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Obama Says He Once Broke a Classmate's Nose for Using Same Term Libs Use for Black Conservatives

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On Monday, the first episode of Bruce Springsteen’s new podcast was released. This ordinarily would be big news, but the Boss wasn’t even the headliner.

Instead, former President Barack Obama stole the show. Among other things, he talked about his experiences with racism — including a story about what he did when he got called a racial slur that starts with C and rhymes with “soon.”

“Listen, when I was in school, I had a friend. We played basketball together,” Obama told Springsteen on “Renegades: Born in the USA.”

“And one time we got into a fight and he called me a c—,” he continued, before noting his Hawaiian upbringing. “Now first of all, ain’t no c—s in Hawaii, right?

“So, you know, it’s one of those things where he might not even known what a c— was. What he knew was, ‘I can hurt you by saying this.'”

“And I remember I popped him in the face and broke his nose. And we were in the locker room,” he continued.

“Well done,” Springsteen said.

“I explained to him — I said, ‘Don’t you ever call me something like that,'” Obama added.

It’s a vile word. In fact, I can think of only one racial slur that’s worse. It was the first time Obama has publicly talked about the incident, which led to plenty of discussion online.

Curiously, one topic didn’t come up that often: Why is it still OK to call black conservatives the same word Obama punched a classmate for?

Last July, Snoop Dogg — once best known as a rapper, now mostly recognized for commercials and as the co-host of a series of interminable shows with Martha Stewart — decided he was in need of attention. He was disinclined to like anyone from the black community who expressed conservative viewpoints, apparently, but simply calling them “Uncle Tom” didn’t quite have the zing he intended.

Instead, he put out a now-deleted Instagram meme with a group of black conservatives he called the “C— Bunch.”

Related:
'Broke Character': Viewers Catch 'Telling' Moment From Obama as He Embarrasses Himself

WARNING: The following tweets contain language that some viewers will find offensive.

Among those featured were comedian Terrance K. Williams, pundit Candace Owens, former presidential candidate Herman Cain, former congressional candidate Angela Stanton King, Trump surrogate Paris Dennard, Pastor Darrell C. Scott and commentators David Harris Jr., the Hodgetwins and Diamond and Silk.

There was also a raccoon called “Massa,” in case you didn’t get the hint.

Given Snoop Dogg’s history, Larry Elder noted the incongruity:

Snoop Dogg might be the highest-profile individual to engage in this kind of racism, but this isn’t an aberration.

This video from last September shows what happened when Black Lives Matter supporters and conservatives clashed in Washington, D.C. When the left saw a black man among the forces of the right, this offensive repartee followed.

And then there are the dregs of Twitter:

Ironically, as Owens pointed out, many of the great black Americans lionized during Black History Month were — gasp — conservatives, including Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman.

Barack Obama isn’t Superman. He can’t patrol Twitter, reporting everyone who calls black conservatives racial slurs.

Should Twitter crack down on racial slurs against black conservatives?

The use of this particular slur in this particular way, however, is too common of a trope — and, as America’s most prominent politician of color, it might behoove Obama to maybe put in a word about how there’s no exception for using racial slurs against black Republicans.

This isn’t reclamation, like what happens with so many other slurs.

It’s racism.

And, as Obama pointed out in his interview with Springsteen, these slurs are “an assertion of status over the other.”

“‘I may be poor. I may be ignorant. I may be mean. I may be ugly. I may not like myself. I may be unhappy. But you know what I’m not?'” Obama said. “‘I’m not you.’

“That basic psychology that then gets institutionalized is used to justify dehumanizing somebody, taking advantage of ’em, cheatin’ ’em, stealin’ from ’em, killin’ ’em, raping ’em.”

Interesting, that.

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C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014.
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014. Aside from politics, he enjoys spending time with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties).
Birthplace
Morristown, New Jersey
Education
Catholic University of America
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Topics of Expertise
American Politics, World Politics, Culture




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