Air Force Brass Must Crack Down on Obama Picture Removal February 16, 2009 ยท Print This Article <javascript:window.print()>
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, The Hutchinson Report - Apparently Colonel Jay Raymond Commander of the flagship Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, didn't get the word. Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States. He's also the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. The failure to get the word was apparent when Raymond did not instantly reprimand Peterson commissary employees for abruptly yanking Obama's picture from the commissary entrance. The employees claimed that the picture of Obama didn't fit in with the theme and the tradition of Presidents Day. That only presidents Washington and Lincoln should be honored on that day; meaning that their pictures are the only presidential pictures that should be seen. This lame excuse won't wash. Obama is the current President and before him Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and probably the faces of Bush Sr. and Ronald Reagan smiled benignly down on commissary visitors and patrons on Presidents Day. There is no record anyone protested that their pictures were not in keeping with the spirit of the day. The Obama picture flap is not a petty, silly, and small thing. It's part of the relentless low intensity campaign that has been waged by some bloggers, on some web sites, and by some conservative talk radio hosts to belittle, demean and discredit the nation's first African-American president. Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley and Peterson Air Base Commander Jay Raymond should call the picture removal the bigoted act that it is. They should do what any good military commander does when there's insubordination and disrespect in the ranks and that's crack down. That means an immediate order to place Obama's picture back on the wall, and sternly warn that this is an order and disobedience will be punished. Secretary Donley should also send a message to Air Force personnel at all bases that President Obama is the nation's commander in chief. His picture will be on full display at the bases and fully respected. *Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is How Obama Won (Middle Passage Press, January 2009).* On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 1:49 PM, Ms. Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > Photo of Obama is taken down at Peterson > TOM ROEDER <[email protected]> > February 13, 2009 - 6:09PM > > President Barack Obama's picture was removed this week from a Presidents > Day sign at the Peterson Air Force Base commissary after customers > complained that the image did not fit the holiday commemorating the > birthdays of past presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. > > The head of the local NAACP and a commissary employee say it was blatant > racism. > > The picture of the first black president accompanied a sign near the > entrance listing the government-run military grocery store's operating hours > on for Presidents Day. The store will be open from 9 a.m. to > 8 p.m. Employees took the sign down after customers complained that the > holiday wasn't about the current president, according to the Defense > Commissary Agency, which oversees the base grocery stores. > > Rosemary Harris, president of the local branch of the National Association > for the Advancement of Colored People, said something more sinister was > afoot. > > "It bodes poorly for the progress that we hoped we would see in this > country; we might have taken one step forward but we see many steps being > taken backwards," she said Friday. > > A cashier at the commissary who did not want her name used said pictures of > past presidents, including George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, have accompanied > the Presidents Day closure sign. > > One customer, a military retiree, objected this year because of Obama's > race, the cashier said. > > "He said they're not going to have no black man on the window where he > shops," the cashier said. > > The commissary agency disputed the cashier's story, saying no past > presidents have had their picture displayed with the holiday message. > > They said four customers had complained that Presidents Day is to honor > Washington and Lincoln, not Obama, causing the agency to remove the Obama > image. > > "The customers stated it is inaccurate to associate other presidents with > this holiday and asked that we remove President Obama's photo from the > flier," the agency said in a statement. > > The commissary came up with a new, less controversial notice. > > "The one presently posted is titled Washington's Birthday and has no > photos," the agency said. > > Harris isn't buying it, and said she wants Obama to again greet shoppers. > > "To me it doesn't matter if its racism or politics," Harris said. "It's > probably some of both." > > -- > "I'm selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out > of control, and at times hard to handle, but if you can't handle me at my > worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." ~Marilyn Monroe > -- "I'm selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control, and at times hard to handle, but if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." ~Marilyn Monroe --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Black Focus Inc." group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Black-Focus-Inc?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
