Saturday, October 20th, 2007
Quote of the Day
Posted by Bossip Staff
Barack Obama wants Justice Department official John Tanner fired for the following comments:
“Our society is such that minorities don’t become elderly the way white people do; they die first,” Tanner said. “There are inequities in health care,” Tanner continued. “There are a variety of inequities in this country. And so anything that disproportionately impacts the elderly has the opposite impact on minorities; just the math is such as that.”
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Wow. I dont know what to say, America is increasing in prejudice and ignorance each day. When black people age, they get older in age;numbers. As with white people they age in apperance and actual age. If you see a black 50 year old women you would think she’s 30, but if you were to see a white 50 year old you would think she is 80. Black women and men age gracefully and beautifully.
Um, the first part of that statement is somewhat true but the fact that homicide is the leading killer of young black people matters too. Also, there are plenty of elderly black people. Just not as many as there should be.
The latter part of his statement makes no sense. Wouldn’t call it racist probably if it came out of the mouth of a less educated person. I’d call it stupidity, but I’m not really sure what the context was or how senile this man is
daria – I agree with you.
I’m not so sure his statement is racist as it is stupid.
Seems like the comment wasn’t necessary for his speech in the first place.
This statement was made at The Supreme Court, as he tries to defend the Voter ID Laws that were put in place, SPECIFICALLY, to depress minority voter turnout.
The ‘Justice Department’ supporting and defending practices designed to SUPPRESS MINORITY VOTER TURNOUT. For those of you who don’t vote, please tell me this…if your vote didn’t count for much, then WHY DO THEY SPEND SO MUCH TIME FINDING NEW WAYS TO TRY AND TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU?
Riddle me that.
The old racist F— should be fired!!!!!!
i second rikyrah x10
The Bush administration has politicized every branch of our government. From the Justice department , to the EPA.
Those crooks in the White House, have shown the American people a level of incompetence and corruption that is unfathomable!
This is what happens when people who are unqualified are put into high level positions.
Most blacks don’t retire with stockS and bonds. Blacks retire with poor health and poorer pockets
Someone please explain what he was trying to say. I’m not usually this slow!
WOW. Are you for real bitch? You know why black women dont change much when they get older, (yhea right)its because at the age of 26 they already have stretch marks and saggy tits!! LMAO
And dont even try to deny it.
You people are so funny!
The comment was for RAVEN. (bitch please!)
And by the way i’m not white i’m latino baby.
Honestly, I have read this at least five times, and I cannot understand his point, can someone explain what he was trying to say.?!
@lolo
And I thought I was slow. You are truly an idiot and you made no sense.
Sad attempt to degrade black women with the stretch mark comment. 26 was such a random age as well, LMAO.
You always have a position at the Justice Department. It seems your stupidity qualifies.
KKK? Racist? I dont know you tell me. What I read was that anything that heavily disfavors the elderly, will benefit minorities. As a DOJ official I’m sure he’s read more than one paper by an analyst on whose going to jail. He’s read about the jail deaths. He’s read about homicide rates. I expect him to be an expert on who makes it into adult hood. Healthcare-wise. As of 2001 statistics, mortality rates for African-American women are higher than any other racial/ethnic group for nearly every major cause of death including heart disease, lung cancer, cerebrovascular disease, breast cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Death rates from cancer have been declining among both African American men and women, according to Cancer Facts & Figures for African Americans 2007-2008. Yet the cancer death rate is still 35% higher for African American men compared to white men and 18% higher in African American women compared to white women. In fact, African Americans have the highest death rate and shortest survival rate of any other racial or ethnic group for most cancers, the report says. You want this man to be president. He won’t even take the time to study the facts and figures before he calls for someone being fired. Everything the man said was true. I really dont have a problem with photo id…I use one when I vote what’s the big deal.
@ Knoxus
I’m happy to see sombody like you around here. FINALY somebody with common sense. A white guy saying something about black folks, and all these poeples claim he’s a racist and they dont even have the intelligence to understand what he said. (as usual) How pathetic!!!
@Help Please and Jade
After reading it I think he’s saying there more elderly whites than there are elderly minorities because they die out early.
In the second part, he’s saying that the unfairness in the health care system that affects elderly whites does not have any impact on blacks. I’m guessing because he thinks they do not live that long.
@lolo
Lossip is to the left, and while on your way there, pick up a book and read because your ignorance is disheartnening.
@lolo
Maybe you should take your latino ass to Lossip
Either way I look at it, he’s right. People need to start eating healthy and exercising. Too much popeyes and obesity. Fat black women and men talking bout they big bone. WTF? How can your bones be big?
But on the real, there are also a lot of poor blacks who cannot afford to go to the doctor who will tell them that they need to eat healthy, exercise, and give them health advise. So there are two problems that Senator Obama needs to address before calling for someone to be fired.
1)Stop black on black crime
2)Universal Health Care or as the GOP call it “Government Medicine”
The MAN (white old rich ass mutherfuckers who rule this world and everything in it) want all minorities to just dissapear if they ain’t allowing themselves to be taken advantage of and exploited for whites in charge to make money off of. If you have your own mind or opinion they want to shut you the fuck up and will put whatever laws in place to do so. Only way we (minorities, single parents, people under the poverty line, people working brainless mindless jobs being exploited) will ever see some equality or justice in the western society is to stand together and rise up. Viva la revolucion.
