Hm.
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GOP Rep. Roy Blount Discusses Monkey Problems And Their Relationship To Washington
September 21st, 2009
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After a little googling, this seems to be commonly used in sermons and whatnot to teach about not being able to control everything, and accepting that fact. I couldn’t find whether it was factual or not though. But in any event, what’s the problem?
“Play the ball where the monkey throws it.”
Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeah.
I’ll go back to what I said when Lynn Jenkins was doing this: I’m willing, just barely, to give Mr. Blount the benefit of the doubt and assume that his remarks were not a matter of conscious, deliberate racism. Giving people the benefit of the doubt is how our legal system works, and it’s a pretty good basis for social discourse, too.
As I said when Ms. Jenkins made her ill-advised comment, a lot of well-meaning white people get nervous and fearful in the presence of black people they don’t know and don’t want to offend, and their nervousness manifests itself in inappropriate remarks. It’s what happens when you haven’t had an honest dialogue about race yet.
On the other hand…
…Jenkins’ comment was essentially, subtextually, about how the Republicans needed to find a good white person to run against Obama. And you know, that’s pretty much true. Blount’s anecdote? The subtext here is that subhuman blacks keep messing up the civilization that noble white folks have hewn out of the jungle. Which is, of course, racist bullshit.
I don’t know, man. This is pretty thin ice.
Considering the wide use of the story, and that it makes sense in the context in which it is used, I believe any claims of racism in this case rely on an eagerness to make the claim, despite all evidence to the contrary.
It’s hardly surprising that some would do so, of course, which unfortunately makes one question the wisdom of using said anecdote. I hate that that’s the state of the world we live in, but it is.
I do particularly hate the monkey comparison when actually used in a racist manner, though. On top of it all, it also casts monkeys as some sort of lesser creature to be despised. Since we do, in fact, share an evolutionary line with them, we all “came from monkeys” in the intended context of the speaker, so the added irony just makes my head want to explode.
So… any particular reason why the chairman of the Republican Party who previously praised Rush Limbaugh hasn’t commented on Limbaugh’s call to return to segregated buses yet?
You gotta understand something, Oliver: As long as they don’t actually say, “nigger”; then they have plausible deniability on being called racist.
Even if it wasn’t intended to be racist…here is an experienced politician who is running for the Senate. Shouldn’t he have known better?
And to call him a “true friend of the family and a hero for family voters”? What a joke! He ditched his wife to marry a tobacco lobbyist.
These people have no shame.
I do particularly hate the monkey comparison when actually used in a racist manner, though.
In that case I have some advice for you: Do NOT hang around South Carolina Republicans, or southern Republicans in general. Well, the modern Republican Party, really. You will be thoroughly disgusted faster than you can say “Lee Atwater”.
This is who they are. They say this in public. Can you iamgine what they say in private?
This has gotten boring to everyone but about 12% or so of the population who still hangs on to the dissent = racism meme.
Let’s see, Rush Limbaugh………..check
Lee Atwater……………………check.
‘This is who they are’………….check
References to ‘The South’……….check.
Someone actually typing ‘nigger’…check
Shorter Dennis: My people are racist, that isn’t exactly news!
This has gotten boring to everyone but about 12% or so of the population who still hangs on to the dissent = racism meme
Ah yes, so much better when you guys were in control with the “dissent = terrorist” meme
You’re still boring, Indeed.
That 12% figure could go down to 1%, and you’d be the guy still leading the charge.
Calling people racist is like drinking a six pack of Red Bull for you.
FYI Buzz, ‘Common use’ does not equal ‘not racist’.
Furthermore, an allegory could be used in one situation in a completely non-racist way, while in another situation it could be used in a racist way.
Tim, I know, but in the use cases I found, including this one, I do not believe this allegory has been used with any racist intent. Sometimes people use the word monkey when describing actual monkeys.
And Indeed, I have no illusions about the makeup of GOP. Between this and the creationism problem, it’s no wonder people feel hopeless about politics from time to time.
What’s worse, calling people racist and discussing why, or whining about people calling people racist and bitching about it on the internet?
