Barack the Magic Negro

Ikohn4ever

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RNC candidate distributes controversial Obama song By Reid Wilson Posted: 12/26/08 12:10 PM [ET] RNC candidate Chip Saltsman’s Christmas greeting to committee members includes a music CD with lyrics from a song called “Barack the Magic Negro,” first played on Rush Limbaugh’s popular radio show.
Saltsman, a personal friend of conservative satirist Paul Shanklin, sent a 41-track CD along with a note to national committee members.


“I look forward to working together in the New Year,” Saltsman wrote. “Please enjoy the enclosed CD by my friend Paul Shanklin of the Rush Limbaugh Show.” The CD, called “We Hate the USA,” lampoons liberals with such songs as “John Edwards’ Poverty Tour,” “Wright place, wrong pastor,” “Love Client #9,” “Ivory and Ebony” and “The Star Spanglish banner.”
Several of the track titles, including “Barack the Magic Negro,” are written in bold font.
The song, which debuted on Limbaugh’s show in late March 2007, latches onto an opinion column in the Los Angeles Times of the same title. That column, penned by cultural critic David Ehrenstein, argued that Obama could serve as a balm to whites who felt guilty about past treatment of African Americans.


Limbaugh first highlighted the column the day it ran, according to a contemporary report by Media Matters, the liberal watchdog agency. Media Matters reported Limbaugh repeated the phrase more than two dozen times the day the column ran.
The following month, Shanklin debuted his version of the song, sung to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon” and performed in Shanklin’s impression of Al Sharpton.
“See, real black men, like Snoop Dogg, or me, or Farrakhan, have talked the talk, and walked the walk, not come in late and won,” one verse in the song says.
Saltsman said he meant nothing untoward by forwarding what amounts to a joke more at Ehrenstein’s expense than at Obama’s.
“Paul Shanklin is a long-time friend, and I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that his songs for the Rush Limbaugh show are light-hearted political parodies,” Saltsman said.
Republicans searching for ways to attack Obama have been hesitant to embrace any reference to his race. Limbaugh presciently predicted his allusion to the column nearly two years ago would win attention from left-leaning organizations that would suggest he was using Obama’s race against him.



This is really disgusting, and they are just acting like its a big joke. Kind of funny how anytime they do something racist its a joke or parody.
 
[quote name='Ikohn4ever']This is really disgusting, and they are just acting like its a big joke. Kind of funny how anytime they do something racist its a joke or parody.[/quote]

Like this?


Anyway. There isn't much to say about this, other than "hey, yet another Republican shithead trying to get his redneck drinkin' buddies to guffaw and slap him on the back".
 
It was something originally mentioned by I believe the New York Times in January. I do love the recycling of old news, though.
 
The Magic Negro song is a couple years old now... I still have an flv saved of an old youtube clip... it's basically a parody of Al Sharpton getting pissed that Barack is getting more attention than him despite not being as "authentically" black as Sharpton... pretty funny stuff...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvXz2xaLNMQ
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Oh, c'mon, now. Racism is dead. Right? Right?[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that Obama song is much more racist than this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAYe7MT5BxM

After watching that video, its pretty evident that racism is not dead and some people even benefit from encouraging division based on race :)
 
[quote name='BigT']The Magic Negro song is a couple years old now... I still have an flv saved of an old youtube clip... it's basically a parody of Al Sharpton getting pissed that Barack is getting more attention than him despite not being as "authentically" black as Sharpton... pretty funny stuff...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvXz2xaLNMQ[/QUOTE]

C'mon now. You know your audience here. You didn't really expect anyone that posted above you to have actually heard the song to have a context before passing judgment, did you?

[quote name='Ruined']Yeah, that Obama song is much more racist than this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAYe7MT5BxM

After watching that video, its pretty evident that racism is not dead and some people even benefit from encouraging division based on race :)[/QUOTE]

You fucking insensitive prick. You just clearly do not understand, nor can you respect, black liberation theology and how important, yet harmless, it is to black society.

