Does disagreeing with Obama's policies make one racist?

Oprah Winfrey seems to think so

But seriously, I was thinking about the absurdity of this. Whoever had won the 2008 democratic primary was going to get elected president since the economy was tanking in second of of the last year of Bush's presidency. Between Obama, Hillary, and Edwards, there was hardly a dime of difference between them on the issues they were running on, meaning their policies would have been, for the most part, identical. Does Oprah really believe that all the white people who oppose socialized medicine, bigger government, abortions, etc would magically support these issues if, say, John Edwards had been elected president?

Morgan Freeman believes that conservatives don't want Obama re-elected because he's black

So I guess he's saying that if it were Hillary Clinton, every white person would suddenly agree with the democratic party and want Hillary elected.

Mostly it's because he's a Democrat rather than because he's black. The only ones who are bona fide racists are the birthers and teahadists.

A lot of Obama's policies are or once were Republican policies, though, so it's odd why Republicans are so hellbent against them now.

Oprah is an idiot, and Morgan Freeman is right about the Tea Party being racist though, have you ever seen their rallies?

An actual rally or what the media chooses to air?

It no longer fits their agenda.

The ones the media airs aren't actual rallies?

Their agenda seems to consist of nothing but "not Obama" and abortion legislation.

As an example, the media could make Mother Teresa appear as anything they wish whether a saint, a racist, etc.., Depending on which side of the fence sat upon by a particular media outlet determines what type of outlook you will view. The majority of the national media is in bed with the left.

The Tea Party is automatically racist because they go against nearly everything the Democrats (in this case, Obama) stand for such as bigger government, more spending, less freedoms/rights, etc.., They also go against the right as well

The racism that Obama has faced is unconscionable. Republicans only oppose Obamacare because Obama is black and the program would help, among others, minorities get better health care.

Gallery

This is why they're considered racist (gs won't let me post them in a normal size, open them in new tab to view them properly).

What you are saying is one person (or whomever is holding inappropriate signs) in a group represents everyone? I don't think you'd post pictures of gatherings where there haven't been any of which you have claimed? Maybe generalizations are only supported when they support a specific agenda?

You'd have a point if these were isolated incidents, but they're not. You see these signs at pretty much every rally.

Either you see them at every rally or you don't. The media loves controversy and certain outlets tend to focus on the absurdity and that which will get the mindless people talking. Whether it is CNN or Fox, one needs to research something for themselves rather than relying on the media.

The problem today in politics, and America in general, is the polarization we see. Take any group whether Democrats, Republicans, Tea Party, Progressives, Conservatives, gays, straight people, Catholics, Atheists, etc.., and any opposing group will take the ball and run with any fodder they can find. Generalizations will be supported if it coincides with someone's stance on an issue but it will be fought tooth and nail if the opposite is true.

@Makhaidos said:

@Solaryellow said:

@deeliman said:

The ones the media airs aren't actual rallies?

The majority of the national media is in bed with the left.

Oh a gif.

FOX News, WSJ < NBC, MSNBC, CBS, CNN, ABC, The New York Times, Washington Post.

Ok then, you do see those signs at every rally. There are just a lot of racist tea party members, I don't see how anyone can really argue to the contrary. Name 1 tea party rally that didn't have a bunch of racist/offensive signs.

I don't follow the Tea party rallies close enough to make a determination and I doubt you do either.

You don't have to see every rally to draw a conclusion. If you search for a bunch of them, you'll see that they're all filled with offensive signs.

You can draw a conclusion based on seeing one rally but that doesn't mean you'd be correct and able to correctly make a determination about the entire group.

I never said I based it one seeing 1 rally.

They're not saying that disagreeing with Obama's policies makes one racist. They're saying that being racist makes one disagree with Obama's policies. :P

You said you see racial examples at pretty much every rally and I asked how many you have seen (TP rallies). You would be correct in saying there are members of the Tea Party who are racist but you are not doing that. Rather, you are making one broad assertion.

I guess disagreeing with Bush's policies must make one anti-Southern.

And we should give a shit what Oprah Winfrey thinks because?....

If a black member of the tea party disagrees with Obama it must be because they don't like that he's half white.

You've never asked me how many I've seen. If you see 5 rallies and all of them have a bunch of racist signs, i can conclude that there are a lot of racist TP members. If you disagree with this, you should be able to show me that a lot of those rallies don't contain these signs, but you can't show me that, can you?

Of course not. That isn't to say that nobody dislikes him because of his race though. There's obviously a reasonably significant amount who do take issue with him solely because he's not white.

