ShaneHaven.com

Yes, you read that title correctly. Rod Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois who was put out of a job after scandal hit his office, believes he is more black than President Obama himself. I have always found the character that is Blagojevich is to be quite amusing, despite his criminal activity.The statement that Blago made was quite insensitive. I generally say that the world is too politically correct and too quick to become offended, but I believe people have a legitimate gripe over his statement. Deanna Bellandi of the Associated Press released a short article about the comments Blagojevich made in an interview with Esquire Magazine. Bellandi writes:

“‘I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived,’ Blagojevich said. ‘I saw it all growing up.’”

I, as a white male, find this incredibly disturbing and racist towards the black community for multiple reasons. First, and foremost, Blagojevich is portraying blacks in a generalist fashion by saying that they all live in rather poor conditions. An individual who makes their living by shining shoes is one who would probably not make a decent living. The very same evidence goes to the apartment portion of the statement as well. A five room apartment is not a very luxurious place to reside in. Who is Blagojevich to insinuate that all blacks are poor? There are many successful black people all around the world. There are many individuals who make a lot of money that this statement would easily offend. Blagojevich’s comments can easily be rightfully labeled as racist.

Furthermore, one who is under the restrictions that poverty provides is probably also not well educated. Once again, of course, Blagojevich is wrong. Just to drop a few names as examples (although no examples are really needed) – Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael Steele, and Oprah are just a few who defy the racism expressed by Blagojevich both in their financial earnings and education. At first I could not fathom how Blagojevich could come to such a conclusion, or even why he would release it to the public. Its political public suicide, right? Not exactly.

Someone once said that there is no such thing as bad press. Blagojevich, who according to Bellandi, is going to appear on the next season of Celebrity Apprentice in March is testing the statement. Blagojevich is trying to get the public riled up, and those who have forgotten Blago to remember him. It is my opinion, that the result that Blagojevich is going for is higher ratings for the popular Trump program. Helping Trump is not the former Governor’s concern however, as it may be a move to try to come off as the nice guy on the show. If he can get enough viewers, be portrayed as a nice fellow that is also hardworking, it may be aid Blagojevich in persuading a jury for his acquittal. Its just a thought that crossed my mind, and it certainly does not make it correct.

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I do not have much time to post, as of right now. I am working on my final papers for the semester, but this has been on my mind for quite some time. I want to make sure I go “on record” with my views and analysis.

I think this is a positive endeavor which Obama is undertaking. I have spoken with veterans of the current wars, as well as military historians about the Afghanistan and Iraq issue. The beauty of being a history major, is that I am surrounded by these types of individuals almost consistently while on campus. One of the main consensus that the military historian gave me, is that to win a war you need strong numbers. That is something that has been lacking in the Afghan war. The U.S. media made a mistake of making the Iraq war the primary war, when it clearly should have been our secondary war. Afghanistan became an afterthought. To help contain, and improve the situation in Afghanistan, there needs to be a troop increase. Many of Obama’s supporters have become unhappy with this decision. This has worked through the history of the U.S. military, just as it did in Iraq. But Obama is right when he has called Afghanistan the “war of necessity.” Furthermore, it is a war we must win.

The only criticism I have of Obama is that it took him a while to figure out that a troop increase was a necessity, and workable option. Yes, there is the problem of how we will pay for the increase, and maybe that is what he was mulling over. Just as this war was a necessity, the increase is a necessity. Especially since it has been released that the U.S. could have had Bin Laden but failed to obtain him in December of 2001.

If I have time, I will respond to Obama’s speech tonight about this very situation where is is going to lay out the plan. ABC is going to air it, tonight at 5pm PT. Again its the last few weeks of the semester, and I really need to concentrate.

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