Now y'all know I love our President. I do. I support him without reservation. However, I must post my first criticism of President Obama. It'll be brief and simple: Stop worshipping at the boots of the greatest racist in American history!
The reverence afforded to Abraham Lincoln is so disconcerting. Lincoln was a racist. Period. I don't care what other accomplishments he did for this country. Without a doubt, Abe Lincoln would've spat on our current President rather than break bread with him at the same table.
So I really don't want to hear anymore how Lincoln did this or did that for America. What he did was to benefit his political career, and dare I say, for a certain group of Americans only. Study your history. Lincoln wanted to ship America's Negroes out of the country, back to Africa, or to somewhere in the unclaimed Northwestern Territories. NP! Lincoln was just another bump in the road for true social justice for the Black community. I'm curious what would have happened with the remainder of Lincoln's term had he not been assassinated by J. Wilkes Booth. What would Lincoln's true legacy have been?
I'm tired. I'm sick. And I just don't wanna hear no more about Good ole Abe.
5 comments:
It is true Lincoln was certainly not an abolitionist, and that at one point did advocate for former slaves to be relocated, because he--and most abolitionists--did not believe ex-slaves could ever really integrate into the society (and arguably history has proved them right, as we are still dealing with that issue).
However, this was the mainstream opinion at the time of those who disapproved of slavery: the act of owning another human being, not necessarily disapproval of racial privilege.
For what it is worth Lincoln was on the right side of history, regardless of the political motives, he did disapprove of owning slaves as an individual. And that was the issue of his time. I think it is tempting but unreasonable to judge Lincoln on issues he really would have no connection to. To his credit he did work to put in measures for reparations, but his Vice-President scratched that when he became President.
The mystique to Lincoln isn't so much his positions on ethnic relations, but rather the fact that he sustained the Union through the most difficult time in the nation's history; and was in many ways a self-made man.
But I'm sorry for writing a post as my comment, I just felt I needed to clarify.
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No problem. In fact I encourage the conversations. I went off on a rant yesterday because the Lincoln thing was so in your face, it was undeniable. But thanks for leaving feedback. 'Preciate it.
Clarence, while I do agree 100% with your assertion I do in fact still believe that Lincoln was a racist. Yes, he was anti-slavery; however, he believed that Americans of African descent were lesser and more base human beings. That ideology in and of itself is racism, plain and simply put.
Moreover, the fact that African Americans built the very foundation of the United States and he was going to ship us OUT of the continent was very telling. Yes, many apologists make excuses for him (including Obama); however, like Ian, I wonder what would have been had he not been shot.
Well we know he would have likely continued on his reconstruction projects. Reparations and the efforts of the Freedman's Bureau would have likely continued, rather being brought to a halt, essentially, under Johnson.
While he did not reach the ideological finish line in terms of being a "racial ally", Lincoln was pretty far down the line.
I don't think anyone makes excuses for him, but rather highlight his pros rather than lesser points; and that's not unique to Lincoln, we do that with all of our heroes.
And another thing we all have to keep in mind that the ideology that African-Americans were of lesser intellect was supported and reinforced by the scientific community, religious community, legal community, etc. So I think it a bit unfair to expect Lincoln to have a 21st century perspective of racial identity when it would have seem absurd at the time. Rather we should judge Lincoln on the issues of his time, which was the morality or immorality of owning another person.
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