Thread: Barack The "magic Negro"

Haha, I love how it is on the rhythm of 'puff the magic dragon'.

I don't see anyone finding this funny as racist. However, it is kind of a racist/sick way of propagandizing a political view.

Ya, but I still have the feeling the dude's gonna get canned for it...

I guess maybe he should, at least if that other guy is getting canned (nappy headed hoes guy). Sadly, they could have made it funny AND non-racist and okay.

I just don't think people should get canned for this stuff... Isn't helpful, more than anything, to stop that whole "ethnic jokes are taboo" crap? What ever happened to freedom of speech?

"All black people should die, get the flaming crosses and the white hoods out, fellas."

When people started saying bullshit like that, freedom of speech got changed into 'freedom of saying anything you want, unless if it is bad according to some -perhaps vague- ethical code'. I kind of agree. Racism shouldn't be tolerated. Only the line between racism and just giving an opinion is thin, so it is a difficult area sometimes.

Actually, there is no Perfect solution. Either, in a way, you have some respected freedom of speech Or you can just insult people based on race/religion ect.

-

The reason I do think we shouldn't allow people to sing 'Barack is a silly magic negro' is because it is nothing constructive. The song is primeraly about barack being a Negro. That is a very bad basis for any argument (or song), especially in politics.

Man...the shit people find funny, these days.

"He's black, but not authentically."

Why, because "authentic blacks" aren't supposed to be articulate, successful and/or (dare I say it?) have had many white influences throughout their lifetime?

I see.

Originally Posted by metcalfracing

I just don't think people should get canned for this stuff... Isn't helpful, more than anything, to stop that whole "ethnic jokes are taboo" crap? What ever happened to freedom of speech?[/b]

Weren't you the same one that was getting bent out of shape, and wanted threads bashing Christianity to be made invisible, on this forum, so that you didn't have to see them, because they were pissing you off? Is this not hypocrisy?

"Freedom of speech," to clear up any confusion, outlines the fact that the Government cannot take action upon someone for making these types of comments, which is still in effect (barring comments that suggest a threat of harm on another, and other reasonable exceptions, of course).
When it comes to stuff like this, though, outside of the US Government, you are saying these things at your own risk. If you work for someone that doesn't stand for racism, or feels they stand to lose business for having someone that seems to advocate racism speak for them, do you think "Hey, man, you can't fire me. I can say what I want. Freedom of speech, remember??" is a battle you're going to win?
"Freedom of Speech" does not mean you can walk into someone else's house, (or use the airwaves they are paying you to use) to promote, support or even imply bigotry, classism, sexism, or any other type of "-ism" you want, and not expect legitimate fallout for it.

Though I don't like ethnic jokes (at all) I don't necessarily get all crazy/stupid-bent-out-of-shape about them. I just think they (especially this one, as it's....really....not even funny) are just tactless.

But hey, whatever floats your boat.

Why do people do this?
what ever feeling you harbour
surely it's obvious that you're not going to get a lot of public support if you actively publicize them

Barack is the guy running for 2008 US president?
if all they have is racial slurs, then he must have a good chance

in fact, reading him on wikipedia
I rather this bloke

anyway,
I think you need to enlist Bremner, Bird & Fortune to do your politician bashing
.....and fast

Oneironaut... seriously... No... Just no...

I didn't say that the song wasn't racist... I said I found it funny. Can't I find a song funny without being racist?
The fact is, people tune into shock jocks to hear them insult people for no reason. That fact that he resorted to race, should say something about Barack's character. That fact is, Imus has been saying crap like that to people from all walks of life, for years, and he didn't get canned 'til he made a black joke... one that's not even offensive...
"Nappy Headed Hoes"...
That just warrants an "... ok?... wtf?"
... by no means a "GASP!~OMG, HE SAID THEY HAD NAPPY HAIR!!!! WTF!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

I'm just saying, if it was a black dude saying, "Dumb blonde hoes", the world wouldn't have batted an eye... and I don't think they should... and I don't think should at Imus either.

Edit: ... and by the way, you can't knock me for wanting it to be invisible to me... I mean, people can choose not to listen to him... which is what I want to do to these threads. I mean, I'm not asking for people to get banned for being atheist, but people see to want to fire people from their jobs over stupid crap, that they could choose not to listen to.

Originally Posted by metcalfracing

Oneironaut... seriously... No... Just no...

