Is this race baiting . . . from the POTUS?

[Professor]

[John Galt]

yeah no shit, those are not really race related. and the fact they interpret them as race related is f**k up. ive been asked for help at target. im pretty sure most people have. like, she just assumes because she's black that's why someone asks? maybe we can't get past race, because some people might not let it. perhaps the other person was just asking from help, human being to human being, and was shorter and needed something off the shelf. ever think about that michelle?also don't act like you're f**k royalty and the peasants shouldn't dare ask for your help in getting a toy off a shelf: you're just the first lady, someone we didn't elect nor care about

[Dylan]

It's possible these incidents are innocuous but I get where they are coming from. In a world full of racism (including a significant amount of racism directed at the Obamas in particualr) it's pretty easy to see how slights like these could be perceived (rightly or wrongly) as racist.

[fstarcstar]

The examples are bad, but remember he also needs to be careful about what he says. Republicans and white people will more than love to jump on anything that comes out of his mouth about racism. It has been that way for a while, especially about quotes from his book.

[Philly]

The President's staff should have nixed that line and come up with something better. He's talking about a f**k valet. If you're trying to explain racism to a mass audience, don't talk about the guy you pay to park your luxury car for you. Clearly, giving examples of discrimination can help others better understand what's actually happening on a daily basis for black people in America, but there's some uneducated white dude in rural Virginia who really needs to learn about that and instead he's thinking "f**k you" cause he can't afford a new transmission for his 92 ford pickup and you're talking about f**k valets.

The Michelle Obama example also seemed bad. Michelle Obama is almost 6 feet tall. Has she ever been to a store before? Shorter people ask taller people for help getting stuff off the upper shelves cause they can't reach it.

[Saz]

It's people magazine, the f**k do you guys expect him to say?

[Philly]

[Mr. Shaman]

[Saz]

[Professor]

To be fair to Michelle, if you look at her quote out of the context of the story, I don't think she was making a racism comment at all. She said the other lady, "saw me as someone who could help." That indicates that a (white?) lady needed help and turned to her (a black lady) for help. To me, that indicates nothing more than one person asking another for help. And, if we want to put a racist spin on it, then the proper one would be "white lady admits that she cannot do something, and asks black lady for help because black lady is better qualified."