U.S. President Barack Obama dropped the N-word while addressing the continuing issue of racial discrimination in his podcast on Monday, following the massacre of 9 black people in a Charleston church last week, Huffington Post reports.
"It's not just a matter of it not being polite to say nigger in public." The country's first African-American president pointed out. "That's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It's not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don't, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior."
The recent deaths of Charleston black people were linked to Dylann Roof's extreme racial hatred, prompting the president to address this undying issue on the "legacy of slavery." The president also stressed out that no other first-world nations suffer as much violence because of racism.
South Carolina officials are pressured to drop down the confederate flag, which critics consider as a banner of racial hate. The similar flag was also found in one of Roof's discriminating photos previously posted online.
Obama also called out lawmakers to submit bills on tighter gun control to avoid rampant shootings. He added that one of the roadblocks in the implementation of gun-control laws is the National Rifles Associaion's strong "grip" on congress.
"The question is, is there a way of accommodating that legitimate set of traditions with some common-sense stuff that prevents a 21-year-old who is angry about something, or confused about something, or is racist, or is, you know, deranged from going into a gun store and suddenly is packing and can do enormous harm?" Obama added, "that is not something that we have ever fully come to terms with."
A board member of the NRA, Charles Cotton also released a response, blaming the pastor and South Carolina state senator, Clementa Pickney for the recent shoot-out. Cotton stated it was Pickney's fault for not supporting the law that could have allowed church goers to carry guns inside the church to defend themselves.
