The
President will undoubtedly be castigated for (also in harsh vernacular)
calling a spade a spade. But it is far past the moment for us to be
polite about our prejudices. After enduring a seemingly endless series
of racially motivated attacks, we have now been witness to the most
heinous of crimes. It serves as vivid reminder of the horrors inflicted
on blacks in the south more than a half century before.
By
using the N word, the President was voicing the frustration and anger
of a black man and of a leader of a country which has not moved nearly
as far, or as fast, as his election would suggest. His words are
intended to wake us to that reality, and not let us continue to reside
in that fictional place where hatred based on skin color is but a
historical relic.
Politics is always about being
cautious in one's statements. We have seen this play out in the days
since the nine deaths at the church. Republican leaders around the
country test out the political temperature before dipping a toe into the
water on the question of whether a state flag, which flies as symbol
and reminder of our worst instincts, is to remain aloft.
President
Obama, either by calculation or emotion, has exposed a wound which
remains raw and ugly. The President is to be applauded for having the
courage to speak a truth which can and should be called what it is. We
must confront this problem head on, so that a half century from now the
events of recent days are not still being repeated.
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