You are just another republican playing the divisive race card whenever you try to point out those who are playing divisive race cards.
 
Alright, it's context. My song "Bill my butt-fucking $$$$$$ friend" shouldn't be offensive to anyone, I mean, it's a song about homosexuals living in harmony with heterosexuals! And it even says Bill is my friend right in the title!

And a black person being racist negates anything else racist, got it. Those liberals encouraging division are the ones who created racism, too. Without them there would be no racists.

Did I miss anything else that doesn't make sense?
 
You fucking insensitive prick. You just clearly do not understand, nor can you respect, black liberation theology and how important, yet harmless, it is to black society.

You are just another republican playing the divisive race card whenever you try to point out those who are playing divisive race cards.

:whistle2:s

Somebody struck nerve. I normally don't see you this animated in your posts.
 
[quote name='paddlefoot']:whistle2:s

Somebody struck nerve. I normally don't see you this animated in your posts.[/QUOTE]

Extreme sarcasm can come off that way.
 
[quote name='thrustbucket']C'mon now. You know your audience here. You didn't really expect anyone that posted above you to have actually heard the song to have a context before passing judgment, did you?



You fucking insensitive prick. You just clearly do not understand, nor can you respect, black liberation theology and how important, yet harmless, it is to black society.

You are just another republican playing the divisive race card whenever you try to point out those who are playing divisive race cards.
smile.gif
[/quote]
Take it easy lol
 
[quote name='Ruined']Yeah, that Obama song is much more racist than this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAYe7MT5BxM

After watching that video, its pretty evident that racism is not dead and some people even benefit from encouraging division based on race :)[/quote]

I still don't understand why it's racist to point out that we live in a racist country.
 
[quote name='depascal22']I still don't understand why it's racist to point out that we live in a racist country.[/QUOTE]

It's not so much that people think it's racist, it's that people think getting a mass of people whipped up into a frenzy with racially divisive talk is just as useful to the country as racism. Even if it contains truth, it's seen as an act of negativity.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Duh.

Talking about racism is racist.

Being racist is not racist.[/QUOTE]

Encouraging racism is being racist, yes. Wright's comments are not only prejudice themselves, they also promote racial prejudice among his church.

Why? Because Wright's speeches display racial prejudice (generalizing the actions/behaviors/intentions of whites as negative based on their skin color) and promotes racial prejudice in others.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racism (def#2)
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prejudice (def#2c)

No amount of nuancing can deny that basic fact.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hegemony (def#2)[/QUOTE]

A nice word for sure, but not an excuse for racism/encouraging racism - nor generalizing people like myself who were born long after the time the African American civil rights movement was in its peak in the 50s/60s.

Encouraging division by race and disparaging other races is obviously not going to result in less division between said races (common sense) and is racist in itself; it might keep Wright in business, but its not going to help relations between races any.
 
"Disparaging other races," to you, is "acknowledging that racism exists, is prevalent, and strong in our modern society," to others.

Devah Pager and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva's research is enough to show you just *how much* racism and discrimination harm blacks and exalt whites in our society. If you don't want to read it or believe it, I can't force you. But focusing on Wright's accusations of racism as a culprit, and not the plausibility of racism really still existing as the culprit, is a foolhardy and naive perspective. It's blaming the victim for being upset about being a victim.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']"Disparaging other races," to you, is "acknowledging that racism exists, is prevalent, and strong in our modern society," to others.

Devah Pager and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva's research is enough to show you just *how much* racism and discrimination harm blacks and exalt whites in our society. If you don't want to read it or believe it, I can't force you. But focusing on Wright's accusations of racism as a culprit, and not the plausibility of racism really still existing as the culprit, is a foolhardy and naive perspective. It's blaming the victim for being upset about being a victim.[/QUOTE]

Incorrect. You can acknowledge racism exists without negatively generalizing about any given particular race as Wright does. Generalizing negatively about whites as a race is the key that makes Wright's remarks racist and also is why they promote racism.