PS. Vote for Ron Paul and make everyone you know to. Bossip yall should post some shit on him he is by far the best candidate to ever run I kid you not. Barack is definitely number 2.. and I used to think he was #1 till I put my prejudices aside and learned about DR. RON PAUL. That man is absolutely everything we need. Please read about him yall I promise it’s worth it. Word.
Sounds as if he’s distinguishing the White elderly people from minorities, without considering minorities who are elderly for one. And because minorities die first it means they have benefited from programs that elderly whites are disproportionately impacted by (financially). To bring it down to the street, it is his way of saying whites are tired of carrying us minorities, a typical Republican view in my opinion.
Tanner, like Knoxus above, is spinning the argument to make the statistics critique black people without considering the context in which the statistics arise. The argument doesn’t take into consideration the amount of whites who benefit from the same programs, the lack of adequate health care that has contributed to high mortality rates among blacks and other minorities, etc.
For instance, I just read an article that mentions the high mortality rates among blacks with type 1 diabetes. However, the author did use the statistics to make a political statement about blacks or to criticize the knowledge of a particular candidate. He pointed out that the disparity is most likely the result of an inadequacy in care for African Americans with type 1 diabetes. Moreover, it could be the result of issues such as access to care, availability of monitoring supplies, or education about diabetes.
If white people want to live shorter lives and switch places with minorities, so that they can benefit from blacks living longer lives, then I say let’s do that. However, it will mean reversing the education levels, access to care, etc.
Obama saw through what he’s saying and if we had heard the tone and context of the question, we would have seen through it too.
ps. Notice Knoxus listed the statistics without asking “why” the rates are higher for blacks. And remember this…when you ask “why,” make sure you contextualize the question. Then you’ll see why the answer is a racist answer.
peace
3rd Paragraph correction…^^^^
However, the author did “not” use the statistics to make a political statement about blacks or to criticize the knowledge of a particular candidate.
@ All
Let’s face it. After listening to Lolo, who is probably white or Latino, I am convinced that all of our websites have more trolls than actual African Americans. These people are so obsessed and/or jealous of us until it’s downright scary. I will no longer partake in these blogs. Please do not give them anything more to add fuel to their fire. They’re a bunch of sick people.
What I find insulting is why some people insist that black people have to have everything broken down for them. Break it down to a level they understand, make sure you point out that you’re not talking about every single black person in the country.
No shyt he wasn’t talking about every black person or every white person. The truth is, the death rate for black people where death from health problems is higher for black people. Yes, life has been hard on our bodies. So yes, there are reasons but did the reasons have to be included in his statement? No.
Most of us are not anal, most us don’t feel the need to have the “whys” thrown out as a disclaimer everytime something is addressed to us.
As for guns and prison, please.
I don’t know what the hell is on this white guy’s mind, maybe he is a card carrying racist. But his statement was not racist, it was the truth. Whoever posted that the stats are changing for the better, thank you for pointing that out. But we still have a long why to go.
Instead of calling for the guy to be fired, goofy Obama should use it as a door opener to push for better living conditions for all Americans. But at the end of the day, he’s just another political fool. 75%+ of ALL American households earn under $50,000.00 a year. People are living paycheck to paycheck, that’s the problem. But let’s focus on some BS instead. Thanks, Barack.
@ Come On
Only a WHITE person, would describe Obama as goofy.
Wish I would have checked it over before I posted it! Sorry about the errors. Also sorry I didn’t read Soulful’s post first, you are right
No, I am black and I use the word goofy.lol
The guy was right. Blacks die off younger due to various causes and the life expectancy is much less than those of whites. All that being said, you can’t say that in this pc world.
Obama gets mad over this? What has he said about the Jena 6?
Co-sign w/ everyone except lolo. Cyber courage makes people say silly shit.
@ Bubothehater
Obama has spoken out against the horrible deplorable treatment of the Jena 6 quite often. Why don’t you google “Obama” and “Jena 6″ rather than ask “us.” It sounds as if you are looking for something to criticize. TMZ must be boring lately!! So many white people on these threads!!
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what the guy said. If minorities are dying first then obviously there is a problem. Maybe Obama should ask him to clarify.
I, too, didn’t find the statement to be racist. I’m sure there has to be more to it than Barack Obama wanting the man fired than just that statement. I mean, I can’t speak for other minorities, but young black men are getting killed every day. Older African Americans are dying of heart disease and other weight-related issues every day. He’s not lying, albeit, these are stereotypes of Black folks. It’s still true, so I assume this isn’t the whole story or I’m just missing something.
I don’t think that he is a racist. a lot of black ppl especially elderly do not go to the doctor. He also has a point, most live on the social security system rather than investment their money with stocks and bonds so that they are self sufficient when they age. So I would view his stateents as nothing but somewhat stupis but with a ring of truth to them. However he was not just talking about Blacks but probably latino’s as well.
