deeply disappointed by Obama's condescending, imperialistic message in Africa today.

[inna]

won't even bother to post links, since the more objective info i post, the quicker it will get unrecced.

[PretzelWarrior]

1. just your post title alone proves you're full of sh!t

amazing. also....proudly unrec'd.

[Mz Pip]

2. I find it hard to believe

we listened to the same speech. :eyes:

[BlooInBloo]

3. I think half of the anti-unrec crowd must really be moles for the other side....

Posts like this make it soooo clear why unrec is a good idea.

:rofl:

[inna]

17. since you started the attacks.... perhaps half of the pro-UNrec crowd

"must really be moles for the other side...."



what a lame and fucked up comment, BooInBlue.

[Hepburn]

19. Now you can see why I have this one on ignore. n/t

[BlooInBloo]

21. (shrug) I'll give them a shot at rationalilty.

[Hepburn]

24. LMBO....

...clue #1 ~~ if you are on IGNORE ~~ your post cannot be seen!

:rofl:

[dionysus]

36. yeah but the rest of us can see it and laugh at you, silly.

:rofl:

[BlooInBloo]

20. Ah - I see I was ambiguous. I meant "other side" as in "pro-unrec crowd"...

As opposed to the anti-unrec crowd I had mentioned earlier in my sentence.

I can see how my statement could be interpreted as "other side" = "republicans", tho. My bad on not being specific.

[dionysus]

40. bloo, you're a trip dude.

:spray:

[Arkana]

4. So you shit and run then?

Coward.

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dionysus]

35. my my my... please stop embarrassing yourself while you can.

[inna]

42. i didn't start with namecalling, so.... keep the "concern" to yourself, please. nt

[Iggo]

5. Good.

Now DO something about it.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

6. Tell me what you heard

I agree but others seem aghast.

Obama is a true believer in American Exceptionalism. Has been from the start.

[cali]

26. I think you're far more of a believer in American Exceptionalism than Obama

who is the President who least adheres to that doctrine- in either of its guises.

[inna]

31. lol. this comment is ridiculous to the point it does not even deserve a response. nt

[dionysus]

34. not really. you guys have lowered yourselves to the point of making fools of yourselves daily.

[babylonsister]

7. Aww, that's too bad. I'd say you're in the minority.

Gingrich and Rove even liked it. And I've heard no one griping (except you), nor did I hear condescension. In fact...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8523140&mesg_id=8523140

snip//

As with Cairo in June, Obama wasn't rebuking the continent or issuing condemnations, he was issuing a challenge and pointing towards the basis for new growth and new relationships.

It was also a reminder that this president, no matter where he is, doesn't talk down to his audiences, or shy away from nuanced or difficult ideas.







http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/07/the_obama_speech_newt_and_rove_and_america_could_love.php

Matthew Cooper
The Obama Speech Newt and Rove (And America) Could Love

You don't have to be a conservative Republican to think President Obama gave an extraordinary speech in Ghana today. But conservative reaction to the address has already been favorable. Newt Gingrich wrote on Twitter that "The Obama speech in ghana is a very positive speech about importance of self government and responsibility of Africans for their own future." Karl Rove noted that Obama praised George W. Bush's increase of HIV/AIDS assistance to Africa. The speech, which was the highlight of the president's one-day visit to Africa, had obvious emotional import from the start--the first African-American president, the son of a Kenyan, comes to the country where so many slaves began their journey to North America. (After his speech, Obama visited the famed gate of no-return where so many slaves departed Africa for the west.)

So just being in Africa would have been a big deal, an emotional, searing moment. But the president used the occasion to speak frankly about corruption and pathetic governance on the African continent, something that Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both of whom visited Ghana, largely avoided and certainly didn't confront in the same direct manner. Obama noted that when his father came to America in the ealry 1960s, Kenya's GDP outstripped that of South Korea and now it's far, far behind the Asian dynamo. That, Obama suggested, couldn't be blamed on the west or colonialism. Obama told the audience assembled at the Ghana parliament in Accra:

"Now, it's easy to point fingers and to pin the blame of these problems on others. Yes, a colonial map that made little sense helped to breed conflict. The West has often approached Africa as a patron or a source of resources rather than a partner. But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants. In my father's life, it was partly tribalism and patronage and nepotism in an independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career, and we know that this kind of corruption is still a daily fact of life for far too many."

