A Daily Show dodge, racism is racism, not "opportunism"

The Daily Show - Longformers - Scared Old People
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When discussing birtherism, when can we call racism, racism? When is it ok?

Well, let's just ask The Daily Show. According to them, birtherism has more to do with scaring old people than painting a Black President as the perpetual "other" and denying him the place of his birth.

On Thursday, The Daily Show tackled the birther issue for the second night in a row. And when the topic of racism came into play, host Jon Stewart turned towards his trusty "Senior Black Correspondent," Larry Wilmore, to make sense of it all.

Wilmore's thesis: It's not racism, it's opportunism.

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Who does he think he is . . . The President?: Obama's impact on "masculinity" and "power" in American culture

Following up on my past article, "Oh, the Possibilities . . . Obama and Black Men," I maintain that one of the greatest impacts Obama's election will have is, at a minimum, the beginning of a redefinition of "masculinity" in America. We are talking about the juxtaposition of "power" with black skin. . . we are talking about the juxtaposition of authority with black skin.

And some people just can't handle that fact. The following op-ed gets to the point:

There are many Americans for whom the image of a well-educated, articulate, African-American man running the country simply does not fit into the worldview with which they grew up and are comfortable and familiar. When the emotions aroused by that disconcerting fact are combined with legitimate political differences, their behavior has transgressed the boundaries of civil discussion and rational debate and become something much uglier. Comparing the president to a monkey, irrationally questioning his citizenship, calling for him to be ''shipped back to Africa,'' carrying signs that call for the elimination of ''Obama, Michelle, and their ugly daughters,'' keeping kids home from school so they won't have to hear the president's speech to schoolchildren -- these are not rational responses to the important policy differences that require vigorous and thoughtful debate. These are the voices of people who are having a difficult time realizing that their assumptions about the natural order of things aren't working anymore, a realization that makes them profoundly uncomfortable. It is easier for them to respond by shouting angry insults than by researching facts and developing reasoned counter arguments. (Peyton R. Helm, president of Muhlenberg College - The Morning Call)

Make no mistake. We as a country are not accustomed to associating such power, RESPECT, and, yes, admiration with black men when it comes to "masculinity." No. Black men have been and continue to be depicted as the absolute opposite of "masculinity" . . . the antithesis to the qualities that we associate with the "hero" the "white knight" . . . the COMMANDER IN CHIEF. Indeed, black men have been the perpetual "other" to the traditional, white, imagery most often associated with responsible "masculine" leadership.

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Corporate Marketing: It's Cool to be Colored

Toccara Jones is a beautiful full-figured black model who would put most runway models to shame. You might remember her from Tyra Banks' America's Next Top Model where she was best known for challenging preconceived standards of beauty in the fashion industry.


(Man, I loves me some Toccarra Jones!)

Now, I'm sure there are a lot of other women like Toccara out there. It's just unfortunate that we'll never get to see them because they don't fit the typical mold. Seems as though advertisers have a very narrow view when it comes to beauty. And that's not the only casualty. Most marketing has a narrow view of success as well. It has a narrow view of strength and masculinity. Let's face it, for as much as it claims to "push the envelope" pop culture can be one of the most conservative genres out there. Why? Well, people like Toccara are a prime example that pop culture doesn't like to try new things. In other words, it talks a good game, but it's never been a huge fan of diversity.

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Imus is Not the Issue / Imus and the Dependency of Reactionary Politics

(Parts 1 and 2 of a piece I posted over at JJP)

I’m sure you’ve all heard of Don Imus’ most recent case of foot-in-mouth disease. Seems Imus has a sweet spot for black athletes. The latest controversy involves comments Imus made about Dallas Cowboys cornerback, Adam “Pacman” Jones. ESPN covered the story, here.

The controversy came Monday when word broke that the troubled cornerback wished to officially drop his nickname, “Pacman,” in hopes for a fresh start. Anyone familiar with the NFL knows that Jones has been the poster-boy for everything wrong with the league for the past couple of years. His career of unquestioned talent has been spoiled by numerous arrests, suspension and multiple encounters with the league commissioner stemming from a shooting that took place at a strip club last year.

Suffice it to say, Jones always keeps the media on its toes. So, after hearing a quick rundown of the player’s rapsheet, old Imus couldn’t help but perform his journalistic duty by asking the most important question:

Imus: “What color is he?”

Answer: “He’s African-American.”

Response: “Well, there you go. Now we know.”

Now how’s that for consistency? Slightly more than a year since calling the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team, “nappy-headed hos,” good ole’ Imus is back like clockwork for another foray into black stereotypes. And doesn’t the media just love a repeat offender like Imus. It’s simple to follow and anything involving race is ratings gold.

For what it’s worth, Imus issued a clarification. . .

via Reuters:

"Obviously I already knew what color [Jones] was. The point was to make a sarcastic point. . . What people should be outraged about is they arrest blacks for no reason . . . There's no reason to arrest this kid six times, maybe he did something once, but I mean everybody does something once."

Do you buy that excuse? Me neither.

Of course, people are outraged. And why shouldn’t they? As one sports commentator said this morning, given his less-than-stellar career in race and gender relations, Don Imus lost the benefit of the doubt a long time ago.

Undoubtedly, many of us hear Imus' comment and detect an implied “duh” quality that conveys a familiar, “well, what do you expect from a nigger” type of sentiment.

This does, however, bring a few questions to mind . . . Are we surprised by this? Why should we be surprised by this? And why am I not inspired to join the next round of protest that may come as a result of Imus’ most recent comments?

This is what I’m getting at: Are we missing a larger opportunity whenever we’re confronted with a situation like this?

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