like a fish needs a bicycle...

Wow wow wow.

Holy molasses.

Yeah, um, I have another vitriolic blog cooking now. Seriously... Imus and now this?

Unbelieveable. And yet, not so much.

Thanks for posting this, Nas.

I was _this close_ to writing an essay about racism two nights ago, but sleep won out. We should chat via phone about this, Nas. I need some feedback on a couple theories to eradicate racism that just came to me.

The good thing about Limbaugh and Gibson and Imus is that they remind everyone who's insulated and comfortable that the struggles for equality and inclusion are still going on, on a day-to-day basis, at a workplace or a shopping mall near you.

"would anyone ever sing such a thing about a white man running for president?" Yes (thou probably would not call him a magic negro).

However, who are you calling racist? I hope the L.A. Times and not Rush, since all Rush (or rather, the singer, probably Paul Shanklin) is doing is *commenting* on what the L.A. Times *wrote*, and what Al Sharpton *wrote*. If Rush quotes the loonie left *he* is racist?

Yes, there are racists in America, it is mostly the liberals, like the LA Times and others who ask if Barack is black enough. Or Al Sharpton & Co, if you use a real definition of racist rather than change it so only white males can be racist (and are by definition).

If one believes that all white males are racist, and no other group can be racist, it becomes a silly question to ask if there is racism.

Again, yes, a number of such songs would be, and are, sung about white men running for president, and who are president. Paul Shaklin(sp?) did a number on Clinton, Rush has a number of routines about Teddy Kennedy's mish-mash mouth (ok, so he is not a presidental canidate, the point is the same). I remember demeaning songs about both Nixon and LBJ.

Oh, yes "Whatever happened to you Hubert?", though not as demeaning as most, was on National TV, as well as part of a hit album -- any TW3 fans out there?

hi jim, thanks for coming by. and thank you for being civil. apparently not everyone is capable of engaging in respectful dialogue, so i appreciate you doing so.

first, let me just be really clear: i think all sorts of people, of all races and ethnicities, can be racist, not just white males. and i wasn't accusing only white males (or all white males) of racism. i was just saying that this song seems to me to be a clear instance of racism against blacks.

i think you're right that plenty of other politicians have been the target of parody songs, and i'm sure some of them are deliberately offensive. i think what's different about this one is that it's not about his personality traits--like having a "mish-mash mouth" (though i'm not sure exactly what you mean by that) or being a womanizer or engaging in verbal gymanstics (about whether bill clinton inhaled) or whatever else.

instead, it seems to be about his race. the lyrics and the method of delivery--a white man impersonating the voice of a black man who speaks with a traditionally african-american dialectical phrasing and cadence--seem to be motivated by the fact that he's black, and not by things that are within his control. i don't think anyone would sing a song about a white man that is all about his whiteness.

as to the LA times writer who first wrote the article, i'm more agnostic about whether his take on it was racist or offensive. i read th article, and i feel like he was offering (a somewhat mocking and perhaps astute) social commentary on the perception of barack among some white americans, but not necessarily endorsing that view or personally espousing the term "magic negro."

Late to the party, but anyhow:

Wow. Yeah. This is...something. And I also agree with some of what Jim is saying about "where the blame lies". But I haven't read the LA Times article, so I suppose I have no context here.

It seems that with Obama's candidacy, and resultant popularity (particularly among white americans), it seems that we're now entering some really interesting and challenging territory. The crux of the situation isn't racism in the typical "white vs. black" mode, but in a more challenging (challenging in that it demands new tools of deconstruction and spiritual sight) "black in color vs. black in culture" sort of way. As Aaron was saying, these situations draw us out, and remind us of the insensitivities and outmoded mindsets in all of us. I wonder what we, as a society, will take away from this whole period. Will we be able to redefine and erode "race roles" in the same way that we seem to be working to erode "gender roles"?

It's interesting that politics, maybe because its so dependent upon base supporters, group cohesion, and focus groups, would be the thing to provide us with so much media attention about racial stereotypes, and how they're real things, which every person in society (regardless of their color) uses to describe and categorize people, even if it be subconsciously. I hope that the nations conversation about Obama and his "blackness" can move us further along the path to recognizing our own unity.