, wide, world of sports is a-going on around here? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/6 "2012-03-08T13:44:18Z")
Okay. I know what you’re saying right now. Jack - look it up yourself, ferchrisakes. Fine! Get off my back. Here’s the thing … I just looked up Bell on Wikipedia and he died like five months ago. Did Obama dig up his corpse and hug him or something? If so, then I stand foresquare behind Mr. Hannity in condemning something like that. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/7 "2012-03-08T13:48:31Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Oh, come on. Is it really all that difficult to understand? Bell’s black, he’s a liberal, he’s black, he’s well educated, he’s held prominent positions at well-respected and Ivy league education institutions, he’s an advocate for diversity and racial equality, he’s black, and he was an activist. About the only thing that could make Bell worse and more threatening in conservative eyes is if he were gay. Okay, right…but I mean, something they can at least hang a semi-plausible rationale for their outrage on. They usually have one even if it’s weak and transparent. Jack Batty, [here’s Jon Chait](http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/03/fabled-obama-race-video-surfaces.html) explaining it in real time…sort of (he seems almost as puzzled by the whole thing as I am). ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/8 "2012-03-08T14:09:44Z")
Andrew Breitbart died for _that_? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/9 "2012-03-08T14:12:55Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Okay. I know what you’re saying right now. Jack - look it up yourself, ferchrisakes. Fine! Get off my back. > > Here’s the thing … I just looked up Bell on Wikipedia and he died like five months ago. Did Obama dig up his corpse and hug him or something? If so, then I stand foresquare behind Mr. Hannity in condemning something like that. He was a Harvard Prof who resigned over diversity issues at the school in 1990. There was a rally to support him, and a young Obama addressed the crowd and gave a speech, part of which appeared in a Frontline piece. Someone recently dug up the footage and it has been making the rounds, as its sort of entertaining to see a younger version of Obama (he’s pretty similar to the version we have now, except for more hair). Because the rightwing has to turn everything into a weird conspiracy theory, Sean Hannity apparently is desperately trying to find something sinister in a 20 year old tape of Obama praising an old teacher of his. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/10 "2012-03-08T14:19:11Z")
Having never heard of Derrick Bell, [this](http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2012/03/08/barack_obama_palled_around_with_radical_professor) is among the first search results I found. From there: > [@](#): > > Bell endorsed a journal called Race Traitor, which is dedicated to the “abolition of whiteness,” and whose motto is “Treason to the white race is loyalty to humanity.” And there’s some other stuff to go along with that. I certainly can’t speak for the credibility of that website or that writer, but I can see why Bell is disliked by some people. That said, all this “palling around” happened so long ago I have a hard time caring. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/11 "2012-03-08T14:55:18Z")
I think it’s similar to the contraversy with the Pastor of his church. Coservative media guy: You’re friends with someone who has very contraversial views. Obama: Naw. He’s not a friend. He’s just a guy. I think his name is Chardie. CMG: It seems like you have a closer relationship than him just being a guy in the neighborhood. Liberal media guy: Nothing to see here. Move along. IMO it’s somewhere in the middle. I don’t think Obama is hanging around with these guys talking about revolution against Whitey but I also don’t by that these are guys that Obama just waves to as he’s mowing his lawn and that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/12 "2012-03-08T14:58:39Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I’m usually pretty in tune with political comings and goings, but uh … link? > > Who the hell is Derrick Bell? When did Obama hug him? Did he give him a reach-around too, or was it one of those hip shoulder-bump things? What in the wide, wide, world of sports is a-going on around here? Maybe he gave him a terrorist fist bump. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/13 "2012-03-08T15:24:18Z")
Wasn’t Bell an outfielder for the Astros in the 90s? Huh. I always thought Obama was more of a basketball fan. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/14 "2012-03-08T15:28:20Z")
Derek Bell famously initiated [Operation Shutdown](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Bell_%28baseball%29#Pittsburgh:_Competing_for_a_job_and_.22Operation_Shutdown.22). Not the type of ballplayer I’d want the president associating with. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/15 "2012-03-08T15:29:56Z")
Bell was a terrible player. (That one actually was spelled “Derek” btw, just for the record). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/16 "2012-03-08T15:53:53Z")
The controversy is that the right-wing blogs are accusing everybody else of editing the hug out of the video- because showing Obama praising this guy 22 years ago means nothing, but showing Obama praising this guy 22 years ago and giving him a hug afterward is incredibly damning. Yes. He’s been president for three-plus years, but we know nothing about the man until we have a list of people he’s hugged and plays he attended in college. ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/17 "2012-03-08T16:06:44Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The controversy is that the right-wing blogs are accusing everybody else of editing the hug out of the video And they’re doing it [without a whiff of the irony](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resignation_of_Shirley_Sherrod). Brietbart would be proud. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/18 "2012-03-08T16:09:44Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Maybe he gave him a terrorist fist bump. [nitpick] terrorist fist **jab** [/nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/19 "2012-03-08T16:16:30Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Derek Bell famously initiated [Operation Shutdown](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Bell_%28baseball%29#Pittsburgh:_Competing_for_a_job_and_.22Operation_Shutdown.22). Not the type of ballplayer I’d want the president associating with. I know. This could be a career-ender for Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140/20 "2012-03-08T18:38:10Z")
This is another example of how conservatives seem determined to run the exact same campaign against Obama that they did in 2008. He is inexperienced Has ties to ‘radicals’ In over his head and yet Chicago Machiavelli at the same time Hasn’t been vetted Socialist, socialist, socialist! It’s as if they feel like the only problem last time was they\* just \*didn’t get the message across enough - and if they can break through this time, the rest of the American people will see the light. Good luck with all that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-it-is-controversial-that-obama-hugged-derrick-bell/615140.md?page=2)