Monday, April 14, 2008

Oh boy!


"That little boy is driving well and he's putting well. He's doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not serve fried chicken next year. "

That was Fuzzy Zoeller talking about the other multi racial sensation here in A-merry-ca, Tiger Woods.



"That boy’s finger does not need to be on the button."




That was republiklan (gee, that's a surprise) congressman, Geoff Davis, of the great state of Kentucky, talking to a bunch of his fellow republiklans about the multi racial flavor of the month, Barack Obama.


I know you all think I am going to have a lot of stuff to say about this, but I am not.


Hey, the man apologized he said he used a "poor choice of words", and apparently he wrote the "O" man a long letter expressing his regret for using that type of language to describe him. So what's the big deal? He didn't mean Obama was a "boy" like a little boy. He just meant it as a term of endearment, because they are buds. Hey, the guy is only three years older than the "O" man, so how could he have meant it in a bad way? I mean if the "O" man is a boy then he is a boy too right?.........


So anyhoooo, I am sure this won't get nearly the amount of media play that the "O" man calling small town folks "bitter" will get. You know why? Because some of the people in charge of the news we get feel the exact same way about the black boy wonder running for the highest office in the land. This clown just didn't get the memo and he fucked up. He said what quite a few "red state" folks say over the dinner table. "Come on field you can't paint rural red state voters with such a broad brush, what makes you think they feel that way?" Yeah Okay, just watch how much votes Geoff Davis wins by when the next election rolls around.

So it started already, now that the republiklans (there is someone I have to thank for that word but I can't remember who it is) are close to going one on one against the "O" man, you can expect quite a lot more slips of the tongue before this thing is over. And it will take many different forms and will happen in many different forums. ["I can't believe I did that" Yes you can.] Now we won't hear about most of them, because most folks will be smarter than Geoff Davis, or the clown from the AP. But we will hear some.


But that's all you will hear from me folks. I am trying to take some of my reader's advise and lay off the constant "O" man posts....Okay that's bullshit, because tomorrow, given all the shit that's going on in this race, I just might be posting about his ass again. Come on folks, it's a black man running for President of these divided states. There will always be something to talk about, because the natives are restless, and I guarantee you that it's just a matter of time before someone forgets the memo again.








48 comments:

the poet Shazza said...

We are going to EXPLODE with tiptoeing around EVERY WORD SLIP that might or is refering to RACE.

I call people younger than I, "Kid" I even have refered to people trying to get my attention in the impolite, "wassup Son?".
Zora Neal Hurston called it THE SWEET TALK which is a "very Southern" thing to do. BUT anything Southern in comfortable dialogue is going to be trouble more and more as this election comes to a close.

We will have to decide very soon IF or WHEN Obama gets into office, are we going to call a truce on Political Correctness or are we just going to say, "WHAT THE FUQ" and just say what we really want to say.

I vote on the latter.

Angela L. Braden, Writer, Speaker, Professor said...

I in no way excuse or give a free pass to those who wish to denograte or disrespect Senator Obama or any other black man by calling them a boy.
It's rude, disrespectful, and deeply offensive.
It's not just a slip of the tongue, or a nice way to refer to someone. It is an insult.
I'm a young woman. I usually don't get tripped up when older people call me a girl.
And I am also a X-Generation child.
But those that are Senator Obama's age and up grew up during the time that calling someone "boy and girl" were signs of disrespect. Plain and simple...

The other day I was in the restaurant with a couple of ladies from the office, one 39 and the other 62. This old white man, maybe around 65 walked up to us and said, "Hi there, girls. How are y'all doing?"
Well, I smiled. I thought nothing of it. But my friend, the 62 year old was pissed. And she told him so.
This New York native, with two master degrees took offense that this old, white trash of a man called her a girl.
But that's because she came up in a different time than me. She is familiar with a pain that, thank God, I don't know.

Without raising her voice, she asked him, in her intellectually snobby voice, "Do I look like a girl to you? How old do you think I am?"
He knew he had stepped in quicksand. He laughed and tried to say that he thought she looked young enough to be a teenager.
Yeah, right!
He just knew he had been called to the carpet on his, I'm sure unrealized racism.

Anonymous said...

Angie, be nice to Senator Kennedy.

