(from another venue)
Obama, yesterday:
I think it's important to recognize that the African-American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and history that doesn't go away.
I'm an old "very white" guy of 67, so how personal are the president's words to me? I have a "very black" SIL 38 y.o. Over the 6 years he's been in the family, I feel I've been privy to the reasons that millions of African-Americans nodded silent assent yesterday.
(This is purely anecdotal info, I admit, but it typifies some of what Obama was talking about and adds to my own POV as well.)
When he was here with my daughter and their first child 2 years ago, we were barbecuing on the driveway when a neighbor pulled up and motioned me to his car. "Are you selling your house to those people?" His fear was palpable, and my answer that this was my daughter's husband got a disbelieving "Really?!" and a head-shake as he drove off. The SIL lol'd when I told him and said, "He feels better. His property value is safe!"
When he got his satellite engineer's job in FL and earned a lofty salary, he kicked up his heels and bought a used Mercedes. He got stopped twice by police for no reason. Both times, his car was thoroughly checked, including the trunk. Being a young black man in a Mercedes, he knew this was no time to remonstrate--even slightly. this was a time to shut up and be compliant since a cloud of "resisting law enforcement" could be gathering over his head..
He saw a couple with car trouble (hood up) and stopped to help. They locked themselves in their car, and the woman got on her cell. He drove away, and quickly got pulled over for a 3rd time in his life. No search this time. A black officer totally understood what had happened. That officer likely had been through that "set of experiences" that Obama spoke about yesterday himself.
My daughter came here from Tampa a couple of weeks ago with both kids, aged 4 and 1. She was laboriously hefting bags and a stroller through the Indy airport crowds when an "old white guy" like me said something about women like her who were suffering with no husband and black children. He didn't know how damn lucky he was that she was in a hurry.
So my SIL and daughter filter these things through "a history that doesn't go away," as the president said. And while I sympathize and attempt to process what they tell me, my "experience" is still only a mere vicarious one.
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