Courageous Obama

It takes courage for a president of the United States to address such a polarizing subject as race relations and for him to clearly take a side.

Barack Obama has proven his courage. Using clear language, he made his contribution to the over 100 mostly peaceful demonstrations nationwide, while also pleading for the acceptance of an unpopular verdict that was uncomfortable for many. “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago” — such a statement will undoubtedly shape how the first black president will be described in the history books. And Obama’s personal reflections do indeed reflect the everyday life of many blacks, especially in the South.

Obama’s surprising initiative overshadowed the fact that, under closer and neutral consideration, the Zimmerman trial in Florida doesn’t constitute a convincing example of racial discrimination.

If you believe the witnesses, the jurors, the defense and the police, this case was never about racist actions by the perpetrator.

Not a single piece of evidence clearly supported this. In addition, the official FBI statistics show a different side to this heated debate: The number of crimes committed by blacks against whites is on average eight times as high as the number of crimes committed by whites against African-Americans. These are indisputable facts which the U.S. president did not mention — that nevertheless shouldn’t be suppressed, if one wants to have an honest debate about the multifaceted subject of racism.