Just Wondered/Michelle Obama's Thesis ?s

[Charade]

And the point of this is????

This thread?

 

[jme829]

Well JMHO and flame away but I wish that I didn't have any worries in life except "digging up" a paper written 20 years ago. WHO FREAKIN CARES!

Must be nice to have nothing better to do or worry about
in life than to put so much energy into crap like this.

. And for the record, I am voting for Obama but I could personally care less about all the crap being spewed about McCain lately. Its all childish and ridiculous IMO.

I mean really, people ,is that all you worry about is trying to find out something sinister about the other partys candidates? I know its "just politics" but some people have way to much time on their hands.

Sometimes I think people on these boards act like a bunch of kids the way they carry on about this kind of stuff. Well she did this and he said that...God what a bunch of babies. Grow up and find something real to worry about or at least get a new hobby. Thats half of what is wrong with our country, instead of working together to fix things, we just compete to bring each other down. It's getting old.....

Tell me WHY McCain or Obama would be good for our country, not what they (or their spouses) may or may not have done years ago. Who cares. Mistakes are made , people change, ideas change. I can guarantee every one of us is not the same person we were 20 years ago or that we have all made a stupid mistake or two that we wish we hadn't made.

And for the record, I could care less if I get points for this, getting points on an anynomous internet message board is not going to a major crisis in my life. Actually it won't be a small crisis either, I have more important things in life to worry about.

Have a wonderful weekend.

OOPS THIS IS MY DD"S SIGN ON BUT I WROTE IT (jme829)

 

[jme829]

It doesnt matter to me, it wouldnt matter if it were anyone who is running and their paper. None of us are the same people we were 20 years ago, my opinions have changed and so has my outlook on everything to some degree. This is just silly and I dont see why anyone should care.

Thank you... You said it nicer and shorter than I did (I posted under dds name).LOL but I meant pretty much the same thing... And no STROLLPATROLMOM I really don't care about John McCains issue either, nor do I think its ok that its being brought up. I think it should STOP from both sides and the focus be on the issues that are relevant to the future of the country.

 

[smartestnumber5]

OK, if it's not "crazy", is it significant?

What do you mean by "significant"? Important? True?

I have no idea as I haven't read her thesis and have very little idea what it is about other than the title. Even if I knew more about it, I'm not trained as a sociologist, so I wouldn't be the best person to say either way. The real question (other than the questions about design and flaws in the setup), I think, is whether there have been other studies like hers that have come up with similar results hence reconfirming her study or her study reconfirming their studies. If you've got numerous different scholars coming up with the same conclusions in well designed studies, then those are pretty weighty results.

But as for her thesis, it may be indeed be crazy (though I think there's a limit to how crazy a thesis that earns you an MA at Princeton can be). Or it might not be crazy, but it might have results that have been disconfirmed in other similar studies. Or it may have a big design flaw. Or maybe no similar studies have been performed. Or maybe her conclusions have been well-confirmed, but people aren't likely to accept such conclusions (which seems to be the case with other research on race that is indeed well-confirmed and uncontroversial within the fields that have produced it). I don't know which, if any, the answer is.

 

[FayeW]

I would expect that it is being restricted because it has nothing to do with the election. The fact that it has nothing to do with the election because Michele Obama isn't actually a candidate would not stop his opponents from trying to spin the contents of this paper to suit their agenda, and create controversy where there is none.

I mean, seriously, how could Barack Obama be in any way held accountable for anything his wife said, did, or wrote 20 yrs ago? Were they even married 20 yrs ago??

Her paper is a non-issue and not having it released until the election is over just makes sure the focus stays on him, his views, policies and political record, and not on speculation over his wife.

 

[mom2rb]

I hope my DH never runs for office. Someone might find the paper I wrote 20 years ago about how stupid statatory rape laws are. At the time I was 16 and dating a 21 year old. Now, I have changed my mind.

 

[Fitswimmer]

I hope my DH never runs for office. Someone might find the paper I wrote 20 years ago about how stupid statatory rape laws are. At the time I was 16 and dating a 21 year old. Now, I have changed my mind.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I never get involved with these debates. Honestly what the press does to these people who are trying to work for our country is just disgraceful. It is a wonder anyone would run!

If this paper is her dissertation then it is not just any paper but one she would have worked on for over a year in grad school. If that is the case then it should have remained public. She could have let people read it and decide for themselves then answered any questions about it honestly. Why not talk about the black community and education? Why not talk about what it means to be a successful black and honor your heritage? And why was she concerned about losing her heritage? The sad part is that most in this country don't want to have a real discussion about the issues and so the candidates have to try to keep everyone "happy". IMHO we would all be better off to have the issues out there!

 

[jenm2878]

Because, as I said earlier, it appears she is a strong voice to whom Senator Obama listens and, IMHO, much of what you voice early in your adult years are the basis of your thoughts and actions later in life. In my own case, I worked very hard during my college years for the Equal Rights Amendment, which, unfortunately, was never ratified. However, I believe that my commitment to that concept still colors my actions today. Consequently, I do not understand why it is unavailable, especially since it appears it was available prior to the Senator's entry into the campaign.

Personally, I'm not the same person I was 10 years ago. My thoughts and views on things have changed quite a bit over the years, and I'm sure that's true of most people. Something she wrote 20 years ago may not be consistent with her views today, and by releasing it they may be opening up a can of worms that isn't especially relevant. Just a thought. I'm not sure why it wouldn't be available - there could be a perfectly valid reason.