This kind of tough talk would have been impossible for President McCain to make or at least to get the same hearing. Other aspects of the speech were more of what you'd expect--references to tribalism and energy, climate change and terrorism, human trafficking and American cooperation. But it was the speaking truth to Africans that stood out for Gingrich and hopefully will for others as well. If the 21st century sees a surge in African incomes and prosperity it will be because decent governance replaces the kleptocracies of post-colonial era.

It's telling that Obama made his first Sub-Saharan African visit--he was in Cairo earlier this year--to Ghana and not his father's native Kenya. Ghana has stood out as a model democracy on the continent and situated in the country's west, it was, as I mentioned above, a key departure point for the shipment of slaves. To have gone to Nairobi would have been sheer vanity, bestowing an honor on a once-thriving democracy turned undemocratic mess simply because his father had come from there. In time, Obama will surely visit Kenya and the pilgrammage will be stirring. But the Ghana visit he made today will be the more historic.

[inna]

11. jesus fucking christ, it doesn't surprise me for a second that Gingrich and Rove loved that speech.

[babylonsister]

15. Come to think of it, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest you're complaining.

Did you miss that part about not being condescending? What's your specific gripe?

[malletgirl02]

23. I didn't catch that at first

So the OP calls out Obama for being condescending, but the OP's post is condescending interesting.

[obliviously]

8. Shouldn't you add "just sayin" after that?

Just sayin'

[dionysus]

9. oh, Du pretty much knows how you feel.

:rofl:

[sandnsea]

10. I have an idea

Put together 3 brief paragraphs as to what you think Africa would like to hear, back it up with a factual link or two, omit Obama's name, and see what response you get.

[Ohio Joe]

12. At first I did not care but now...

I'm kind of seeing the uses of the un-rec, way to go DU :thumbsup:

[ColbertWatcher]

13. Obama is in Ghana today. n/t

[BlooInBloo]

14. Oh - is that the capital of Africa?

:P

[ColbertWatcher]

22. Pfft. You can't fool me, Africa is just a movie. n/t

[Warren Stupidity]

16. Can we vote on most full of shit post of the day?

[madrchsod]

29. also the full of know nothing about ghana post today......

[lamp_shade]

18. And this is new??

[Odin2005]

25. I guess I was to quck to say that the nimrods can't call Obama a racist imperialist.

Oh well, the Far Left lunatics always find some made-up reason to hate Obama.

[stray cat]

27. Not the typical yes man politician that says nothing but banality. He actually spoke truthfully

I can see why you didn't like it- not the free to be you and me or if your happy and you know it clap your hands?

[Cali_Democrat]

28. oh, fer chrissakes

:banghead:

[Forkboy]

32. I can't imagine why you thought this empty post would go over any better.

If you're going to put yourself out there to get shit on you might as well speak your mind.

[dionysus]

37. yeah seriously

[ohheckyeah]

33. Without details this post is pretty useless. n/t

[sharp_stick]

38. Damn but I love the Unrec function

we should have had this years ago.

[Joe the Revelator]

39. Everyday I am suprised all over again at the amount of crazy that posts on DU

shame.

[Number23]

41. Why? What did you find "condescending" and "imperialistic?"

[undeterred]

43. No idea what you are talking about

and I read the news stories. Of course I can't read your sources since they aren't posted.

[pnwmom]

44. Did you learn that in your imperialist lit class today? n/t

[JackRiddler]

45. The reaction of the parliament was decidedly mixed, too.

[Javaman]

46. I'm not even going to bother to say why, but you are now blocked.

it's just easier for the two of us.

Ta!