@lolo
Ok, if you think that black ppl are ignorant or stupid why even waste your time commenting. I guess your women will also have saggy tits and streatch mark as well, we all know ya’ll tend to have many children, so don’t go through, spread your hate on Lossip….If you would have taken the time to read the statement on the post, he was not only talking at black ppl but your latino people as well. So read a book, get an education, tie your tubes, or better yet become a citizen. When you do that then you can make your comments cause now you sound really dumb…
is he racist, really?
i aint down with whitey but i think the black elderly face a different circumstance than the white elderly, especially those in the innercity.
fuck obama, who is he really? i dont trust light skin niggas
I must apologize for lolo’s comments. It’s called Tourettes of the fingers, or as we in The Barrio calls it, Leaf Bloweritis: Blowing idioso wind.
Bossip, are you sure Obama called for this guy’s firing? I have to co-sign with IBW: that was a great opportunity for Barack to discuss his plan to address the inequities in our society that affect Black Americans including access to health care, poverty, and crime (all of which impact life expectancy.)
Firing that guy won’t do much to change the landscape…even Don Imus is managing to creep back after being “fired.”
This is obviously an attempt by “Mr. Obama” to win back the black vote. Black voters don’t seem to be too impressed by his campaign and the fact that he seemed to have a “gag order” when the Jena 6 march took place, didn’t help his credibility either. Lets face it, Barack is walking on a fine line between black and white. He has major support from Oprah, whose main audience is middle aged white women, and he passes an opportunity to stand behind his people and “injustice” and he sits on his ASS and does nothing!!!!! This is just a plot to win back his people. This is exactly what a flip flopping, attention whore politician does.
@come on.75 percent of black families make less than 50000 a year?where did you get that fact?you watch too much music videos.
God I can’t wait till I move from this country full of hateful, ignorant people.
^^ To Tyrone M. Wild
You don’t trust light skinned niggas? What kind of ignorant statement is that? I guess you forgot about Malcolm X, just one of many “light skinned” niggas to have more love and passion for changing things for the better for Black people. Why does it always become light skinned against dark skinned? GET OVER IT BLACK PEOPLE!! There will always be many shades of our beautiful skin. Knock the stupid, ignorant, backwards shit off!
I think Tyrone was joking or at least I hope he was. Please say you were joking.
But to people who say that Obama did not address the Jena 6 affair, that is completely false. He was on the Steve Harvey morning show talking about the march. He did put his two cents in. Of course the white media never really covered the story so even if Obama did speak, we would not have known.
But I just wanted to say that I listen to several black radio stations and he did talk about it because it was mostly black radio stations that were getting out the news about the Jena 6 and mobilizing people. But I just wanted clarify that Obama did speak out about this injustice to these teenage boys.
Okay..continue with debate.
From a stistical point of view, his comments make sense – black people have a shorter life expectancy, and as a population are thus subject to different health issues. I’m black and I don’t see what the fuss is about.
The man didn’t say homocide was the leading killers of black but unequal health care. I wish people would stop citing homocide. Homocide is only the leading cause of black men between certain ages, and of certain income. It IS NOT the number one killer for all black men. I wish people would stop using the stat.
@god
The guy isn’t watching too much music video but listening to too much Cosby.
BTW this guy doesn’t need to be fired. That’s overreaching.
We need to move away from over-reacting everytime someone says something about African Americans that we disagree with. It’s rather childish and immature. We don’t have to agree with it, but we do need to know that it is a valid point of view.
Only 1 out 10 black men live to reach the age of 65 to collect Social Security.
Black children disportionally receive SS benefits as minors because of the death or disability of parent (usually father).
So, if you are a policy maker, what do you do with these stats?
^^^I really question those stats. I work in health care and those numbers seem very wrong. But I don’t have time to look them up cuz I’m not one of them.
My grandmother would not have been able to vote and my great grandmother would not have been able to vote because of some of the new identification practices. This is why he is calling for the firing of this guy. You guys need to read the context. He is not saying that the remarks are not true. He is saying however that we should disregard elderly black voters because there are just not that many of them. This is wrong because quite frankly elderly black people actually vote. You guys are so quick to jump on the Obama’s of the world. White folks are not out dissing each other, and putting their candidates down. Hell we should get behind the man because he is one of the only viable black candidates we have had. See the quotes below to see what the context of the statement actually was.
Senator Barack Obama said the leader of the civil rights division of the Justice Department should step down after suggesting that minority voters were not widely disenfranchised by laws requiring photo identification because many members of minorities died before reaching old age.
“This administration has shown very little interest in making sure that all people have equal access to the ballot box,” Mr. Obama said in a telephone interview. “It’s important for all of us to embrace the basic notion that we should try to make voting easier, not harder.”
Mr. Obama, an Illinois Democrat who is seeking his party’s presidential nomination, was responding to a remark made by John Tanner, the chief of the Justice Department’s civil rights division. In a speech to a Latino group earlier this month in Los Angeles, Mr. Tanner said that a disproportionate share of elderly minority voters did not have identification, but added that it was not a widespread problem because of their life expectancy.
“Creating problems for elderly persons just is not good under any circumstance,” Mr. Tanner told the National Latino Congreso, according to a video posted on YouTube. “Of course, that also ties into the racial aspect because our society is such that minorities don’t become elderly the way white people do. They die first.”
On Friday, Mr. Obama sent a letter to the Justice Department, urging acting Attorney General Peter D. Keisler to replace Mr. Tanner for making comments that were “patently erroneous, offensive and dangerous.”
