Over lunch, Barry, who was 9 at the time, sat at the dining table and listened intently but did not speak. When he asked to be excused, Ann directed him to ask the hostess for permission. Permission granted, he got down on the floor and played with Bryant’s son, who was 13 months old. After lunch, the group took a walk, with Barry running ahead. A flock of Indonesian children began lobbing rocks in his direction. They ducked behind a wall and shouted racial epithets. He seemed unfazed, dancing around as though playing dodge ball “with unseen players,” Bryant said. Ann did not react. Assuming she must not have understood the words, Bryant offered to intervene. “No, he’s O.K.,” Ann said. “He’s used to it.”
This is a must read for anybody who is curious about how our President became the man that he became, and how he stays so calm in the face of what often appears to be overwhelming difficulties and immovable obstacles.
President Obama, a true decent American who strives for the best and always tries to reach out to his enemies. No one could ever fill this man's shoes.
ReplyDeleteG, don't you ever sleep?
Very cool Gryphen this is why your blog is the best very informative!
ReplyDeleteNow, after all these years, this CRAP is still going on. Not with rocks, but with words, seemingly hidden in clever phrases. "He is not like us" Will the US EVER mature, and treat everyone aas equal.? President Obama has more intelligence, class and manners than most of the repub. clowns running for his job. Unlike the Palin offspring, HE has a lot of happy memories from his childhood, no absentee mother for him. No foul-mouthed parents throwing canned goods at each other. No wonder he turned out to be such a credit to his family. He was raised correctly, surrounded by LOVE.
ReplyDeleteTo bad 41 years later he still has to be used to it.
ReplyDeleteI read this yesterday, excellent insight to our President's childhood. A wonderful piece that clues us in to how President Obama became the calm, cool and collected man he is today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up. Wonderful, beautiful article. We are very fortunate to have her son as President.
ReplyDeleteBill
Sorry to be off topic but check out this latest bunch of lies over at Salon.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/?story=/politics/war_room/2011/04/22/sarah_palin_trig_conspiracy_theory
hog wash
ReplyDeleteThat is a gorgeous photograph of a proud mother and a happy son!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the excerpt. I hope to have time to read the entire article later today.
I had to wonder, though, if the NYT is running this article (if the excerpt is any indication of the main thrust of the article) to shut Trump up as regards his ludicrous claims that "no one knew Obama, no one remembers him."
Wow, now that is a fine example of good journalism -- well researched, simply presented. Wow
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to that little boy..our President.
ReplyDeleteBeing a bi-racial child in those days was very, very difficult. Somehow that child decided to be happy and forgiving of other people's ignorance and prejudice. God bless him.
Wow, his mom was amazing! Thanks for the link.
ReplyDeletegosh wasn't he a cutie. he looks so much like her, too. i remember reading a lot about her during th elast election, and being so impressed with her compassion, intelligence, and courage. i still have to read this article, but am looking forward to it. wish she could have seen her son become the pres!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the amazing vignette...he does have an unusual calmness about him.
ReplyDeleteThis is just another example of why I love my President. I believe with all my heart that President Obama truly wants what's best for this country and for us. Do I agree with everything he says or does? No, but I respect him and trust him. I also believe that he really cares about us "little" people. I will continue to stand behind him and support him anyway I can. Rock on Mr. President!! This Wisconsinite has your back sir.
ReplyDeleteFantastic article. Very, very informative.
ReplyDeleteHis mother, despite her flaws, sounds like a principled woman who instilled terrific values in her son.
just finished the article - very well done. pres obama didn't let on in his book that he suffered from ingrained racism in indonesia. how difficult for such a young child. ann must have helped him develop the pride and confidence in himself that we see today. and obama's self-control and cool reserve possibly coming from his time as a youth in indonesian schools is an interesting observation. it is a characteristic of his that seems misunderstood as aloofness, which i believe couldn't be further from the truth. it's heart-breaking to think the young obama was pelted with rocks in indonesia, and then the victim of racism in the country of his birth, even and especially as president. he is a trailblazer in many ways, even is some of his decisions and policies are not progressive enough for some of our tastes.
ReplyDeletei am very proud of this president - the first one i have ever really liked. and i am very thankful for ann dunham for raising this wonderful man, and for all the good work she has done in the world. i would love to read the book/extended version.
He was a wonderful boy and he is a GREAT man!
ReplyDeleteI'm very very very disappointed by the president Barack Obama has become. He promised hope and change but has delivered what amounts to a third Bush administration. Continuation of the two Bush wars, the initiation of his own war, the torture of Bradley Manning, backpedaling and equivocation on so many big promises about a public option for health care coverage, protection of the environment, government transparency, coddling of corporatists... I'm bitterly disappointed. This was not what I voted for when I voted for Barack Obama. I know the Republicans obstruct him every step of the way but I also know how often he simply concedes ground to them without even fighting for it first.
ReplyDeleteThat said...
Barack Obama was one hell of a cute kid. And his mother was one hell of a woman.
Wow - is it me or does Justin Elliott come off as a lousy reporter?
ReplyDeleteMatt Taibbi should tackle this. Now there's an investigative reporter.
I read that article the other day, and
ReplyDeleteyesterday told my mother about the
rock throwing. That is what stood
out the most--he is the same way now.
