# Obama in Africa **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 25, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178 "2015-07-25T19:40:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/21 "2015-07-26T01:02:56Z")
FWIW, Cameroon has softened its response to gay people (taking it down a notch from “publish their name in the newspaper and put them in prison”) in what I am almost certain is a direct response to U.S. pressure on Uganda. Just a little bit of political pressure can do a lot to make them a less attractive political scapegoat. Many parts of Africa are at a crossroad right now on gay rights, and gay rights movements across the continent are on the verge of making some real wins, but it’s fragile. It’s a bit of a critical moment that will determine a lot about the future, and kudos to our president for going out of his way to fight for a better world. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/22 "2015-07-26T01:49:06Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Well, maybe the USA isn’t a great place to live if you’re black given one in three black males born today will end up in a US prison And surely that’s because of something something about oppression and not because of anything they do. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/23 "2015-07-26T02:07:41Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > It was very pleasing today to see the US president patronising the leader of Kenya on gay rights today, approximately 7 minutes after gay marriage became legal in the USA - after the USSC ruled in a decision not related to an Obama policy. > > [Barack Obama tells African states to abandon anti-gay discrimination | Barack Obama | The Guardian](http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/25/barack-obama-african-states-abandon-anti-gay-discrimination) > > Given the world had previously lacked the level of citizen scrutiny achieved in the past by the East German Stasi - until we knew otherwise from the traitor Snowden - perhaps the a US government agency can advice Kenya on a way forward with its internal difficulty. > > Will we hear more from the president, perhaps lecturing China on its human right record again, in particular the number of citizens incarcerated. > > Perhaps he should continue to lecture North Korea on state aggression, various non-state actors on ‘disappearing’ people and torture, and also advice President Putin on foreign-induced civil war on his nations border. > > I feel sure he also has much to offer central and south America after the success of the 20-year War on Drugs, and Pakistan, Yemen and numerous other countries on state assassinations, esp. remotely and from the sky. > > Given the success of his predecessors, he is certainly in a position to offer advice on how heads of state avoid prosecution at The Hague for war crimes. > > Please do tell the world more, Mr President. Learn English or leave the country. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/24 "2015-07-26T02:32:43Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Well, maybe the USA isn’t a great place to live if you’re black given one in three black males born today will end up in a US prison: > > [1 In 3 Black Males Will Go To Prison In Their Lifetime, Report Warns | HuffPost Voices](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/04/racial-disparities-criminal-justice_n_4045144.html) > > There was a very interesting article in the Guardian a few weeks ago by its US correspondent who was writing his leaving piece having been the US desk for, I think, 14 years. > > He didn’t say it explicitly, but he is black and he did mention his son a lot: how on earth could you take that level of risk with your own family if you have a choice… The fact that 1 in 3 black people wind up behind bars doesn’t mean that every black person is equally likely to have this happen. It’s mostly the poorest black people that have a much higher rate. It’s like how an age 30 life expectancy does not mean that most people only live to be 30, but meant there was a large infant mortality rates. Average rates can be deceiving. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/25 "2015-07-26T03:36:19Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Ah, but imagine the hilarity that will ensue when a tribe of Obama’s African relations descends upon the White House with grass skirts and bones in their noses, humourously attempting to buy Hillary Clinton for many cows and trying to put the Chaplain into a large iron cooking pot surrounded by carrots and potatoes. You can convey quite a lot with a timely “unga bunga.” I learned that on CBS! ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/26 "2015-07-26T04:33:12Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > It was very pleasing today to see the US president patronising the leader of Kenya on gay rights today, approximately 7 minutes after gay marriage became legal in the USA - after the USSC ruled in a decision not related to an Obama policy. > > . Yes, pleasing. Your first sentence made such astounding, undeniable sense today that I didn’t bother reading anything else that you wrote. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/27 "2015-07-26T04:44:38Z")
See, here I was hoping this was going to be like Shaft in Africa. Or that at least Obama would finally get a cool theme song. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/28 "2015-07-26T04:55:22Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > RIghto, and if he didn’t point out that we don’t approve of imprisoning gays, even the right wing would be all over him for visiting a country that imprisons gay people\*\*\* and he didn’t say anything about it\*\*\*. People sure work pretty hard to find something to criticize the President for. Maybe they should take a day or two off and just wait til he does something worthy of disapproval. When I started reading the OP, this is what I thought he was talking about, and I was prepared to be outraged that Obama had apparently appeased African leaders by supporting their intolerance. I was very relieved to click on the link and see that exactly the opposite had happened. Speaking out forcefully against discrimination is the best possible use of the bully pulpit. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/29 "2015-07-26T06:39:58Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > You can convey quite a lot with a timely “unga bunga.” I learned that on CBS! And a swift chorus of the Witchdoctor Song. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/30 "2015-07-26T12:48:48Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > a US government agency can advice Kenya Heh, probably just a typo. No biggie. > [@](#): > > and also advice President Putin Errmrmmm …oh, so he actually thinks this is correct. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/31 "2015-07-26T12:53:13Z")
He actually has dyslexia, ‘s’ and ‘c’ are sometimes problematic. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/32 "2015-07-26T12:56:02Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The fact that 1 in 3 black people wind up behind bars doesn’t mean that every black person is equally likely to have this happen. It’s mostly the poorest black people that have a much higher rate. > > It’s like how an age 30 life expectancy does not mean that most people only live to be 30, but meant there was a large infant mortality rates. Average rates can be deceiving. I didn’t write it. Contact Mr/s Huffington. Maybe they’d respond by saying there is insufficient class-based data, and if you compare each ethnicity on exactly the same basis you can read something of value into it. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/33 "2015-07-26T12:57:55Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > I had difficulty parsing the Stasi comment. > > Your other points were well taken. Sure, the Stasi comment was clear. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/34 "2015-07-26T15:13:51Z")
I’m just glad Obama got to visit his birthplace before leaving office. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/35 "2015-07-26T16:14:01Z")
The OP reads like a mix of 9th grade idealism, Angry Young Man self-righteousness, and Atlas Shrugged naivete. Up\_the\_junction should have a blog…I’m sure it would be fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/36 "2015-07-26T16:58:01Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > The OP reads like a mix of 9th grade idealism, Angry Young Man self-righteousness, and Atlas Shrugged naivete. Up\_the\_junction should have a blog…I’m sure it would be fascinating. Remember when blogs used to be called “diaries”…and they had little locks on them so no one else could read them? I miss those days. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/37 "2015-07-26T17:34:17Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I’m just glad Obama got to visit his birthplace before leaving office. Actually, he spends Christmas and New Year’s there almost every year. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/38 "2015-07-26T17:35:52Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Sure, the Stasi comment was clear. > > Thanks. Good to know that you think so, since it makes no sense. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/39 "2015-07-26T17:38:28Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Remember when blogs used to be called “diaries”…and they had little locks on them so no one else could read them? > I miss those days. 😃 Outstanding! I will definitely steal it. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178/40 "2015-07-26T17:51:32Z")
Is he looking for a retirement home already? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-in-africa/726178.md?page=3)