# Obama and Divisiveness **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 8, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286 "2016-03-08T15:38:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/21 "2016-03-08T16:20:10Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > OK, maybe you might say “Obama is less ‘jingoistic’ than other POTUSes.” Well, maybe he should be more jingoistic. We did free the world from fascism and communism. Also, exactly how did we free the world of fascism and communism when fascism and communism still exist in the world? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/22 "2016-03-08T16:21:11Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > OK, maybe you might say “Obama is less ‘jingoistic’ than other POTUSes.” Well, maybe he should be more jingoistic. We did free the world from fascism and communism. And you say this without an ounce of irony or reflection? You know who else was a huge jingoist and a fan of lapel pins? Hitler, Stalin, Kruschev, Brezhnev… You know… the guys whom the US single-handedly defeated. Wait… no it didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/23 "2016-03-08T16:21:32Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > The US also atomic-bombed a country into submission, interred most members of a single nationality against its will, illegally ousted a duly appointed leader in Iran (Mossadegh), confiscated the islands of Hawaii, eliminated the authority of its monarchy, and arrested its duly appointed queen, illegally ousted a duly appointed leader in Iraq (Hussain), and much more… and that was just within the last hundred years. > > I’d say we need much less jingoism. If we didn’t a-bomb Japan, the Soviet communists would’ve invaded and a lot more Japanese would’ve died because of communist famines and gulags. Mossadegh was a communist. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/24 "2016-03-08T16:25:03Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > There are white hoodlums who if they were loitering on other people’s property, would also be suspected of being up to no good. And even then, if the black community engaged in less crime, maybe Trayvon would’ve been less suspect. > > What did Farrakhan do? You know what, when a guy is famous as he is, what he says isn’t that different from doing. Farrakhan hates the Jews, praised Hitler, and says many other un-American things about separatism, instead of reconciliation with whites. > > Who said one has to be a black Republican to be patriotic? What about Hank Johnson of GA, a stirling example of a public servant? Walking back from a store isn’t loitering. Zimmerman was upset because there was a black teen in his neighborhood. Is it Obama’s obligation to continually scour the news for controversial statements by blacks and refutes those he doesn’t agree with? Do white presidents have similar obligations? You happen to give three examples, two Republicans and a sexual predator, as to examples of correct black behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/25 "2016-03-08T16:26:39Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > Those aren’t the mainstream Americans who do acknowledge the threat of Radical Islamic Terror; the links you show are the fringes. Given the popularity of Donald Trump amongst the Lumpen, I’d say a very large percentage of Americans agree with the elimination of Islam. I have Facebook friends who are otherwise nice people, who are in credibly anti-Muslim. I’ve seen many friends of FB friends who call for violent elimination. Saying ‘Oh, those are just the nuts’ ignores how big that bag of nuts is, and starts getting into the No True Scotsman fallacy. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/26 "2016-03-08T16:28:08Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > There are white hoodlums who if they were loitering on other people’s property, would also be suspected of being up to no good. Treyvon wasn’t a “hoodlum”, nor was he “loitering”. What the fuck are you even talking about? > [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > And even then, if the black community engaged in less crime, maybe Trayvon would’ve been less suspect. I guess Treyvon is guilty of being black then. Nice. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/27 "2016-03-08T16:32:34Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > . . . Radical Islamic Terror . . . . . . is a thing by no means coherent or cohesive enough to warrant three capital letters, as if it were an organized entity or monolithic movement. ---
**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, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/28 "2016-03-08T16:32:45Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > Mossadegh was a communist. That’s your argument? We didn’t like his philosophy so we were justified in taking him out? Wow. This, of course completely ignores the fact that the primary reason for the US illegal act of removing Mossadegh was because America and the UK wanted Iran’s oil. ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/29 "2016-03-08T16:35:20Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Treyvon wasn’t a “hoodlum”, nor was he “loitering”. What the fuck are you even talking about? He was walking across people’s lawns and on their property; he wasn’t just using the sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/30 "2016-03-08T16:35:46Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > If we didn’t a-bomb Japan, the Soviet communists would’ve invaded and a lot more Japanese would’ve died because of communist famines and gulags. So we did the Japanese a favour?.. :dubious: > [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > Mossadegh was a communist. So we did Iranians a favour?.. :dubious: [America, Fuck YEAH!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1RbBHMeX80) ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/31 "2016-03-08T16:36:56Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > If we didn’t a-bomb Japan, the Soviet communists would’ve invaded and a lot more Japanese would’ve died because of communist famines and gulags. I’m sure the residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki appreciate the US from saving them from such a hypothetical fate. > [@](#): > > Mossadegh was a communist. …And? ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/32 "2016-03-08T16:38:10Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > He was walking across people’s lawns and on their property; he wasn’t just using the sidewalk. Punishable by death by lone nutbar gunman in Florida. Thanks for the head’s up. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/33 "2016-03-08T16:38:34Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > He was walking across people’s lawns and on their property; he wasn’t just using the sidewalk. We get it. Black people are scary. You should stop now. