Their Hatred

I found President Obama’s reaction to the killing of Trayvon killing to be among the kindest and most touching words I have heard uttered by a president.  I almost literally teared up when he said, “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.”  How could anybody find fault with that?  It was sensitive and compassionate.  Even if you believe that the Trayvon of that fateful night was different from the Trayvon his family describes and he did, in fact, attack poor Mr. Zimmerman, you cannot dispute the pain that his parents must feel.   Obama was channeling that feeling and it seemed very authentic.  Surely, Obama’s critics would be at least mildly touched by the comment.  Right?

Wrong.  Here’s Newt Gingrich commenting on the Presidents comment:

“What the president said in a sense is disgraceful.  It’s not a question of who that young man looked like,” Gingrich said on Sean Hannity’s radio show.

With Gingrich, you never know what he truly believes versus what he is saying for political effect.  But, either way, he statement reflects a deep and abiding hatred of Obama.  To seize upon a clearly genuinely empathetic response and, excuse the expression, “crap all over it” is beyond the pale.  It shows the contortions that people like Gingrich and Hannity go through to stoke the fires of resentment among the Obama haters.

I can just imagine a particular Obama hater listening to the President, thinking to himself, “Well, he seems sincere.  I’ll give him that.”  He feels unhappy because his hatred has been diminished slightly.  The world has tipped a bit and he is discombobulated.   Then, tuning into Hannity, he receive his instructions on why even that comment is worthy of his contempt.  Then, the world rights itself and he can go back to his fear and loathing.

I don’t know whether to be angry or disheartened.

 

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