Election response article unwarranted

I picked up a copy of The North Wind today expecting the usual random stories that I see in every newspaper, but I came across Lucy Hough’s article and found several parts of it slightly offensive, making whites sound like some kind of monsters.

The opening line itself is not only in bad context, but also implies that we, as white men, have been holding African Americans back even after they achieved equal rights. “In a nation that was ruled by white men for its first 231 years of existence, the election of a black man…”

It makes it seem as if the government has been holding the race back from achieving great attributes that get stapled into history. The African American people have had plenty of opportunities to run for president as Obama did, the problem was that the Democrats have a problem with choosing candidates.

There were several other quotes that caught my eye. “I believe that such individuals as Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson, and Barbara Jordan have tirelessly fought for change for many years. With the election of Obama as president, they are seeing the fruit of their labor and the harvest is good. There are parents in African American households around the country telling their children, for the first time, maybe, that they can indeed be anything they want to be,” quoted from Markisha Smith, an NMU faculty member. I find these quotes somewhat offensive to the white community. Our country has endlessly allowed the creation of several African American groups that offer scholarships to their race’s youth such as the NAACP and the United Negro College Fund, which presents the same opportunity as everyone else to become “anything they want to be.” All it takes is a little work.

Another NMU faculty member, Ajani Burrell, said he believes that people everywhere are now saying they can achieve any office they want, not simply because of Obama’s win, but because he showed that anyone can make it if they have the means to do it and if they have beliefs consistent with those of the American people. “This election restores my faith in the American people, not just for the fact that the majority have voted for the non-traditional choice, but because they made the best choice.”

I am not saying that the black population does not have a right to celebrate this victory, but only that they do it on their own time. A person can be happy that a minority is in office without expressing their beliefs in a public newspaper, forcing the readers to “come to their side,” so to speak.

This article and stories like these do not belong in the media, no matter what medium.

Brett Lampson

freshman,

graphic communication