SingaporeSwim said...

big deal. that clown is probably just trying to get exposure on faux where he'd fit right in. sbo has been called worse and will be called much worse the closer he gets to the candidacy and the presidency. good thing he has a sense of humor, human nature and history.

Anonymous said...

@Shazza Nakim

"We are going to EXPLODE with tiptoeing around EVERY WORD SLIP that might or is referring to RACE."

Shazza, normally I would be cosigning your remarks here, but when you place the word "boy" in full context it conjures up a "slight" that can't be passed over as "political correctness" gone wild.

To suggest that this "boy's" [Obama's] trigger finger is itchy and can't be trusted with the nation's ultimate weapons, then I take offense.

In context, it's not a slip, nor a misspeak, nor a late-night tiredness mental lapse.

It represents a litany of words, phrases, and references thrown about in this election season to cast Obama as inferior and unworthy to be this nation's Commander in Chief.

An apology in today's society is nothing more than a concession that I got caught, not a true sign of contrition.

I'll "call a truce on Political Correctness," but not anyone's attempt to correct me by demeaning me or other blacks.

Jew's say: "Never Again".

I'll never stand by and tacitly surrender to remarks that I perceive as intentional slights that continue to belittle, or demean blacks, because I may be branded politically correct or a little edgy where blacks are concerned.

As was said in the movie, The Last of the Mohicans, referencing the colonials, "Sir, they don't live by your leave."

"Sir, I don't live by their leave." And I never will. If PC upsets them, so be it. Their lack of PC upsets me.

Further, we owe it to the young black boys and girls that are now watching our lead.

Let them hear us say by our actions and our words: "Never Again!"

Imhotep said...

Boy?! My only surprise is that Bill did not use that word first. Let's see if Hillary jump on the word "boy" like she did the word "bitter" she will not, because she is counting on the votes from those racist pigs.

Someone needs to tell Rep. Davis that it's the 21 century and he can put away the white sheet and hood.

SingaporeSwim said...

this guy is insignificant and his wanton use of "boy" makes him even more puny.

SingaporeSwim said...

he might soon have to call that "boy" Mr. President.

Anonymous said...

nothing to do with the subject,FN, but your mayor the nutter was on the Colbert report tonight. He was there to discuss his law limiting gun purchasing. When colbert asked why the nutter said "because we in philidelphia don't like getting shot, despite what is populary believed.

Anonymous said...

If Geoff Davis really believed Obama to be this irrational, maniacal black man that shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the doomsday button--then he's doubling his security detail, wearing a bullet proof vest, and upping the value of his life insurance policy.

The Christian Progressive Liberal said...

Double standard in effect?

Check.

Oh well, at least he apologized, which is more than the Borg Queen and her husband does, when they're not lying their butts off.

Francis Holland said...

Field, I just wish that members of the US Congress didn't say this crap in speeches. I expect it from people at DailyKos or MyDD, but not from people who are on the government payroll.

Anyway, Rep. Davis effectively acknowledged that this is inappropriate speech in today's world, at least between one member of the US Congress and another. But, I agree with you that we surely haven't heard the last of this kind of thing.

I wonder how much this Congressman will have to depend on Black votes in his re-election campaign. Don't ALL representatives have to stand for reelection every two years, including this year? Maybe that's probably why he apologized?

Anyway, Field, thanks for the link love in the side bar. If they knowingly and intentionally spread hazardous chemicals on our lawns as part of a US Government program, why is it so hard to believe that they created AIDS to kill South Africans who were crying freedom?

SagaciousHillbilly said...

Check out my post from the perspective of the whitest part of the reddest state.

http://sagacioushillbilly.blogspot.com/

DebC said...

Field,

Sounds about right for a guy named "Geoff Davis" from Kentucky. I'll bet you a nickel the late president of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis is in his blood line!

The Roving Reporter said...

I can't say I'm surprised. People tend to show their true colors when they feel their "establishment" is being threatened.

Anonymous said...

Field, you pissed me off first thing in the morning. For the love of God, when are we going to quit forgiving this sort of shit? His "poor choice of words" translates to "he said what he really meant but he's sorry that the country HEARD what he said."

Anonymous said...

Field, don't lay off posting about the "O" man lol.. I just recently discovered your blog after surfing the internet trying to find Obama supportive political blogs. That's part of the reason why I keep coming back to your blog because of the daily political coverage and your candor and colorful commentary. I enjoy reading your perspective on the latest political subject. So, please don't stop. Keep up the good work.

