Source: Jerry Wells / Jerry Wells
“Racism, we are not cured of it. And it’s not just a matter of it not being polite to say n****r in public,” President Obama, said, while being interviewed by Marc Maron for his podcast, “WTF.”
The President was making a point about how much more work needs to be done to eradicate racism in this country, adding “Societies don’t, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior.”
The President is right, of course, but I can’t help wishing that he hadn’t used THAT WORD in his description. How about saying “certain words?” What I’m pretty sure will happen is that his opponents, racial and political, will, in their typically obtuse way, seize on this and intentionally taking it out of context, use it against him. Now, I’m a dedicated Obama supporter, voted for him both times and would do so again if he could run again. He’s been the first president in a long time who actually had the interests of regular, middle class and poor people; ALL the people at heart and did something for us, despite all the opposition he’s faced.
Mr. President, with all due respect, this, I think, was a misstep on your part. Using that word is a lot more than just impolite. It’s a racist, hurtful, insulting term, that in my opinion, the English language would be better off without; the last word many of our ancestors heard before they were shot, lynched, beaten or raped. It’s the word our worst enemies use referring to us as sub human savages, thugs or worse. Yes, I know that many of us use the term among ourselves, sometimes even as a term of affection, and that you were using it for a far different purpose, but in the present racially charged atmosphere of the United States, with all that has happened recently, the less we hear the N-Word, the better. It’s got a history, one of pain and oppression.
You are an example to so many of our young people, the representative of the American people to the world. Please continue but just without THAT word – at any time. Thank you, Sir!
This is Jerry Wells, and I’m just sayin’…
