The massacre in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday, June 17, has
reinvigorated the conversations about racism and gun violence in
America. On Friday, President Obama was a guest on comedian Mac Maron’s WTF Podcast
— recorded in the host’s garage — and he used that time to deeply and
explicitly delve into intersection of these issues, at one point using
the N-word, a fact that has been trending on Twitter since the episode premiered.
In the media frenzy
over Obama’s use of the word, several salient remarks about racism,
massacres and congress’ role in gun control were lost. Here are some of
the most important tidbits of realness from The President:
-
On Racism
Getty Images“The legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination in almost every
institution of our lives, you know, that casts a long shadow, and that’s
still part of our DNA that’s passed on. We are not cured of it. … And
it’s not just a matter of it not being polite to say n—-r in public.
That’s not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It’s not
just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don’t, overnight,
completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior.” -
On Gun Violence and Mass Shootings
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)“The point I made in the immediate aftermath of the killing [in
Charleston, South Carolina] was that I’ve done this way too often.
During the course of my presidency, it feels as if a couple times a
year, I end up having to speak to the country and to speak to a
particular community about a devastating loss. And the
grieving that the country feels is real, the sympathy, obviously,
prioritizing comforting the families — all that’s important. But I think
part of the point I wanted to make was it’s not enough just to feel bad. There are actions that could be taken to make events like this less likely.” -
On Sandy Hook
Enid Alvarez/NY Daily News via Getty Images“I will tell you, right after Sandy Hook, Newtown, when 20 six-year-olds
are gunned down, and Congress literally does nothing — yes, that’s the
closest I came to feeling disgusted … I was pretty disgusted.” -
On Congress
“Unfortunately, the grip of the NRA on Congress is extremely strong. I
don’t foresee any legislative action being taken in this Congress. And I
don’t foresee any real action being taken until the American public
feels a sufficient sense of urgency and they say to themselves, ’This is
not normal. This is something we can change and we’re gonna change it.’
And if you don’t have that kind of public and voter pressure, then it’s not gonna change from the inside.”
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