Lebron James #23 of Team LeBron stands for the national anthem prior to the 70th NBA All-Star Game at State Farm Arena on March 07, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Opinion

WALSH: When Will America Stop Persecuting Michelle Obama, Oprah, and LeBron James?

DailyWire.com

It is good to keep things in perspective. You may believe that your life is difficult, but you should realize that there are people out there who face struggles and obstacles, hardship and persecution, far beyond what you have ever known or will ever experience. You have been through your own trials, perhaps, but at least life hasn’t been as hard on you as it has been on Michelle Obama. 

The former First Lady — who graduated from two Ivy League schools, became First Lady by the age of 45, and is now worth a combined $135 million along with her husband — has always been eager to talk about the many ways in which this country has oppressed her. She returned to that theme in a recent interview with CBS, telling the outlet that police brutality has caused her to “live in fear,” afraid to even walk the dog or go to the grocery store. Obama is also concerned that her daughters will get racially profiled while driving. Apparently she lies awake at night, tossing and turning, panicking that some police officer with a professional death wish will harass the famous daughters of a United States President. These are all very real fears that she has. But, she complains, nobody will “listen” to her.

Yes, why won’t someone listen to Michelle Obama? She is tired of being ignored. She wrote a book that sold 10 million copies in five months, so, clearly, nobody cares what she has to say. It’s just as clear that only black parents have to worry about their kids behind the wheel. White parents have no such concerns. We white parents simply cannot conceive of living a life as difficult as that of a beloved, multi-millionaire celebrity who charges $200,000 to give speeches to groups of white collar professionals. 

If you are not yet convinced that Michelle Obama is a victim, and that her longstanding bitterness towards this country is therefore warranted, I need only remind you of a segment from her podcast a few months ago where she talked about the racism she experienced even while in the White House. The tale she tells is truly harrowing. To summarize: she was in line waiting to buy ice cream once and a white lady accidentally cut in front of her. That’s it. That’s the whole story.

Yes, Michelle Obama, years later, specifically remembers one time when someone cut in front of her in line, and is still going on about it. Who can blame her? Obviously this was racism. There can be no other explanation. It is not as though all humans on the face of this planet have had similar experiences. It is not as though line-cutters are globally reviled precisely because we’ve all encountered this many times. No, this is Michelle Obama’s cross to carry. Just think about this: Michelle Obama was delayed in getting ice cream for upwards of 15 seconds. She could have starved. Her children could have starved. All because they are black. 

Lest you think that Michelle Obama is the only fabulously wealthy, famous, and beloved black celebrity to be persecuted by this country, please consider LeBron James. LeBron — net worth $500 million, millionaire athlete since the age of 18 — has suffered the sort of maltreatment that the average white man cannot comprehend. The NBA star has, like Michelle, often claimed to be too afraid to walk down the street. Despite being surrounded by armed security, and living in a multimillion dollar mansion in a posh Los Angeles suburb, LeBron is worried that some crazed, racist cop will run up and shoot him dead. In terms of overall probability, it would be more rational for him be get worried about getting assassinated via alien death ray. But even so, his fears must be validated.

In fairness, LeBron has experienced hate crimes in the past. Who can forget the time when LeBron claimed that someone spray painted the N-word somewhere on his property in LA? He spoke out against the hate crime courageously, and was applauded by the media. The funny thing is that the cops showed up to investigate and never found any racist graffiti. LeBron says that he had the graffiti painted over before the cops could come to see it. Who could question such a story? The media certainly didn’t, anyway. 

And what about Oprah Winfrey, net worth $2.7 billion? She, especially in recent years, has taken to denouncing white privilege. She has more wealth and power than the average white person could accrue in 10 thousand lifetimes, but the average white person still has something she doesn’t: whiteness. What is whiteness worth? What can you cash it in for? Well, that isn’t explained, but the point is that if you are a white man living in a 900 square foot modular home and feeding your children canned tuna for dinner tonight, you are more privileged than Oprah Winfrey.

This is why Oprah was the perfect person to speak to, and commiserate with, Meghan Markle — Hollywood actress turned royalty turned media mogul. Surely, she has known troubles and tribulations that a white mother waitressing at Denny’s never has or will. Likewise for Sean “P Diddy” Combs who penned an open letter to corporate America a few weeks ago blasting the corporate world for discriminating against people like himself. Combs is worth $900 million and has been a millionaire since his early 20s. But none of that can erase the pain caused by the unspecified corporate villains who have caused him unspecified harm. Who knows, maybe he could be worth $1 billion already if not for the discrimination. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine not being a billionaire? That’s the sort of reality that Sean Combs must face every day.

All of this raises the question: When will America finally become the sort of country where black people can succeed? I mean, succeed more. Succeed, that is, more than being millionaires and billionaires and some of the most powerful and influential humans in the country and the whole world. That is the goal we must strive towards. If you think that goal has already been achieved, consider this: There are today no black trillionaires. Not one.

Still think white privilege is a myth? 

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The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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