Gotta give the resident trolls a little credit. Every time they defend a bigot they haven’t used the ole “some of my best friends are black” line.
He thought he was being clever too.
Yeah, Wilfredo, so clever, in fact, that he started laying the groundwork for it all the way back in November 2006 in a speech before the Heritage Foundation.
To quote Oliver’s dialogue on this in it’s entirety…”Hm.”
You guys need to do your homework next time.
You thought no one would check.
Guess what?
Pwned.
Play the Ball Where the Monkey Drops It
Why We Suffer and How We Can Hope
by Gregory K. Jones
Copyright…..2001
To answer OW’s question, falsely calling people racist and discussing why is much worse.
Indeed.
And Also.
British colonialism was hilarious.
Dennis is hilarious.
Indeed, thoroughly embarrassed, shamed and pwned, mutters the only response he can think of.
‘Roy Blunt didn’t equate Obama to a monkey.’
…Indeed did.
If I just read the transcript and didn’t know where it was being delivered I might agree with Buzz and Dennis, but when you hear the audience begin to titter at the first mention of the word “monkey”, and see the little smirk on Blount’s face when they do, all doubt is removed. If you don’t think so, then you haven’t spent as much time as I have with “values voters” from the Bible Belt.
Mind you, for a lot of them, maybe most, it’s probably not “I hate black people racism” it’s “in your face, you politically correct liberal assholes” racism.
Mind you, for a lot of them, maybe most, it’s probably not “I hate black people racism” it’s “in your face, you politically correct liberal assholes” racism.
I’m beginning to think that “Dennis” is really “Jesse Lee Willis, Auto Mechanic” (absolutely no relation to this site’s gracious host).
Whereas I’m more of an “Anthony Banks, Systems Analyst” and “Irene Lewis, Actuary” kind of guy.
I’ve never seen a more adamant defender of bigotry than little cowardly Dennis.
That said, expect more dig whistling like this over the next seven years.
I think in the context, it was a set up for a joke about how crazy it is that Al Franken is in the Senate and Tom DeLay is on Dancing with the Stars. Do I think it was a clear example of racism? No. Do I think he could have found a better example of craziness? Yes.
As evidence of racism, this isn’t the strongest thing to build a case around. But for evidence that white, Southern politicians are damn near clueless when discussing issues relating to white people dealing with foreign places, this is a pretty good example. Colonialism and golf don’t exactly hit hard with the common man, but I have my suspicions that he wasn’t really going for that audience.
Funny, James, not you with your private school education and degrees you rarely fail to mention, nor anyone else here who are all so fond of declaring their intellectual superiority, has made even the slightest attempt to label this racism or bigotry and make any kind of a case for it.
Oliver’s “Hm.” pretty well sums up everyone’s analysis,w which is his way of throwing red meat to the race-baiting dogs here.
How do you explain the dog whistle if Blunt has told this same story several times, and as far back as November, 2006; before Barack Obama had even declared he was running for President.
Go ahead, take a stab at that one.
Being a white guy and claiming ‘dog whistle’ when you have no case is the very epitome of cowardice, Jaims.
*wink*
And by the way, it’s “Blunt”. Lost the “o” in the post title.
Go change your diapers Dennis. Maybe your daughters will hate you a little less.
Jaims plays Connect the Dots, Oklahoma Edition, but he can’t play Connect the Dots, Roy Blunt ‘dog-whistle’ circa November 2006- present.
Don’t be a coward, Jaim. Was Blunt’s dog whistle planned three years ago?
*smirk*
Watch the video, Dennis, listen to the tittering, watch the smirk. If you don’t hear the whistle, don’t feel bad, it’s inaudible to nincompoops.
What, no link to Stormfront little Dennis?
No reconciliation of Blunt’s having given the same speech in 2006, Coward Jaims?
Not like you to back down.
*nudge*
I was starting to get worked up about this today, after I’d posted my comment up top and gone to work. The more I thought about it, the less excusable the story (can’t really call it a joke) seemed. I mean, it wasn’t off the cuff; it was a planned speech. Being given to an overwhelmingly white audience. During the administration of the first African-American president in history. About the difficulty of getting things done in Washington. Using mischief-making monkeys as a metaphor. Monkeys. Also a familiar metaphor that racists like to use for black people to dehumanize them. I mean, come on!
