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I sat at a stoplight with the windows down on this unseasonably warm November morning.
The CD that was playing restarted and I ejected it to listen to another.
Next to the car, where I was at, was a bus stop. A man and a woman were in it, talking.
As the light turned green, I heard him say “If a black man can be President, then my children can do anything now.”
5 Comments
I agree. We were told these things as a child, but you don’t believe it as you get older. This changes a lot.
And even if Obama were to accomplish NOTHING else in his life, I think that’s a wonderful legacy.
I volunteer with a tutoring program for underprivileged kids from Cincinnati Public Schools. Half of the kids come from Over-the-Rhine, which is The Hood, to put it politely.
I tend to support Republican policies, but I think Obama is an excellent role model, and I’m thrilled to see how excited the kids are about Obama.
so, what was stopping them before? i mean, im really excited that he’s the new president… but was everyone just sitting around waiting for permission before?
and i swear im not a republican, and i love obama as much as the next person… but i feel like the huge emphasis on who he is as opposed to what he will do is pure PR fluff at the point. i watched the specials, i read the articles. he’s not youre typical white dude. got it.
anyone running against mccain would have made history. if it had been a cockroach, a mexican, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich… i mean it could have been anything. this country was not going to elect another republican.
i voted for change the last time, and the time before that. i hate the new implications that america is less racist now because obama is in office. i don’t think we are, i think the democratic party finally got it together and the youth of america was paying attention this time around.
i know, leave it to me to be bitter about something today. but politicans are still politicans, and it annoys me that people feel like theyve been given permission to live their lives now that obama is in charge. bah.
I think it’s what tnerT said in the first comment:
We were told these things as a child, but you don’t believe it as you get older. This changes a lot.
In case it wasn’t clear, I’m referring to race. The man at the bus stop was black. tnerT is, I believe, black.
So while you can say “you can be anything you want when you grow up”, it doesn’t mean much if there is some real or perceived limit on the word “anything”.
If “you can be anything, but as there’s never been a black president you can kind of rule that out” is the unspoken message, then when there is a black president, things change.
I’ll admit driving away from that corner this morning (it was on Harvard, just east of I-77) feeling “Oh! I get this in a way I didn’t get it before.”
It’s a symbol.
i get it. i also know growing up the way i did, i’ve never struggled for things the way alot of other people have. not to sound like a snob, but i know ive had it easy.
its just such a dangerous thought to contemplate, though. “i can’t do it unless i see someone else do it first” is so worrisome to hear and read.
but, i think thats been the problem all along. it is in fact a symbol. in a nutshell: im glad 2000& hate is almost over.
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