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/34 "2016-03-08T16:39:03Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > I can kind of see where those ideas are coming from. Obama indeed has tried to deal with race, and he rightfully tries to address the concerns of black America, but it seems lost on him that whites are still the vast majority of this country and that Hispanics do not see themselves as being treated similarly to the blacks, even for as much hate as some pols give them. So it’s okay for him to talk about racism as long as he doesn’t say anything to offend white people? > [@](#): > > He should never have taken sides in this Trayvon/Zimmerman fight when he said “my son could’ve looked like Trayvon.” Did he not realize that Zimmerman wasn’t even white (how whites saw it)? People who on Zimmerman’s side were more than happy to make him an honorary white. > [@](#): > > I think his speech was great in 2008; but his presidency doesn’t seem to have stuck to that. Even then, why did he take so long to disavow Farrakhan, or the Nation of Islam? Maybe he was too busy disavowing [Jeremiah Wright](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Wright_controversy), which is the only connection even fevered racists can find between Obama and Farrakhan. > [@](#): > > Does he not realize that even for as much as we could debate how slavery/oppression is an environmental cause of black crime, that many people are not gonna be victims of crime and think “gee, if my ancestors didn’t enslave his, that wouldn’t have happened?” Like [when he said](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/obama-police-chief-chicago-scapegoat-black-lives-matter/412717/), "“Too often, law enforcement gets scapegoated for broader failures of our society and our criminal-justice system,” he said. “You do your job with distinction no matter the challenges you face. But we can’t expect you to contain and control problems that the rest of us aren’t willing to face or do anything about‚ problems ranging from substandard education to a shortage of jobs and opportunity, an absence of drug-treatment programs, and laws that result in it being easier in too many neighborhoods for a young person to purchase a gun than a book.” Not a word about slavery there. > [@](#): > > Did Obama not know that his seeming lack of patriotism would hurt his image? Carson and Cain show much more love of America than he does, and while I can understand why whites may be more patriotic than blacks, given how blacks have been treated, there does come a point of needing to put it behind them. Lack of patriotism??? Go back and watch [Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWynt87PaJ0) and show me anything that Herman Cain or Ben Carson said that even comes close to that level of patriotism and love of America. > [@](#): > > I don’t think this is merely because Obama is a black President. Obama is racially divisive in a way Herman Cain or Ben Carson aren’t. The latter take the more Bill Cosby approach of self-reflection and improvement; Obama seems to ignore that. You want to talk about Bill Cosby talking about race? Okay, then. [Here you go.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co8KtBrfLB8) > [@](#): > > Obama needs a Sister Souljah moment. See Jeremiah Wright, above. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/35 "2016-03-08T16:42:19Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > Mossadegh was a communist. His party was the [National Front](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Front_(Iran)). It was a social-democratic center-left party and in no sense Communist. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/36 "2016-03-08T16:47:07Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > This is why its a tragedy that Cosby is getting slimed; because if he weren’t, he might’ve called out some of the more heavy handed tactics of BLM like scrubbing names off buildings, safe-spaces, etc. If Cosby wasn’t a rapist he wouldn’t be getting slimed (sic). Just sayin. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/37 "2016-03-08T16:54:46Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > He was walking across people’s lawns and on their property; he wasn’t just using the sidewalk. If that makes someone a hoodlum, then about 99% of the people I’ve ever known in any capacity have been hoodlums. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/38 "2016-03-08T16:55:51Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > What did Farrakhan do? You know what, when a guy is famous as he is, what he says isn’t that different from doing. Farrakhan hates the Jews, praised Hitler, and says many other un-American things about separatism, instead of reconciliation with whites. When did Obama ever have a connection to Farrakhan? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/39 "2016-03-08T17:02:03Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > Many people have said that President Obama has been divisive. What’s y’all’s take on that? That people who don’t like Obama think he’s divisive, and always have since he started running, no matter what he’s done. > [@](#): > > He should never have taken sides in this Trayvon/Zimmerman fight when he said “my son could’ve looked like Trayvon.” Did he not realize that Zimmerman wasn’t even white (how whites saw it)? Or that public opinion was [very split down the middle](http://www.people-press.org/2013/07/22/big-racial-divide-over-zimmerman-verdict/)? Why didn’t Obama even acknowledge that? Clinton stayed out of the OJ thing completely; Obama should’ve done that with Zimmerman. Perhaps politically it would have been wiser to stay out of it, but when a child gets shot for what appears to be no good reason, and the killer goes free, then one might feel the need to respond, whatever Zimmerman’s race, and whatever public opinion says. > [@](#): > > I think his speech was great in 2008; but his presidency doesn’t seem to have stuck to that. Even then, why did he take so long to disavow Farrakhan, or the Nation of Islam? What did ever have to do with Farrakhan or the NoI? > [@](#): > > Does he not realize that even for as much as we could debate how slavery/oppression is an environmental cause of black crime, that many people are not gonna be victims of crime and think “gee, if my ancestors didn’t enslave his, that wouldn’t have happened?” No idea how this is relevant to anything Obama has said or done. > [@](#): > > Did Obama not know that his seeming lack of patriotism would hurt his image? Carson and Cain show much more love of America than he does, and while I can understand why whites may be more patriotic than blacks, given how blacks have been treated, there does come a point of needing to put it behind them. This is a complete bullshit accusation – nearly every speech during his campaign (and many during his Presidency) he would assert that his story, and his success, would only be possible in the USA. > [@](#): > > I don’t think this is merely because Obama is a black President. Obama is racially divisive in a way Herman Cain or Ben Carson aren’t. The latter take the more Bill Cosby approach of self-reflection and improvement; Obama seems to ignore that. Bullshit, again. For one thing, there’s no way to know how divisive Cain or Carson would have been as President (and based on their batshit insane rhetoric, I think they’d be incredibly divisive). For another, Bill Cosby is a rapist. > [@](#): > > Obama needs a Sister Souljah moment. He seems to think his lack of one would have no consequences, but in reality there is one. His name is Donald Trump. If Trump (who may destroy the Republican party) is the consequence, then bring on more consequences! ---
**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, 2016, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/40 "2016-03-08T17:02:14Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > When did Obama ever have a connection to Farrakhan? Well, they’re both black men in positions of authority so not only are they naturally suspect, of course they must be very good friends. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286.md?page=3)