Sometimes race DOES matter: only a black man could have smacked down Steele the way President did

[Empowerer]

the other night.

I don't think Steele realized just how devastatingly and skillfully he was taken down by the President on Saturday. He was smacked down in a way that ONLY another black man - a cooler, intellectually superior black man - could have done.

Steele reminds me of certain black people I've known in school and business. He curries favor with whites by convincing them that he is their best conduit to bring in sought-after blacks (potential customers and constituencies, etc.), behaving like a modern-day black overseer ("empathy on their ass"). He reinforces this with an exaggerated, almost minstrel depiction of the language and dialect that many white people believe that any and all "hip" black people - regardless of age, educational attainment, socio-economic status - use when we talk to each other. Hence, the sight and sound of Steele talking like 17-year-old wannabe rapper during supposedly serious discussions on national electoral politics have become all-too-common and leave many black people shaking their heads and asking, not "how can I learn more about why I should consider voting Republican?" But "What in the f-#k is he talking about?!"

Much of this bemusement/puzzlement stayed "in the family," since black folk are often exceedingly patient with our own (I can hear my grandmother now: "the boy's just confused, bless his heart."). But he kept pushing it and pushing it and, on Saturday night, President Obama busted him on national television. We all got to watch President Obama subtly, but clearly as day call Steele a damned fool right to his face.

NO one but a brother could have so efficiently ridiculed Steele's silly hop hop talk as Obama did with his "in the heezy/wassup?!" greeting.

He went all the way street on him, called him out and disrespected him in front of a room full of white folks - and did it effortlessly and with that smile.

And Steele seemed too clueless to get it at first. I wonder if he gets it now.
.

[Happyhippychick]

1. Everytime I think of Obama saying "Wassup!" I LOL. I also loved when he said, "As Michael Steele

would say, he's 'in the heezy'".

[Adelante]

2. Steele makes it so easy

Even an old white lady like me could have done it.

Not as stylishly, of course :)

[EffieBlack]

4. Anybody could have taken Steele down. But he's right that Obama really did go street on him

Only a brother could have done it the way he did. And it was the way it needed to be done because, not only did he call him out, he exposed him as a phony. It was if the president said, "Hey - don't be fooled with his "'Yo Yo Yo Buoy. You need me to go out and gitchoo some of the bros to be all up in the house.' routine. I'm just as black as he is and I can tell you, we don't take this guy seriously."

I agree with Empowerer. It was phenomenal to our president to do a "brother to brother" smackdown on Steele.

[Adelante]

6. Yeah, I know

I was just being silly :dunce:

[Number23]

15. Yep!

I'm just as black as he is and I can tell you, we don't take this guy seriously."

SPOT ON. Perfect assessment. Absolutely. This is what we talk about in AAIG. We went from laughing at Steele to feeling sorry for him to now wishing he would just go the hell away.

Love to see you participate in the forum, Effie. Here's a link to the SteeleWatch thread we got going there. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=258x5262

[salguine]

20. As the great Paul Mooney said, "He makes Bryant Gumbel look like Flavor Flav."

[BlancheSplanchnik]

25. ...

:spray: !!!!!!!!!!!!


HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAH!!!! O...*gasp*....hahhhh...can't *coff* ..breathe.... *coff* *wheeze* HAHAHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAhaahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhaaahhhhhhhhhaa










i gotta google for Paul Mooney now....

[salguine]

27. Woops...I misquoted him. He said Malcolm X, not Flavor Flav. But you get the point.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

28. oh drat....just a tad less funny now.....

[HopeOverFear]

3. You're right about that

[MadMaddie]

5. Well said Empowerer!! I think when Steele stood up was the

real moment that it was clear that he didn't know he was being mocked. He thought that Obama using that language was solidifying his RNC position and his legitimacy. Two Words - Epic Fail!!

If he didn't get it then he should by now!!

Brilliant move by President Obama!!

[Number23]

16. See, I think that he DID know Obama was clowning him and that's why he stood up

To try to out-macho Obama. Like "yeah, man. I'm right here! What cha gone say now??" And then we got clowned he sat back down. QUICK. :)

MadMaddie, here is a link to the SteeleWatch thread in AAIG. Love to see you participate in the forum! http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=258x5262

[Cha]

7. Great commentary, Empowerer~

Thanks! Whoever told michael steele that it was a good idea to "talk like a 17 year old rapper wannbe" as head of the republicon party needs to have their "consultant" license revolked.

Clue me in..how do they get "hezzy" for "house"? :)

I'd like to hear Chris Rock do a gig on michael steele's rap.

[TheCoxwain]

8. Oh No... it ..it ..was Brotherly Love ... you ..you dont get it - do ya?

[FrenchieCat]

9. When I saw it initially, I was watching C-Span, and they only showed

Steele's on camera reaction, not the President's.
I thought to myself....what a fool! Why is he standing up? No one else stood up for their grilling?

And then I saw a clip of the same occurence on MSNBC (guess they were working different camera angles)...but this time with the camera's on the President, and when I saw our President's Demeanor as he was "dealing" with Steele.....I said to myself, the President wasn't even playin'!

