Friday February 17, 2012

Obama urges black fathers to be active in raising their children

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  • 0

    HonestDictator

    HAH!! Dim-witted comment. Instead of focusing on the "black" fathers, what about all the other fathers that don't take care of their children. Sheesh, last time I checked I've seen a lot more fatherless children that were not just "black".

  • 0

    RomeoRamenII

    obama's "message" is a common sense guide for anyone, race should not have even be mentioned.

    RR

  • 0

    HonestDictator

    Heh, Thanks RR, I've never been really good with putting my thoughts into words unless I take a few hours. What you said is much simpler than my rant lol.

  • 0

    USNinJapan2

    So did Obama quote Bill Cosby word for word or did he have anything original to offer...

  • 0

    Triumvere

    HR, you do realize that the number of black children growing up in single parent (female) households is something like 2 out of every 3? Thats double the national average. So while, yes, this is a message which is good for every one, there is an acute crisis in the black community which needs to be addressed.

  • 0

    WilliB

    Obama is trying to hide his radical leftist stripes. "Calling" for something is cheap. Is he suggesting to do something about the system that rewards teenage pregnancies and punishes marriages? Of course not.

  • 0

    Everton2

    I think Obama was a little bit soft on black fathers, words like losers, dead beat, moron , dick brain come to mind

  • 0

    skipthesong

    there is an acute crisis in the black community which needs to be addressed." Its a lot higher in other communities than what meets the eye. You hear a lot about this in the African American community because really they are the only ones that are being tracked (It is a lot easier to track them other than whites or Hispanics due to a very well place community).

    On this issue in particular, I prefer to go conservative. We praise teen age sex in movies and music. We praise promiscuity, we praise polygamous dudes who also gets all the girls. We have had tv shows that welcome out of wed lock births, single parenting. I heard Bill Cosby say something like 80% of US male inmates belong to fatherless households.

    I was glad when, I believe it was Clinton, who passed the dead beat dad law. I've seen too many fathers just walk away.
    I wish my dad was alive now. My kids will always have a father. I can pass the finest chick at the show much easily these days because I have a kid. Look at them, think but then the image of my kid comes to mind.

  • 0

    skipthesong

    more efficient collection and penalties for fathers who don’t meet their obligations."

    Watch the Godfather a few times. Watch how Sonny looks out for his sister. My brothers and I are not too far away that and my sisters' husbands know that! Let a man do that to my daughter, I will find him.

  • 0

    adaydream

    It makes no difference at all what Obama said, this group of republican posters are going to cut it up and anything good will be replaced with hate and indifference.

    I appreciate the fact that he directed a portion of his time to the subject of black fathers. There are too many black children who could use some adult attention, especially their father. < :-)

  • 0

    Sarge

    I guess McCain's going to have to counter this by urging white fathers to be active in raising their children.

    "He said parents who proudly tell him their child gets great grades, all B's, should encourage them even more."

    I almost always had one D-minus to screw up my otherwise stellar report card.

  • 0

    Madverts

    "Obama is trying to hide his radical leftist stripes"

    Heh. You can just feel the Panic when they come out with corkers like that.

    Obama 08.

  • 0

    smithinjapan

    Madverts: no kidding! You can just FEEL the righties on here scrambling to say anything that might make Obama look foolish. Of course, it only makes said posters the fools, but they always have been.

  • 0

    Betzee

    In fact most of the speech is aimed at all fathers (so I guess those here who are critical will have to find another way to criticize Obama).

  • 0

    sailwind

    Thank you Mr. Obama for telling it like it really is. Any white candidate who would call the failures that he knows so well in the black community would be......villified.

    Obama just may be a candidate I can vote for after all.

  • 0

    Alphaape

    Typing as a Black man who father was all ways there, Obama does bring up some good points. However, not to try to deflect blame, but my own brother was a faithful Black man, who just happend to marry a "psycho b**ch." End result, a divorce with a man who is doing his best for his kids (after raising her own son that she brought into the marriage) and now he is reduced to visitations only once a month, but he has to pay over $30K/year in child support(1/4 of his salary).

    So, some of the time, it is the woman's fault, and the unfair court systems in America. They would rather give a gay couple (male/male) the right to adopt a child, than to give a biological father, who is the primary bread winner and has all ways been, the custody rights. Even if the "evil ex" reweds, he still has to support his kids. So think about it, a guy can get lucky and get $30K off the sweat of another man. That is part of why the crisis is like this in America.

    sailwind is correct in his comments, if McCain had said the same things, the left would be all over the media saying that he is insensitive and republicans are anti-black, the same way many on here are saying that the right will try to parse these comments to show Obama to look foolish. It goes both ways.

  • 0

    sailwind

    Alphaape,

    Nice Post, It would be nice if the rah rah right and the white guilt left would finally get over it and judge the candidates on the content of their character not the color of their skin. We have two fine candidates running now, both that represent the best of our country and should make both a die hard Democrat and Republican proud.

    I know I am.

