What's Mallard raving about today?
Barack Obama, Racism.
Mentioning Barack Obama's middle name in the manner Right Wing water-carriers do is not "code" for racism. It is overt fear-mongering at a playground level. Roughly equivalent to calling the Senator a "Muslim Poopy-Head."
14 comments:
Hasn't Tinsley ever wondered why these people only mention Obama's middle name and not Clinton's or McCain's, or is he just that dense? Why am I even asking, of course he is.
Huh. Wikipedia says that John McCain's middle name is "Sidney." Wonder how many people even know that.
Wellll, they do use George Bush's middle name a lot. (However, being right-wing crackpots, they actually believe that it's "Dubya.")
It's the "why" of using the name. Remember how they kept referring to the previous Dem candidate as "John Heinz-Kerry," in a continuous, childish attempt to emasculate him and further the slander that he married for money?
But I have to disagree with you on one point, Factinista. Tinsley is not "that dense." I mean, he is dense--but he knows precisely why they use Obama's middle name, and he knows that his strawman here is a complete load of horses***.
Tinsley's been a proudly deceitful scumbag for as long as we've known him...why change now?
(I enjoy referring to vicious radio/book hatemonger Michael "Savage" by his real name, which is, so appropriately, "Weiner.")
Why is it "code"? Is that some sort of neocon code for code? Is entitlements code for "I don't know where my 'quotes' go?"
It's not really arbitrary at all, is it? I mean, conservatives use language in a way that is slanted (which is why they drive me crazy). They attach their specific, often repulsive beliefs and ideas to words that are inherently positive, like freedom and family, and substitute these things for honest descriptions of their policies and actions. When they talk about family values, you know what they're really talking about. When they talking about protecting life, you know what they're really talking about. But you can't argue against family values and protecting life.
So, I don't think it's arbitrary at all to point out these phrases for the loaded nonsense that they are. When language is perverted in this way, it is impossible to discern what people are actually arguing for.
Say what you want about mainstream journalists, but I don't think they are the ones with an endemic racism problem requiring a lecture like this.
I've never heard anyone say that using Obama's middle name is racist. Douchebaggery, definitely. Racist, no.
I "get" the first two racist things, and I get the last one. (His punchline for every. single. strip. about racism/sexism.)
But taxes?
Obama's policies on taxes? What?
Sidney!
McCain's middle name is Sidney!
Ladies and gentlemen, we know what we have to do now, don't we?
"John Sidney McCain" heh!
If you have to moan about that fact that people take everything you say as racist, you might just have to face up to the fact that You Might Be A Racist. If everything you say belies your bigotry, your options are to go ahead and own it, and be proud of it, you can be ashamed of it and try to uproot it, or you can deny it and get defensive about people noticing and pointing it out.
Well, it's a start.
I can remember when you could accuse people like Tinsley of being racist, and they'd proudly (and publicly) agree.
At least he's seeing there's some stigma to being racist and ignorant.
Still, though, there's a long way to go. Next step: Getting Tinsley to see that there is stigma associated with being a drunk living in his mom's basement.
Stigma
stigma
stigma.
Good Friday's coming up soon. I love that word.
It's hard to oppress people if you say "HEY! I'm opressing you, you *insert racist/sexist description here*"
It's so much easier to control people to just say "I'm not racist/sexiest. You're actually a worthless piece of human being who deserves the scorn, ridicule, and harassment heaped upon you"
Friday's strip: Wow, Hillary's been getting it easy from Tinny. McCain is the one who's really feeling the sting of Tinny's complete inability to caricature.
The only thing funny about this strip is that the Left believes McCain is George Dubya Bush Part II The Terror (Alert) Continues, and the Right thinks Mr. Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran is a RINO.
...And he's the best the Right had to offer!!
Leaving Obama's middle name aside for the time, is there any particular reason why JFK, LBJ and GWB were referred to with TLAs, but not WJC, RWR, JEC, GRF or RMN?
"JFK" and "John F. Kennedy" just sound good, I think - they roll off the tongue. Same with "LBJ" and "Lyndon B. Johnson".
We need "George W. Bush" for the same reason we needed "John Quincy Adams".
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