February 08, 2007
To Be Known Hereafter As "The 'A' Word"
(cross-posted from IMAO)
Lynette Clemetson of the New York Times claims that it's offensive for white people to refer to Barack Obama as "articulate", because when they do, what they REALLY mean is "he's articulate... for a black guy".
Which is racist, because it's just another way of saying that black people are inarticulate.
While I confess that I've previously used the A-word to describe Obama, I want to make it VERY clear that I did NOT intend it as a blanket insult to Melanin-Enhanced-Americans.
What I MEANT was that he's articulate... for a Democrat - i.e. he doesn't mumble like Ted Kennedy or have inexplicable screaming fits like Howard Dean.
Personally, I think it's crazy to assume that every compliment is actually a disguised insult to a person's race. It might be an insult to an entirely different group of which the complimented victim is a member.
Which is why I hate it when people say I'm "nice". I know what they REALLY mean:
"... for a guy from Wisconsin - because you aren't a corpse-eating serial killer like Jeffrey Dahmer, and you almost never make lampshades out of people's skin like that horrible Ed Gein."
So please... don't use the N-word when referring to me any more.
It's really hard to find people with tattoos that match my curtains....
Cripes, I remember when Gein waa arrested.
Loved Graumagus's comment, what a hoot.
I feel that Lynette is racist for referring to me as "white" - I am "melanin-challenged"! Geeze lady, get with it!
*snort*
Harvey, there are a lot of words that spring to mind when I ponder your existence. "Nice" isn't one of them. I've worked with you, remember?
What's most amusing about this whole kerfluffle is that Sen Biden gets a pass from the melanin-enabled crowd, even though he explicitly compared Obama to other black candidates, while President Bush gets hammered for making a reference about Obama that was independent of his skin color.
Can we start saying "He's pretty mature, for a Democrat." instead?
hell i wish i was articulate
I'm offended by this entire post!
I heard Chris Matthews refer to Newt Gingrich as very articulate a few days ago. Does that mean Chris thinks Newt is is articulate for a white guy or articulate for a Republican?
Probably "articulate for a fat guy" :-)
As a fat guy I'd be offended by that, but I'm too busy making a sandwich...
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