Typical White Person

What a stunning statement by Obama.

The point I was making was not that grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn’t.

But she is a typical white person, who, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn’t know, you know, there’s a reaction that’s been bred in our experiences that don’t go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way, and that’s just the nature of race in our society.

We have to break through it, and what makes me optimistic is you see each generation feeling a little less like that, and that’s powerful stuff.

Wow.  Let’s deconstuct that a bit, shall we?

“she is a typical white person”

Talk about your racial generalizations.  Imagine McCain saying “he’s a typical black person.” He’d be skewered for being racist.  Obama seems to be channeling his racist pastor.

“if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn’t know, you know, there’s a reaction that’s been bred in our experiences that don’t go away”

What!?!?  He is suggesting that his grandma reacts negatively to only black people whom she sees on the street, but he doesn’t actually say it.  In other words, he’s saying that his grandma, who is a “typical white person,” is inherently racist.  Again, he seems to be channeling his racist pastor in the assumption that a “typical white person” is a racist. 

Personally, I’m offended by that.  I’m offended that someone who wants to lead this nation thinks that a huge portion of the population is a bunch of racists.  How can we expect this man to lead us when every time he sees a “typical white person” he sees a racist?