Mr. Obama said the remarks were “especially troubling coming from the federal official charged with protecting voting rights in this country.”
If you guys th
lolo = clowned by Bossip readers
THANK YOU Rorysmama!!! for explaining the context for why Mr. Obama called for Tanner’s resignation!!! I saw the report on CNN on Friday where they discussed why Obama was calling Tanner out but too lazy to write all that you wrote. Unfortunately, in this day and age, too many people look to gossip blogs as a medium for obtaining their national news. (By the way I am not discounting all blogs – just gossip blogs- since blogs are credited to bringing the Jena 6 situation to the nation’s attention.)
What’s with all the non-blacks writing responses that support the racists? Newsflash, this site isn’t for you! It’s coming from a Black perspective and if you have a problem with Black people you need to step off.
Now on to what I wanted to say. Tanner said, “There are a variety of inequities in this country. And so anything that disproportionately impacts the elderly has the opposite impact on minorities; just the math is such as that.”
WTF is he saying? The things that negatively affect White Eldery benefit minorities? That makes no sense at ALL! The are tons of Black, Latino, Asian, etc elderly people. I don’t know about you but growing up I had all 4 grandparents and my great-grandfather. That means there’s a whole lot of black senior citizens. His statement makes no sense, also because how is a disadvantage for the elderly automatically an advantage for younger people???
I agree with Obama. You cannot make a blanket statement like that a group of people like that. It makes no sense and this whole “us” vs. “them” speech reeks of racism.
FYI……
Obama, D-Ill., called for Tanner’s removal following an Oct. 5 panel discussion at the National Latino Congreso at which Tanner was asked about voter ID laws, and Tanner’s controversial decision two years ago to override a staff recommendation to approve a Georgia voter ID law.
In a letter directed to Acting Attorney General Peter Keisler, Obama on Friday pointed to one portion of Tanner’s comments as evidence that voter ID restrictions “do not disenfranchise minorities, and in fact they actually benefit minorities.”
“Our society is such that minorities don’t become elderly the way white people do; they die first,” Tanner said.
“There are inequities in health care,” Tanner continued. “There are a variety of inequities in this country. And so anything that disproportionately impacts the elderly has the opposite impact on minorities; just the math is such as that.”
Click here to see the video on YouTube.
Obama said in his letter: “Such comments are patently erroneous, offensive, and dangerous, and they are especially troubling coming from the federal official charged with protecting voting rights in this country.”
“For Mr. Tanner to now suggest, in an effort to defend his erroneous decision, that photo identification are not necessary for minority voters because ‘they die first’ shows just how far the Justice Department has fallen,” Obama wrote.
—————-
Knowing the context it all makes more sense now. Go Obama!!
If Lolo took a look at my wife who is 31 and perfect, her stupid ass mouth would have her own foot in it.
Why don’t you drag your ashy knuckles over to a KKK site. At least there you can work against your own people in a productive manner. You’re doubly stupid.
And while you’re at it, take a genetics test, Latinos have quite a bit of african blood in them. Ya’ll didn’t get your booming asses from Spaniards!
like my grandma from new orleans says….THE WHITE MAN AINT NOTHIN BUT THE DEVIL CHILD!
maybe more miniorites would be living to their 80s, 90s and etc if they didnt have to be worry with that EXTRA burden of being a MINIORITY…i swear white people just dont KNOW how GOOD they got it living in this WORLD….
and LOLO shut yo ass up..im part latina & BLACK and the women (latina) are some of the most obesed in this country…i cant remember the last time i saw a skinny mexican female who WASNT ON TV.
WORD
We do suffer from an unequal health care system. My ppo is ok but not great especially for what I pay in premiums. Just pray to stay healthy & workout & try to eat right.
@God
I didn’t say “Black”, I said “All American Households”, and the percentage is actually 78% and the information comes directly from the IRS website. Why the hell “God” is shocked about that information I don’t know, maybe you watch too many videos? wtf
@Carmen
White people hide it. Trust, there are some dirt poor, can’t speak the language, can’t read or write, still sleeping with their cousins, white people out there.
First let me say that, there has been new revelations that some of these Black versus White statistics are not accurate, they for the most part do not do equal to equal testing, so if you have a the White person earning $80,000 and the Black earning $20,000 then there can be no comparison, and that’s what they have been doing.
(The black person in such a case will have to choose between food and medicine)
It’s like saying Blacks make up 37% of the prison population, which isn’t correct as a total,it is as a percentage of the black population, which is only 13.4% of the total U.S. population.
So in actual numbers Whites outnumber Blacks and other minorities in the prison population but if you use percentages you can make it seem the other way around.
Medical: Blacks do not get the medical care nor attention of Whites, that’s correct, therefore from the evidence of sports and survival I would surmise that the black body is sturdier than the White body and if given the same medical attention would surpass Whites in longevity.
I don’t understand what exactly most people are angry about here … are you mad that he supports policies that are supposedly intended to suppress the black vote … or are you mad that he stated the obvious that black people are dying young?
Oh and to the person that said this is just an attempt by Obama to rally the black vote back into his camp that’s and interesting idea … it would be really sad though if Obama really thought that was all it would take to bring in more of the black vote.