Unknown said...

Field,

You may not be an Obamaholic, but surely you will vote for him next week instead of Hillary? He may not be perfect, as he keeps on telling us, but he is light years better than the other two candidates out there.

Which is why, when the last vote is counted, Obama is going to be the President. Because he looks pretty good compared to John McCain (who has definitely passed his sell by date).

field negro said...

Co sign with shonufded. Never give in to ignorance.

And i am thinking that my sarcism in this post wasn't dripping thick enough:)

RedLipstick said...

I was thinking about the use of "boy" in different contexts--say for instance the "good ole' boy" network and the reps use definitely rolls off the tongue with a hint of "keep the *igger in his place".

If he would have said I don't want that "girl's" finger on the button it would have been just as bad and definitely pushed by Hill's campaign to show that the "good ole boy" network was trying to keep her down.

On another note-- Field and the rest of you folks from Philly is this story from the LA Times accurate? What's the low down on "street money"?

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-streetmoney11apr11,0,7683068.story

Anonymous said...

Slip-up my ass. This was deliberate. Another RNC punk playing the race card to stir up the racist voter bloc that exists out there.
Rinse and repeat.

Admiral Komack said...

Hey now!

This was an example of Republican "outreach" to the Black community.

Rep. Davis...he speaks so well!

Anonymous said...

I will be soooo thrilled when the primary and then the general election is OVER. Tired of all of it. On the 'net. On TV. Its hard to escape the fervor of the campaigns and the media too boot.

This is a movement. And its not going to be satisifed unless O wins.

They may as well let O be POTUS now. Today. Right Now. Then we'll get to hear stuff for 4 years. Oh boy! Too much.

Anonymous said...

You said, "the natives are restless"!!! *lol*

If you don't stop, I'm calling the police! *lol*

Lisa
http://blackwomenblowthetrumpet.blogspot.com

youngstokely said...

yo feild i read your blog everyday i come to work and i agree with like 99% of everthing that you post (probly more than that) i wanted to know if being that your based out of philly could i get some of your thoughts of Mumia who if the government wasn't so intent on murdering in my opinion would be a much better president than this Obama

Anonymous said...

That picture... he's definitely from Kentucky. Nice selection.

Anonymous said...

It seems to me that the "boy" comment is just an extension of the claims that Obama doesn't have experience or that he's the affirmative action candidate, and I have to believe that the statement was said on purpose, knowing of course that after the fact, it could be apologized for, yeah, a poor choice of blah blah blah, meanwhile, you can't unring the bell.

Anonymous said...

White Haired Women For Barack Obama:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpDTvlSd0x4

Anonymous said...

I don't have anything to add to this conversation but, "damn! couldn't you have zoomed out on that photo? Yuck!" His dental hygiene is as outdated as his "boy" reference. His mug is hard enough on the eyes without that smile to boot. Are they still chewing tobacco in Kentucky? Are there no crest white strips to be found?

Anonymous said...

and then we have his black counterpart, Bob Johnson, telling the Charlotte Observer that this "boy" would not be where he was if he was named "Jerry Smith" ... yes, that's the Bob Johnson who has brought us all that uplifting, respectful television programming...

Amenta said...

The man's name is Geoff Davis, he is from the south. He clearly knew what he was doing. He should be called on it we should never give a pass, but we shouldn't linger on the issue either.

Anonymous said...

MaxW said...
White Haired Women For Barack Obama

Thanks MaxW. Those "White Haired Women" rock.

Anonymous said...

One thing Obama's candidacy is, is a Rorschach test for people's racial sensititivities, or the lack thereof. Some white liberals (consciously or not) view him as a way to wash their forefathers' hands of slavery and Jim Crow.

Reps like Davis are one reason I moved from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky.

andyfrombrooklyn said...

dear field,we should thank this redneck for his macaca slip. it reminds everybody what side is up

rikyrah said...

Yes, it was racist.

Period.

NO White Man from Kentucky, is ignorant of what BOY means when referencing a Black MAN.

NO WHITE MAN.

Period.

And yeah, we need to call it out everytime it happens.

Obama is an United States SENATOR.
This clown is a mere CONGRESSMAN.

Hell yeah, he knew exactly what he was saying.

