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Dianne Williamson: Showing cards necessary in honest race talks Comment By Dianne Williamson The Telegram & Gazette MailTribune.com By Dianne Williamson The Telegram & Gazette Posted May. 14, 2015 at 8:38 AM By Dianne Williamson The Telegram & Gazette Posted May. 14, 2015 at 8:38 AM » Social News The picture in the Daily Caller is a stock photo of America’s first lady wolfing down a cracker topped with what appears to be caviar, which apparently means she has no business discussing her experience as a black woman. “Luxurious Life As First Lady Takes Toll On Michelle Obama Because She Is Black, She Complains,” reads the headline. The fact that she wasn’t complaining in her powerful commencement speech at Tuskegee University, but rather acknowledging some tough truths about being black in America, has gone over the heads of conservative critics ever eager to accuse any African-American willing to tackle racial issues as “playing the race card” and failing to appreciate the hand they’ve been dealt. These disingenuous hatemongers are throwing a hissy fit because one of the most powerful black women in America gave an honest, heartfelt speech Saturday to a historically black college in Alabama, in which she addressed racial prisms and challenges through her personal experiences. The speech was frank, poignant and inspiring. She warned the graduates that some people would “look right past” them because of their skin color. She talked about the “nagging worries that you’re going to get stopped or pulled over for absolutely no reason” along with “the fear that your job application will be overlooked because of the way your name sounds.” And she spoke candidly of her own rough moments as America’s first black first lady, when she was described as “Obama’s baby mama” and accused of being uppity. “Then there was the first time I was on a magazine cover — it was a cartoon drawing of me with a huge Afro and machine gun. Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I’m really being honest, it knocked me back a bit.” Yet, Obama urged the graduates to never give up hope or use racism as an excuse. Succumbing to anger and despair “only means that in the end, we lose,” she told them. She stressed the need for ambition and hard work. Those are themes that conservatives traditionally embrace, of course, but not when they come from Michelle Obama, who simply cannot win. If she ignores racial issues she’s ignoring reality. If she addresses them, she’s whiny. Listen to her critics, you’d think she railed against the white devil and bemoaned her cruel fate. Rush Limbaugh claimed she was “doubling down” on “playing the race card,” has “a giant chip on (her) shoulder” and complains she’s been treated poorly because people “didn’t fawn enough” over her. Radio host Laura Ingraham called the first lady “angry” and said she delivered “a litany of victimization.” The National Review, meanwhile, accused her of wearing “racialized blinders” and possessing a long-standing sense of grievance. “I fear we are seeing now the tip of the Obama racialist iceberg, and in the remaining 18 months are going to witness far more polarization and alleged grievances against the supposedly culpable so-called majority culture,” Victor Davis Hanson wrote. Oh, for crying out loud. Do some people play the race card? Sure. But at this point in the national conversation, the only game older than playing the race card is falsely accusing someone of playing the race card. Talking honestly about discrimination isn’t playing the race card. Addressing wrongs isn’t playing the race card. Those who claim otherwise are engaged in deceit and attempting to shut down the conversation, in the same way that hypersensitive people and certain activists cry racism to silence opponents. Michelle Obama wasn’t born first lady. She grew up black in Chicago. She has stories to tell, as does her husband. But their critics apparently believe that, because the Obamas have achieved the pinnacle of political success, they should shut up now. Why share their wisdom with young people who could benefit from it the most? Why acknowledge that racism is still a thing? “Our history,” she told the graduates, “… teaches us that when we pull ourselves out of those lowest emotional depths, and we channel our frustrations into studying and organizing and banding together … we can take on those deep-rooted problems, and together - together - we can overcome anything that stands in our way.” I doubt there’s a successful black person in America who hasn’t experienced discrimination in his lifetime. Discussing it is hardly playing the race card. Conservative right pundits know this, but they’re too busy playing their own divisive game to care. Dianne Williamson is a columnist for The Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette. By Dianne Williamson The Telegram & Gazette MailTribune.com By Dianne Williamson The Telegram & Gazette Posted May. 14, 2015 at 8:38 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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