And then I came home, read the comments, and followed Dennis’s links.
And now I consider myself reminded, again, why it’s so important to give people the benefit of the doubt.
As Obama recently pointed out, he was black before the election. And Roy Blunt was telling this same story before the election, too. It’s not racism. It’s not about Obama.
There has been so much actual racism spewing forth, and I’m so sick of it — the quantity, the banality, the ugliness and complacency of it — that I’m on a hair-trigger. I don’t want to shrug it off. I want to call the bastards on it, every time, and shame them for their hatred — or if I can’t do that, then shame those around them who are capable of feeling shame. I want there to be consequences for this shit.
But if I’m mindless about it, if I’m part of an angry mob that judges first and reflects later, then I’m missing the point; I’m betraying the principles that matter to me. As soon as I stop allowing for the possibility that I’m wrong, or that I’m not seeing the whole picture, I lose.
Point for Dennis. Thank you.
Hey, Dennis, I had to look all of that up, much like Felix, and like Felix, I concede that the speech was given before. What fascinates me is your attitude, though… wow, man, you actually wrote “pwned”? Were you waiting to be right about something since 2000? Hahahaha!
Enjoy it, dude.
Watch the video, hear the titter, see the smirk. Do politicians normally trot out three-year old jokes randomly? Do audiences normally start snorting and giggling at the mention of the word “monkeys”?
Wilbur, I am aware of the things that you described, and I do agree with you, but can it be really proved. I’d rather go for the bigger battle and let Dennis have his teeny, tiny victory. I can’t prove this either, but in his heart of hearts he knows he’s defending a racist, and should really question what he’s doing.
Wilfredo and WIlbur are not afraid to call someone a racist based on bullshit. Bullshit based on little else than a smirk in which they claim to be able to read this man’s mind.
Guess what. He made the same facial expressions in November 2006, too.
Do you two have anything else on indicates he’s a racist, save for the pathetic ‘dog whistle’ accusations that weasels and cowards always use for last resorts?
Pretty weird way to segue into the punchline about two white guys in Al Franken and Tom Delay, but I’m sure one of the resident Cirque de Soleil contortionists here has a theory he’s put together by now explaining that minor inconsistency.
Do audiences normally start snorting and giggling at the mention of the word “monkeys”?
Republican (since 1968) audiences?
No, Wilfredo, I question what you are doing. Please try to make a case that this was racism besides your ’smirk theory’. You guys make so many false charges and do it so often, that the charge means nothing any more.
You cry wolf all the time.
The genius Victor Davis Hanson explains why you feel the need:
—
Politics and Race: A Devolving, Depressing, and Debased Debate
Read on the second page, ‘The Rationale’:
Preemption. The American people by overwhelming majorities reject the desperate retreat to the racist charge. But no matter. Elites know that by preempting criticism with “racist!,” they can fire a shot across the bow of potential critics. ….
(This is OW, Indeed, and most of the posters here)
Bewilderment. Many who employ the desperate tactic are themselves bewildered by criticism of Obama. They had assumed that his ratings would stay at 70%. …..
Exemption. There are no downsides to the charge. It is akin to calling someone a wife-beater or molester. Conversation turns to “No, I’m really not!” It ends all discussion. The perpetrator suffers no censure. ….
(I don’t know who here is still bewildered, but there’s probably some of that at work with peole here)
It is prophylactic. Van Jones in his own language is a racist. By his own words, one sees that he see problems, whether environmental or homicidal, in terms of white pathology. Charles Rangel is a racialist: he too charges white pathology anytime he is targeted as tax cheat. And so on. Legitimizing the racist charge ends any discussion of whether there is a real problem in the black community of elites using such preemptive charges in lieu of rational argumentation. E.g., “You are a racist, and therefore cannot critique my argument on its logic.” Or “I can use racist tropes, but am myself exempt from charges of racism.” It reminds me of proactive armor that explodes in the face of incoming charges.
