Source:Washington Post
Several readers were upset by a remark that National political reporter Jonathan Weisman made on a washingtonpost.com chat on Monday. Weisman was responding to this question about Sen. Barack Obama:
"Alexandria, Va.: Obama's new ad (which plays a lot in Alexandria) shows pictures of his mother and grandparents, playing up his white family. Until now he's been 'African American'; now suddenly he's a white Midwesterner? During the primary Hillary was criticized for changing her image too many times. Won't Obama be criticized for doing the same thing?"
Weisman's answer: "I haven't heard that criticism, but it is striking -- not a single picture of his father. Now, that really is consistent with his upbringing -- he really did not become immersed in black American culture until he left college and went to Chicago. The great irony is that he is much more white than black, beyond skin color."
Kendall Ridley of Houston and several other readers complained. Ridley wrote: "I'm simply blown away by this display of ignorance. Please let Mr. Weisman know that black culture is the all-encompassing experience of being black; there is not just one kind of black culture, as black America is neither monolithic nor single-minded. If Obama is 'more white,' 'beyond skin color,' I entreat Mr. Weisman to delineate precisely what he means. . . . Is he suggesting there is 'white behavior' and 'black behavior' or 'white thought' and 'black thought'?"
Weisman replied to me: "I was trying to say that chronologically, Obama spent his entire childhood either in the white environment of an elite Hawaii prep school or in Indonesia. But frankly, I'm not defending myself. It was a really stupid, insensitive comment, and I have apologized for it to the people who have e-mailed me."
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Racist Friend
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