Let me clarify on thing. it’s not 37% Blacks in prison, that figure includes all those who are in the penal system prisoners/parolees/and others.
Medical:
Drugs and treatments are derived from testing of the “average man”. The medical community would go to these all White hamlets and setup their drug and treatment testing for the “average man” and by that data doctors would treat their patients, there has been practically no testing of Blacks, so these drugs and treatments in many cases fail to work or work poorly in Blacks.
In fact they do not have a benchmark for Blacks, your doctor is treating you on the basis of an “average White man”, I have found that there are variations between Black Blood Pressure and Whites, there are variations in lung capacity, stamina and some scientist believe in the heart muscle.
Blacks retain more skin oil due to melanin, thus giving them a longer youthful look, there are labs looking into bottling it for general sale.
I don’t understand what he’s trying to say, therefore I will not make any assumptions.
TruthTeller … actually the big thing in the pharmaceutical industry isn’t to perform test on “average white men”. They go to India and some parts of Africa to perform test faster and cheaper with less regard for the safety of their patients. And I am going to have to call bullshit on the idea that black people have a different kind of myocardium then white people … unless you have a study or something to back up that fact it does not seem logical.
Truth Teller,
I seriously hate to disagree with you but the medical establishment test their products on who? Last time I checked, they go to India and Africa and to find poor people to use as guinea pigs.
omg, madhanit scared the shit out of me. funny how we typed the same things.
Actually there are a number of studies in that area trying to relate why Blacks tend to suffer from high/higher Blood Pressure especially in their later years, whereas Whites don’t in large numbers and when they do have HBP, they have a better clinical response to ACE Inhibitors and even Statins.
@Nahnah,
Check you medical books, the India and Africa testing is recent and limited.
ALSO: India and Africa was not to set benchmarks it is to test drug efficacy. (they are only test subjects)
I thing I need to stop if I have to explain the obvious.
My grandmother took statins(Lipitor)before she made a transition to vitamins and herbs, and it gave her severe muscle pains.
Clearly, blacks and whites differ genetic wise, but not as dramatic as you’re trying to make it, TruthTeller.
TruthTeller,
I think you’re confusing medical studies with drug testing.
I purposely didn’t mention genetics, as we are still trying to determine the difference between “Nature and Nurture”
there obvious physical difference between the (races) ethnic groups, Asians/Blacks/Whites and that also relates to medicine and drug dosage, just as the dosage a 250 pounds man as against a 170 pounds man, alcohol consumption is the easiest way to prove that in a layman way.
You don’t need to explain the basics to me … stage three trials performed in third world countries are used to understand the effects of the drug on their target population taking into account issues of drug metabolism and ED 50 values … and I know you must be pulling your facts from flawed sources if you honestly think that hypertension is only a major issue in black communities. Spend sixty minutes in any primary care setting and you will see plenty of white people on beta-blockers and thiazide diuretics. (and just for your information statins are a drug used for the treatment of high cholesterol a common comorbidity associated with HTN) … ohh and you still haven’t named any studies
First you develop your BENCHMARK, get average persons.
Then you create DRUGS for your BENCHMARK.
Then you find some Third World country that will allow you to test for mutation or mortality rate.
Then (3rd phase) You test on your BENCHMARK before releasing such drug on the populace.
Its official then you don’t really understand what you’re talking about and you don’t have any kind of source material for what you’re saying. That’s cool it was fun talking to you but I have to get back to the real world and studying. Feel free to make whatever half-baked comments you want … just understand that when people hear and believe the stuff that you’re saying they avoid the doctor until its too late and all the sudden somebody who could have been treated with Metformin (I drug I’m sure you believe is only effective on white country club members) to control their diabetes now has an infected ulcer on their foot and coronary artery disease.
lolo, you are a filthy spic. and you know it.
Actually, TruthTeller is correct when he says there’s a disparity between blacks and whites when it comes to hypertension.
Also, a person who eats right, engage in cardivascular excercise and some form of strength training, and take vitamins would not have to worry about developing anything if they have diabetes.
rikyrah
The ‘Justice Department’ supporting and defending practices designed to SUPPRESS MINORITY VOTER TURNOUT. For those of you who don’t vote, please tell me this…if your vote didn’t count for much, then WHY DO THEY SPEND SO MUCH TIME FINDING NEW WAYS TO TRY AND TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU?
Riddle me that.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
EXCELLENT POINT!!! WISE UP!!!
can you blame this guy for whatever he said. Blacks are a darn joke in this country and frigin let down, at least the majority of them, not all. I myself take pride in being black, but i must say, blacks are losers man, an ignorant set of people that thrive on negativity and violence, when will we wake the hell up and see we are in bad shape.
Why are black people so afraid of the truth?! Wake up folks… the man is just stating the truth!
James:
Last time I checked, George Bush wasn’t black.
You do not know what you are talking about.
Hes White. He shouldnt have to depend on the government for free health coverage handout while he is on his deathbed…I really dont see nothing wrong with what he is saying. That old bastard is entitled to his opinion and he is just saying what most Whites feel. You cant satisfy just the Whites, he knows this..
@lolo…why on earth are you so hateful? Did a black woman get the promotion over you AGAIN?????