[Empowerer]

10. You're so right. He smiled, but it had a shadow of a sneer -clear he was settling a score

He really was cracking on him hard, as if to say, "I can go all black up in here, too - it's not any special skill - only I don't sound like an idiot when I do it and I don't run around talking like this in order to curry favor with anybody."

[EffieBlack]

23. I just watched it again and you're right!

He was smiling but the look on his face was all business - he was settling a score. His lips were saying, "In the heezy. Wassup?!" But his face actually said: "You know I'm not playing, don't you? You got something to say to me now? I didn't think so. Now sit your raggedy ass back down."

[Captain Hilts]

11. Are you admitting that whites have to pull their punches on black politicians? nt

[Empowerer]

12. Not at all

I'm saying that there are certain "inside jokes" based upon a certain cultural constructs that intelligent, sensitive people do not engage in unless they are a part of or intimately familiar with that culture, not because they don't have a "right" to do it or for any stringeng code of "political correctness," but because they understand that so doing may be deeply offensive to someone else.

For example, I don't tell Yiddish jokes yet don't feel the least but deprived or put upon by the fact that Jews tease each other all the time in ways that I never would.

This isn't about "whites pulling punches on black politicians." It's about people of every race and culture being sensitive about humor and irony involving ethnicities, cultures and nationalities outside of their own.

[Captain Hilts]

13. Thanks for the clarification.

This is kind of why I don't really like to hear men refer to women as 'bitches'.

Keep the faith!

[ejpoeta]

22. i see what you are saying. a white guy couldn't have pulled that off.

it would have looked stupid. obama doing it made it look like a black brother type of thing while being a jab at the same time. there is no way a white politician doing that would have not been lambasted for doing it.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

26. you just explained the REASON for political correctness, in its original incarnation...

Originally, in my opinion, pc was about COMMON COURTESY, something critical to social coherence. Naturally, therefore, pc has become something to be mocked and twisted away from the original intent.

[Empowerer]

33. Exactly - it also often reveals a glaring sense of self-entitlement among some people

For example, those how get really frustrated and angry because they "can't say x,y,z anymore because it would be politically incorrect." I often wonder why it is so upsetting to these people that they are being pressured to not say things that offend other people.

I'm really fascinated by those people who consistently demand to know "why can black people can say n-gg-r, but we can't?" Whenever I hear someone say this, I want to ask them (and sometimes do): "Why do you WANT to say it?"

It reminds me of an old Richard Pryor routine in which he mimics people who so complain: "We control the world, we have all of the money, we own all the land, but if only we could just say n-gg-r, we'd really have it made!"

Frankly, I think this stems from a blatant sense of self-entitlement and a resentment that there's something that someone of another race or culture - to whom they feel superior - can do something that they can't. IT'S JUST NOT FAIR!!!

[Number23]

14. Damn straight. The milisecond I saw his "Where's Michael? Whassup!??" I was like

"Okay, Obama just CLOWNED Michael Steele before his mama and the entire world."

It was a thing of beauty. And you're right - NOBODY could have pulled that off but another brother. And Obama -- with his rank, intellect and cred -- did it perfectly.

[Enrique]

17. I don't see it that way

I saw it as good fun, just as his jabs at the white people were.

I don't see Obama as having any desire to take Steele down in a serious way.

[tblue37]

18. No--in an interview Steele was bragging about how proud he was that the

president had devoted such atttention to him,. Also, someone mentioned that he actually stood up for recognition when Obama began to call him out!

[Raineyb]

30. That's because Steele is a fool who hasn't realized that he's been clowned

If he had had a lick of sense he wouldn't have stood up to make it easier for people to point at him while they're laughing at him.

Michael Steele can tell anyone and everyone he cares to about how proud he is that he got such attention but the attention was not complimentary.

[depakid]

19. America has a problem with its media

Which is born largely of- I don't know...

Maybe people like Chris Matthews?

[ms liberty]

21. It was a thing of great beauty, IMHO. Welcome to DU, Empowerer! K&R n/t

[BlancheSplanchnik]

24. minstrel -- yes! You're right!

Great analysis!! and now that you describe him in the minstrel "tradition" (feels weird say tradition in this context.. :shrug: ), I see what you mean. I haven't heard him much, I must admit I don't have cable, and barely watch teevee --and with local news only, you'd never know Micheal Steele even exists-- but the brief moments of michealness I've heard sounded so wrong. Now I know why.

Ahhh, man what a great moment that was. I frikken LOVE our President!

[butterfly77]

29. Your right..

that was one of my favorite parts because this was the perfect time to call out Steele with his fake hip hop/so called slang and the president was serious as hell I also enjoyed the part when he gave a shout out to the ORANGE one..

[grantcart]

31. I don't know I think you did an even better job

He reinforces this with an exaggerated, almost minstrel depiction of the language and dialect that many white people believe that any and all "hip" black people - regardless of age, educational attainment, socio-economic status - use when we talk to each other. Hence, the sight and sound of Steele talking like 17-year-old wannabe rapper during supposedly serious discussions on national electoral politics have become all-too-common and leave many black people shaking their heads and asking, not "how can I learn more about why I should consider voting Republican?" But "What in the f-#k is he talking about?

[Empowerer]

32. :-)

[Politicalboi]

34. Yes Obama was great

But don't forget Michelle Bachmann speaks the lingo too. :rofl: Michale Steel You Da Man.