"I refuse to let my personal success, as part of a fraction of one percent of the Negro people, to explain away the injustices to fourteen million of my people; because with all the energy at my command, I fight for the right of the Negro people and other oppressed labor-driven Americans to have decent homes, decent jobs, and the dignity that belongs to every human being!"
paul robeson
compare this to obama's narrative..."if a skinny kid with a funny name can make it, that shows that anything is possible in this great land of ours..." sadly, the problem is that anything is possible. for, you see, it is possible to be shot by a cop while lying face down on the pavement. it is possible to be shot by the police while taking out your keys. it is possible to be shot by the police on your wedding day. of course, it is more possible for these things to happen if you are a black man. do not these scenarios also speak to the possibilities that are the american experience? and what of our systemic oppressions? do racial health disparities speak to the greatness of america? what of segregated schools? how about our rampant militarism? on this day, should we not all celebrate the wonders of our weaponry, which allows "our boys" and their peers in israel to kill with impunity? my, the militaristic possibilities of america appear endless. what a cause for joy.
revisit that first line in robeson's quote. says it all, doesn't it, in the year of your obama, 2009.
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