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July 27, 2013

Obama’s Biggest Challenge: Guns, Drugs, or Racism?

As a reelected US President, Barack Obama faces a question that should have become of major concern to him last November: what will his legacy be? Two-term presidents have a unique opportunity to make history, and as the first nominally black president in a nation with our painful history of racism, he has not only a golden opportunity to address it from the “bully pulpit,” but also- it will be argued by many-the obligation to do so.

There has been a (timid) indication he may respond to the case as a "teaching opportunity" by his statement that Trayvon "could have been me 35 years ago," a fact anyone who has bothered to read the news for the past 20 years should be able to understand and agree with; at least according to Time Magazine, hardly our most liberal media outlet.

Typically, the hate mongers on the Right, have already thrown down the gauntlet by voicing unequivocal approval of the verdict and denying that the case had anything to do with "race." In fact, the flatulent Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity went a step further by tying Martin, Obama, and marijuana together with an allegation that is best described as "clueless."

My own response is based on reading the comments responding to the Time opinion piece, many of which were discouraging: racist and hateful. On the other hand, there were also many that were reasonable and I didn't find any that were stridently anti-pot, which- as a pro-pot physician- I found encouraging.

What I'd also point out about the marijuana use is that both Trayvon's and Barack's parents had been divorced, a situation I find very interesting and plan to comment on in some detail.

Doctor Tom

Posted by tjeffo at July 27, 2013 07:55 PM

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