Obama: As a black man he's been mistaken for valet

[Jazzy]

Obama: As a black man he's been mistaken for valet

He may be president now, but Barack Obama says he's a black man who has been mistaken for the valet.

"There's no black male my age, who's a professional, who hasn't come out of a restaurant and is waiting for their car and somebody didn't hand them their car keys," Obama told People magazine in an interview out Wednesday. That happened to him, he said.

First lady Michelle Obama said her husband also once was mistaken for a waiter at a black-tie party and asked for coffee. She said even when she went to Target as first lady, a fellow shopper asked her to get something from a shelf.

"I think people forget that we've lived in the White House for six years," she said. "Before that, Barack Obama was a black man that lived on the South Side of Chicago, who had his share of troubles catching cabs."

The first couple spoke about their experiences with racism amid protests nationwide over the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York. The president said racial relations have gotten better, but more progress is needed.

"The small irritations or indignities that we experience are nothing compared to what a previous generation experienced," Obama said. "It's one thing for me to be mistaken for a waiter at a gala. It's another thing for my son to be mistaken for a robber and to be handcuffed, or worse, if he happens to be walking down the street and is dressed the way teenagers dress."

First off, I didn't even know he had a son. Where's he been hiding all this time?

Secondly, isn't it racist to associate a profession with a skin color? Apparently the Obama's think Waiters and Valets are all black. Seems odd to me because I don't. Of course I just think they are all human and ready to do their jobs, but that is just me.

Your thoughts?

 

[DrLeftover]

I've been asked to help people get stuff off of shelves at stores, and mistaken for paid help at sports venues.

So, obviously, I must be black.

Right?

 

[WHO IS SERAFIN]

I am pulling out the racist card when a Hispanic women thought I worked at a Home Depot last week and asked me to cut her some keys. I guess only us white folks work at Home Depots!