Today I sit down with Alabama Liberal’s first female interview subject (Adrienne Lieu, a student going into physical therapy and a great role model for young black women) to discuss Obama’s presidency so far, why people might be losing their minds over his election, and if the healthcare law discourages her from entering the medical field.
1. Hi Gabby, thanks for coming. So far the interview section has been a real sausage fest with you being our first female interview. How does that feel?
Adrienne: Thanks for having me. It’s a real honor to know that I’m the very first female to ever appear in the Alabama Liberal.
2. Speaking of boundary breaking females, what would you think of a female Vice President in the form of Hillary Clinton? I know she’s said she’s not interested, and I don’t believe that fully, but I just think it’d be very inspiring to have the nation’s first female VP serve alongside the nation’s African American President.
Adrienne: I agree with you completely on that. She was a strong force behind Bill when she was the First Lady, and I think she could do an even better job when she’s addressed as Vice President Clinton. Not only that, a female vice president standing alongside our Black president would speak volumes. So many barriers have already been broken down; she would be a great role model for young women. Not only can I tell my future son that he could grow up with a real fighting chance to be president, but I would love for my future daughter to be able to have that same chance, too.
3. So that brings us to the man of the week: Barack Obama. Just in terms of a role model, how exciting a figure is he right now for you? First minority democratically elected President in the world has to be good for something, right?
Adrienne: I couldn’t be happier to have President Obama as a role model. While it may be a stretch to say he’s the Martin Luther King of my generation, he certainly has done a lot to combat racism and make opportunities available for everybody.
4. What has been the most exciting thing about his Presidency to you so far, and maybe the thing that has disappointed you the most?
Adrienne: The most exciting thing about him being in office was the health care reform idea. At the same time, I was very disappointed that more people weren’t behind him on it. I was also glad to seethe repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. I understand President Clinton established DADT to reduce harassment of gay soldiers, but society has changed so much since 1993 and Obama’s timing on its repeal couldn’t have been better.
5. Why did you vote for him the first time, and has he lived up to your expectations? Are you mostly satisfied with what he has done even taking into account that he inherited a horrible situation?
Adrienne: I was excited for the 2008 Presidential Election for so many reasons. First of all, this was the first one I was able to vote in. I was just 17 in 2004. Secondly, I was overcome with excitement to cast my vote for a man the same race as me. His timing couldn’t have been worse, provided the mess Bush got us into. There was no way he could have safely pulled our troops from Iraq or even come up with a plan with eliminate our deficit without at least one set of Republicans attacking him. As a matter of fact, he can’t do anything without the Republicans attacking him.
6. A lot of people who hate Obama want to let Bush off the hook for everything, and that disgusts me. They say Bush didn’t make nearly the mistakes Obama has, and I wonder what planet they’re on. Bush presided over the biggest debt in US history, he presided over the second biggest economic crisis in US history after the great depression, he presided over the worst terrorist attack in US history in 9/11, he presided over the worst response to a natural disaster in US history in New Orleans, and the Iraq War (completely unnecessary) and Afghanistan War (the nation’s longest war). Those aren’t what I’d call minor setbacks…
Adrienne: Once again, you’re absolutely right. It took Bush a whole two weeks to respond to the Hurricane Katrina disaster while more and more people slipped away. Imagine being confined to a roof with no food, water, or anything you need to survive, and having loved ones literally be washed away in front of your very eyes, to boot. After the 9/11 crisis, everything went downhill. Gas prices skyrocketed, our national debt began, and tension with the Muslims flared up. Wasn’t Clinton meeting with Yasser Arafat to negotiate peace? I strongly believe that if Al Gore had won the 2000 Election, these crises would have never happened. This setbacks aren’t minor at all, they’ve put this country in great distress. I don’t believe in war at all, so I also feel it’s completely unnecessary. This is Bush Senior and Bush Junior’s doing, so send them out there and bring our troops home.
7. Then the second half of that argument is that Obama hasn’t really made a mistake. He handled Libya well, millions of people like myself have health insurance thanks to his healthcare bill, he’s compromised with Republicans on too much stuff rather than not enough. Why is he the failure people think he is?