  • 0

    WilliB

    Sailwind:

    " We have two fine candidates running now, both that represent the best of our country and should make both a die hard Democrat and Republican proud. "

    LOL! As far as I can see, you have two Democrats running. One who postures as Rep but will only get part of their votes, and the other the silver-tongued darling of the media who can do no wrong and will get all of the Dem votes.

    If these two demagogues were the "best of your country", your country would be a bleak place, indeed.

  • 0

    RomeoRamenII

    WilliB,

    While it is true Mr. McCain is a RINO, he has shown that he can work with both parties in the Senate. That works in his favor.

    However, obama has only shown that he can vote "present" 137 times; meaning he's unwilling to take a stand on anything. What's more, he was a U.S. senator for only 143 days before he announced he was a candidate for POTUS; meaning he's now spent more time running for president than he has sat in the Senate chamber.

    obama is just collecting financial contributions from white guilt ridden liberals. Given his demonstrated limited experience in politics on the national level, one needs to wonder if he isn't actually a hack for someone else. Puppets come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Even the über-liberals agree on that point.

    RR

  • 0

    adaydream

    Sounds like a desperation from the right side of the political sprectrum.

    They can't be happy that Barack Obama spoke to fathers, black or white. Matter of fact, he could have been discussing the beauty of this country and they would still be eating him alive. It's not what he said, it's that he's black, a democrat and running for office.

    I missed it, did John McCain do as likewise, a speach on the responsibility of fatherhood or being home for your children, whether black or white? < :-)

  • 0

    RomeoRamenII

    verts,

    Heh, guess you'll be voting for barack. Good for you. You'll be doing your civic duty and voting for the one you think is best.

    As for me, I'll go with 22 years of Senate experience over a good talker (when a teleprompter is in front of him, of course) and not much of a doer.

    RR

  • 0

    RomeoRamenII

    daydream,

    No matter how many flowery speeches obama makes, the fact remains he is known by the company that he keeps. For him it's his racist church that he belonged to (and recently also threw it under the bus when he finally figured out -- about 20 years too late -- that it was a political liability) and his association with people who hate America and for what it stands for. Like people who wished they could have blown up more U.S. government buildings in the 1960's.

    The far-lefties who run your party see no problem with all that. But no matter how many times the DNC and Lord Soros click their heels and say, "There's no better democrat than this democrat" barack never be given the keys to the Oval Office.

    RR

  • 0

    Alphaape

    One ironic thing about this speech, was that it was feminism at its best. Hear me out on this. On a holiday that is supposed to be about "fathers" Obama lays into men (Black men) on how we are not being responsible. So much for a day about the good that many men (black too) have done.

    Yes men are responsible for making a child, but where Obama is in the feminist camp is when he does not put any of the blame on the woman also. It takes two to tango. In the case of a rape, I would understand. But in many cases, it is the woman who decides to sleep with a man (no condom, no birth control) who she knows may not work, hustles drugs and has kids by other women. So what does she expect? But, you can't say this in America because it would be considered chovanistic and demeaning to women. What better way for Obama to go after the women vote that Hillary had, than to say that it is all "Leroy's" fault and not "Tameka's"(just a few ethnocentric names for the discussion, but you can add any racial names and it is all the same). Any woman that lays with a man, and she all ready has children by another, then she has a lot to do with the situation she is in.

    A few flashy gifts and drinks for a one night stand that results in an unwanted pregnancy is both parties fault. I would even go so far to say that the majority of the fault lies with the woman. Unless the man rapes her, she willingly gives herself up. But Obama nor McCain or any of the media will come across with that point of view.

  • 0

    Triumvere

    Alphaape,

    Isn't that somewhat besides the point? I think we can all agree that both parents are responsable for bringing the baby into the world, but the real question is, what do they do afterwards?

  • 0

    adaydream

    Alphaape, do me a favor. Why don't you do a little looking outside your simple world.

    This happens within the white community, but there is more pressure from the white parents or friends or family that they should do the right thing, marry or support or to take the fathers to court to force them to pay.

    Within the black community, fathers have just dropped the ball on doing the right thing and more over not caring how many children that have, they ain't paying child support anyway, not going to.

    There are social stygmas also that help enlarge the problem here. I don't condone or even entertain tham in my world, but within the black community, it happens.

    But to blame this on the mothers? Do a little research. Pull your head out of the sand. Quit being a sexist. < :-)

  • 0

    Alphaape

    adaydream, I am black and have lived in a blac community for over 43 years. What are your qualifications? From seeing this phenomenon up close, it is not all the blak males fault. Women who let guys sleep with them that have no jobs, no prospects of a job are just as much to blame as the men. True if the man does create a child, then he is responsible to support, but I would argue, if he does not have the opportunity to create (i.e. if the woman says no) then part of this problem would be solved.

    Since I am not white I will probably have to defer to your comments, but I have seen white men do the same thing. There was an article in Monday's Stars & Stripes about a dad who is getting to know his son in Iraq, since both are in the National Guard,and he admits he was not theref for his son while he was growing up. They are both white. I am sure if you looked in places all over America, you will find the same issue of non support of parents for children.