(This is definitely Jaim and Indeed, and several others. White guys with white guilt obsessed with pinning racism on the conservative movement that is damaging Obama’s credibility. Their concern is not at all for the black man. Their only concern is their hatred for Republicans.)
So now, mentioning monkeys is racist? The meaning of that story was quite clear – no matter how weird things get, you gotta go with the flow.
Not a speck, not a scintilla of racism can be found.
Not a speck, not a scintilla of racism can be found.
Lee Atwater’s ghost called. He’s like to have a word with you. In private.
Not only that, Frank, they are the ones equating Obama with a monkey.
Not only that, Frank, they are the ones equating Obama with a monkey.
Riiiiiggggghhhhhhtttt.
I don’t understand — is that Congressman Blunt carrying that monkey?
Does someone else calling Pres Obama a monkey mean that when I say “monkey”, I am racist?
How about if I say, “The monkey threw the golf ball”?
Do you have Lee Atwater’s ghost’s number? I’d like to call him and see if perhaps he was making that shit up to stir you lefties up for a few decades.
How about if I say, “President Obama threw a golf ball at a monkey”? Does that make HIM a racist?
The genius Victor Davis Hanson…
Behold the genius. Feast your eyes:
is that Congressman Blunt carrying that monkey?
No, silly, it’s “Dennis.” Duh!
Guess what, words and symbols do have different meanings in different contexts. If the gentleman in Indeed’s video came to the Palin rally with a Hillary banner around the head of his monkey doll it would have been insulting but not racist, because there is not a long history of discourse equating white women with monkeys. When he wraps “Obama” on the monkey it means “n…er” because there is such a discourse.
There’s a reason why Blunt chose to rehash a (at least) three year old anecdote in a context where there’s a black president and an audience who hate him with a purple-faced rage. There’s a reason why that audience begins to chuckle at the first mention of the word “monkeys”. Spend some time on the backroads of the bible belt and you get a sense of what that reason is.
As for mind reading, nobody does that as well as our right-wing friends. Here’s Dennis linking to Victor Davis Asshole reading our minds: “Many who employ the desperate tactic are themselves bewildered by criticism of Obama. They had assumed that his ratings would stay at 70%”. If you wander over to the thread about Gateway Pundit’s racist links, you’ll find Dennis himself engaging in a lengthy mind-reading essay about why Oliver would reference a particular blog at a particular time.
The trouble with us liberals it’s our instinct to bring a kazoo to a gunfight. Decent, well-meaning people like Felix and Wilfredo will say, you know, maybe we really shouldn’t make any charges before we have conclusive proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Fine, very noble. Meanwhile the right will continue their lies, slanders, distortions and craftily worded race-baiting without compunction.
Good point again, Frank. When Atwater said that, I wonder if he knew all the serious damage he was doing to the collective psyche’s of nutjobs like Indeed who have never stopped obsessing over it.
Good point again, Frank. When Atwater said that, I wonder if he knew all the serious damage he was doing to the collective psyche’s of nutjobs like Indeed who have never stopped obsessing over it.
My sincere apologies for obsessing about calling out racist shitheads like Lee Atwater and his apologists, but it’s important.
Good point again, Frank. When Atwater said that, I wonder if he knew all the serious damage he was doing to the collective psyche’s of nutjobs like Indeed who have never stopped obsessing over it.
Shorter Dennis/Frank/post-1968 Republican Party: The Anti-Defamation League sure is a bunch of whiners! They should get over it already!
He said it in 1981, Aqualung ed.
1981.
28 years ago. In an anonymous interview.
Now, to the thread topic, how was Blunt being racist now when he made the same speech long before Obama became President.
You seem very confused by this. Like Lee Atwater just did a complete mindfuck on your brain.
He said it in 1981
And yet, it’s still so relevant today! Pretending it isn’t won’t make it go away. Amazing what the Post-1968 Republican Party will stay latched onto, yet at the same time, pretend does not exist.
Now, to the thread topic, how was Blunt being racist now when he made the same speech long before Obama became President.
I covered this extensively already up-thread. Pay attention. What are “the tenets of the Laffer Curve”?