Adrienne: I think he’s a failure because they want him to be. These are the same people that feel Bush did a good job. My favorite is when they say he did a great job with the war. First off, this war is his fault, despite what Michael Steele thinks. Secondly, he didn’t even do a good job with that. How many soldiers have lost their lives over this senseless war? And those who did survive, will they ever be the same again? Definitely not. Obama took his time with the Libya situation and is doing the best he can. Qaddafi is a thug and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Somebody is always gonna have something to say when it’s a Democrat running things. Which is probably why he’s done so much to benefit the Republicans. Like the tax breaks. I honestly feel he was backed into a corner and had no choice but to uphold the cuts.
8. White people go nuts when you mention race, but I think there’s a really legitimate case to be made people are losing their minds over an Obama presidency because of it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the nation has its first black President (who has received more death threats than Bush and Clinton combined) and all of the sudden the first true age of conservative activism springs up in the form of the Birthers, Glenn Beck’s 9/12 rallies, the infamous Tea Party, Sarah Palin’s rallies, etc.
Adrienne: Of course they’re gonna shit everywhere when race gets brought up, mainly because they know it really is as big of a deal as it was back in the slave days. The Tea Party didn’t arise until after Obama took office. People flipped out when I called them the 21st century KKK group. Signs with Obama portrayed as a monkey or a native villager in Kenya is not racist? The same with the Birthers movement. Obama’s proven he’s a US citizen and even has other people that can prove it too, so why keep pursuing it? Donald Trump, Glenn Beck, and Sarah Palin will all burn in Hell. They’re all hypocrites. Then there’s Rush Limbaugh, who’s actually said out loud that it’s okay to be racist. Really, dude? And did you hear when he said there needed to be a civil rights movement for them? I think he’s back on the pills again. All that says to me is that you know white people are slowly becoming the minority and you fear the possibility of being treated like second-class citizens like you’ve been treating blacks for centuries. The best way to cure racism? Put these racist fucks in a black person’s shoes for just one week. Let them go through all the struggles blacks went through before and during the Civil Rights Era. Once they see what it’s like with the shoe on the other foot, they’re more likely to see we’re really all the same and will be more eager to change their tune.
9. Usually liberals protest for things to change, and conservatives want to keep the status quo, but now conservatives are “wanting their country back”…I don’t think it’s entirely coincidental they’re saying this as we have a black President.
Adrienne: “Wanting their country back”…the same country you stole from the American Indians? You mean that country? Not only is this happening with a black man in office, but it’s also happening with this so-called “illegal immigration”. They were here first. Anybody that says what Columbus and his crew did was legal or even fair is a damn lie. Any wrongdoing that’s been done in the past is slowly coming back to haunt them and they’re scared shitless because they know it and they also know they can’t do nothin’ about it.
10. That brings us to the healthcare law which I love because it benefits me directly. This is the main thing people list when they say they hate him, but a majority of Americans want more affordable healthcare with more access to it. Do you think they just hate it because Obama’s name is on it?
Adrienne: Indeed, I do. Had Bush tried to implement this, especially right after 9/11, it would have been the best thang smokin’. But since it was Obama’s law, it’s socialist. Since when is wanting people to be treated fairly and giving them access to proper health care socialist? While they’re comparing him to Hitler—which I find incredibly hilarious because he was the most extreme white supremacist to have ever lived—why not point out the Republicans’ Nazi behavior? While they’re not necessarily using Hilter’s same tactics, they have the same idea. If you’re not of a certain socioeconomic class, you’re not an important member of society and it won’t make a difference if you die because the world is better off without you.
11. You’re entering the medical field as a physical therapist. The big complaint about the healthcare law is that it will discourage young people from entering the medical field because it restricts them more which is bogus. There is no salary cap in that law. What do you think of this? Are you more discouraged about your field in the wake of this law or is this just more propaganda?
Adrienne: I think it’s complete bullshit to not pursue the medical field over somebody else saying you’re being restricted. I don’t believe we’ll be held back for a second. It’s just Republican propaganda to encourage everybody to be selfish and be out for themselves like the conservatives are.
12. And finally are there any GOP candidate you would vote for over Obama? Any of them look good to you? Any of them keep you awake at night that they could be President?
Adrienne: I’m not sure about that one. Definitely not Donald Trump or even that damn Newt Gingrich. Honestly, I think only Jesus Christ Himself could beat Obama. But you and I both know Jesus wouldn’t run as a Republican, right?
good stuff, go Adrienne!