Michelle Obama undergrad thesis on racial divide racist?

I got into a rather heated debate on the Comcast political forums today about whether Michelle Obama's undergraduate thesis in 1985 on racial divide was racist or not. The article "Michelle Obama thesis was on racial divide" provides the thesis in 4 parts ( Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 ), as it was provided by the Obama campaign on request of the article authors.

What I found interesting in reading the thesis was that there really wasn't anything either implied or overtly racist in either it's premise or in its data presentation or analysis, but that people on the Comcast forums would rant that it was racist simply because it was a discussion of racial perspectives.

It is interesting to view the absolute venom and hatred that can be thrown at someone for a racial subject thesis when it becomes obvious that the ones ranting so hard that it is in fact racist, have never even read the composition.

The entire underlying racial tension associated with the presidential run by Barack Obama, from the youtube cut and past clips of Reverend Wright's sermons, to the "typical white woman" thrashing from Obama's speech on Race, to even going back to 1985 to missinterpreting an undergraduate thesis of his wife, to a large degree, provides ample proof that the racial divide within America is still strong.

Whether or not you as an individual think there is a reason for different views on the racial situation in America or not, it is undeniable that across the country, that there is ample evidence that the discussion of race, whether in a speech or a 1985 undergraduate thesis by a 20 year old, is still a prickly subject that ferments the lowest propagation of hatred and distrust that we still have a long way to get past as a country.

Whether Obama wins the presidential nomination or not, I hope that the underlying and repressed subject of race relations within our country can finally have a full, and objective vetting as a necessary subject that we must confront.

A little time off

I'm going to be taking a little time off from the blog for the next week or so. Unfortunately, I have a serious family illness that needs quite a bit of attention. I do plan on posting as I get time, but it obviously isn't going to be the kind of frequency that I have been doing.

I want to thank the loyal readers who have been dropping by and leaving comments, and appreciate the emails I've gotten.

As Arnold always says "I'll Be Back" :)