Refer back to post 15 where you are asked if you see them at every rally or not. In post 17 you said you see such signs at every rally but you can't say with certainty because you don't know. Instead of saying some members are racist you have said the Tea Party is racist and that is a clear generalization.

Yes, but only because you don't like the white half.

"There are still generations of people, older people, who were born and bred and marinated in it, in that prejudice and racism, and they just have to die," she told the BBC's Will Gompertz.

Oprah is saying there are people who have a prejudice attitude toward black people and this will lead to their disagreement of the President's policies. She does not say that anyone who disagrees with the president is a racist.

The republicans seemed to have a goal to try and ruin Obama's presidency so they could get a republican back into office.

Nah, that is not even close to racism. I could disagree because the policies are ass.

Something that would be more (questionably) racist is something like...'Obama only won the election because of hype and sensationalism of the first black president being elected in our life time'. Then we might have something...maybe.

People need to stop using the race card

I can't say with certainty, but what seems more likely considering that they're there at every single rally I've seen? And again, show me 1 rally that doesn't have those signs. If this is really a generalization you should be able to name at least 1.

Sounds like TC is a racist.

No question about that.

People need to also chill out about the race carders

People really need to chill out about people who chill out about race carders

disagreeing with Obama just means you know he is a complete idiot and a wanna be dictator..along with his jackarzz goones.

QFT

Who gives a **** what Oprah & Freeman think haha.

@Master_Live said:

@Makhaidos said:

@Solaryellow said:

@deeliman said:

The ones the media airs aren't actual rallies?

The majority of the national media is in bed with the left.

Oh a gif.

FOX News, WSJ < NBC, MSNBC, CBS, CNN, ABC, The New York Times, Washington Post.

Yup, because obviously if you're not spouting the Republican party line you're in bed with the left.

As to the OP, that's absolutely not what Oprah said. In fact, I don't know all of what Oprah said because the article deliberately paraphrased her in order to make it seem like that's what she said. In the one actual quote of hers that they did give she just said that the office of the Presidency has been given a great deal of disrespect in recent years, which I think is demonstratively true. As I was going to say when I came in here, the only people I have ever heard say that disagreeing with President Obama makes you a racist are conservatives.

I think people care because it gives them a reason to soapbox

I'm part black, native american, and white. So, I"m confused. Am I racist against his white half or his black half?

I'm really surprised Morgan Freeman would think that. I'm a Libertarian and I really like Morgan Freeman because of a few things; I think he's a stand-up guy, he's a great actor and I like his views on race. He believes the only way to end racism is to stop talking about it. Stop acting on it. He was quoted once saying, "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history". I agree. There isn't white history month. There isn't latino history month. The only way to stop racism to is to quit trying to separate each other. Things like BET, KKK, Black Panthers and other race-orientated entertainment, holidays, groups, etc. are what are going to continue to divide us.

I don't like Obama because of his policies, not because of his race. If Oprah believes that disagreeing with Obama is racist, then she is either very delusional or she holds a racist grudge herself.

like when a hair over half the Republican/GOP/Libertarian body thought he was some Manchurian Candidate kind of politician part of some decades long plot by the UN to sneak an evil secular Maoist Communist secretly Muslim radical into office; no, who's saying that's not racist

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49554.html

that's good stuff, but nothings better than the source material...

@lamprey263:

There are complete fucking idiots on both sides of the spectrum, do you not agree?

I'm a very moderate conservative with views that sit on both sides. I've been told several times by far-left individuals that I couldn't possibly be a human being if I had any conservative views whatsoever.

I feel that you grouping Libertarians with the GOP is highly inaccurate. Libertarians believe in complete freedom. That means that they share views with democrats and republicans alike.

Oprah may not have explicitly said that disagreeing with the President is racist but I have talked to people (to include people I have known for years) who think that way. I also know people who admit that their main reason to vote for Obama was because they wanted to be a part of history by putting the first black (despite being mixed) man in office.

The insults against McCain during the 2008 election went beyond people calling him "Bush 3." People were openly insulting him for his time as a POW during Vietnam and trying to tie war crimes to him to discredit him. Racist people may have insulted Obama with statements like "Keep the White House white!" but racism works both ways.

Look at Stacey Dash, she has been called an Uncle Tom, a House N****r, etc. for stating that she was supporting Romney in the 2012 election. Then there was an incident last year where a woman coached her young son to say Romney would "put black people in chains" if he was elected President.