Just when it seemed that the reaction to the death of former President George H. W. Bush was dying down, former ESPN anchor and far-left writer Jemele Hill of The Atlantic did her best to use the situation to inflame any racist sentiments held by black Americans.
The article from Hill asserted that the Obamas “were gracious to the Trumps” because they “had to be” since “black people have no choice but to act benevolently toward whites for fear of more punishment.”
Hill also praised the Obamas since they “didn’t go low when they interacted with the Trumps because that’s just not how they operate. And it’s not like I expected anything different at a state funeral.”
“Former President Obama,” she continued, “has always, always exhibited a maddening allegiance to institutional respect, even if it wasn’t returned. (All too often, it wasn’t.)”
The Atlantic writer also stated that the funeral reminded her of a movie entitled Mudbound, which she described as “a tender and compelling story” which had a “sadly familiar” theme that “enraged” her: “White people belittling, dehumanizing and violently attacking black folks with impunity.”
“Meanwhile,” she added, “the black people have no choice but to act benevolently toward whites for fear of more punishment.”
The Atlantic writer then quoted from a fictional “white-supremacy handbook” that stated “those brutalized by racism must be virtuous in the face of indignity -- because it would be inhumane to be impolite to racists.”
Hill also stated that “Trump was rewarded with the presidency for his ugliness.” And the Republican occupant of the White House “is often given special credit for behaving like an adult, as he was at the state funeral.”
She angrily noted: “The Obamas were also praised for their magnanimity -- but the difference is that the Obamas were the aggrieved party, not Trump.”
As a result, “it was infuriating to see the Obamas graciously engage with the man who spent years vociferously promoting the racist conspiracy theory that the former president is a Muslim who wasn’t born in the United States.”
On the Clintons also being in attendance, Hill asserted that Hillary Clinton took advantage of the situation even though she “looked like she would have rather sawed off her arm than acknowledge the Trumps.”
Later, Hill continued:
Most black people have been told practically since the womb that they must be twice as good to get half as much as anybody white. They have also been conditioned to believe that maintaining the moral high ground and being a bigger person is the only way to defeat racism. That often means suppressing natural human emotions that could communicate racism’s devastating impact.
But Hill wasn’t done yet.
She stated that “black folks are punished and traumatized for simply existing in the same space as a white person.”
One of the many burdens of racism for people of color, she claimed, is that racism is “ridiculously one-sided."
Only one side is expected to show compassion. Only one side must practice restraint. Only one side is pressured into forgiveness. It’s bad enough having to stomach being wronged. It’s downright shameful being stuck with the responsibility of also making it right.
Of course, people who view everything through the prism of racism are easily enraged when someone "goes high" -- even during a presidential funeral.
