Obama Is an Elitist?

If that's the best "they" can do, I think this race is locked up. Before waxing on, I'll let Obama speak for himself.

What a dumbass question. I hope that reporter is thoroughly embarrassed.

Comments

[LiveWithPassion]

http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/view/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0000842892

Korean Netizen's comment on Michael Hurt's article:

Hi, Michael !

After reading your article, I cannot help feeling a bit concerned about you.

It is good to hear that you have been successful in getting employed by the Foreign Language High School. Taking into considerations your insufficiency in Korean language, I am surprised to find out how you have easily come to a conclusion from reading the column story that Koreans are unusually obsessed with skin color.

You seem to have missed the tenor of the article. I want to point them out to you.

Firstly, the main point of the column is that the prejudice of the whites against the black is phasing out in USA, which is the core of the article. Majority (4 out of 5) of the space is occupied by the main point, which I reckon you agree to.

Secondly, the point you have raised from the column is concerned with minor part of the column only in two lines, which represents minority opinions to keep the report in balance, taking account of all different views. It acknowledges the general trend in America that takes the phase-out of the prejudice against the blacks for granted, but on the other hand it also indicates as minority view which says the Obama fever is not an evidence of the prejudice being evaporated. The column writer did not specify that that sort of view was his, though.

Thirdly, I think you had better check it out whether such a minority opinion exists or not in American society before getting agitated and jumping to such a rash conclusion.

If such an opinion is not existing and is found out as a matter of nonsense, then we can suspect that it is a sheer composition of the writer or it may represent prejudiced view of the news desk.

Ask yourself whether there is not any such minority opinion in USA

Are you sure that there are no such opinions people have of Obama?

Far from it. I know some unbiased intelligent people and practical black leaders have views that such an enthusiastic whirlwind around Obama does not reflect the fundamental change happening in American society.

You have mentioned Obama’s diction.

I am afraid that I might be called a racist if I say Obama’s way of speech is not genuine style of the Blacks, but it is obvious that his is different from that of typical blacks.

In fact, we can see some leaders with Texas dialect or Southern dialect swaggering in streets of Washington, but few black leaders are seen there who speak English of blacks like chanting. Apparently, Obama is speaking fluent English smacking of Ivy League’s.

It is a plain truth. The English Obama uses is quite different from that of NBA players, though they are in upper streams of society. It is obvious that he uses dictions of whites.

It leads to a rational opinion that his success does not represent a success of a genuine black as yet. It does not mean that he has been successful thanks to his grandmother’s influence on his speech.

Even a boy of 13 of age can not misunderstand the tenor of the column. I cannot understand how in the world you can make such farfetched interpretation. I suspect what your motive is.

It is likely that you want to attract attention from the public by contributing to the mass media which pretends to be liberal and progressive. To speak candidly, is it your intention to get spot light just as ‘Mr. Park No Ja’ of Hankyeorye Daily Newspaper did ?

Presumably, you must have got a source of information from ‘O My Newsdesk’ that you would be spotlighted if you speak ill of the Chosen Ilbo Daily.

To be serious with you, I strongly advise you not be played into a naughty mischief of racism.

[The Metropolitician]

I think you'd better learn a bit about American racial politics, then, before you start talking about how Obama "speaks white." He doesn't. If you close your eyes and listen to him, there's no mistaking he's a black man. The very supposition that speaking using proper diction and grammar is "white" and not something that blacks can also do, albeit with black inflection is racist as all get out -- seriously.

That's the point.

My purpose? It's to make a point, because it angers me that Korean society is still so narrow-minded (and the reporter ill-informed) that speaking standard English in a BLACK way is still seen as "talking white."

And you're in no position to "advise" me to do anything, especially given your obvious ignorance about American society. Point is, I was making a clarification about a huge point missed by a Korean reporter -- no one confuses Obama's speech with any white candidate, and black people are sick of being complimented for being "articulate" -- as if this is something that Black people are incapable of.

And if all your impressions of blacks are informed by the members of the NBA, yet you are trying to give ME advice about how blacks talk, you're ignorant as any of the people I pointed out in the article. Because there are more blacks with MBA's and sitting in corporate board rooms than in the NBA, but you still choose to use some silly basketball player as your representative for all blacks.

Maybe I should choose some drunk ruffians in Yeongdeungpo as the representative of all Korean people, then? Seems fair. I guess YOU'RE the exception to the rule, then?