It would have been better for him to stay out of it, obviously, but the part where he said young black men were disproportionately the victims AND perpetrators of violence was an important moment and something that needed to be said. And, let's be honest, something literally only he is able to say without inviting a torrent of Jackson-Sharpton "outrage."

Obama is still very young. Like Jimmy Carter, he'll be around for decades poking around in public policy. If one of his focus areas going forward is helping to rebuild black society in America by telling hard truths like that we'll all be well served.

Then I should be contact Dutch public television about only broadcasting the part where he said "he could have been that boy." and the part just before and after that.

The POTUS doesn't stay out of anything.

Um, why can't he speak on it? He is a black man. He is the president of the United States.

What black people have spent the last week or so trying to tell to white America is that this is about race and that white privilege is a real thing. Obama speaking on it only solidifies that.

What, do white people really think all black people are just straight up lying about their racial experience in America? Really? Come on.

This isn't really about race or white privilege or anything besides what happened between two people one night. The media circus surrounding it has made race a factor, but in the case itself it was not an important factor.

But when did facts stop Thucydides from getting on his cultural crit high horse?

Jesus fucking Christ! Zimmerman's a fucking wetback you asswipes! He ain't white!!!

The media tried and failed to race bait America on this issue. I can't believe POTUS even addressed this. Frankly, it's below his station. I wasn't alive, but did Clinton address Rodney King before the riots? The President shouldn't be putting commentary on court cases, much less ones that aren't in the Supreme Court (Where I would give an "ok" on)

@Draug Doesn't he identify as white not with his peruvian mother?

The bigger issue was the USAG making a public case about how he would bring charges yadda yadda yadda. The USAG shouldn't be tainting the jury pool by going on national TV about the case at all. A good court would declare any case brought forth now to be a mistrial due to prosecutorial abuse.

@CF - I don't know that for a fact. I've never seen a quote attributed to him or heard a recording of him saying that. The media has *implied* it just as they implied that TM was some poor innocent little boy by using his picture at 13 or 14 and not his mugshots.

He says he is hispanic on all applications and drivers license.... he aint white so this lets blame whitey shit needs to stop.

"The media tried and failed to race bait America on this issue."

There have been dozens of riots since the media pulled their bullshit, I'd say they were pretty successful at baiting some groups. Obama commenting on this shows those people that the government does care about them, and hopefully alleviates the angrier groups movements. Kudos to him for addressing issues in our country instead of focusing all his attention overseas. America has a president to lead this country, to be an ideal of democracy. Addressing the issues of the American public is what I expect him to do.

He addresses some peoples issues. Not all

Yeah but that's what every president does. They pick and choose which people to address at any one time.

Of all the issues I would want him to address, this is the last damn one

I agree but there's still a lot of talk over the case so he may of felt he needed to.

Relevant in Obama statments - He OPENLY declares that Black American communities are violent. So...the President of the United States has said that blacks are violent.

Is Obama a racist?

Because if *I* were to point out this obvious statistical fact, I'd be a racist.

The President has now declared it - and of course tried to justify it -- so is Obama a racist?

After all...Obama IS A WHITE GUY. You know...White mother...1/2 white....Just like good old Zimmerman the half-white White guy.

Fucking racist Obama...

No, there are other reasons you'd be a racist...

But why take this incident? It's toxic. Why not wait a few months to give a more toned down intellectual variant of such a speech? I continue to be depressed by the leader of the free world...

He has to talk about it precisely because it's toxic. Whether you believe the initial incident has a racial component or not, the fact is that there is a racial matter, and race is a big part of his politics. On top of that, a good portion of his voting base is rather pissed off about the outcome of this trial, and while he's not running again in 2016, he doesn't want to make life harder on the next Democrat. Is this really surprising to anyone?

It seems like people are projecting all their political visions onto this incident, simply because there's so little known about it.

"while he's not running again in 2016, he doesn't want to make life harder on the next Democrat."

I don't think that's a factor here at all. If he were trying to make life easier for Democrats it would be members of Congress in 2014. But he's not even doing that. He was just being sincere. It's a shame the nuance in the speech was drowned out by the I-could-have-been-Trayvon line.

He could have thought of what the media would do with that line.

Redhouse, I don't understand how you don't understand that Obama did the right thing by speaking out.

There is a reason it's important that the man is our first black president - there is an opportunity for a real racial dialogue that the country has never had and has always desperately needed.

And it is showing results. This is something my own father, a dyed-in-the-wool born-again Christian - a quintessential conservative upper-middle aged white American man, just posted on Facebook:

"I've read and heard a lot of comments about President Obama's remarks yesterday on Trayvon Martin. I recommend you read his complete remarks -- especially if you are an old fat white guy like me. I do not agree with everything he said but I think he did an excellent job of explaining, in a calm and reasonable way, why most African Americans react to this case differently than most white Americans, why America doesn't seem very racist if you are a white man but it does if you are a black man. I especially appreciate that he acknowledged things have gotten much better in this country, and will continue to get better with each generation. But us old fat white guys need to be reminded that we're not there yet, and that even when all racism is gone the memory of it, the history of it, will take time to fade. There is a healing of hearts that needs to happen, a trust that must be slowly built, before we will truly be a post-racial society. Toward that end we white Americans must continue to extend grace to those who are angry and work to build bridges of trust in our neighborhoods, churches and workplaces. There is much that still remains to be done."

For emphasis:

"why America doesn't seem very racist if you are a white man but it does if you are a black man."

If Obama elicited that from my dad, who thinks the guy is a socialist, then I'll be damned, he did the right thing. Good on Obama. Good on my dad.

It seems my father who I took to be as close minded as many of you on this website has actually made you all look very crass indeed.

But it's not about race, right?

Invi - fucking coward. Way to be a pussy and avoid the issue I raise. I'm not a racist AT all...but our President is, and I call him out on it, as I have in the past. Sorry if truth offends you and shatters your carefully constructed fantasies.

Krellin I am so glad you are not my father.

And I pity your children.

Good night.

So people who disagree with Thucydides are wrong because his dad posted something on Facebook?

Got me convinced. I surrender.

As for krellin, you can be pretty much right on public policy fundamentals and still be a racist. That's what it sure looks like you are.

I judge every human individually. I judge social cultures as they present themselves. Cultures they celebrate violence against cops, treat women as "hoes", reserve "racist" words for themselves to use and weikd them as weapons...that culture I despise. If an individual self-idrntifies as agreeing with that culture I will judge that individual accordingly.