    Also, contrary to what the media portrays in places like Obama's old church, most Black churches are pretty conservative when it comes to issues like unwed pregnancies, at least the ones I went to when I was growing up in the deep south. So, it is not just a wild social free for all in black communities with sex without consequences. There are responsible people, but the bad ones get the press. Are there issues, yes. But I would imagine if you did a bit of research on your own, you would probably find that the percentage of white children in orphanages is probably a bit higher than blacks. I would imagine the act of putting the child up for adoption is better than keeping them around for the white community as compared to black communities.

    Bottome line: if I ask a woman to have unprotected sex with me and run the risk of getting her pregnant, then we both know the risk (STD's, pregnantcy). If I in my own mind have decided that I am going to just father a kid and leave and ask the same woman, and she says yes, then we have sex. If she says no, then guess what, she doesn't get pregnant by me and an unwanted child is not born. Women have a lot of choice in this matter.

    And since you are going on the social stigma angle, I did not see Obama make a similar speech on Mother's Day about the responsibility of women in their roles of choosing to have children with men they don't know much about or known to have multiple kids.

    Maybe Obama could come here to Japan and speak to the women who seem to have it in themselves to kill their children just like the recent post here on JT.

  • 0

    adaydream

    My contention still stands. It's not all the women's fault.

    I understand you're black and I understand what you're saying.

    Well, let's beat up on Obama for not making this speach on Mother's Day. I don't remember anybody making this speach on Mother's Day, from black or whites. I don't understand. From the left or the right, women either don't count or they aren't the problem, or at least aren't the substantive fault for it.

    These men leave the place there the children are. "HOMES" They leave because they don't want to deal with it. Don't want to hear thje kids. Don't want to pay for their children. I don't think there are a lot of black single men raising children, like I don't think there are a lot of white men raising children. These kids are left with the responsibility of the mother. < :-)

  • 0

    adaydream

    I am black and have lived in a blac community for over 43 years. What are your qualifications?

    I am only an observer and learner of my surroundings. My grandmother was the director of the local Health Dept for years. She and my mother raised me. I spent many many years around her and her work. Back then, more than half of everybody she saw was black. We visited many homes, for home health. When my Mother and Grandmother were both working and I couldn't go, Ms. Lillian, my Grandmother's dearest black friend, would care for me in her home. Ms Lillian was a very good influence in my life.

    After my Grandmother retired my Mother worked there for years.

    No, I'm not black. But I've spent a great deal of my childhood in the black community. I've mentioned Rev. Leroy Pleasant on JT, also. He was a black minister that I was with as a child. He was another leader in my life from the black community.

    And being from Kentucky, I was never disrespectful of anybody black or white. My geneology is questionable at best. < :-)

  • 0

    adaydream

    One last thing. My parents divorced when I was 6. I had 3 younger brothers and a half brother later. My Dad left when he couldn't deal with 4 children. He was a little man, not just in stature but as a person. Like most dads who won't take responsibility.

    I saw my Dad about once every six months because Mom forced him to take us. My Dad was a child beater and I could have stayed away as far as I was concerned. But she forced him to pay child support and to see us. He would be as father whether he wanted to be or not. To some extent.

    I know about abandonement by a father, also. < :-)

  • 0

    Alphaape

    adaydream, based on your life story and the story of the black woman who sometimes would care for you, you should understand that in the most part, most black's come from a conserative ilk. In today's media, your Ms. Lillian would be considered a throwback and old fashioned and not understanding the modern world. I am sure that she stressed responsibilty, and the other Rev. would not be in total agreement with the callus sex and abandonment of children by men, nor the radical gay agenda, nor for the total depenedency of poor on hand outs from the government. I bet they believed if someone needs help, it should be offered, but not as a way of life and an "entitlement" and that they have no responsiblity for their actions. I am sure the good Rev. probably preached along those lines during his years in the ministry.

  • 0

    RomeoRamenII

    Heh, yep. obama knows all about abandonment.

    He abandoned half of his heritage to embrace only his Black heritage by describing his white grandmother, who raised him and stood by him, as a "typical white grandmother".

    Also, barack is once again poaching other peoples' ideas. It was New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan who first said all of this about the American black community back in 1994 and was branded a racist for his remarks.

    RR

    Yes, Obama knows all about abandonment!!

  • 0

    WhiteHawk

    WilliB nailed it. It's great that Obama is calling for this change, but Mr Change will do nothing to help. In fact, he's proposed even more taxpayer-funded "solutions", and even more dependency on the government, which will only make the circumstances worse.

  • 0

    adaydream

    Alphaape, Ms. Lillian and the Rev. Pleasant were both conservative and stood on their own feet. They, along with my Mother and Grandmother shaped my life as a child.

    Because of the way they were, me being born with nothing of value, I stayed in the military and FedGov't till I retired.

    They were proud people. Not too proud to accept help when needed, but too proud to live off others.

    My Dad never worked anywhere over 5 years. He died poor as church mouse. The way I was raised at home, made me work hard and never ever receive anything I didn't think I deserved, like welfare or unemployment.

    We were poor. But with good guidance and my love in our home, we were blessed. (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. Everytime the church doors opened, my Mother had us there.) < :-)

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