This Gives New Meaning to Everybody Hates Chris

Chris Rock

Comedian Chris Rock sure did stir up some controversy as he once again proved the power of the social media platform Twitter.

Rock wrote: "Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren't free but I'm sure they enjoyed the fireworks."

Well, that definitely left a mark on society. Of course, Chris Rock has never really been one to shy away from comments that nudge (if not push) people out of their comfort zone. He is not bothered by a little controversy, and, a little controversy often proves good for some celebrities.

People are up in arms. I can recall reading some comments where one person asked how black people would like it living in present-day Africa vs. living in the present-day United States of America. That was one of the mild comments I read in the wake of Rock's Tweet.

I think people should keep one small thing in mind: CHRIS ROCK IS A COMEDIAN. His job is to joke and to push people out of their comfort zones. That is not to say that a comedian can't take it too far, but people should recognize that he is a comedian and then take the comment for what it's worth.

Tanning Tax Whining Is Ridiculous

I have been amused listening to these far-right commentators whining that President Obama is being racist against white people because of this tanning tax.

A tanning tax is a vanity tax. If people are that obsessed with how they look then they should be willing to spend the little extra to showcase their bodies.

It's interesting how, in some ways, it is fashionable to have darker skin. Does this mean these right-wing nuts (including the likes of Jim Quinn) are saying President Obama does not want more people with darker skin?

Go lay out in the sun. That's tax free.

Media Matters for America:
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201007060006

Media Matters for America:
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201003300011

Is Tanning Tax Racist And Targeting Lighter-Skinned People?

Doc Thompson, some guy filling in for Glenn Beck's Show is of the belief that the tanning tax is targeting lighter-skinned people.

If that is true, then does that mean that tanning salons are discriminating against darker-skinned people with the product they offer?

The whole discussion is just plain stupid.

Media Matters for America:
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201003300014

C-SPAN Caller: Too Many Black People Calling In

Limbaugh Refers To President Obama As ‘Boy’ … A Term Historically Used To Degrade Black Men

Whether you use the word “nigger” or you use the term “boy” the meaning is generally the same (even though one of the aforementioned clearly holds far more negative power). Rush Limbaugh has been in the news frequently with his racial (some would say racist) attacks on President Obama. If not racist, Limbaugh clearly is using racial politics to turn the United States of America into his vision for the future … the Divided States of America (a nation that is divided along racial lines).

In his latest effort at racial antagonism, Limbaugh now has taken to referring to President Obama as “boy” which is a historical term used by whites to degrade black men (a usage that dates back to slavery days).

I realize that some historically ignorant people will think I am flying off the handle. To those people I say this: Check out the history.

From Media Matters for America:

Limbaugh calls Obama “this little boy, this little man-child president.” While discussing what he characterized as Obama’s “attacks” on Fox News and “ambush” of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Limbaugh said: “People are finally standing up to this little boy, this little man-child president, whose primary — I think his primary job, if you will, in life has been leisure.” [Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show, 10/27/09]

This is not an accidental use by Limbaugh. This is a far-right nut who has a long and dubious history of racial politics aimed at diminishing blacks in the eyes of his highly conservative audience. Is the word “boy” itself racist like the term “nigger” is considered to be? The answer is this: not necessarily. It all depends on the context and the user.

Here is another example from Media Matters of Limbaugh using the word “boy” to demean President Obama:

Limbaugh: “[T]he little boy president went out there and did something absolutely ignorant and stupid.” Referring to Senate Democrats’ plan to block funding for the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention center until a decision was made about where to put the detainees, Limbaugh stated: “I tell ya, this is cover for Obama, ’cause the little boy president went out there and did something absolutely ignorant and stupid, and he’s got to be covered for it now.” [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 5/20/09]

Again, this is no accident. This is an orchestrated effort by Rush Limbaugh to portray Barack Obama in a negative light by casting him as a black man using a term that, in this context, has racial overtones (negative racial overtones). Once again, Rush Limbaugh uses race to divide and, once again conservatives are silent as their leader further insults and degrades people of color.

