Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
37 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Why do President Obama's words just now sound so hollow? (Original Post) Brigid Nov 2014 OP
And I'm confused at to what the heck you mean. LawDeeDah Nov 2014 #1
Me too! procon Nov 2014 #2
Actually, they don't. At least to me. calimary Nov 2014 #3
Why is your skin color relevant to the President's comments? Spazito Nov 2014 #4
I'm wondering how they sound to an African-American person . . . Brigid Nov 2014 #13
I'm still puzzled as to why you would want to separate out how one viewed the... Spazito Nov 2014 #17
I don't know how else to explain it. Brigid Nov 2014 #19
I think it would have been more helpful had you put what you heard that was ... Spazito Nov 2014 #22
They sounded like the words of a man who means well, but has been broken. Ken Burch Nov 2014 #14
Your take differs from mine quite drastically... Spazito Nov 2014 #15
Maybe that is what I'm trying to get at. Brigid Nov 2014 #16
I'm sure the President ordered that split screen himself. LawDeeDah Nov 2014 #23
Of course he didn't. Brigid Nov 2014 #26
I guess we all hear what we want to hear...nt SidDithers Nov 2014 #24
Had nothing to do with what I wanted to hear, Sid. Ken Burch Nov 2014 #25
nt Nemesis_Anon Nov 2014 #5
Because you know he doesn't mean it? Man from Pickens Nov 2014 #6
Yup. Nothing ever changes, except for the worse. woo me with science Nov 2014 #18
Cool, brah...Go put your faith in Rand '16, then... Blue_Tires Nov 2014 #27
... SidDithers Nov 2014 #37
I didn't think it sounded hollow. Quantess Nov 2014 #7
I thought so too! nt arthritisR_US Nov 2014 #10
I guess I'm thinking of how many times I've heard this before. Brigid Nov 2014 #8
So you just had to post a thread about how the President sounded "hollow"? smh. Cha Nov 2014 #11
I'm a white Canadian and they did not arthritisR_US Nov 2014 #9
Without seeing the words you speak of seveneyes Nov 2014 #12
You mean that bullshit about us being a nation of laws? Yep, hollow. Scuba Nov 2014 #20
Well, there is that, definitely. Brigid Nov 2014 #30
I said last night that I thought he sounded tired. Really emotional. Quiet, holding his feelings in. jwirr Nov 2014 #21
He's Said More About Race otohara Nov 2014 #28
Because it *was* hollow. woo me with science Nov 2014 #29
He sounded helpless. bravenak Nov 2014 #31
You're right about that. Brigid Nov 2014 #34
Because they WERE hollow. Odin2005 Nov 2014 #32
Just a few minutes ago, Brigid Nov 2014 #33
I'm very proud of our President's words MyUncle Nov 2014 #35
Because they were. LeftyMom Nov 2014 #36

procon

(15,805 posts)
2. Me too!
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 07:32 PM
Nov 2014

I'm white too, but my skin color doesn't keep me from feeling empathy and compassion for those who are victims of social injustice, inequality and poverty. If the OP thinks the President sounds "hollow" for expressing solidarity for the plight of the people of Fergusson then maybe he should adjust the audio settings on his TV.

calimary

(80,699 posts)
3. Actually, they don't. At least to me.
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 07:40 PM
Nov 2014

Felt as though he was trying to reach out, to be the Comforter-in-Chief. His repeated references to "your President" - "your President will work with you." "Your President will be there with you." I think that sends a subtle message. This guy has tried to reach out for six years. I'm amazed he still seems to get up in the morning with a spring in his step, with all the shit he has to step through. How despicably he's treated and disrespected. How people just love to pile on him all the time. NOTHING he does is good enough. They accuse him of everything from being weak and ineffective as a leader to being a Constitution-trampling tyrant, from spineless weasel to murderer of kittens and puppies. Just depends on what time of day it is with some of these assholes. And then you get events like these piling on, too. Too much heartbreak and turmoil and upset out there.

I was moved by his speech. And when Sharpton came on, I wanted the Rev. Al to shut up so I could keep watching the speech.

I think we need this. I think we all need to see a President who's out there, still at it. Leading. Defiant of the so-called epitaph the media wrote for him after the elections. Helping us try to make sense out of what's happened. Forward-thinking, not afraid to take a well-considered "bold" move when need be, playing the long game, and patient as a good dad when all these spoiled-brat adult-size five-year-olds throw tantrums and shit-wads but he still cares for them. I don't know how he does it every day. I was glad to hear him speaking and see him out there - a physical presence at a time when much of America is disillusioned and bereaved and bewildered. It feels almost as though he's trying to buck us up so we can all work to fix this.