I didn't say that the song wasn't racist... I said I found it funny. Can't I find a song funny without being racist?
The fact is, people tune into shock jocks to hear them insult people for no reason. That fact that he resorted to race, should say something about Barack's character. That fact is, Imus has been saying crap like that to people from all walks of life, for years, and he didn't get canned 'til he made a black joke... one that's not even offensive...
"Nappy Headed Hoes"...
That just warrants an "... ok?... wtf?"
... by no means a "GASP!~OMG, HE SAID THEY HAD NAPPY HAIR!!!! WTF!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

I'm just saying, if it was a black dude saying, "Dumb blonde hoes", the world wouldn't have batted an eye... and I don't think they should... and I don't think should at Imus either.

Edit: ... and by the way, you can't knock me for wanting it to be invisible to me... I mean, people can choose not to listen to him... which is what I want to do to these threads. I mean, I'm not asking for people to get banned for being atheist, but people see to want to fire people from their jobs over stupid crap, that they could choose not to listen to.[/b]

Don't get me wrong, man. I never said you were a racist for finding the clip funny.

As far as Imus is concerned, remember, it was his parent company that decided to ban him, not the people. The fact is that, if you are a shock jock, and you make a living off of insulting people, you'd better expect for people to be insulted. People who are insulted will, often, protest (people tried to get Harry Potter books band, because they thought it promoted "Black Magic," and that wasn't even offensive material. Keep that in mind.) The fact is that Imus's parent company felt they didn't want that kind of bad PR on their hands, which is something that Imus (and any shock jock, for that matter) should have taken into consideration. Nobody is untouchable, behind a microphone. Everything you say can have consequences. Imus simply barked up the wrong tree and paid the price for it.

If you are my supervisor, at work, and you make some derogatory statement about me, no matter how "covert" you think it is, and I tell your supervisor, your supervisor does not have to fire you. If your supervisor decides that what you said is inappropriate, and not worth the price of bad blood between your supervisor and I, firing you would be his/her decision.

Is it my fault for voicing opposition, to your supervisor, about your conduct, or your fault for not having enough consideration not to 'take it there', in the first place?

woohoo senslessness

Poor Harry Potter... I actually thought it was a good series. Seriously though, that brings up a good point... People need to stop caring about being PC all the time, I mean, who do you trust more, a person who speaks their mind openly, no matter what they have to say, or someone that pretends to be pleasant all the time?

I'm not sure how many Blacks are members of Dream Views and I normally stay out of "conversations" such as this but as a Black woman.. I felt compelled to comment.

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

Man...the shit people find funny, these days.

"He's black, but not authentically."

Why, because "authentic blacks" aren't supposed to be articulate, successful and/or (dare I say it?) have had many white influences throughout their lifetime?[/b]

Oneironaut, I too found this "not funny". Why when there are articulate and well educated public Black people (Barak, Colin Powell, etc.) do people find this soooo astonishing.. soooo rare!! Frankly in my opinion, some Whites seem to find comfort in thinking such Blacks are an "aberration" while some Blacks seem to feel "threatened" or "less than" or "defensive" (instead of being proud).

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

Oneironaut... seriously... No... Just no...

I didn't say that the song wasn't racist... I said I found it funny. Can't I find a song funny without being racist?
The fact is, people tune into shock jocks to hear them insult people for no reason. That fact that he resorted to race, should say something about Barack's character. That fact is, Imus has been saying crap like that to people from all walks of life, for years, and he didn't get canned 'til he made a black joke... one that's not even offensive...
"Nappy Headed Hoes"...
That just warrants an "... ok?... wtf?"
... by no means a "GASP!~OMG, HE SAID THEY HAD NAPPY HAIR!!!! WTF!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"[/b]

As a Black woman.. you'll have to excuse me for being offended when a White radio personality calls young Black women who are doing something with their lives.. "Nappy Headed HOES"! Nappy heads aside.. what exactly made them HOES.. merely the fact that they were Black women?

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

Poor Harry Potter... I actually thought it was a good series. Seriously though, that brings up a good point... People need to stop caring about being PC all the time, I mean, who do you trust more, a person who speaks their mind openly, no matter what they have to say, or someone that pretends to be pleasant all the time?[/b]

Frankly.. if you are racist.. I'd rather you not voice it in my presence. Your actions will expose your true character.. I don't need to see you in the sheet and hood.

