Comments on: Playing It Safe https://contemporaryracism.org/796/playing-it-safe/ An academic blog about whiteness, implicit bias, and systemic racism Fri, 11 Oct 2024 04:03:32 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: nashkrod https://contemporaryracism.org/796/playing-it-safe/comment-page-1/#comment-262 Fri, 04 May 2012 05:07:18 +0000 http://www.professorwolfe.com/blog/?p=796#comment-262 One of the frustrating things about Obama being the first Black president, is that he is faced with a double edged sword. The things he says and does will be attributed to his race, whether he likes it or not. If he talks about the racial issues, then it’s something he takes a “special interest” in. If he doesn’t talk about race, then is he doing a disservice to his race? This is something that many people of color have to deal with on a regular basis. Do you choose to talk, or do you choose to stay silent? If you choose to talk, you run the risk of being written off as that angry minority. If you remain silent, then nothing will change. My other friends of color and I have the same conversations over and over again about classroom dynamics. “Why should I have to educate them?” “If I don’t then who will.” I personally feel like it’s a tough call. Although I was frustrated that Obama did not go further in one of his only speeches about race, I don’t know what else he could have done to maintain the White vote.

As someone who thinks that these race issues are very real issues, I wonder if maybe I’m expecting too much from Obama. Is it fair for me to expect that he cares? Maybe he truly is disinterested in rocking the boat.

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