Acting White: Why Did Obama Bow to King Saud?

For all the press that Michelle Obama and the Queen of England received at the touching of each other’s backs, President Obama’s bow to Kind Saud, at their introduction at the G-20 meeting, certainly deserves scrutiny.



For the record, no American President should ever present our country, by his or her actions, as subservient to anyone, period. We can be wrong, yes, but subservient, hell no. Upon inspection, Obama forgoes the head nod or kiss on the cheek, each an acceptable show of respect, but rather he bows deeply at the waist, signaling, in the king’s culture, a lower stature. This is completely unacceptable, for the man, or for the country he leads.

It may be the case that Obama the POTUS was overtaken by Obama the man, familiar with Muslim culture and temporarily blinded by royalty. However, this did not happen when he met the Queen of England, so there is no excuse for it happening with King Saud. Had he behaved in such a manner with the Queen, he would have undoubtedly needed to sneak back into the US in disguise. I am not sure why he seems to get a pass with the King.

So what to do? Obama needs to acknowledge his mistake and apologize to the American people. And with this, we should all move on to the more important issues at hand, that of digging this country out of its myriad of messes. However, the people that don’t like this showing have every right to complain until he makes amends. And complaining about this incident is not a show of racism.

James C. Collier

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