No recent figures on drug use that I can find since statistics usually lag for a time because they’re survey based so I don’t know.
What I do know is that these stories aren’t making headlines like they were in the 90s.
Is the fact that our president is of African descent making it so that these stories aren’t news this time around in the MSM?
I’m also wondering if we’ve become so PC that it’s not “nice” to talk about problems in minority communities anymore because if you write a story on an ethnic groups problems and you’re not from that group you’re a racist.
Yes, it’s totally Obama’s fault that some people want to project their fantasies of a racism-free world (like people who complain about “identity politics”) on to him. We could of course solve it by avoiding electing a black president, because that’d be less racist, or something?
There is a legitimate thread to be had here, but putting the guilt on Obama is rather beyond the pale.
Unemployment knows no colors; it’s going up for everyone. But I’m sure Obama will be unveiling his master plan to help the brothas and sistas any day now! Down with whitey!
Although I hesitate to wade into this: aside from a pretty inflammatory thread title, the OP wasn’t claiming that Obama isn’t doing enough to help the black community. He’s suggesting that Obama’s presence as President is allowing people to ignore the vast inequalities that still exist between ethnic groups in America because people think “oh, well if there’s a black president, racism is over now, so we don’t have to worry about it.”
For the record, I think there’s some merit to this argument, but I don’t think that’s what’s going on now re: minority unemployment rates, etc. I think that, as Jason suggested, previous instances that you’re comparing it to may have been more class based fear-mongering, and skewed too far the other way. Also, I think the fact is that since the economy in general is doing poorly, there’s plenty of unemployment to report in general, not just in minority communities.
I guess the only question here is why people would think that him being President would magically change race in America. It hasn’t, I didn’t expect it to, and the issue is just as real today as it was a year ago.
Yeah, I’m sorry, but I kind of need Obama to focus his priorities on other things at the moment: North Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the impending global financial collapse. Once he gets these under control he can take on the B issues.
I don’t think many people expected race differences in the U.S. to magically disappear upon Obama’s election.
There seems to be an ebb and flow between high-profile positive black role models and negative (or non-existent) role models.
For instance, when The Cosby Show became a huge hit in the 80s, there was, IIRC, praise for a hit show with a successful black family at the core, but also, perhaps a bit later, backlash for setting up the Cosbys as some kind of black norm, when the reality for the average Black person or family was rather more depressing.
I think you need a mix - reminders that blacks are not there yet, on the average, with reminders that blacks can aspire to the highest levels of success in their careers and goals. It is natural that the press and public cannot keep both views at a relatively constant level of prominence at all times.
It will be interesting to see, further down the line in the Obama presidency, both the direct data on black progress, and how the press deals with the big picture of race (and especially blacks) in America.
I’m sorry, but lolwhut? Obama is not a character in XCom as played by noun*, he’s the President and has just as much of a responsibility to deal with reprehensible domestic issues as with foreign ones.