Ok.. let the flames begin!

Originally Posted by Clairity

Oneironaut, I too found this "not funny". Why when there are articulate and well educated public Black people (Barak, Colin Powell, etc.) do people find this soooo astonishing.. soooo rare!! Frankly in my opinion, some Whites seem to find comfort in thinking such Blacks are an "aberration" while some Blacks seem to feel "threatened" or "less than" or "defensive" (instead of being proud).[/b]

I was looking for a thread about "favorite tv shows," last night. Because there is a show on TV, that I wanted to comment on, called "Boston Legal" which I don't really 'watch' on the regular, but find myself drawn to, when it's on. Why? Because it is a fictional show which really takes the time to bring real-life issues to the fore-front (which a lot of fiction actually does, but people seem to try to ignore that...anyway..) Tuesday night, they had an episode where William Shatner's character is really impressed with Jaleel White's (a black man) character's business sense, and makes it a point to say something like "Well....you're....very articulate." Jaleel's character asks something like, "Uhm....what exactly do you mean by that?" And Shatner's char says "Well...you don't sound Black." Shatner's character, honestly meant no offense, because he didn't see it as an offensive comment. He truely thought it was an acurate generalization that he was using.

Another character (whoever it was that played "Murphy Brown" on the sitcom of the same name) then (after explaining to Shatner's character why what he says is not "PC" and has put his job on the line) explains to the media how white, corporate America (in no uncertain terms) is to blame for that kind of comment because it "whether consciously or subconsciously" (to use her words, exactly) prefers their blacks like their prefer their coffee; "with just a bit of 'cream and sugar'. The moment really had an impact because she was doing a press conference and, in blurting that out, so matter-of-factly, she got pretty much everyone-watching's jaws to drop to the floor. She said that it's something that even she was aware of, and wasn't proud of, but it was one of those 'swept-under-the-rug' truths about society.
She goes on to chew Shatner's character out about how there is no such thing as "Sounding Black." Shatner's character had a really hard time understanding this concept.

It is somewhere in this zone that "humor" such as this video is spawned.


Metcalfracing:
To answer your question about 'who would I trust more?' let me put it to you this way.

Who would I trust more? I would trust a person that (HONESTLY and WITHOUT THE NEED FOR INFLUENCE) tries to be PC. WHY? Because trying to be PC (upon one's own initiative) shows that one is not going to flaunt their own ignorance for the pleasure of 'getting a point across.'

If you call mexicans "wetbacks" at the risk of not being PC, you are subscribing to and advocating the idea that all mexicans "swam across the Rio Grande," which is, in NO sense, true.
If you call a group of black basketball players "Hoes," without a care in the world about being PC, then you are saying that you don't care whether or not those basketball players are really hoes, and are simply deciding to call them that, for whatever reason - which, In Imus's case, if you ask me, was because they were a group of rough-looking (in his perspective) predominately black women.
Sometimes I feel like I'm alone in this, but there is actually something very respectful about being (honestly) PC. It shows that you are willing to overlook the shallow, discriminatory and, often, just flat out wrong perception of those that like to generalize for the sake of making a funny/witty/attention-grabbing comment, because you realize that such generalizations aren't universally true.

If you choose to ignore fundamental truths such as that (even if you are 'speaking your mind&#39 why should I trust you? That pretty much tells me that your sense of "what is and isn't true" is screwed up, in the first place. (And by "you" I mean anyone, in general. I'm not singling you out.)

[EDIT: Also, the way this is going, it may just be suitable for Extended Discussion. It's your thread, metcalf, so if you'd like to continue this, there, let me know, and I'll move it.]

I'm fine either way, move it if you like.

I am still a firm believer in that there is no need for all this PC nonsense... A polite person ( one that would be PC) hardly ever be non-PC in context. Like, as I say this, I'm trying to choose my words carefully, as not to offend anyone. My main point is, these people are hired to be offensive... no one looks at Howard Stern and thinks " What a nice guy!"

I just don't like that because they were black, he was fired... It wasn't the players, it was their race that made this story so popular. I don't think it should matter at all, what the race of the competitors are. I subscribe to the policy that people are people, enough said.

By the way, if you watch the video, "Hoes" isn't even about their race, its about the fact they are were tom-boyish and had tattoos. The whole "nappy headed part" is about race... but its no different than saying that I have reddish brown hair. They did, and I do.