Rorysmomma
My grandmother would not have been able to vote and my great grandmother would not have been able to vote because of some of the new identification practices. This is why he is calling for the firing of this guy. You guys need to read the context. He is not saying that the remarks are not true. He is saying however that we should disregard elderly black voters because there are just not that many of them. This is wrong because quite frankly elderly black people actually vote. You guys are so quick to jump on the Obama’s of the world. White folks are not out dissing each other, and putting their candidates down. Hell we should get behind the man because he is one of the only viable black candidates we have had. See the quotes below to see what the context of the statement actually was.
Senator Barack Obama said the leader of the civil rights division of the Justice Department should step down after suggesting that minority voters were not widely disenfranchised by laws requiring photo identification because many members of minorities died before reaching old age.
“This administration has shown very little interest in making sure that all people have equal access to the ballot box,” Mr. Obama said in a telephone interview. “It’s important for all of us to embrace the basic notion that we should try to make voting easier, not harder.”
Mr. Obama, an Illinois Democrat who is seeking his party’s presidential nomination, was responding to a remark made by John Tanner, the chief of the Justice Department’s civil rights division. In a speech to a Latino group earlier this month in Los Angeles, Mr. Tanner said that a disproportionate share of elderly minority voters did not have identification, but added that it was not a widespread problem because of their life expectancy.
“Creating problems for elderly persons just is not good under any circumstance,” Mr. Tanner told the National Latino Congreso, according to a video posted on YouTube. “Of course, that also ties into the racial aspect because our society is such that minorities don’t become elderly the way white people do. They die first.”
On Friday, Mr. Obama sent a letter to the Justice Department, urging acting Attorney General Peter D. Keisler to replace Mr. Tanner for making comments that were “patently erroneous, offensive and dangerous.”
Mr. Obama said the remarks were “especially troubling coming from the federal official charged with protecting voting rights in this country.”
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When I go to vote in Memphis, there are older white men and women working behind the polling stations who seem to do everything possible to stop the elderly black people from voting in elections. So, statements like the one Tanner made is beyond stupid!
I thank Rory’s momma for explaining the truth behind what the hell Tanners retarded ass was saying-which is false!
I didn’t read everyone’s comments but most of that statement Mr Tanner made is true. There are inequalities in the healthcare system. About 9 years ago my family came across a Dr names Dr Cruz who told us the very same thing. The issue was that our mom was diagnosed with cancer. The treatment they gve her killed in within 2 months of finding out and three weeks of getting the treatment. After we had her medical records subpoena we found out that the CA 125 was present in her body for 2 years before they let us know. They practically ignored it because of the “Hypocratic Oath”. There were 7 people in the ward cancer ward, 6 blacks and 1 white. Five blacks died within weeks of each other, 1 black survived because she refused the hospital’s treatment and checked her self into a Holistic Hospital. But the 1 white person that recieved the treatment from that same hospital, survived. Now that is only the oblivios. Last week my daughter who has asthma was denied her medication by my health insurance claiming that I went over the limit for the year. This was only the third time filling Albuterol. They have yet to tell me what is the limit,which is crazy since it is a maintenance medication for an ungoing condition. So I really believe it when Mr Tanner said that there is inequality in healthcare.
Thank you Rorysmamma!!!
According to an essay appearing in “Brother Man- The Odyssey of Black Men in America- An Anthology” Lynch was a British slave owner in the West Indies who came to the United States to tell American slave owners how to keep their slaves under control. It is believed that the term “lynching” is derived from Lynch’s name.
Check out this 140-minute video and half-day presentation
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“Gentlemen, I greet you here on the bank of the James River in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and twelve. First, I shall thank you, the gentlemen of the Colony of Virginia, for bringing me here. I am here to help you solve some of your problems with slaves. Your invitation reached me on my modest plantation in the West Indies where I have experimented with some of the newest and still the oldest methods of control of slaves.
Ancient Rome would envy us if my program were implemented. As our boat sailed south on the James River, named for our illustrious King, whose version of the Bible we cherish. I saw enough to know that your problem is not unique. While Rome used cords of woods as crosses for standing human bodies along its highways in great numbers you are here using the tree and the rope on occasion.
I caught the whiff of a dead slave hanging from a tree a couple of miles back. You are not only losing a valuable stock by hangings, you are having uprisings, slaves are running away, your crops are sometimes left in the fields too long for maximum profit, you suffer occasional fires, your animals are killed.
Gentlemen, you know what your problems are: I do not need to elaborate. I am not here to enumerate your problems, I am here to introduce you to a method of solving them. In my bag here, I have a fool proof method for controlling your Black slaves. I guarantee everyone of you that if installed correctly it will control the slaves for at least 300 hundred years. My method is simple. Any member of your family or your oversee r can use it.
I have outlined a number of differences among the slaves: and I take these differences and make them bigger. I use fear, distrust, and envy for control purposes. These methods have worked on my modest plantation in the West Indies and it will work throughout the South. Take this simple little list of differences, and think about them.
On top of my list is “Age”, but it is there only because it starts with an “A”: the second is “Color” or shade, there is intelligence, size, sex, size of plantations, status on plantation, attitude of owners, whether the slave live in the valley, on hill, East, West, North, South, have fine hair, coarse hair, or is tall or short. Now that you have a list of differences. I shall give you an outline of action-but before
that I shall assure you that distrust is stronger than trust and envy is stronger than adulation, respect, or admiration.