Check out the Media Matters for America research on Rush Limbaugh’s rather dubious history of racially insensitive to racist remarks: http://mediamatters.org/research/200910160044

Two Far-Right Bigots (O’Reilly And Beck) Talking About People Being Anti-American Is Just Dumb

It’s funny to watch two far-right nuts like Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck attack this guy Van Jones and attack Rev. Jeremiah Wright (as a way of attacking President Obama as being associated with black radicals so they can try to scare people). This approach failed miserably in the presidential campaign of 2008, but biased individuals like the dishonest O’Reilly and the reckless Beck are sitting there as if their closets are in order bashing people for being anti-American (it’s the modern-day version of calling people communist). Oh, wait, they invoked the word “communist” in their segment, too.

I wonder if O’Reilly harshly grilled Beck about his nasty comments about President Obama:

BECK: This president has exposed himself as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people, or the white culture, I don’t know what it is.

Glenn Beck Proves Again To Be Nothing Short Of An Idiot

The depth and breadth of Glenn Beck’s stupidity is virtually beyond human comprehension. The crazed Fox News host, who has proven he has no business with a platform on any legitimate news network, recently said this: “The president has exposed himself, I think, as a guy, over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people, or white culture.” Beck, like a lot of the far-right conservatives, is working overtime to attack President Obama using racial politics as a result of the controversy surrounding the ridiculous arrest of Prof. Henry Louis Gates for, as Bill Maher described it, the crime of not kissing an officer’s butt.

From Think Progress:

Yesterday on Fox News, host Glenn Beck went on a rant about President Obama’s comments about the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and the upcoming meeting Obama will have with Gates, who is African-American, and the arresting officer, Jim Crowley. “This president has exposed himself, I think, as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people, or white culture,” Beck complained, later adding, “He has a, this guy is, I believe, a racist.”

The NAACP came out with a statement chastising Beck for his comments. “We commend President Obama for having the courage to discuss an issue that all too many Americans consider a third rail,” the statement said.

Like the NAACP, I also commend President Obama not only for speaking out on the issue, but of standing up for a friend of his. He could have phrased his original comment better, but I think the sentiment was right on the money.

Also, as cited by Think Progress:

This morning, the crew on MSNBC’s Morning Joe ripped Beck for an entire segment of the show:

WASHINGTON POST’S JONATHAN CAPEHART: How is it possible that this guy can sit on national television and call this guy a racist? The President is half white!

MSNBC HOST MIKE BARNICLE: In reality, Glenn Beck is just show business. …The larger, dumber statement is that the President of the United States has a deep seeded hatred for white people. Hello Glenn!? His mother was white! He was raised by a white woman, his grandmother! Hello!? Glenn? … Come back down to Earth please!

HOST MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Outrageous is one way of putting it. I would say irresponsible, especially now…selfish, self-indulging.

Beck is disgraceful, but maybe it goes to show if you’re partially black to some people you’re all black. I honestly think there are times people forget that President Obama is half white.

If the man had any mind to begin with then he clearly has lost it.

Maybe it’s that whole one-drop thing.

From Wikipedia:

The one-drop rule is a historical colloquial term in the United States that holds that a person with any trace of African ancestry is considered black (unless they have an alternative non-white ancestry, such as Native American, Asian, Arab, Polynesian or Australian aboriginal).^[1] It developed most strongly out of the binary culture of long years of institutionalized slavery.

This notion of invisible/intangible membership in a racial group has seldom been applied to people of other ancestry (see Race in the United States for details). The concept has been chiefly applied to those of black African ancestry. As Langston Hughes wrote, “You see, unfortunately, I am not black. There are lots of different kinds of blood in our family. But here in the United States, the word ‘Negro’ is used to mean anyone who has any Negro blood at all in his veins. In Africa, the word is more pure. It means all Negro, therefore black. I am brown.”^[2]

Fear Of A Black President

See how racism has gripped the far-right movement polluted by bigots like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, G. Gordon Liddy and others.