Wilbur, you seem disappointed that a couple would say to exercise caution, or to stop to think before you level such a charge. But Felix said he was skating on thin ice, and that’s before it was revealed that Blunt made this speech well before Obama was President. Wilfredo did also say to exercise more caution, but he still called Blunt a racist, and didn’t say why he was one, he just was, which is the very purpose of this thread. ‘Look at this. Hm. Discuss amongst yourselves’.
And somehow it pains you to admit that the charge is nothing but pure bullshit instead of just being honest about it, and that’s just sad.
More.
Liar. You did no such thing.
Rachel Maddow jumps on the race-baiting bandwagon.
This is news to Indeed.
He jumps for joy.
You mean none of you lefties think monkeys are funny? For you, “monkey” is right-wing code for a black person?
How sad.
I laugh when I hear the word. But, of course, my world is not a humorless arena for political battle with whoever comes out of the door.
Let me ask you a question: suppose you asked a writer to throw in a joke for your speech, and he gave you that one. What change could you make to its essential meaning (No matter how weirs things get, you have to go with the flow)?
What animal would you substitute for monkeys, so as not offend (in your view) blacks?
The cobra?
The tiger?
The mongoose?
The Indian elephant?
The bactrian camel?
Doesn’t work with anything but monkeys, does it?
Liar. You did no such thing.
Look closer. Maddow link. Also. Forgive me if I don’t give you or the so-called Values Voters you so self-righteously defend the benefit of the doubt.
What are “the tenets of the Laffer Curve”?
Nothing up there anywhere, Aqualung ed.
You’re lying.
You can’t reconcile it, so you go back to your usual fall-backs that you’ve used so many times they mean absolutely zero any more.
Hah! How is it that I cry wolf all the time, Dennis? I was willing to leave things be, but as it turns out you’re a graceless Attention Whore, so you had to drag me back in –twice. And don’t be envying my smirk. It’s a natural reflex when I’m confronted with ridiculous folks like you.
“pwned,” heh, who says that in real life these days?
Oh, hey, thanks, btw. You’ve cleared any doubt in my mind that you’re just a run-of-the-mill racist. I actually did want to give you the benefit of the doubt, because I think everybody deserves it one time.
Wilbur, you seem disappointed that a couple would say to exercise caution, or to stop to think before you level such a charge.
Dennis, if you and others on your side of the fence were ever to exercise similar caution, then we’d have no problem. Here’s your chance! Give it a try! Say something like “we really shouldn’t be saying crap about death panels or killing granny, or calling Obama a Nazi or comparing him to Stalin, or circulating pictures with watermelons on the white house lawn, or with Obama with a bone through his nose.” I know your instinct is to defend and deflect whenever one of these right-wing bigot eruptions occurs, but c’mon, you can do it! Be as gracious as Felix and Wilfredo (before you kicked him in the teeth).
You mean none of you lefties think monkeys are funny?
Do you really laugh whenever you hear the word “monkeys”, Frank? What a strange person.
But to answer your question, yes, if Blunt’s story had involved any of those other animals then probably nobody would have objected, because there is not a history of equating blacks with any of those animals in a derogatory fashion.
Wilfredo,
Firstly, I didn’t see Felix Helix’s second post until now just after reading your last comment, and I’d like to apologize to him for my above comment to you where I stated that he only said Blunt was skating on thin ice. His second post was excellent. He should post more often. More of his post and less of mine, Indeed’s and Chicken Jaim’s.
When I said you cry wolf all the time I was referring to the collective ‘you’. I didn’t see where you had given me the benefit of the doubt; all I was thinking in your last retort to me was you comment that in my heart of hearts i am defending a racist. I don’t see how you can be giving Blunt the benefit of the doubt while at the same time telling me that I am defending a racist, especially when you offer no evidence that he is a racist. Am I missing something here?
Wilbur, I am actually beginning to wonder about you. Only a strange person laughs at monkeys? Check out a local zoo, and see where the crowds are gathered.
Have you ever heard of J.Fred Muggs, the simian star of the early Today show with Dave Garroway.
