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Martin Luther King[/caption]Nuanced speech can't hide the fact that many people in America were not, and still are not, ready for an African American President. But it isn't polite to say so.
It is not socially appropriate to use the word "nigger" in polite discourse, yet the word is neatly hidden in an underground of conversation where the emphasis is on differences, foreign, not like us, something that has taken the United States to war and through the bitterness of the McCarthy era and other tragic times.
In reflecting on the topic of racial prejudice, it is essential that we examine how America has treated most of its foremost black leaders throughout history. Virtually every one of them has been vilified, condemned with the eighth commandment ignored entirely and figuratively placed in the garbage bin of the worst of human behavior. The accusations leveled against African American leaders violate the commandment against speaking falsehoods against one's neighbor. The platform used is freedom of speech, which in the modern world has taken the form of license.
Social media, ordinary conversations with acquaintances old and new, and comments on news threads are reminders of one of the worst and most long-lasting problems in the United States. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that there has never been the level of violent speech and threats against any President in modern history as against Obama. The buzz word isn't "nigger" but the intention and the insults remain the same, only the key words are "Communist" "Foreigner" "Muslim, " not like the rest of us.
The vilification of President Barack Obama is only a repeat of long-lasting negative response against black leadership. Martin Luther King was called Communist and traitor and worse. He was the target of FBI witch hunts and personal violence, long before his death at the age of 39. In the McCarthy era, the target was Paul Robeson, whose career in music and the arts was virtually destroyed by right-wing attacks that continue long after the man's death to the extent that few people, either white or black, young or old, even know of his achievements. These three, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King and Paul Robeson are not the only ones who have suffered insult, constant verbal abuse and hate. The African American community, especially its children, recognize the pattern for what it is, racism and prejudice at its worst, as language and behavior reflect that Obama represents the "nigger" now.
"Nigger" is present in nuanced speech, but remains the same as ever, a blot on the American conscience that will not fade until folks focus on the problem of racism and stand together to fight the awfulness of its result so that every man, woman and child in America is treated justly and with respect in all aspects of life, including politics.
