Six members of the International Peoples' Democratic Uhuru Movement heckled Barack Obama at a town hall gathering in St. Petersburg, Florida, today.
According to LA Times'
Top of the Ticket, in an update, Diop Olugbala, 31 (the man that was allowed to ask the question in the video above), speaks about Obama in an interview, saying ,
"He falls short with the black community."
The
International Peoples' Democratic Uhuru Movement is chaired by Omali Yeshitela, who created a
YouTube video which denounces Obama in video called "white power in black face."
Their concerns are that they believe that Barack Obama does not address issue pertaining to the black community.
Obama replied that he had spoken out on the cop killings and on predatory lending, and when the man tried to argue back, Obama said: "That doesn't mean I'm going to satisfy your positions," and added: "You can always vote for somebody else." The crowd responded with a standing ovation as the protester sat down stone-faced. The protesters repeatedly interrupted the Q-and-A session, only to be drowned out again and again by chants of "Yes we can!" and boos.
In my opinion, the group may be misguided in their concerns because Obama did address a few issues that they seemed to be unaware of, but I give them credit for speaking publicly, unlike Jesse Jackson, who whispered "privately" (on an open mike) some unfavorable desire to maim parts of Obama's body, yet publicly refused to voice those same concerns.
Secondly, hecklers are rude. If people have a legitimate issue, bring it up respectfully and allow the person to answer, but attending an event where someone is scheduled to speak, just to disrupt the event with rudeness, is bad manners.
I have said that about hecklers that have disrupted John McCain's campaign and I feel just as strongly about it when they are disrupting Obamas.
[Update] Blow by blow from
MSNBC.