But when your ship's run aground, and everyone's in a grim mood, maybe it's a good thing to have our President out there trying to offer encouragement, and a few practical things we can try doing - these civic and regional meetings and get-togethers he spoke of. Isn't that kinda what we need at the moment? Whenever there's a problem, my first reaction is - "well, what can we DO about it?" I always want to try to come up with something concrete to do or set up or build or some such. So it's encouraging to me when President Obama gets out there and tries to help lift us back up after we've been knocked on our collective ass.

Spazito

(49,765 posts)
4. Why is your skin color relevant to the President's comments?
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 07:43 PM
Nov 2014

I listened to his comments and they were anything but hollow, imo.

Brigid

(17,621 posts)
13. I'm wondering how they sound to an African-American person . . .
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:05 PM
Nov 2014

Who deals with this frustration every day in a way that I do not, if they sound a little "off" to me.

Spazito

(49,765 posts)
17. I'm still puzzled as to why you would want to separate out how one viewed the...
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:24 PM
Nov 2014

President's comments by race?

Should each one of us responding to your OP first identify ourselves by our skin color before continuing on to respond to whether the President's comments "sound so hollow" or not?

Spazito

(49,765 posts)
22. I think it would have been more helpful had you put what you heard that was ...
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:34 PM
Nov 2014

"so hollow" in his comments and what you would have preferred him to say rather than "And I'm white, for God's sake!"

Just a thought.

 

Ken Burch

(50,254 posts)
14. They sounded like the words of a man who means well, but has been broken.
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:08 PM
Nov 2014

A man who has given up.

I'd still have voted for him in 2008 and 2012, but that's what he sounded like.

Spazito

(49,765 posts)
15. Your take differs from mine quite drastically...
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:21 PM
Nov 2014

He sounded like a President who knows his words have meaning, to be used or misused by those who work very hard, each and every day, to discredit him.

He also sounded like a President very aware of the deepening racial divide in the country and was acknowledging the frustrations of those who are angry about the injustice while advocating for non-violence to advance their cause.

A man who has not, in any way, "given up".

Brigid

(17,621 posts)
16. Maybe that is what I'm trying to get at.
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:23 PM
Nov 2014

And that business last night, with the split screen showing him urging calm on one side and a burning car or building on the other, didn't help.

 

LawDeeDah

(1,596 posts)
23. I'm sure the President ordered that split screen himself.
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:35 PM
Nov 2014

no funny business with the media. nope.

Brigid

(17,621 posts)
26. Of course he didn't.
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:43 PM
Nov 2014

But it does illustrate, perhaps unintentionally, the inadequacy of words, however proper and well-intended, at this time.

 

Ken Burch

(50,254 posts)
25. Had nothing to do with what I wanted to hear, Sid.
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:43 PM
Nov 2014

I don't hate Obama. I don't even hate you.

Don't understand why you post in the tone you use, but I don't hate you.

 

Man from Pickens

(1,713 posts)
6. Because you know he doesn't mean it?
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 07:54 PM
Nov 2014

At least, not enough to act decisively.

How about an executive order to shut down the Pentagon program that's supplying all these local PDs with war-fighting gear? As Commander-in-Chief it could hardly fall more under his purview.

woo me with science

(32,139 posts)
18. Yup. Nothing ever changes, except for the worse.
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:28 PM
Nov 2014

We get cynical, pretty speeches and cheering propaganda voices, and nothing more.

Nothing gets better anymore. No one is ever serious about actual change for the better.

In fact, the corporate politicians making pretty speeches are relentlessly making things worse:




_______________________________________________________________________________

The entire Democratic leadership opposed Grayson amendment to stop arming cops with DOD weapons
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025390424


Police Militarization (including the Obama administration's role)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/aclu-police-militarization-swat_n_2813334.html

It's almost certain that if the police agencies cooperate, the ACLU will find that the militarization trend has accelerated since Kraska's studies more than a decade ago. All of the policies, incentives and funding mechanisms that were driving the trend then are still in effect now. And most of them have grown in size and scope.

The George W. Bush administration actually began scaling down the Byrne and COPS programs in the early 2000s, part of a general strategy of leaving law enforcement to states and localities. But the Obama administration has since resurrected both programs. The Byrne program got a $2 billion surge in funding as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, by far the largest budget in the program's 25-year history. Obama also gave the COPS program $1.55 billion that same year, a 250 percent increase over its 2008 budget, and again the largest budget in the program's history. Vice President Joe Biden had championed both programs during his time in the Senate.