Monkeys are funny. Just thinking of monkeys is funny. You are a strange person.
Sure monkeys can be funny, but I don’t laugh every time I hear the word. Do you? That was my question.
Wilbur- Sarah Palin was free to describe the provision of health care bill language before they amended it any way she pleased as a private citizen. It was politics. You are free to bash her over it, and this website considers that a national pasttime. Calling Obama a Nazi? No, we shouldn’t be. Just like many on the Left calling everyone they disagree with racists to the point where it means very little it’s been done so much, so has the Nazi term. All it does is shuts off dialogue. Watermelons picture was wrong. I never defended that, nor would I. I may disagree with what someone says about it, which you guys often mistake as defending it, but I don’t in any way condone the use of pictures with watermelons to depict any African American. Same with a picture of Obama with a bone through his nose. What I disagree with is the zeal of many on the left to take full advantage of the racists who oppose Obama and use them to paint all conservatives with the same brush.
This was not anywhere close to a right-wing bigot eruption. I think your smirk theory is 100% pure bullshit, sorry. You can’t know what he was thinking. It’s prejudiced to assume you do know what he was thinking, and what his audience was thinking, and that it was him being racist.
Wilbur : “More fun than a barrel of monkeys”
Remember?
Wilfredo and WIlbur are not afraid to call someone a racist based on bullshit.
Jessus. Wilfredo hands you a victory and you smack it out of his hand.
The genius Victor Davis Hanson…
OH MAN!. XD.
I’m gonna giggle about that all day.
as it turns out you’re a graceless Attention Whore,
NOW you’re gettin’ it.
yes, if Blunt’s story had involved any of those other animals then probably nobody would have objected, because there is not a history of equating blacks with any of those animals in a derogatory fashion.
But it wouldn’t have been as funny given the venue. That is the point Indeed was making.
Have you ever heard of J.Fred Muggs, the simian star of the early Today show with Dave Garroway.
Now, THERE was a journalist.
That wasn’t bad, Dennis, sort of half-hearted and weasely, but baby steps. In turn I’m happy to admit that I can’t prove any racist or otherwise scurrilous motive to Blunt and his audience in this instance. I do believe it’s there, though.
You say I can’t read minds, fine, I’ll admit that too. Just as long as you realize you can’t either, so when you impute motives to people, as for instance you did to Oliver in the Gateway pundit thread, you are being equally odious.
Charges of racism can, and are, bandied about too freely, and can sometimes be a way to unfairly characterize criticism that comes from less dastardly motives. It’s also true, however, that one can run interference for true racism by complaining constantly that racism charges are bandied about too freely.
Wilbur: The trouble with us liberals it’s our instinct to bring a kazoo to a gunfight.
That’s got to be the weirdest metaphor I’ve seen all year. Are we playing Yackety Sax? The “Leave it to Beaver” theme song? I have no idea what this means, and rather than attempt to deconstruct it, I’m just going to hum a few bars.
Decent, well-meaning people like Felix and Wilfredo will say, you know, maybe we really shouldn’t make any charges before we have conclusive proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Fine, very noble. Meanwhile the right will continue their lies, slanders, distortions and craftily worded race-baiting without compunction.
OH NO YOU DI’INT just call me well-meaning! Them there’s kazoo-brandishing words!
It’s not about nobility. (Can’t be noble while you’re playing kazoo. Try it sometime.) It’s about integrity. For me, being thoughtful and fair is more important than being victorious. That’s not to say that I’m always successful at being thoughtful and fair, but that I try. It’s also not to say that one cannot be thoughtful and fair and victorious; last year’s election is proof of that. It’s just that I’m not willing to sell out my principles for the sake of a temporary triumph.
Making charges without concern for accuracy or fairness is what right-wing pundits do. I refuse to sink to their level. Besides, it wouldn’t stop their lies, slanders, distortions and carefully worded race-baiting if I did; all it would do is lend legitimacy to the “both sides are crazy” approach that the MSM likes to take in order to appear nonpartisan.
