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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Rush Limbaugh's Post-Obama Re-Election Talk on "Race" Spurs Post

"We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant America open to... the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner" President Barack Obama, November 7, 2012

Following President Obama's re-election win over Mitt Romney, I was curious to hear what Rush Limbaugh.

I am not a regular listener of Limbaugh, but I wanted to hear his spin on Romney's loss.

Surprisingly, Rush had some nice words to say about Romney, but all of the sudden he started talking about race.

First he mentioned that the perception that Republican National Committee was racist was a lie mainly because the  RNC Convention had a  "parade of minorities" with the likes of Utah's Mia Love, Flordia's Marco Rubio and especially Condoleeza Rice, whom he defended from people who made racial remarks about her for being a black conservative.

While people blasting Condi for being a black Republican is wrong, Limbaugh then turned around and said that the only reason African American Democrats voters voted for President Obama is because they wanted to continue to live on welfare with their free cell phones, plasma TVs and homes (his words not mine).

Unfortunately this "US versus Them/They are taking money and jobs from you" act has made millions for Rush but in turn has tragically influenced millions of suburban and rural voters.

So subconsciously, when some people see a minority on the street or a job interview, they only see the lazy, undeserving stereotype that talk show hosts like Rush spews everyday than the talented U.S. citizen who only want  a chance to  live the American dream like everyone else.

However this not just about Limbaugh and his conservative cronies.

Liberals and Democrats has to take some responsibility as well.

While its true voting for President Obama twice is another step forward in race relations, the sad fact is that Black unemployment rose in October to 14.3 percent from 13.4 percent in September, while the national average is 7.8 percent (Latino/Hispanic was unemployment was 10 percent). 

In particular, Black males are quickly being left behind during the digital age of the 21st century.

When you hear about the mass shootings in Chicago, bad schools and broken families, its mostly tied to economics.

Where President Obama is a role model for minority children from afar, the true role model for most youth is the man they see everyday who is able to provide stability for his family.

However if that man cannot find a job or is skipped over for  positions based solely his race, this stability is broken, families are destroyed, education suffers and and daily tragedies like Chicago are born, (This is not to slight the role of  African American women, but you rarely hear about the positive impact of African American men in families and communities anymore).

Where gains were made during the post civil rights era, when African American men were able to obtain middle to upper middle class positions to buy homes and  send their kids to college,  the high unemployment rate for minorities in recent years dictates that many people of color, especially men are not getting the same opportunities as their white male counterparts, (While there are far too many men of color who are either in jail or prison, there are still too many talented  African American and Latino men who are being passed over for jobs without a felony record).

This does not mean give men of color a "handout" as the right likes say all the time?

No, just an equal opportunity to succeed like everyone else.

For our country to become strong in the again economically, the middle class for ALL Americans needs to be strengthened, but a major part of this strengthening includes having a workplace from executives on down, who reflects the diversity of the voters who passionately cheered for President Obama on his  re-election night win.

If this ever happens, divisive voices like Limbaugh's will finally be drowned out and we as a nation will finally realize that we are more the same than we are different.

Suggestion: Take a look around of your office. 

Do you see a swath of ethic diversity or just one person of color ?  
 Do you see ethnic diversity with the executives, managers,  the board or the  factory floor? 

Do you see men of color making decisions or only sweeping the floor?

Does your workplace looks like Barack Obama's crowd on election night or Mitt Romneys?

Take a look and let me know