Angry 4 Life
Michelle Obama, as with Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson et al, has made a career out of being angry.
She talks about herself and her ethnicity so often because it is her comfort zone – everything that she has done in life revolves, in one way or another, around her self-imposed defining characteristic: the color of her skin.
In the video above, she talks about Sonia Sotomayor. They both attended Princeton, and Michelle takes it upon herself to explain how the other people there made Sonia and her feel intimidated and embarrassed (the YouTube clip wouldn’t embed, so you can watch it here). The “others” achieved this through their mere presence because, presumably, we are genetically racist.
Just for a change, why doesn’t Michelle emphasis how lucky she was to have attended one of the finest universities in the world and how wonderful the education she received was? Why doesn’t she state how meritocracy is colorblind and that education, not government, is the route to fulfillment for all?
Michelle not only went to Princeton University (following in the footsteps of her brother) but also Harvard Law School. She worked for a prestigious law firm, then for Mayor Daley and finally for the University of Chicago Hospitals (where she was paid, literally, for doing nothing), before becoming First Lady.
Her’s is a story of considerable success, so why does Michelle feel obligated to repeat at every opportunity that she faced so much prejudice?
If she had encountered any real discrimination, she would’ve been denied the chances to achieve what she has. That did not happen. And the same goes for her hubby.
Why can she not see that?
June 4th, 2009 at 18:51
The mainstream media wouldn’t do it. So we are trying to get your important messages to the American people. 39 This post is a suggested read at, http://aresay.blogspot.com/
June 4th, 2009 at 19:11
J-,
They found you! I told you it’d be just a matter of time.
Aresay, J- and Cj over at The llustrated Conservative copme up with some really prescient posts and good commentary.
They are consistently ahead of the power curve in their observations and deserve far more traffic than they currently get.
June 5th, 2009 at 08:40
Michelle Obama has faced NO racism in her lifetime. In fact, she has been promoted and has benefitted due to her race. Is this a form of racism?
September 17th, 2009 at 06:34
Sadly we now live in an era of parasitic expectations; what we do is unimportant, only how we didn’t (or nearly didn’t, or perhaps did but wished we didn’t) get there. Being a strong-willed idealist, being sensible and unemotional when it comes to finances, and following my dreams to study virology and overcome my fear of flight in order to become a pilot are generally not commended. Yet those same people who clear their throats and act as though hearing I am proud of what I have accomplished is some sort of deadly sin will pile copious amounts of praise upon me when hearing my Hispanic family/maiden name and learning of my beginnings. What has changed?
Achievement is not commended for achievement’s sake, and neither is rising above what one was born into, unless there is a story of unfair hardship or prejudice involved; both of which I have not endured and have no interest in pretending I have. This trend irritates me no end. The only standards holding people back are the limitations they place upon themselves. I’m sure if I had grown up in a family who taught me that I was a “minority” and that we were poor (and that my station in life was to remain poor and unfairly dealt with), I would have believed it and felt like somehow it was an uncanny bit of luck that I have risen to where I am today. But they did not, and I did not, and here I am, knowing that I have come to this place through the same hard work that anyone can choose to dedicate their lives to.
I am successful not in spite of (or because of) the colour of my skin, but because I refuse to let go of any dream which is worth achieving, whether it takes a week or a decade. It is sad that a statement such as that is somehow not politically correct in society today.
- E.P.H.
September 17th, 2009 at 07:29
E. P. Hansen, welcome! You win the award for most (and most lengthy) comments left all in one go, congratulations!
Plus, they were left early this morning – are you in Europe or North America (or elsewhere)?
Glad that there’s something on the site that strikes a chord with you.
Fully agree with what you say – family is the single most important element in future success, no matter how you define that (decent job, your own family or simply staying out of trouble).
Your achievements do make you appear to be one of the much feared and despised “elitists”, though, so be careful out there.
After all, what would the Democrats do if all of a sudden their electorate (which I’m not implying you were ever a part of) started to place hope in themselves rather than the government?