Obama: There's no longer time for excuses for black men

[zipplewrath]

19. I swing both ways

Someone comes out every so often and tries to suggest something along these lines, and it often gets them in trouble. I've heard Jesse Jackson say something like this 30 years ago. It was as part of his "Push" campaign. It went along the lines of "yes it is still an unfair and difficult road, but it is filled with vastly more opportunities than just a generation ago and you can't excuse failure just because it is unfair. You can BE somebody."

Cosby has tried to suggest such things at various times and often been chastised for it. There was a whole 60 minutes episode on a very similar topic. A black professor at Duke admitted that he had a hard time listening to black students of his speak of being "oppressed" while on a full ride scholarship to Duke University. He understood the challenges, but wasn't fond of describing them as "oppression".

Buried in it is the kernel of an idea that is expressed in many different situations, the idea that although we don't all work within the same realm of opportunities, each of us has enough to work with. Some are short or tall, heavy or thin, smarter, quicker, stronger, or any number of things that can hold one back or give one an advantage. And often, as with looks, it is an irrelevant feature, yet can be an obstacle none the less. It is the reality of life that DESPITE these realities, one must try, and often try while acknowledging that in some way they have to try harder, yet success is commonly possible.

It is a hard message to deliver, especially to a diverse and relatively anonymous audience. And one must be careful, especially as someone as exceptional as Obama's experience, in suggesting that the exception demonstrates that the common is achievable. People win the lottery every month. It doesn't mean that winning the lottery proves that anyone can achieve financial independence.