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sheila jackson lee, a congresswoman from houston, said once that hurricane names are too "lily white" and should have more african-american names, like chamiqua, woeisha, and jamal.
You just can't make this stuff up.
Is he looked up to as a leader in the black community?
Who does Ben Carson lead?
He apparently doesn't lead anyone, based on the way some of you are responding with alarming pushback on the notion that the guy could be a leader of the black community. You're exactly right though, he shouldn't be any kind of leader in the black community. Why try to follow the example of a black born in inner-city Detroit to a mother who had only an 3rd grade education and a father who was a poor minister? Why think a black man whose mother, while working multiple low paying jobs pressured her children to study and get good grades and pull themselves out of poverty, and not join in the gangs and other problems in their neighborhood? Why look up to a guy who went to Yale and Michigan Medical School, and was Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins when he was 33? Exactly, why should a man like this be taken seriously by the black community when they can look up to real inspirational heroes like Al Sharpton?
Well, that's a lot of words.
Didn't answer the question, but whatevs.
Of course it answers the question. Ben Carson doesn't lead anyone, especially anyone in the black community. He's a very bad role model for them.
He should be.
Maybe, but if nobody's following you're not leading.
It would be something if more black kids followed his lead or (gasp!) Obama's. But...it seems nobody is following.
He apparently doesn't lead anyone, based on the way some of you are responding with alarming pushback on the notion that the guy could be a leader of the black community. You're exactly right though, he shouldn't be any kind of leader in the black community. Why try to follow the example of a black born in inner-city Detroit to a mother who had only an 3rd grade education and a father who was a poor minister? Why think a black man whose mother, while working multiple low paying jobs pressured her children to study and get good grades and pull themselves out of poverty, and not join in the gangs and other problems in their neighborhood? Why look up to a guy who went to Yale and Michigan Medical School, and was Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins when he was 33? Exactly, why should a man like this be taken seriously by the black community when they can look up to real inspirational heroes like Al Sharpton?
What Ben Carson shows is that a lunatic can come from humble beginnings and become a very successful physician, all the while remaining a lunatic.
What Al Sharpton shows is that a guy can still, in 2014, make a living and stay relevant as a race hustler.
I am pretty sure that there are plenty of successful minorities for members of the black community to be inspired by without having to look up to race hustlers or fundamentalist lunatics that happen to also be successful physicians.
I would absolutely support Obama being a leader for young blacks. He is a success story. He didn't come from wealth - he came from a broken home, an absent father, his mother was on public assistance for a time, he went to great colleges, etc. What's not to like about Obama's story? And it's far more inspirational and impactful than say that of a rapper, or even a pro sports figure (and I love sports so that's hard to say). But you're right that nobody is following.
At the risk of being accused of partisanship or an "I HATE Obama!" attitude, I will say that I see this as a failing of Obama's. He has had 6+ years to push push push that message, and he hasn't. He's too much the politician for that. Maybe when he leaves office he'll do it but all he's done for 6 years is appeal to the blacks as a constituency of voters.
I have no interest in Ben Carson's religious beliefs. This isn't a religious country so that shouldn't be relevant.
The guy has been busy being president for the last six years. If he had spent that time pretending to be Morgan Freeman in "Lean On Me," he would have gotten crucified for it.
I am talking about his statements. Listen to the guy in a long interview. He is a total nut job. The guy makes Michelle Bachmann look reasonable. Which is my point. I can think of black Republicans that are not crazy, that minorities could look up to as a role model. For example, Condoleeza Rice came from humble beginnings to success, is quite intelligent, and not the least bit crazy.
He found time in his busy Presidenting schedule to comment on Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown and Henry Louis Gates and not say the right things.
Michelle Bachman and her religious beliefs have nothing to do with my post. This isn't a referendum on religion. I could say that a black minister is nuts because he believes in Jesus.
I'm talking about rising from nothing and actually doing something with your life instead of complaining about being a victim. Ben Carson, like Barack Obama, is living proof that a black man who works hard can achieve greatness.
Critics Rip Rucker for Performing 'White Christmas' After Garner Decision
Is there a special place where they bring up absolutely crazy people? And thanks to modern technologies they can broadcast their craziness into the world.
Let's forbid all the words that name colors. All of them for the sake of not offending anyone, even purple penguins.
This has nothing to do with "political correctness," a term that has been so thoroughly misused that it's lost virtually all meaning. This is simply manufactured outrage for outrage's sake.
People do and say stupid things when emotions run high.
And that's great. He's a gifted surgeon. Politically, however, he adds nothing to the conversation.
Agreed, which is why I could never consider supporting him politically. But that isn't the point of my posts either, Kobie.
The only one of those things you could really say that he said something wrong with might have been Gates.
Ah, the "black leader" thing then?
Isn't that exactly what I was posting about?
I dunno, I lost track.
Carson might be considered a "black leader" if he didn't do stupid things like say Obamacare was the worst thing since slavery.
So someone can only be a good black leader as long as he is on the right side of the political spectrum. Forget that his story should be an inspiration to the ones who complain that they can't rise to his level.
Got it.
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