I think it’s a shame to see this sort of thing happening in the United States of America:
CHICAGO (CBS) — The President of the South Suburban Branch of the NAACP alleges a director of the re-election campaign of Barack Obama has threatened and intimidated him because he doesn’t support the president.
Such thuggish behavior normally characterizes countries which don’t share our democratic traditions and respect for free speech. Fortunately, the local NAACP president reported the threat to the police:
David Lowery says he believes he was threatened during a phone conversation with Louis Raymond, the Illinois political director for Obama for America.
Lowery says he doesn’t personally support the president because he’s not addressing issues important to the black community. He said he was explaining that to Raymond when the Obama campaign official told him, “You know what? I know everything about you.”
Lowery says Raymond added, “We’ve been watching you, and since you don’t support Obama, we’ll deal with you,” before hanging up.
Lowery filed a report with the Oak Forest police report, he says, “in case something happens.”
Good for him. This dangerous development should be watched very closely.
Not that it would matter in the First Amendment sense, but lest anyone think that this man is some sort of plant (or nut), I checked out his Youtube videos, and he strikes me as an honest, not especially political person, who simply thinks what he thinks.
In this one (from January) he was clearly in the Obama camp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM1sGtLwVis
And in this one, he is daring to talk to Tea Party activists:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA0ZN8r9zWI
I have long defended my right to think what I think, as well as everyone else’s right to think whatever he or she thinks. If we have reached the point in this country where we are not allowed to think what we think simply because we happen to be members of a group claimed by activists who want to dictate others’ thoughts, then freedom is lost.
Lowery ought to be allowed a very simple, very basic civil right that we all ought to be able to take for granted: the right to think for himself.
For doing just that, he is now being threatened — by the full power of the Executive Office if the reports are correct — for no reason I can see other than the fact of his race. Taking away a man’s right to think what he thinks because of his race not only means punishing him for his thoughts, but for his race.
What this means, simply, is that Lowery is being punished for the crime of thinking while black.
Comments
8 responses to “Thinking while black?”
A nut, why yes he is…
http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.com/2012/10/breaking-naacp-leader-who-said-obama.html?m=1
Is he a nut for seeming to backtrack under duress? That’s quite sane by most definitions.
I have long defended my right to think what I think, as well as everyone else’s right to think whatever he or she thinks. If we have reached the point in this country where we are not allowed to think what we think simply because we happen to be members of a group claimed by activists who want to dictate others’ thoughts, then freedom is lost.
Oh you do huh? Is that why you have a link to Michelle Malkin’s site? I guess publishing private information of college students (the worst scourge on the earth after a social worker I suppose) who happen to have values you disagree with is just some real classical values.
@TheAj – can you provide a link on that? I was born in Missouri (the SHOW ME state). Thanks.
Clearly you weren’t born in the “Hey, I can take a few minutes and figure this out myself” state. Or the “Wikipedia it” state.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/04/22/18170531.php
Oh my God, Eric has a link to Michelle Malkin’s website? Clearly that invalidates everything that Eric writes.
Well, if you are going to engage in repeated hyperbole, then yes.
If we have reached the point in this country where we are not allowed to think what we think simply because we happen to be members of a group claimed by activists who want to dictate others’ thoughts, then freedom is lost.
The last I heard on this: “At the current time, the Obama campaign’s response remains: “Unfortunately there seems to have been a miscommunication regarding this conversation, and we have since discussed with the campaign staffer in an effort to clarify the matter.”
Translation: “We’re telling the dumbass to not be so open about threatening people, since some of you won’t bend over for us and will make noise about it.”