A Real Talk About Race and Why Tavis Smiley is a Bitch

This past week, President Obama came out and spoke about the Trayvon Martin case. What could've been a clunky, awkward push for gun control (as his last remarks were) turned into a passionate glimpse into the racial profiling practices that have been a part of this country for years. During his remarks, he exclaimed that Trayvon Martin could've easily been him 35 years ago:

"There are very few African American men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store"

This sent a shockwave through the country, seeing as though the President so very rarely speaks about race. Many praised him for finally showing that he was not disatached from the experience of being black and he could relate to what so many of us have and are going through. To others, many conservative, it was a way to bash him so many times as they had done before for even speaking about the fact that he is black and has the experiences that most Black men have in America. And, as always, Tavis Smiley was being a bitch, saying that the president was "pushed to the podium" and that his remarks were "as weak as pre-sweetened Kool-Aid." Way to hammer in those stereotypes, Tavis.

Now we'll get to that in a second, but first let's get to these comments. Honestly, my jaw dropped, mainly because he doesn't speak a lot about race and for the first time so many Black folk felt like they weren't "making stuff up." I'll explain. Many of us, particularly Black men, have been profiled in this country because of the fact that many think that we are inherently violent, criminals. That mindset has lead to so many Black men being followed in stores and malls, stopped and frisked, pulled over, and shot and killed for suspicion of having a weapon or being dangerous, the latter being a direct cause of Trayvon Martin's death. Many of these cries have been met with "Oh, those folks are resisting arrest," "You're being paranoid, maybe it because they were just robbed," and the infamous "If you haven't done anything, you shouldn't have anything to worry about." I, and many of my Black male friends have experienced this at least once, if not more and it was refreshing seeing a sitting President saying "I feel your pain" and knowing that he did, at the very least.

Now to Tavis. Shortly after the President's remarks on Friday, Tavis' tweeted this:

This bitch here...Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh, but if you would let me explain. 

First off, I have NO issues with people expressing their opinion and criticizing the president. That is what being an American is all about. But Tavis has an ulterior motive to this constant hate. You see, he and Princeton University professor Cornel West(The dude with the fro and the gap....Yup, thats him!) have had a personal vendetta against Pres. Obama for quite a number of reasons. In 2008, then Senator Obama declined an invite to Tavis' State of the Black Union, offering his wife Michelle to speak instead. Tavis declined. Originally a supporter, Prof. West wasn't personally offered tickets to his inauguration, stating that the bellhop in the hotel had a ticket and he wasn't able to get one for him and his mother. Since then, the two have been on the warpath,  criticizing him for everything from not talking about race enough, not doing more for black people and being a stronger black leader, even for using Martin Luther King's Bible at the 2013 Inaguration. West has called Obama a "Rockefeller Republican in Blackface," 'a Black mascot," and stated the he has a "certain fear of Black men." The two have made their message clear in their consisent vitriol: We want Obama to be the President of Black America and he isn't being "Black Enough" for our taste (Hence the Kool-Aid reference. You see, I tied it back!!) 

Now while these two may have some sort of point, they're so deeply buried in Bitchassness, that we don't get it. They are trying to put together some sort of poverty bus tour to highlight poverty in Obama's America(cause everyone was making $15 an hour under the Bush Administration.) And while the plight of African Americans is a constant struggle, we will never rise above our adversity, while pulling each other back down into the barrel. So to Mr. Smiley and Prof. West, I leave these words of advice:

"Boy, quit whining like a Bitch and get yo ass to the door!!"

Words to live By....Words to live by....

Thanx 4 Lettin Me Vent,

Lawrence J. Weber, Jr.

"The Arrogant Observer"