Everyone is throwing rocks (words,
accusations) his way, and he just goes
on. I know Bill Clinton was despised,
but what people say about Obama is
is really sickening, and uncalled for.
And childish. What kills them is a
black man is president, and they and
their children will never be president,
and they know it.
Anon @6:36 your black and white thinking with little room for the forces of reality will always leave you disappointed. As for the bitterness, that is a pill that you choose to swallow, and it's side effects yours to bear. That's a less than optimal personal choice IMO.
ReplyDeleteI see something different, and am grateful every damn day that this great man, despite the non stop barage of insults, false accusations, orchestrated political machinations, and a plate piled high with real and complex issues and crises, has rolled his sleeves up, has put his shoulder to the wheel and with intellect, heart, and determination works to move us as a country forward. Only human, I think he is a remarkable man and a blessing to America and the world.
My, my! Barak Obama was so cute!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad his heart also turned out to be beautiful. Although I'm a conservative (and would prefer to vote for a good one IF one can be found), I am truly proud of President Obama. He's handled this adversarial tightrope of an administration with strength, grace, dignity, and honor.
I was fully betrayed by Bush who, I'm sorry to say, I voted for twice.
Anon 6:36 okay troll. Move along. Recognize your BS a mile away.
ReplyDelete>>My, my! Barak Obama was so cute!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad his heart also turned out to be beautiful. Although I'm a conservative (and would prefer to vote for a good one IF one can be found), I am truly proud of President Obama. He's handled this adversarial tightrope of an administration with strength, grace, dignity, and honor.
**Whoever you are, Anon the conservative, I have huge respect for you for recognizing that our president is truly unique. I understand that his political views may be different than yours, but to have the largeness of heart and spirit to see what he is, and take the time to acknowledge him on a not so conservative blog, rather than tearing him down, well you just gave me a whole new respect for conservatives. Thank you for your post.
I read the article too. The ones I'm most impressed by are his maternal grandparents... they raised a strong, intelligent curious woman, and provided a loving backup family for the grandchildren their daughter often left behind in her pursuit of life. If Ms. Dunham had not had the support of her parents, her children's stories might not have turned out as well as it did.
ReplyDeleteAnon 6:36 with that said, this POTUS is still a better prez than mccain would ever be. and this country is in a better position than it would be with mccain as prez, even with all the opposition.
ReplyDeleteFishy part of one of the stories:
ReplyDelete"Quinn began looking into the rumors again. He called Palin's doctor, Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, who had personally induced Palin's labor in April. Baldwin-Johnson called him back several days after the Republican convention ended in early September. Quinn asked her directly if Trig was Sarah Palin's baby. "The doctor flat-out told me it was Palin's child," he recalled."
He 'recalled'. Why would her doctor so casually violate her medical privacy by discussing this with a stranger over the phone. The later official statement from the doctor was very non-committal about the pregnancy and written in a manner to protect her physician's oath. Interesting that the confirmation of pregnancy came from men. Had a woman been subjected to this same little ruse, I bet their opinion would have differed. Most men might see the slightest bulge and mistake it for a real pregnancy and would likely never ask to 'touch' her padding.
In all the pictures I've seen of Obama & his mom, Barack's mother is physically protective of him, and looks at him with such love in her eyes (unlike she-who-will-remain-nameless).
ReplyDeleteIt's heartbreaking to consider how joyful Barack's election would have been to Ann Dunham, tragic that she didn't live to see that day. She'd only be 68 today if she were alive.
I'm convinced that the "birther" movement only gained steam because Ann Dunham is not now alive. Since Americans revere "Mom and apple pie," who would attack her, and those unfortunate to have done so would surely have gottentheir just desserts from her.
I also think that Trump, despite his ego/meglo-mania began his "campaign" with the birther nonsense because he's secretly working with the Obama campaign. The silver lining is that she-who-remains-nameless has been banished to "last year's news," and will fade into well-deserved oblivion.
This story proves that President Obama has always faced questions or derogatory comments about his ethnicity. While the kids who threw stones his way were childishly foolish, there's no excuse for the adults who keep pushing the birther meme, or who keep forwarding racist cartoons about him to people who they think will share their glee.
ReplyDeleteI read the article too, and was very impressed. Anna was just a child when little Barry was born. His father was already married to a Kanyan woman, who was three month pregnant and had a 18 month old son when he left Kanya. Obama and his older sister is just a year apart.:(
ReplyDeleteI also read Dream of my Father (excellence book). I notice Obama's mom and step-father made Obama tough. His taught him how to fight and stand up for himself. I also remember reading about that none of the kids could beat him. He was bigger and much stronger than them.
Our President is tough and know how to handle those that come against him. He don't display it in public, but I remember Boehner crying and how the President dealt with him in private.LOL... Pres. Obama pointed his finger in his face and slammed his hand down on the table in front of Weeper of he House LOL.. told him to stop lying about HCR :)
Why have the Republicans not found the proof they want by tracing Obama's mother's Visa to Kenya at the time of Obama's birth?
ReplyDeleteOther, of course, that the fact that her Visa would show that she was not out of the US at the time of his birth?
Which actually is moot. She was American and therefore, by law, so is he