Racism by Another Name

Since Barack Obama began his run for the Presidency of the United States, there have been a group of people scattered across this country determined to malign and usurp the idea of a black skinned person sitting in the Oval Office. Many of these individuals would not care for Obama because of political party affiliations but most have a different dislike, they hide behind the birth certificate issue in order to cover the source of their hatred...racism. These people are known as birthers.

Many of these so called birthers have been virtually harassing the Health Department of Hawaii in an attempt to secure proof of Obama's birth as a citizen of the United States. That, itself, is bad enough but it seems that many of the same people have made repeated requests for Obama's private information.

The comments made by some of these people are ignorant, cruel and vicious, going so far as to even attack the Obama children. There is proof of this in the comment section of a birther article on Yahoo's Web site in which it was even claimed that the Obama children, calling them by name, are not American citizens. Only a derelict would attack a child out of stupidity and hatred making it uncalled for, not to mention unacceptable.

The fact remains that Obama was required to prove his birthright to election officials, which he did, but that still is not enough for those who hide their bigotry by another name. It would be easier to stomach this behavior if the birthers would just own up to not wanting a black/biracial man to be the President of the United States. Apparently this group of people actually believe that the faux front of lunatic fringe makes them look better than old fashioned racism but, in reality, it makes them look far worse. The racism is more than obvious but the delusional actions make them appear to need pharmaceutical assistance beyond the bigotry.

Some cry that they should be able to legally get a copy of Obama's birth certificate using the Freedom of Information Act and that misconception asserts that either they can not read or choose not to. The FOIA does not guarantee anyone the right to access anyone's personal information and, contrary to the new rules that the birthers are spouting, a birth certificate is just as personal as a Social Security number. It is not public information and therefore not open to public display.

Others claim that the U.S. Constitution gives them the right to see or get a copy of Obama's birth certificate. This thought process also gives the impression that someone either can not or chooses not to read the Constitution because there is nothing in the Constitution that gives any of us the right to gather the personal information of others when it is not required for us to have it. It truly takes a mentally challenged individual to believe that the GOP would have allowed a black/biracial Democrat to run against their candidate without first establishing his birthright to do so.

Why should anyone be allowed to access the personal information of another person without just means? The answer is simple...they should not and are not. The only person allowed access to a birth certificate is the person who was born for that certificate or that person's immediate family. Obama is not required to make his birth certificate public for anyone (private citizen) in this country. Other than immediate family, nobody has a right to see or try to obtain his birth certificate, nor a copy of his birth certificate.

Other than the obvious personal nature and privacy laws that protect personal information the only reason that someone would want access to a birth certificate, other than their own, would be to use it for ill gained purpose like fraud. Many individuals have had their birth certificate changed without their knowledge by someone with nefarious motives, including myself and one of my children, so why should the President of the United States leave himself open for something illegal or underhanded by making his birth certificate public? He should not.

The fact remains that Obama is an American citizen by birth. Those who insist on disputing this fact are hiding behind it in order to camouflage their own bigotry and/or hatred. Harassing the State of Hawaii for personal information has prompted the Hawaiian government to enact laws to prevent this kind of undue waste of time and effort.

If the new legislation passes (measure SB2937), it could restrict someone's access to information for two (2) years by deeming them a vexatious requester (anyone who deems it necessary to continuously pepper a department with repeated requests). Information about the Hawaii Legislature can be found at their official Web site.

Those protesting on the eve of the Health Care Reform vote are not as covert as the people going after the birth certificate, even though they are the same type of people...all of which see Obama as the black bogeyman. Some of our elected representatives have been accosted with the N word or words such as f----- and Homo.

Shameful behavior such as this only goes to prove that the agendas of the Birthers, Teabaggers and other so called Conservatives are not about policy but about individuals that are not white and/or straight and how those who are different are not acceptable to what they deem a perfect world.