The Pentagon's 1033 program has also exploded under Obama. In the program's monthly newsletter (Motto: "From Warfighter to Crimefighter&quot , its director announced in October 2011 that his office had given away a record $500 million in military gear in fiscal year 2011, which he noted, "passes the previous mark by several hundred million dollars." He added, "I believe we can exceed that in FY 12.”

Then there are the Department of Homeland Security's anti-terrorism grants. The Center for Investigative Reporting found in a 2011 investigation that since 2001, DHS has given out more than $34 billion in grants to police departments across the country, many of which have been used to purchase military-grade guns, tanks, armor, and armored personnel carriers. The grants have gone to such unlikely terrorism targets as Fargo, N.D.; Canyon County, Idaho; and Tuscaloosa, Ala.




Brigid

(17,621 posts)
8. I guess I'm thinking of how many times I've heard this before.
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 07:58 PM
Nov 2014

Not so much from President Obama, but from other officials every time something like this happens. People are fed up, and out of patience. I guess there just are no "right words."

 

seveneyes

(4,631 posts)
12. Without seeing the words you speak of
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:03 PM
Nov 2014

I'm predisposed to consider that his words do not resonate with the frequency you are tuned to.

jwirr

(39,215 posts)
21. I said last night that I thought he sounded tired. Really emotional. Quiet, holding his feelings in.
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:34 PM
Nov 2014
 

otohara

(24,135 posts)
28. He's Said More About Race
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:46 PM
Nov 2014

and police profiling than president ever.

Did you forget the beer summit and how much of an uproar it caused - wingnuts went nuts.

woo me with science

(32,139 posts)
29. Because it *was* hollow.
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:47 PM
Nov 2014


As usual, we get pretty speeches and propaganda voices cheering the words, but never any real change for the better.

The role of corporate Democrats, including the Obama administration, in escalating police militarization
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5870848

We get cynical, pretty speeches and cheering propaganda voices, and nothing more.

Nothing gets better anymore. No one is ever serious about actual change for the better.

In fact, the corporate politicians making pretty speeches are relentlessly making things worse:




_______________________________________________________________________________
The entire Democratic leadership opposed Grayson amendment to stop arming cops with DOD weapons
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025390424


Police Militarization (including the Obama administration's role)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/aclu-police-militarization-swat_n_2813334.html

It's almost certain that if the police agencies cooperate, the ACLU will find that the militarization trend has accelerated since Kraska's studies more than a decade ago. All of the policies, incentives and funding mechanisms that were driving the trend then are still in effect now. And most of them have grown in size and scope.

The George W. Bush administration actually began scaling down the Byrne and COPS programs in the early 2000s, part of a general strategy of leaving law enforcement to states and localities. But the Obama administration has since resurrected both programs. The Byrne program got a $2 billion surge in funding as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, by far the largest budget in the program's 25-year history. Obama also gave the COPS program $1.55 billion that same year, a 250 percent increase over its 2008 budget, and again the largest budget in the program's history. Vice President Joe Biden had championed both programs during his time in the Senate.

The Pentagon's 1033 program has also exploded under Obama. In the program's monthly newsletter (Motto: "From Warfighter to Crimefighter&quot , its director announced in October 2011 that his office had given away a record $500 million in military gear in fiscal year 2011, which he noted, "passes the previous mark by several hundred million dollars." He added, "I believe we can exceed that in FY 12.”

Then there are the Department of Homeland Security's anti-terrorism grants. The Center for Investigative Reporting found in a 2011 investigation that since 2001, DHS has given out more than $34 billion in grants to police departments across the country, many of which have been used to purchase military-grade guns, tanks, armor, and armored personnel carriers. The grants have gone to such unlikely terrorism targets as Fargo, N.D.; Canyon County, Idaho; and Tuscaloosa, Ala.




 

bravenak

(34,648 posts)
31. He sounded helpless.
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:54 PM
Nov 2014

He is really. He can't fix racism. It's not a problem anybody can fix, let alone a black person. If he told the truth he would be shot.

Odin2005

(53,521 posts)
32. Because they WERE hollow.
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 08:59 PM
Nov 2014

We are only a "nation of laws" if you are a member of the ruling Capitalist Class.

Brigid

(17,621 posts)
33. Just a few minutes ago,
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 09:09 PM
Nov 2014

Steven Clemons from the Atlantic Monthly was on "All In" and described President Obama's words last night as a "schoolmaster's lecture." That's a bit too harsh, IMO; but that works fairly well.

MyUncle

(924 posts)
35. I'm very proud of our President's words
Tue Nov 25, 2014, 09:16 PM
Nov 2014

He condemned the violence, supported the outrage and outlined a path to improvement, who could ask for more?

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Why do President Obama's ...