Ironically, I think the best commentary on racism in our society is actually "Everyone's a little bit racist" by Avenue Q. It acknowledges racism exists as a human trait in society among all races without broad negative generalizations about any particular race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbwNSNLPIfw&feature=related

Puppets have people beat on this matter :)
 
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so spark notes on this topic indicates its full of racists talking about race to show everyones racist to a certain extent towards a race or group of racists.
 
I think I need to see that musical.

EDIT: Awesome, it's in my town in April. I must order tickets.
 
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[quote name='Ruined']Incorrect. You can acknowledge racism exists without negatively generalizing about any given particular race as Wright does. Generalizing negatively about whites as a race is the key that makes Wright's remarks racist and also is why they promote racism.

Ironically, I think the best commentary on racism in our society is actually "Everyone's a little bit racist" by Avenue Q. It acknowledges racism exists as a human trait in society among all races without broad negative generalizations about any particular race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbwNSNLPIfw&feature=related

Puppets have people beat on this matter :)[/QUOTE]

Which is precisely why I brought up hegemony; the word you so flippantly disregarded.

Equal racism is not equal when it disproportionately benefits whites and harms blacks (those two groups being at opposite ends of the spectrum, and other groups falling in line between them).

"Everybody's a little bit racist" doesn't fly in the real world, where nobody could claim "everybody gets discriminated against equally" without being laughed out of the room.

Do you believe people are discriminated against equally?
 
To play devil's advocate, racism and discrimination don't go hand in hand from that aspect. Anyone can be racist, but it takes someone with some form of power to do any meaningful discrimination.

Whites have always had the majority of the power, there is of of course more discrimination against blacks. There are fewer blacks in posistions of power where they can discriminate against other races.
 
Sure. But doesn't mean people can't be equally racist.

Hegemony just limits the impact that racism can have along power lines.
 
Which makes the racism unequal.

We have the same guns, you and I.

I have 12 bullets. You have none.

So we have the same weapon. Big deal.

I think the difference is that *power* is crucial to racism in my view and understanding; I'm not concerned with racist attitudes. We're Americans, and free to be as stupid as we want. But power legitimizes the racial hierarchy, it makes people fail to question, say, Resident Evil 5's imagery (;)), and uses ideology to justify group placement. And that, in this country, is the dominion of the larger social structure.

An attitude is an attitude; an attitude with power is a whole other matter.

Hegemony.
 
Yeah, like I said in the RE5 thread that dissappeared, I'm just not overly sensitive or interested in racist attitudes or other broad social issues--hence why I had no interest in doing sociology instead of criminology and have no interest in working in a sociology department. :D

Anyway I'd agree that power is what matters at the end of the day. But that doesn't change the fact that people may have equally racists beliefs--but only certain groups have the power to negatively affect others.

So again it's really two different issues. Racists attitudes (which may be equal) and the power to discriminate based on those attitudes (which is clearly unequal). So we're in aggreement that attitudes and attitues with power are different things. :D
 
In that case, a racist attitude is fine. Who am I to stop it or tell them not to think that way?

That 'billy who named his kids Adolf Hitler, Aryan Nation, and (misspelled) Himmler? Free to do that. Not my business.

That same 'billy only hiring whites at his business (I know he was a welfare king, but in my hypothetical world he's a successful business owner, at least in this case)? That is my business. And yours.
 
Attitudes aren't fine as they can lead to actions. Everyone's actions are shaped in part by their beliefs and attitudes.

The powerless racist may some day be in position to discriminate. Anyone with a racist attitude can pick fights, choose crime victims of the race they hate etc. etc.

The only way to ever end discrimination and racist actions is to get rid of racist attitudes. No amount of laws etc. weill ever suffice. They can reduce discrimination, but not end it and have no effect on bullying, racially motivated crime etc.
 
