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The George Zimmerman trial has brought out the good, bad, ugly and everything in between for Americans, but most importantly it’s forced us the have the uncomfortable conversation about the politics of race in this country. President Obama has even chimed in to the conversation, and during a White House press conference today, he said “it’s important to recognize that the African- American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn’t go away.”

Well, one Salon writer wrote a review of the President’s remarks and suggested that he tiptoed around the issue of race too much. He even went as far as to call Attorney General Eric Holder Obama’s “inner ni**er.” He said, “Some of us have an Inner Child. Others have an Inner Ni**er. Is Holder the president’s conscience? Or his Inner Ni**er?”

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He argued that that commander-in-chief refused to “say anything insightful or profound about the acquittal” and “didn’t offer a meaningful opinion on the episode’s hot molten core: racial profiling, vigilantism, and “Stand Your Ground” laws.”

Here’s an excerpt from Rich Benjamin’s piece:

Finally the president has spoken about George Zimmerman’s acquittal. Even as the country waited for his singular response – the nation’s leader and a law professor who once looked like Trayvon Martin – the president danced around the issues. And what a dramatic anti-climax, listening to the president refuse to say anything insightful or profound about the acquittal. In signature professorial style, the president gave us the “context” to the episode and to black people’s “pain.” But he didn’t offer a meaningful opinion on the episode’s hot molten core: racial profiling, vigilantism, and “Stand Your Ground” laws.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder delivered trenchant thoughts on the acquittal, demanding action. Before an audience of supporters, Holder recently called for a full investigation of Martin’s death after Zimmerman’s acquittal. Holder vowed that the Justice Department will act “in a manner that is consistent with the facts and the law. We will not be afraid.”

“We must stand our ground,” he told supporters.

Some of us have an Inner Child. Others have an Inner Nigger. Is Holder the president’s conscience? Or his Inner Nigger?

Is Holder the president’s aggressive internal mind and voice — willing to speak truth to power, but unbothered with appearing like an angry black man?

The use of the n-word sparked a major discussion on social media. Twitter user @elonjames wrote, “Wow. And @Salon–do you guys not have editors? What editor in their right mind sees “Inner Nigger” and thinks “Publish this ASAP.”

MSNBC’s Goldie Taylor chimed in, “I don’t even know what to say. Why would a progressive site publish a piece re: POTUS’ ‘inner n-word?”

Benjamin concluded his article by saying, “From a tactical standpoint, it’s wise for the president to avoid discussing race and Trayvon Martin.”

“The Secret Service calls the president ‘Renegade,’ his agency nickname. It seems, these days, that Holder is the real renegade. The country’s Rogue Negro. And the president’s repressed Black Id,” he wrote. “Who can blame Obama for not intelligently confronting race in this horrific dilemma? But we shouldn’t blame his top cop for doing so, either.”

Did Rich Benjamin go too far or did he make a valid point? Weigh in below.

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