President Obama calls African-Americans a ‘mongrel people’

The Hill ^

[Sub-Driver]

President Obama calls African-Americans a ‘mongrel people’ By Sam Youngman - 07/29/10 11:00 AM ET

NEW YORK CITY -- President Obama waded into the national race debate in an unlikely setting and with an unusual choice of words: telling daytime talk show hosts that African-Americans are “sort of a mongrel people.”

The president appeared on ABC’s morning talk show “The View” Thursday, where he talked about the forced resignation of Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod, his experience with race and his roots.

When asked about his background, which includes a black father and white mother, Obama said of African-Americans: "We are sort of a mongrel people."

"I mean we're all kinds of mixed up," Obama said. "That's actually true of white people as well, but we just know more about it."

The president did not appear to be making an inflamatory remark with his statement. The definition of mongrel as an adjective is defined as "of mixed breed, nature, or origin," according to dictionary.com.

[Diogenesis]

"Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."         Abraham Lincoln
	"We have no government armed in power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other. "         John Adams
“Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God”         Thomas Jefferson
	"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests."         Patrick Henry
"Public officials should not be chosen if they are lacking in experience, training, proven virtue, and demonstrated wisdom. "         Sam Adams

[Bidimus1]

So “the one” was channeling Bill Murray from “Stripes”

“Cut it out! Cut it out! Cut it out! The hell’s the matter with you? Stupid! We’re all very different people. We’re not Watusi. We’re not Spartans. We’re Americans, with a capital ‘A’, huh? You know what that means? Do ya? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We’re the underdog. We’re mutts! Here’s proof: his nose is cold! But there’s no animal that’s more faithful, that’s more loyal, more loveable than the mutt. Who saw “Old Yeller?” Who cried when Old Yeller got shot at the end?”

Of course if this had been a white repbulican (or even a white democrat.. maybe..) he would be in hot water!

[allmendream]

To me it just shows how the racists are ignorant of breeding practices and science.

In animal breeding a cross/hybrid/mongrel mating brings out lots of variations and often “hybrid vigor”. The idea that there is some sort of “mongrelization”, as if humans were selectively bred for a function that would be diluted if mixed; is absolutely asinine.

Some of the most gorgeous women I have ever seen have been of mixed heritage. America has the best of everything in the world, and the most creative, intelligent, motivated and beautiful people from around the world seem to end up here, where such industry and creativity is best rewarded; and it has made our nation the greatest in the World.

[tflabo]

“There is another class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs, partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.”… Booker T. Washington …1904 quote

Gotta love that Booker T. ---and the MG's too, eheheh!

[Habibi]

“We are sort of a mongrel people.”

And this is a problem? Why limit it to Blacks. Of course Americans, in general, are a mongrel society. What do you think the term, melting pot, refers to?

This country is not bound together by race. Broken apart, perhaps, but not bound together.

If you’re concerned about what percentage of various races are in your background, you’re missing the whole point of America. It wasn’t started to support your angst, or pride, based on your “race”. It doesn’t really matter, and as long as you subscribe to the ideals of the country nobody really cares anymore. Oh sure, there may be a few throwbacks in any race, but you have to start to question their mental capacity after a certain point.

Most people have gotten past worrying about such things, unless they’re politicians, or you are on sort of plantation provided by the policticians. It’s certainly not a concern of folks that are operating in the real world, running their own businesses or with better things to worry about.

[EternalVigilance]

Absolutely.

There is only one race: the human race.

I think I’ll make that my new tagline.

[onedoug]

I suppose he´s black, or something. He should have showed the Views how cool he really is and thrown around the n word too.

[Pyro7480]

I’m mixed Asian/English/Irish/Scottish

That's basically what I am, with some Spaniard, German and Polish thrown in the mix. ;-)

[RichInOC]

“Here’s proof. His nose is cold.”

[tflabo]

Just the ‘phonetic sound’ of the word ‘mongrel’ has a repulsive aura about it. A more ‘vanilla’ word to infer could be ‘hybrid’ although its technical meaning does not involve humans whereas ‘mongrel’ is an appropriate and correct term for human interracial mixing. It is what it ‘bees’!

[1951Boomer]

“Given enough time and modern transportation, the human race will probably become a uniform shade of light brown at some point and we can fight over other stuff.”

As a fair-skinned, green-eyed blonde with predominately Scots-Irish ancestry, I’m already seeing the tables turn.

[kabar]

Mongrel is the language of Hitler. Then there is Hitler's racial ideology, his notion that the US was a multiracial "mongrel nation" that could never compete with a racially pure Germany on the battlefield.

Definition: Mongrel--Derogatory a person of mixed race

[9YearLurker]

Yep, and whites can have perhaps not quite as varied blood in significant amounts, but it’s called ‘white’ regardless. Obama was, in a shockingly rare case, just being straightforward.

[kabar]

Words have meanings. Mongrel is a pejorative term. But I guess that we have become so dumbed down that words no longer mean what the dictionary says. And some people can use the “N” word and not be called racist while others lose their jobs for saying it. Go figure.

[kabar]

Straightforward? Since when is using a perjorative, racist word for a human being straightforward?

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

[9YearLurker]

I can see why you’d call it pejorative—though taking back such pejorative associations has long been an activist approach, but I don’t see why ‘mongrel’ is racist. I think you’ve bought into their oversensitivity.

[SW6906]

At least he didn’t say they were niggardly.

[hosepipe]

Excellent quote.. snuck into a speech given at the next NAACP meeting would be delicious embellished with a long pause.....

NOTE: “There is another class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs, partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.”… Booker T. Washington …1904 quote

[Rebelbase]

“but I don’t see why ‘mongrel’ is racist. I think you’ve bought into their oversensitivity.”

Had it been a white politician calling blacks mongrels the uproar would have been nuclear. There’s the racist angle.

[USMCPOP]

Hey Obama, you’re the one who doesn’t have a pedigree or any papers.