I think it's impossible to eliminate racist attitudes, or how we classify/categorize each other.

We'll always have biological variation in appearance, but what the socially meaningful differences are might change over time. Why, say, melanin content matters and not, say, red hair (unless you're in northern ireland!) - that's a social category. But it may become meaningful in a period of time, just like it was meaningful in the past to discriminate against the Irish in the US.

Attitudes aren't fine, sure. I'd rather that cat not be a racist, or lazy, or name his kids after high ranking officials from the Axis powers. But I don't feel compelled to take away or control his right to be a dumbass neck-tattooed 'billy until he does something to infringe on another's rights.

Crime isn't something that can be "done away with," short of shredding the penal code (ha!). But it is something that we can proactively try to prevent through prosocial means, actively shape in our own lives, and react to when it happens.

Really, meaningful categories are only meaningful because we ascribe meaning to them. It seems silly to think, but in decades to come we might have gangs of brunettes and gangs of blondes engaging in drive-bys, and hair color will be a proxy for a hate crime investigation. Not likely, but still plausible. We take biology and shape what is relevant by our actions and attitudes.

Anyone remember this gem? http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html

fuckin' blue eyed kids. :lol:
 
Oh I agree racist attitudes will never be eliminated. But I do think they can be reduced over time--as they clearly have been in going from slavery, to segregation and Jim Crow to the civil rights moment to having Obama elected.

And seeing that trend continue is just as key to ending discrimination as any direct anti discrimination laws, affirmative action etc. That said, I have no idea how to promote that trend and keep it going. It may just have to be a natural progression as the US and the world gets more diverse and multi-racial.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Which makes the racism unequal.

We have the same guns, you and I.

I have 12 bullets. You have none.

So we have the same weapon. Big deal.

I think the difference is that *power* is crucial to racism in my view and understanding; I'm not concerned with racist attitudes. We're Americans, and free to be as stupid as we want. But power legitimizes the racial hierarchy, it makes people fail to question, say, Resident Evil 5's imagery (;)), and uses ideology to justify group placement. And that, in this country, is the dominion of the larger social structure.

An attitude is an attitude; an attitude with power is a whole other matter.

Hegemony.[/QUOTE]

Barack Obama's spiritual mentor for 20 years was in that video preaching racial prejudice; he was on Obama's presidential campaign team until the scandal broke out. Barack Obama is now president of the USA. I'm sure Barack still considers him a close friend and considers his input regardless of what his PR team makes him say. Power? He now has the ear of the president. 'nuff said.

Your argument would have made sense 25 years ago, now not so much where we just elected Obama with said spiritual mentor Wright to the most powerful position in the USA. All that sort of thinking and preaching on Wright's part only serves to drive division further, not only with people in his church but also with people like myself who did not grow up with racism and would never make a sweeping negative generalization about a race like Wright did. Its offensive and racist, period. No way to nuance around it, and people who fail to see the racial prejudice aspect of speeches like that have me questioning their own racial tendencies.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']In that case, a racist attitude is fine. Who am I to stop it or tell them not to think that way?

That 'billy who named his kids Adolf Hitler, Aryan Nation, and (misspelled) Himmler? Free to do that. Not my business.

That same 'billy only hiring whites at his business (I know he was a welfare king, but in my hypothetical world he's a successful business owner, at least in this case)? That is my business. And yours.[/QUOTE]

What do you mean by this?
 
[quote name='Ruined']
And as for your power argument which I assume you will repeat, again:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5473691&postcount=45

If the civil rights movement happened just a few years ago, you'd have a point. But it didn't.[/QUOTE]

There are still vast differences in the power to discriminate. Blacks have made great strides, but there are still many fewer of them in positions of power (managers, hiring supervisors etc. etc.) compared to whites.

And there always will be, at least in the US, irrespective of racism/discrimination since blacks make up only 12-13% of population.
 
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