"Mutts Like Me"
posted by
Wally
7:21 AM
Obama shows ease discussing race
It popped out casually, a throwaway line as he talked to reporters about finding the right puppy for his young daughters.
But with just three offhanded words in his first news conference as president-elect, Barack Obama reminded everyone how thoroughly different his administration - and inevitably, this country - will be.
"Mutts like me."
...
The message seemed clear - here is a president who will be quite at ease discussing race, a complex issue as unresolved as it is uncomfortable for many to talk about openly. And at a time when whites in the country are not many years from becoming the minority. I don't know why this should surprise anybody. I have plenty of mixed heritage friends who have been calling themselves mutts since I can remember. Maybe that comes from my upbringing in Chicago, a very ethnic city - with "neighborhoods" galore, ethnic festivals going on all Summer long. Ask a Chicagoan "what are you?" and you're likely to hear an answer like "Italian" or "Irish" or "Nigerian" or "Half Japanese, half German" or for those, like my wife, who are a mix of a half dozen heritages, you might hear "I'm a mutt". That being said, when I heard this coming from Barack, also a long time Chicagoan, I didn't think twice about it. It seemed perfectly natural.
And why not? Is this nation not the great "melting pot"? Are we not all in some way a mix of every culture, race, creed that has crossed our path and influenced our lives in some large or small way? Of course there is still WAY too much racism, bigotry, and hatred in this country. There is no way that Obama, or anyone, will be able to heal centuries of history in a few short years. But if a simple comment like "mutts like me" can even start to make a dent in the hatred, if a small, unconscious, offhand deprecating comment can make people laugh about race in a positive way, then at least that's a start. You have to start somewhere.
(By the way, I'm a purebred 3rd generation Polack)
Who let the dogs out?
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