 

[lilyv]

Because, as I said earlier, it appears she is a strong voice to whom Senator Obama listens and, IMHO, much of what you voice early in your adult years are the basis of your thoughts and actions later in life. In my own case, I worked very hard during my college years for the Equal Rights Amendment, which, unfortunately, was never ratified. However, I believe that my commitment to that concept still colors my actions today. Consequently, I do not understand why it is unavailable, especially since it appears it was available prior to the Senator's entry into the campaign.

Actually most people grow, change and mature tremendously from 18-28 or so. I don't think anyone should have lifelong accountability for their "profound thoughts" during their college years.

All that aside, she's not the candidate.

 

[Tigger Woods]

Did a Google search. Found a couple of websites with some quotes:

"Michelle Obama’s senior sociology thesis has come to light — the one where she let loose on the “ineradicable racism of white Americans” and called the U.S.A. “a nation founded in crime and hatred.”

 

[lilyv]

Did a Google search. Found a couple of websites with some quotes:

"Michelle Obama’s senior sociology thesis has come to light — the one where she let loose on the “ineradicable racism of white Americans” and called the U.S.A. “a nation founded in crime and hatred.”

Actual source would be helpful. I found the tennis talkers....

That aside, much of the negative discussion on this thread seems to have an unpleasant undertone. I hope America in 2008 is different than America in 1959.

 

[bsnyder]

It definitely makes it look like they are hiding something, particularly the timing:
http://libweb5.princeton.edu/theses/thesesid.asp?ID=9867



Princeton University Senior Theses Full Record


TITLE: Princeton Educated Blacks and the Black Community [Restricted until November 5, 2008] (96 pages).
AUTHOR: Michelle LaVaughn Robinson (1985), Sociology Department
ADVISOR: Not available
LOCATED AT: Mudd Library.


Interested in ordering a photocopy of a senior thesis? Click here.

Use your browser's BACK button to return to the brief listing or return to Search senior theses.

 

[Tigger Woods]

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

But Michelle's senior thesis reveals the sociology major was acutely aware
of being among the few blacks then at Princeton.

"My experiences at Princeton have made me far more aware of my 'Blackness' than ever before,'' Michelle wrote in a 1985 thesis entitled "Princeton Educated Blacks and the Black Community.''

"I have found that at Princeton, no matter how liberal and open-minded some of my White professors and classmates try to be toward me, I sometimes feel like a visitor on campus, as if I really don't belong.

"Regardless of the circumstances under which I interact with Whites at Princeton, it often seems as if, to them, I will always be Black first and a student second.''

Early on at Princeton, Michelle wrote, she was determined to "utilize all of my present and future resources to benefit [the black] community first and foremost.'' Yet she now realized attending a launching pad like Princeton would "likely lead to my further integration and/or assimilation into a White cultural and social structure . . .

"As I enter my final year at Princeton, I find myself striving for many of the same goals as my White classmates -- acceptance to a prestigious graduate or professional school or a high-paying position in a successful corporation. Thus, my goals are not as clear as before.''

 

[LoraJ]

So...

 

[gina2000]

I find it very important to know what was written primarily because they find it very important for me NOT to know what was written.

It's obvious that the campaign is uneasy about the thesis and had it censored. In light of what Mrs. Obama has recently said, it is an interesting piece to the puzzle in discovering who she actually is.

And if you think a first lady has no relevance in an election or during a presidency, you're not thinking things through.

 

[Fitswimmer]

I find it very important to know what was written primarily because they find it very important for me NOT to know what was written.

It's obvious that the campaign is uneasy about the thesis and had it censored. In light of what Mrs. Obama has recently said, it is an interesting piece to the puzzle in discovering who she actually is.

And if you think a first lady has no relevance in an election or during a presidency, you're not thinking things through.

could someone please refresh my memory as to the vetting process for Cindy McCain, Laura Bush, Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan or any other Republican wife?

When I see those ladies getting the same scrutiny, I'll take this seriously. Until then, it's just another attempt to smear and/or bring race into the campaign.

 

[DisneyMomOK]

OP here: When I looked at the Wiki biography of Ms. Obama, it described her as her husband's closest advisor. Although she states she is not a "senior advisor", her involvement level in his campaign reads otherwise. I could easily see another "partnership Presidency', in the vein of President and Sen. Clinton.

 

[gina2000]

I find it very important to know what was written primarily because they find it very important for me NOT to know what was written.

That's the point. Not everyone else's background, not previous vetting processes, not Republican verses Democrat, not black verses white. When something is deliberately hidden, I find it important to know. If it hadn't been hidden, the thesis may have never even seen the light of day.

I'd rather someone stand up and say what they are, what they were and what they currently stand for than hide it. That's why I was disgusted with Clinton, why I was disgusted with Nixon and why I find JFK's hidden secrets to be so distasteful. After Watergate, nothing was off limits. And every presidential candidate should know that. Instead of hiding it, reveal it so it doesn't become a major campaign controversy and take time away from real issues.

Oh, and for the record, I count Presidential wives and wannabes in this group. It's a shame that everyone's past is subject to scrutiny, but that's the way it is.

 

[wvrevy]

Man...if only there'd been this kind of outrage when Bush refused to release his own "military" records...or Cheney's Energy Task Force records...or, well, the dozens of other times this administration has refused to allow the public to know just about anything about just about anything.

So, a 20 year old black female college student wrote a paper at Harvard about intentional and unintentional racism she experienced while on campus at the overwhelmingly white school?



I'm shocked! Shocked to find gambling in this establishment!!!