Given the proliferation of undeniably racist behavior since the 2008 campaign got underway, I think it’s totally legitimate to take notice of things like Blunt’s anecdote in which racism may play a part. Maddow didn’t jump on any race-baiting bandwagon, and neither did Oliver. To quote Dennis: Look at this. Hm. Discuss amongst yourselves. That’s all we’re doing. And if, in the course of discussion, the facts of the matter indicate that the anecdote was not racist in nature — then for FSM’s sake, have the integrity to acknowledge it. Otherwise, when the real racism comes around, no one takes you seriously.
(Of course, some people will never take you seriously no matter what you do or say, simply because you don’t share their point of view. That’s fine. Whatevs. They deserve, at most, a moment of contempt before returning to the discussion with people who are capable of participating in one.)
Wilbur : “More fun than a barrel of monkeys”
You still haven’t answered my question, Frank, which is, in case you’ve forgotten, “do you laugh every time you hear the word ‘monkeys’?”
Oh, and: monkeys are funny. Actual monkeys are funny. Cartoon monkeys are funny. The word “monkey” is funny.
Comparing black people to monkeys: not funny.
I said I did .
Felix, do I have to remind you that that had nothing to do with Rep. Blunt?
You are not seriously trying to say that this is pervasive throughout the Republican Party based on 6, or even a dozen such incidents? How many leftist Holocaust deniers show up at pro-Palestine demonstrations? More than 6 a year , I’ll wager.
I said I did
…he says, drooling on the keyboard and adjusting his diaper. “Hee hee monkeys is funny uh oh I go boom boom in my pants! Waaaaaah!”
How many leftist Holocaust deniers show up at pro-Palestine demonstrations? More than 6 a year , I’ll wager.
Haven’t you learned by now, after 138 years on Earth, Frank? Haven’t you learned to not bet on anything, because you’re always, always, always fucking wrong?
You would hit on a 19 in Vegas because you thought a 2 was forthcoming.
Frank:
Monkeys! Monkeys! Monkeys! Monkeys!!!
Ha, made ya laugh.
How many leftist Holocaust deniers show up at pro-Palestine demonstrations?
How many holocaust deniers are leftist, and how many are rightist?
How many holocaust deniers are members of the democratic party, and how many the republican party?
Answer: I don’t know, but I has my suspicions.
How many holocaust deniers are members of the democratic party, and how many the republican party?
Oh, Frank knows, Wilbur. He knows that the liberal Democrats actually all secretly don’t think the Holocaust happened. Hell, I’m not even secretive about it. I have a shirt that I wear every day around Los Angeles that reads, “Fuck you, Jews! Suck it, matzoh-eaters! Oh yeah, and the Holocaust never happened! Deal with it!”
It’s a little long for a t-shirt slogan, but I get plenty of compliments from the other godless heathen liberals around SoCal.
Felix, I’m not going to torque your balls over this one. This isn’t like that Pastor Anderson thing where you were totally off your meds. I wish you well with your integrity and thoughtfulness. Just remember to keep your kazoo clean and well-oiled and ready for battle.
I do think, though, that we do have to push back a bit at this meme that the right is pressing: that there’s no racism unless someone says explicitly “I hate blacks”, or uses the n-word in an unfriendly manner, or fires a black person or denies him an apartment lease because of his race; that context never matters; that words like “monkey” can only mean one thing – a funny furry critter – and never has other connotations in different contexts; that a picture of Obama with a bone through his nose would be no different from a picture of Clinton with a bone through his nose; that a white man calling a black man n–er is no more troubling than a black man calling a black man n–er; that white-on-black racism is no bigger a problem than black-on-white racism; that the racist problem on the right is no worse than the racist problem on the left.
All of this serves provide cover for a deeply encoded discourse of racism that has developed over the past several centuries on this side of the Atlantic. When I saw the video I immediately knew what it meant. If you’d spent a lot of time in the barbershops and dairy queens of the black belt of Alabama and Mississippi, as I have, you would know it instantly as well. I’ve been there and heard the exact same code words and the same snickers and seen the same in-on-the-joke smirks. You ignore this and you’re not just ignoring part of the problem, you’re ignoring probably the biggest part of the problem. It’s like thinking the tip is all there is of the iceberg.
