Organizing for America | Leo's Blog: Why Mr. Obama would NOT make a good President:

Post from Leo's Blog:

Why Mr. Obama would NOT make a good President:

By Leo - Mar 18th, 2008 at 5:25 pm EDT

Comments | Mail to a Friend | Report Objectionable Content

I work evenings, so I taped CNN to watch Mr. Obama this morning. Not that it matters, but I am white. I have seen racism and hatred, plenty of it, throughout my lifetime, on the streets just outside Chicago.

As a child I once stood by while three of my friends beat up a black boy until his face was bloody. They spit on his face and called him the 'n' word repeatedly. The boy was not incapacitated, he got up and ran home crying. I am ashamed to admit that I was nothing more than a wimpy little kid that couldn't stand up for himself, let alone for someone else.

As I grew up I exercised and made myself stronger to change my image, the image I so hated. My friends mellowed out as they grew up. They changed, too. In time, I found new friends as so many of us do. We all change over time, we evolve in a sense. I think we have all had hatred at some point in our past that we now regret ever existed. I think we have all hated someone for the wrong reasons at some point in our past.

If you are white and old enough to remember, tell me you didn't have friends that used the 'n' word repeatedly and vicously. I have seen girls AND boys beat up on one of 'them' for no reason other than race. Not once did this skinny little kid step across the line to stand up for them. Do you know how I feel? Do you think I have hatred toward Mr. Wright? Today I would step across the line for Mr. Wright or any other human being that wants my help. I would do that because of my past, because of what I didn't do when I had the chance. Mr. Wright is not a bad person, no worse than my 3 friends, or any other child I saw picking a fight for no apparent reason. He may even be the kid they beat up.

If you were beat up for no reason by blacks, would you not scream racist remarks any chance you got? If you were raped by a gang of blacks, would you not be racist today? If your close friends beat up on a black child in a society where it was commonplace at the time, would you disown them? Or would you talk to them and try to help them change ... I did. If you are devout Catholic and a Catholic Priest molested a small boy, would you disown the Catholic Church? Perhaps some did ... millions have not. DO WE NOT HAVE THE TENDENCY TO TURN THE OTHER CHEEK WHEN SOMEONE CLOSE TO US DOES SOMETHING WE DO NOT APPROVE OF? We rarely, if ever, disown them. If we did, none of us would have any friends because most of us have done something that others do not approve of. We would all be a bunch of loners wandering around by ourselves...

I am ashamed and I don't know why ... but I sat there this morning watching Mr. Obama speak, and crying. I can't change my mistakes. I believe this man can make this a better country, a better place to live, and a more united place. The very people that keep pressing the Mr. Wright issue, or the race issue in general, are the reason Mr. Obama would NOT make a good President. He would not make a good President if there are more of them than there are of us. Many people on this site are like me, in that we want to forgive and forget; we want to love and be loved. We want to help someone regardless of race, when they are in need. Are there enough of us out there to make the rest of them realize that we need this?

If you would like to donate on my behalf, please do so. I just want to help in any way I can. Do not hate those who hate Mr. Obama. I know we have a tendency to get angry and call them names (I've done it myself). Work with them; convince them. If it seems hopeless then move on to someone else, but don't give up. Mr. Barack Obama is important to us. He is important to our nation. I believe he is important to the future of this world.

Finally, I apologize if my title was misleading. It was designed to get a non-believer to read, and perhaps take a second look, from another perspective, that just maybe Mr. Barack Obama is the right choice after all.

Thank You.

(my fundraising link, for Mr. Obama):

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/Leothelion

Reader Comments	Comments RSS
Comments are closed for this post.

Clever and Beautiful.... | Report to Admin

By Lydia Mar 18th 2008 at 5:34 pm EDT

The title surely got my attention. This was a clever move on your part and I agree with you totally and everything. We are the ones we've been waiting for!

YES WE CAN!!!!

Re: Clever and Beautiful.... | Report to Admin

By Leo Mar 18th 2008 at 5:42 pm EDT

Thank you. I only hope everyone reads it through to the end and it does not become deleted due to misunderstanding.

We've All Seen It | Report to Admin

By Cindy Mar 18th 2008 at 5:42 pm EDT

I, too, grew up in Illinois, near Chicago, and saw some pretty despicable behavior as a teenager. Racial tensions were pretty high in the late 60's and early 70's in Chicago. Most of us have seen stuff that is deeply disturbing at one point or another, and somehow bury it in our consciousness because we were powerless to respond and had no way out of the guilt.
You say you can't change your past mistakes. You're right. None of us can. But what we can do is be better human beings with one another from here on in and really take care of our brothers and sisters across this nation.

What Barack Obama teaches is that we should just shut down the blame game for what went down in the past and just start afresh now, with a renewed appreciation for each other as human beings with, at heart, exactly the same wishes and desires for ourselves and our children. He points out that what we have in common is greater than what divides us, and that we should look at each other with new eyes and come together to resolve problems rather than exacerbate them.
I
n this campaign, we are dressing wounds, not creating them.

Re: We've All Seen It | Report to Admin

By Leo Mar 18th 2008 at 5:45 pm EDT

I like your use of words. Do what you can to convey your feelings to others. I will do the same. Thx.

I Know... | Report to Admin

By shelly for Obama Mar 18th 2008 at 6:06 pm EDT

I am a 39 year old white woman. I raised my children in the country, but I lived in the inner city as a child, I was beaten up by black boys, and I was robbed on my way to school by black and white boys and girls, I was raped by a white boy, and I was protected later by a black boy, I had white boyfriends that were abusive, and I had a black boyfriend once that was sweet as could be, but my family rejected me for years because of my decision to fall in love with a black boy.
What I am saying is.... I don't see color, we are all the same, we have the same feelings, dreams, and hopes.
Let's not see color, let's see Americans United.

awesome | Report to Admin

By Asher Mar 18th 2008 at 6:52 pm EDT

Awesome

nice work | Report to Admin

By Kristine Korver Mar 23rd 2008 at 1:48 am EDT

thanks! hopefully the bait worked. well said.

Thank you | Report to Admin

By VoteYourRebate in TX = Chrystal Hays Mar 31st 2008 at 10:39 am EDT

I think that it is our personal stories from the past that hold us back sometimes. They are a part of our lives, but they don't get told, for shame or pride.

But it is these little day-to-day things, like having trouble getting a cab, that are still causing unrest in our country. Big things like how many black Senators or female governors...that is not the cure. It is a symptom of healing that is not yet complete. And to carry the analogy forward, the healing of this country is to that strange "itchy" stage, where everything looks pretty good, but underneath the skin, all is not yet healed. It is uncomfortable in some places. Deep down by the bone, the unhealed fractures are plain to see. But that radiates out and is dissipated into bruised and healing tissue. On the outside, we want to scratch and get told not to...but it does not feel right yet...

You know what? I should never write this time of day. I get carried away. Sorry.

Thank you for sharing the little things. We all have them. Maybe I will put mine in a blog, too.

Content on blogs in My.BarackObama represents the opinions of community members and in no way should be interpreted as endorsed or approved by the campaign.