Anonymous said...

rikyrah said...
Yes, it was racist.

I like the way you never hold back. Your dam is never gonna break because of pent-up water.

You're gonna flood the valley every chance you get.

Folks just gotta learn how to swim.

Anonymous said...

What do people think of this backwards self-hating blogger?
Somehow Obama is elitist but Hilary is not because the blogger waves some magic wand of race and class-absolution.
http://egarooo.blogspot.com/2008/04/no-vote-equals-racist-vote.html

SingaporeSwim said...

field,
did'ya hear what former bet head bob johnson had to say about sbo today?

"What I believe Geraldine Ferraro meant is that if you take a freshman senator from Illinois called `Jerry Smith' and he says I'm going to run for president, would he start off with 90 percent of the black vote?" Johnson said. "And the answer is, probably not... ."

"Geraldine Ferraro said it right. The problem is, Geraldine Ferraro is white. This campaign has such a hair-trigger on anything racial ... it is almost impossible for anybody to say anything.


he's factually wrong b/c hill had the majority of the black vote early on in the campaigns - before sc.

what a bloke!

SingaporeSwim said...

bob's comments are more dismissive and disrespectful of sbo than congressman davis'.

SingaporeSwim said...

oop! i just noticed your reference to bob johnson's comments in the sidebar.

SingaporeSwim said...

in re: your bill o'wful sidebar.
remember field, this is the same person who was surprised that the natives weren't eating with their hands and calling each other mofo's when he visited sylvia's in harlem last year.
consider the source.

Ms.Martin said...

Shonuf -

"An apology in today's society is nothing more than a concession that I got caught, not a true sign of contrition."

So so true.

Never, ever again!

.

DebC said...

Field...My personal feelings about Bob Johnson engaging in "house negro" behavior wa-a-a-y before now with his auctioning off of Black America with BET aside, I just don't get why THIS particular comment is house negro behavior? "...if you take a freshman senator from Illinois called 'Jerry Smith' and he says I'm going to run for president, would he start off with 90 percent of the black vote? And the answer is, probably not."

I know I'm in the minority here, but what is incorrect about this statement? The fact that he's Black and said it about Sen. Obama? Or the fact that he's Black and is agreeing with and politically supporting two white women? I just don't get it.

singaporeswim..."he's factually wrong b/c hill had the majority of the black vote early on in the campaigns - before sc."

IMHO he's not factually wrong if the emphasis is on "freshman" senator which I think it is. Hill is not a freshman senator. And rightly or wrongly (at least until he repeatedly kept acting like he was the one RUNNING for president), she was getting a lot of the Black vote early on based largely on Blacks' perceptions, again rightly or wrongly, of better times during the Clinton presidency.

SingaporeSwim said...

deb,
bj was factually wrong when he offered this...
would he start off with 90 percent of the black vote?"
...since sbo did not "start off with 90% of the black vote."

DebC said...

singaporeswim..."would he start off with 90 percent of the black vote?" You're absolutely right if that was the point of his entire statement.

As I said in my previous comment, "IMHO he's not factually wrong if the emphasis is on "freshman" senator which I think it is - "if" being the operative word in my statement.

I can't say which is the point of his statement, the 90% or the freshman senator part. What each of us "heard," based on our own experiences, is subjective at best since neither of us know the man. And that's okay too. Appreciate the dialogue though!

SingaporeSwim said...

deb,
in bj's assumption, sbo w/n/b as far as he is in his prezzie bid if he were white and if not for his overwhelming support among blacks. he's basically rubber stamping geraldine ferraro's "racial" theory and both of them conclude that all of this fortunate fate has come sbo's way simply b/c he's a lucky black man. bj should know!

Anonymous said...

"What I believe Geraldine Ferraro meant..."

Johnson admits he speculating--he's not sure what Ferraro meant.

I'm aware that both are Hillary supporters, yet Johnson feels a need to rescue Ferraro. His late statement on the subject neither hurts Obama, or helps Hillary.

Was his response a reply to a direct question, or was it gratis?

"Jerry Smith...would he start off with 90 percent of the black vote?"

I don't believe that Obama's blackness has given, or is giving him, an edge; I don't care how you slice and dice it. Whether any candidate, white or black, starts out with 90% of black votes is, in the scope of things, meaningless.

Whites in this society are the difference makers when it comes to who will or will not be president. They still outnumber blacks substantially.