The Black slave after receiving this indoctrination shall carry on and will become self re-fueling and self generating for hundreds of years, maybe thousands. Don’t forget you must pitch the old Black male vs. the young Black male, and the young Black male against the old Black male. You must use the dark skin slaves vs. the light skin slaves and the light skin slaves vs. the dark skin slaves. You must use the female vs. the male, and the male vs. the female. You must also have your white servants and overseers distrust all Blacks, but it is necessary that your slaves trust and depend on us. They must love, respect and trust only us.
Dr. Freeman’s
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Gentlemen, these kits are your keys to control. Use them. Have your wives and children use them, never miss an opportunity. If used intensely for one year, the slaves themselves will remain perpetually distrustful. Thank you, gentlemen.”
I feel that any inequalities that we experience, whether it be health related or not, are things that we need to strive to fix in the future. We need to come together MORE when it comes time to vote for these elections and not just the PRESIDENTIAL election. When cities/towns have their own local elections for council members, etc; WE need to be there, vote and try to be just as informed on the people running for these positions are we try to be with the people running for president. Local/State elections are just as important as Presidential when you want to think about stopping inequalities. Somebody had to back this Tanner guy to get him in office, right? Or am I way off?
Statistics say the life expectancy for a black person is 72.7 years, and for whites 78 years.
So there is s difference of about 5.3 years, and it is a significan difference, but to say that black people die off early and dont become elderly is an ignorant statement.
The life expectancy for black males is somewhere between 65 and 67 years.
The life expectancy for white women is 79 years. Black women – 77 years, White men 75 years.
We are dying so young because it’s just too stressfull handling all that ass u sistas have.
I may go young but I will die happy :=)
On a serious note are we suprised that a Bush administration official is racist?
I continuall
I work in the minority outreach/research profession and what he said is true. PERIOD.
The numbers speak for itself…its just the person giving us the message is what bothers some of us.
But I see this everyday when I come to work. So it doesn’t bother me one bit…
Some of y’all need to read and comprehend before you run around calling everything “racist”. The man says the reason why blacks die younger than whites is because of “inequitues in healthcare” . In other words he is saying inequaliteis in the health care system is negatively affecting black people as well as “a variety” of other inequitues in this country, like he said. How is that racist? The man is right.
Its not the ONLY reason for the difference in life expectancy between blacks and whites (we have a much higher murder rate, for one) but it is a part of the reason.
haha @ richard.
It’s not so much how he views the facts of his statement but that the voting power he holds while harboring these feelings. To be so blatantly bias is dangerous to the welfare and welbeing of people of color that are subject to his decision making.
The “minorities die first” comment is highly stupid considering the small life expectancy gap between blacks and whites. Seriously, who cares if you die at 73 and I die at 75 — same shit.
Rorysmama and Truthteller! Please tell these fools again what you mean cuz I don’t think they understand!
Barack is goig to be damned if he do and damned if he don’t. My dad is 73, my grandma is 93 my uncle is 95. How does this the guy come off saying elder care does not matter to minorities? I find this statement to be highly offensive and I am sure my dad and granma feel the same.
My grandmother is 75 and will be here for a while. It’s funny how some people on here are quick to defend ignorant comments.
@nah nah,
even if your grandmother was 105 it’s irrelevant to this argument. the AVERAGE black person in america lives 5 years less than the average white person, and the man was going into some of the reasons for that. We’re not here to talk about your grandmother. Its about statistics, not nahnah’s grandmother.
tray,
when did the man say elder care doesnt matter to miniorities?
@nah nah
get your facts right.
the life expectancy gap is 5.3 years, not 2 years.
and yes,5 years is a significant number .
I here what you say about the age thing, but I still want 72 year old black people to be able to vote without an i.d. if necessary. That is the real issue. He threw the health disparity comment in to make it seem as if he wasn’t really racist…..Yes we have disparities in healthcare, but what the hell does that have to do with the 90 year old black man or woman who wants to vote, but doesn’t have a valid id?
@at Jay, the Ron Paul supporter:hmmmm…
I liked him the best out of the republicans but I don’t trust the republicans for shit and the conservatives even less. As soon as I hear someone claiming conservative, no matter how normal they seem, I find myself thinking they can’t be right in the head or they would see through that bullshit. In other words, I can’t get past michael savage and ann coulter to get to ron paul.
Right now the bush whitehouse is pretty much a lawless gang.hilary clinton is too beholden to the right wing to restore the rule of law, barack obama’s name is barack obama and if dynamite bob has to raise up from the dead,barack obama will never be president of these united states, rudy guiliani is evil, petty and doesn’t obey laws he doesn’t like. When this dude left the mayorship of NYC, he took all the states papers with him on some contemptuous disregard shit like I want to see y’all make me give them back. That being said, I don’t like any of the front runners and I’m not voting. Now tell me what’s so great about ron paul.