Make no mistake about it: the goal of the right here is to make it as politically incorrect to utter the word “racism” as it is to utter “n–er” or “k*ke”. They will keep pursuing that goal because the life of their party depends now more than ever on coddling the racists within them.
So I know what you’re saying about crying wolf, and you’re right, there is a danger there. But there is an equal danger in defering in our thoughtful and peaceful and integritous (?) and turn-the-other-cheeky way to the indignant Dennises of this world who would obfuscate and equivocate anything to avoid having to concede that there’s a serious problem on their side of the aisle.
Frank: Felix, do I have to remind you that that had nothing to do with Rep. Blunt?
Uh, no. No you don’t. As I make very clear in my previous posts, that’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m saying that in Rep. Blunt’s case, the “monkey” reference seems unrelated to race. I’m also saying that monkeys are funny. See, I’m agreeing with you! It happens sometimes, when you’re dealing with people who don’t automatically disagree with you even when you’re right just because you’re wrong most of the time.
Wilbur: Felix, I’m not going to torque your balls over this one. This isn’t like that Pastor Anderson thing where you were totally off your meds.
You’re not going to…what now? Torque my balls while I oil my kazoo? Um. That’s good. I’m married and stuff. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your kind restraint.
Oh, and I’ve been off my meds for a year and a half because I can’t afford health insurance and even if I could, I have a pre-existing condition that would prevent coverage for said meds. Feel free to use that as a cavalier explanation for any future opinion I’ll have with which you might disagree.
I agree completely about the existence of the right-wing meme that says there’s no racism unless a white guy is saying “kill all n-ers” while dressed in a hood, and I agree completely about the need to push back. Context matters a great deal. For example, monkeys can signify many different things. I don’t think Clint Eastwood is a racist because he drove around in a truck with an orangutan in that movie. I don’t think Curious George is a racist icon. I do think that a man bringing a Curious George doll to a McCain rally, with a sign saying “Obama” on the doll’s forehead, is racist as hell.
Context.
Blunt’s been using the story of golf course monkeys since well before Obama was a candidate. The point he was making then is the same as the point he’s making now: things don’t always go the way you planned, and you have to deal with it the best you can. That’s not racist. If he’d just started using this story now, I’d be pretty skeptical given the context of the present administration — but the larger context indicates that it’s just a standard stump speech for him that’s got nothing to do with Obama.
We’ve got to push back against racist bullshit. We can’t do that effectively if we push back against things that don’t qualify. And here’s a tip that’s both strategic and good for your health: forget about the indignant Dennises and what they will and won’t concede. It doesn’t matter.
Feel free to use that as a cavalier explanation for any future opinion I’ll have with which you might disagree.
Much obliged for the carte blanche, not that I need it, of course. I’m not so Blunt (rimshot!) as to flog the same metaphor endlessly.
Blunt’s been using the story of golf course monkeys since well before Obama was a candidate.
As others have pointed out, this is hardly exculpatory. All it means is that the same fable can have different morals in different contexts.
The point he was making then is the same as the point he’s making now: things don’t always go the way you planned
Well what would you expect the punchline to be this time? “So we gotta get the monkey off the fairway green of the white house before he torques our golfballs into the sandtrap of socialism!”? That ain’t how the game is played.
Whatever. I guess we’ll just have to disagree over whether this “qualifies”. Tell you what – I’ll rant about it and you don’t and between us in aggregate maybe the appropriate response will emerge. However…
forget about the indignant Dennises and what they will and won’t concede. It doesn’t matter.
True that our little Dennis here doesn’t matter much, but the army of Dennises out there do matter. They’re the ones running bawling to the media in great number crying “waaaa, he called me racist and I didn’t even say the word n-g—!!”, and our media, our lovely lobotomized castrated media that are like the ben-wa balls in the asshole of the god of false equivalence, lap it up like their own vomit.
“The genius Victor Davis Hanson…”
OH MAN!. XD.
I’m gonna giggle about that all day.
Indeed.
Hope you caught the genius VD clip at 10:34 am. Now that was true genius.