Finally Today

Is anything different today than it was when Martin Luther King was killed?

I say no. Hatred is still as rampant today as it was then. Many of our great black leaders believe than Dr. King would be so pleased to see Obama our President. But your words cut like a jagged sword. The only thing different today is Obama has not been killed.Stop the hate. This President has not been in office 3 weeks, yet many of you have called him everything but the "n" word. I am ashamed to call myself a white American today.

Public Comments

1. Ya, people are still racist that's only cause people aren't African Americans and they don't know or understand what Freedom is. You still should not be ashamed to be an american. You should be ashamed of the people who say the "n". I am Cuban and I did not want Obama to win. But hey God does stuff for a reason right? It's gonna be ok. People HAVE to change some day.
2. Really? How old are you? It's clear you have not been around for very long... People's dislike for Obama is mainly ideological - not race based.
3. I think the last thing people are unhappy with is his race.
4. Some people believe in white supremacy whether they say it or not. Why do you think people are clinging to his white bloodlines when mixed people have always been considered black. Why do some people think they can tell what others what to refer to themselves as?
5. Yes, I do believe it is. I don't think we could have elected a biracial President if things haven't changed. There is still racism, for sure, but not like it was back then. People on this site are blow hards and they feel safe ranting here anonymously.
6. I will bet $20 that you were calling to stop the hate during the Bush Administration. It was ok to hate him I suppose because he was white and republican.
7. hatred will always be around no matter the color of your skin or your faith. take a history class and you'll see things HAVE changed and maybe you'll learn a bit more about the USA and find a way to be proud.
8. everthing is very differnt! and you got some real problems !!!
9. You want to see real racism? Take your lily white self-loathing posterior down to Compton and stroll through the 'hood. They'll show you what racism is all about. The only thing keeping the black man down today are other black men. They have the same opportunities, more perhaps, than any other demographic group in the country. All they have to do is use the avenues at their disposal.
10. Yes it is. More failed social programs these days. More inner city crime, more single mothers, more blacks in prison, more illegitimate children, lowest percentage of high school graduates / highest percentage of drop outs. So yes, things have changed, certainly not for the better. MLK would certainly be proud of Obama, but not the black community.
11. Hatred is indeed rampant both in the white and black communities because hatred is taught in the homes and will always be present . Jeremiah Wright who was Obama's pastor preached black racism from the pulpit which is something Dr. King did not do. Many black leaders of today are so far from Dr. King's teachings that they don't want harmony with other races. Dr. King might be pleased with Obama, but he would not be pleased to see racism in the black community as well as the white community because he did preach unity.
12. There will always be "racism" because it is hardwired into our genes; we fear that which is different because, for our caveman ancestors, the different was the enemy. But we aren't cavemen. We are, hopefully, civilised (or at least proto-civilised). An inclusive society embraces all of its members. The problem with that is that somewhere the society has a boundary, and beyond that boundary is something else, something different, something that our caveman brain regards as the enemy. Even if you push the boundary to global limits, that caveman will still be there, waiting for the first alien to land on Earth so that we can all heap our hate on him. If everyone is the same, all -isms disappear (racism, sexism, ageism, etc) but what a dull and boring world that would be. Only by learning to regard the different as our friend can we ever eliminate the negative aspect of racism. The trouble is, I'm not sure that as a race we can do that. (PS Yes, things have changed since MLK, and mostly for the better, but it's a work in progress and, if I'm right, always will be.)
13. I don't think many people hate Obama due to race, although according to the Secret Service there have been more threats on him then previous candidates, but I think that is the result of extremists like the KKK that unfortunately we'll always have. The biggest difference between now and 1968 is that Obama was not only nominated, but elected, what are the chances that the GOP or Democratic Party of 1968 even considers a presidential candidate who isn't a white male?