Rorysmomma,
I’m going to have to assume that your grandmother worked in this country illegally then or before photo id’s were required to work. You are required by law to have a photo id as part of your I-9 form in this day in age. I’m also going to assume that they didnt drive, because its illegal in the US to operate a vehicle without a driver’s license. If you are driving you are violating the law and have no insurance either. (I want you arrested because you’re driving up my insurance rates!!!)She also must not have had a checking account. Because I dont know a store that doesnt require photo id (and no one I know considers this racist) to cash or accept a check. I would also ask if these elderly people you mention had any lines of credit because photo id is also required. Also Racketeering Laws and the Patriot Act require you to present a photo id to open an account. Also, whoever wrote that this statement was made before the supreme court many also not have been sourcing the correct incident that led to this note by Obama. These comment were made by Tanner during a presentation to a Latino caucus. He was specifically referencing a case in Georgia and a supreme court ruling concerning photo id requirements. Before you call him racists I would ask you to compare the number of minorities mostly below the age of 40 in the state of Georgia who DO have photo ids and drive and work legally in this country. The only people this photo id requirement should be effecting in reality are people who do not drive, usually elderly people (they are less likely to have a driver’s license/or state id) and illegal immigrants. As for the obviously ignorant people who keep saying how old the people in their family are…you need to take a debate/statistics/logic class. You can’t dismiss a NATIONALLY recognized statistics just because one or two people you know arent dead. Also I didnt allude to homocide being the number one killer of black males. But it does contribute to insurance rate calculations by actuaries. Here’s another statistic. Males (regardless of race) are more likely to die between the ages of 14-26 due to violent deaths. Besides while we are weeping over black males being in jail or dead beat daddies…the statistics say BLACK WOMEN are in the bulls eye. Sorry no sympathy fellas. What he said was that for every elderly white voter who can’t vote because of this photo id requirement…that favors the larger photo id carry population who needs to take their ass to the poll. Mr. Tanner also went on to say in this discussion that many people are not registering to vote when they get/renew their license either because its not offer to them (as required by law) or because they REFUSE. Finally, ask yourself how almost everything in the country requires you to present a photo id but its only racist if they ask you for one when you vote????
VOTE and VOTE OFTEN.
Knoxious got at y’all. I cosign on all that till you got to black women are in the bulls eye. Then we parted company.
Black women are chilling right now in ways black men can’t even imagine. Niggas remain the very personification of bestial savagery, regardless. That never changes and for that reason THEY will always be in the bullseye.
Stopthemadness, please understand what he attempted to justify by making that comment. Stop being so lazy and read.
2 issues:
1. His comments. I’m not sure if they were racist… I think they were poorly articulated. It is true that the avg. life expectancy for minorities is remarkably less than whites. I’m just not sure what this had to do with his point… or if he had a point. I’d like to see more from his speech.
2. lolo: I agree with the earlier person that called lolo a troll~ someone who dislikes black people, but is so infatuated with us that she can’t keep her wannabe ass off our sites or out of our men’s beds… lol. You know, the one out on the dance floor messing up the electric slide for everyone else. If you don’t like our flavor, carry your ass to Lossip.
I love how old white folks think they are so knowledgable in minority lives.
I bet this man has never set foot outside his ranch. smh
NYC, until black women are not the number one endangered species in the US…I won’t be able to worry about something as ethereal as black men being the “personification” of blah blah blah. Personification doesnt explain away the fact that mortality rates for African-American women are higher than any other racial/ethnic group for nearly every major cause of death including heart disease, lung cancer, cerebrovascular disease, breast cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Personfication won’t explan why black women are less likely to have breast cancer than their white counterparts but more likely to die from it…and for BIOLOGICAL reasons…NOT/NOT limited access to healthcare. Black women are more likely to get breast cancer at a younger age, and their tumors tend to be more aggressive and harder to treat. The men in my family are hardworking contributors to society and wrong or right they can deal with being pulled over by the cops because their black…but apparently that offends a lot of people. I, along with his father, have raised a black man to know that scrutiny is an opportunity to enlighten the spectators. Next year he will graduate from high school at the top of his class and go to college. A decision we’ve been talking about for 12 years! I bring it up because I think it important to know that black men aren’t just numbers to me…I love some of them.
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Also, to give Mr. Tanner’s emphasis on race more context and explain why it would be relevant in all…its worth noting that in 2004 150,000 white voters over the age of 60 voted in Georgia without a photo id. That’s right Mary knew Ms. Mae from church and was like here’s your ballot. If this law had been enacted…that would have 150,000 less white voters. Georgia is a booming job wise so the number one reason people move there is to work. So taking that into context, this law would make less white voters and more minority voters. Initially it was argued that this law (a growing national trend that is viewed skeptically) would hurt rural, elderly, black voters because they don’t have as much money as white people and wouldnt be able to afford the 35 dollars every 10 years for a drivers license or state issued id. They also are apparently less likely to have access to transportation to Georgia’s allegedly scant license offices. Nor do they have/know anyone with access to the internet so they can renew online. I don’t know about you but that’s a very simplistic view with which to take a law to the supreme court. Which ruled and rightly so that the law wasnt a racial issue. Add that to the fact that while GA’s elderly white population is growing faster than its minority. We’ve already talked numbers so it unnecessary to go over that again. The fact is that unless there was effort help ensure that elderly voters maintained valid identification (I’m sure that would be seen as the MAN helping his own.) this continues to be an issue of voters being disenfranchised….no matter who it helps.
It is easier to stay out than get out.