Taking sides: Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama

I have tried to stay away from blogging, specifically abut Barack Obama for the reason that I am often scolded on my opinions of him. I have many good friends who are liberals and rather than argue over someone we will most likely never meet, I’d rather just stay away from the subject all together.

But this came along…..

When I first heard about the good Reverend Jesse Jackson’s ‘accidental’ words just before he went on FOX NEWS I paid it no mind. I didn’t think it was a big deal. But obviously it is a big deal because the media coverage of it is wall-to-wall.

Admittingly, I didn’t get the whole crux of Jackson’s words. It wasn’t until this morning while I watching the Today show that I heard it. I’m not going to quote them verbatim, though.

Basically Jesse feels that Obama talks down to black folks, particularly with dealing with faith-based initiatives and Jesse felt as though that cutting Obama’s nuts off would be in order. Obviously he didn’t mean it literally but we all know what he was implying. He thinks Obama is getting too big for his britches’ as the old folks used to say.

Why?

I must admit that Obama had me a tad perturbed when he told a group of black folks in South Carolina to go get ‘Pookie and Ray-Ray’ to go vote for him during the primaries. And just the other day he told a crowd of young kids that everyone couldn’t be a Li’l Wayne, they had to go out there and get an education. The point was good, but the way he made it was not. Is Li’l Wayne the only type of person black kids aspire to be like? No.

But that’s not the point. For the most part, Obama challenges black folks to do better. His Fathers’ Day speech on absentee black fathers hit home. It upset a lot of people, but it needed to be said—yes, even on Fathers’ Day.

I applaud Obama for taking the black community to task for some of its ills. Every situation we go through is not the result of the white man or a racist government. Some of our issues were manufactured by US.

I believe Obama believes in personal responsibility. And for that he has my utmost respect.

Herein lies the problem with Jesse Jackson.

Jesse Jackson has long been a person who thinks the government and socialism holds all the answers to the black community’s problems. His and Al Sharpton’s brand of ‘black leadership’ consists of trouncing on anything being construed as racist and rarely taking a step towards rectifying what is wrong within our own communities.

Granted, both Jesse and Al have said and done some things that have offered a glimmer of hope that they do want us to better ourselves but then they resort to their race-baiting tactics all over again and that glimmer of hope vanishes

I believe that both Jesse and Al realize that Barack Obama is not your average black leader. He believes in the value of hard work. He believes that white racism does not have to be a deterrent for us to achieve success.

This scares the two ‘Reverends’ who have made their living off of race-baiting and demanding that the government make all of our problems go away.

Jesse Jackson is upset about that. And I am figuring that this is the reason he was angry. This is the reason he is angry.

Jesse Jackson would have never apologized for his words if they weren’t caught on a live mic on FOX NEWS. What did Rihanna just sing?

Don’t tell me you’re sorry cuz you’re not….you’re only sorry you got caught……

As I travel the blogosphere, it has come to my attention that black folks are taking sides on the matter. Some say that Obama is right in what he says and that he should not be criticized. Others say that Jesse is correct and Obama is not really tackling black issues. He is only giving lectures and not really encouraging the black community.

It is of little concern to me because I am not voting for him regardless. And I always believed that ‘change’ and ‘hope’ should begin in YOU. Not some politician, no matter what his skin color is.

I do think, however, that Jesse is jealous. Al is jealous. The black elites who call on the government to improve the lives of black folks are threatened by this bi-racial newcomer who dares voice the same concerns that Bill Cosby and white religious Conservatives have been voicing for years.

I guess Obama and the liberal Democrats always thought that their greatest fights will be against John McCain and the Right. I guess they had no clue that they would have an immediate hurdle right in front of them: disgruntled black folks.

And Jesse aint the only one either.