Reply #37: The attacks on Michelle says it all...

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

I had a very frank conversation today with a Latino colleague of mine. We spoke about why the Repukes are attacking Michelle and he was honest with me. He told me that many white people and Latinos suffer psychological discomfort seeing professional, smart and attractive blacks doing well for themselves. Contrary to all the Repuke talk about lifting oneself up from the bootstraps, self-reliance and hard work, that doesn't apply when it comes to two strikingly attractive black people who worked from nothing and achieved success. Mainstream society is not used to the image of a black couple that has done well for themselves, and they aren't comfortable with the fact that they are madly in love. He respects her, she's NOT a "baby's mama," he's not shiftless, and they have two beautiful children for whom they would lay down their lives for.

He honestly told me that regardless of how well The Obamas do for themselves, they will never be accepted fully by mainstream society.

Coded language, such as "radical" and "elitist," are used to describe "uppity" blacks who have forgotten their place.

When I witnessed many Democrats expressing these same views of The Obamas during the primaries, I was deeply saddened. I had always assumed that the Democratic party was more tolerating and accepting and that the Repukes were the racists. I was so wrong. All of that latent racism rose to the surface during the primaries and even on this very board. The sense of entitlement was pervasive in that some people could not deal with the fact that an accomplished black man who *is* qualified would run against the Clintons. It was as if the votes didn't have to be earned; they belonged to the Clintons and that somehow the election was stolen from them.