So I question Geraldine Ferraro's motive in making the statement. Was she trying to create a dustup where none existed?

Was she trying to pit whites against blacks, reminding them that blacks were supporting blacks, and whites should be supporting whites?

What kind of response would an Obama surrogate have received if he/she had said that Hillary was a lucky white woman? She gets to start off with 90 percent of the white vote, and the female vote to booth, because she is a white female and the wife of an ex-president.

"Geraldine Ferraro said it right. The problem is, Geraldine Ferraro is white."

Hmm. He brings in race here. Would she have been less right had she been black? Wouldn't a black suffer the same reception, had he or she made such a statement?

And the answer is, probably yes....

"This campaign has such a hair-trigger on anything racial ... it is almost impossible for anybody to say anything."

He should know. He's certainly guilty of saying some racially-charged statements himself. And Obama has been attacked for racially insensitive remarks as well.

The society in which we live has a "hair-trigger" mentality on "anything racial." It's not something blacks have brought to the table. It's a staple of this society, and a dish on every table.

"...if you take a freshman senator..."

I didn't realize that a candidate for a national party had to first "make bones," internship for a time, or earn his "merit badges" before being considered a viable candidate.

I believe that the thrust of the statement was to point out Obama's lack of experience for the job--a theme used many times in this campaign.

I'd say: Let run who wishes, regardless of qualifications (who gets to decide that anyway--a panel of judges? A written exam, perhaps?). Let the American people sort it out.

One final point. I'd put Johnson in the House for no other reason than, right or wrong, he has put himself in the position to defend Hillary--his credibility is shot (He doesn't appear to be his own man.).

The perception is he owes so many (He's no longer unbossed and unbought.), that anything he says on Hillary's behalf is suspect--which makes him a House Negro in my book.

Given his sullied reputation in the black community, he'd do well to shut up and support no one.

That he's supporting Hillary while 90% of blacks have turned their backs on the Clinton's, and are supporting Obama, seems to be just another finger in the eye he's already blackened.

I say, keep his ass in the big house. He no longer knows 'I' from 'We'.

DebC said...

singaporeswim..."in bj's assumption, sbo w/n/b as far as he is in his prezzie bid if he were white and if not for his overwhelming support among blacks."

Again, what each of us "heard," is subjective at best since neither of us know the man. But I can't, for the life of me, see what is incorrect about this statement.

All other things being equal, if a white freshman senator threw his hat in the ring for president, I doubt he'd be in the same position in this race - if at all. And as far as the last part, though we are only about 12-13% of the population, all we need do is look at the huge Black turnout at primaries and caucuses and the mind-blowing number of newly registered Black voters - SINCE the senator became a SERIOUS contender - to know that it has made a big difference. Hopefully, it'll stay that way whether he wins or loses because there's a whole lot of shit that needs this kind of attention! Imagine how different our lives would be today if we'd been THIS politically engaged, THIS politically active long ago!

Don't get me wrong, whites are voting for him in large numbers as well(and I have my own theories about that as well), but I don't think their vote alone would have positioned him where is today.

I believe there is inherent racism in a lot of white people given the history of this country. Whether they want to own it or not, many still harbor that feeling of supremacy. Is Ferraro one of them? I don't presume to know what's in her heart. That being said, however, I did not see her comment as "racial" theory - but fact, based on the presidential elections for the 51 years I've been alive.

She said, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position,...And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

Again, all other things being equal, if the senator were a white, freshman senator with no other experience than his days in IL, I doubt he'd be in the position he is in today. All things being equal (freshman senator with no other experience than his days in IL), if he were a woman of any color, he would not be in the position he is in today. She didn't say "simply b/c he's a lucky black man." And the country IS caught up in the concept of having the first Black president - for a lot of different reasons.

And as much as I hate how Bob Johnson sold us down the river for those dollar bills, I don't think it's fair to assume a lack of substance about the man. He is a Black man, born in Mississippi, raised in Illinois, with a bachelor's from the University of Illinois and a master's in International Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

Like Sen. Obama, circumstances operated in his favor making a way for the creation of BET and the later sale that netted him a gazillion dollars. And as my grandmother always said, "Money breeds money." Hence the NBA/WNBA franchises, seats on boards of prominent companies, etc.

**Field, apologize for taking up so much space***