Saturday, December 27, 2008
RNC candidate sends racist song to committee members
6 comments
So what did the members of the Republican National Committee get for Christmas? A CD of songs sent to them by a candidate for chairmanship, in which one of the songs was titled "Barack the Magic Negro."
Yes. It is as racist as it sounds. And though RNC members are defending the song as mere "political satire," the fact that it was first played on Rush Limbaugh's show in 2007 reaffirms my belief that its intentions are not good.
Here's a sample of the lyrics:
[Sung to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon"]
AL SHARPTON IMPERSONATOR:
Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
'Cause he's not authentic like me.
Yeah, the guy from the L.A. paper
Said he makes guilty whites feel good
They'll vote for him, and not for me
'Cause he's not from the hood.
See, real black men, like Snoop Dog,
Or me, or Farrakhan
Have talked the talk, and walked the walk.
Not come in late and won!
I can see why people would defend it as satire - it is similar to the infamous cover of the New Yorker, but again, look at the source. Rush Limbaugh played it. I just don't see good intentions here.
Yes. It is as racist as it sounds. And though RNC members are defending the song as mere "political satire," the fact that it was first played on Rush Limbaugh's show in 2007 reaffirms my belief that its intentions are not good.
Here's a sample of the lyrics:
[Sung to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon"]
AL SHARPTON IMPERSONATOR:
Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
'Cause he's not authentic like me.
Yeah, the guy from the L.A. paper
Said he makes guilty whites feel good
They'll vote for him, and not for me
'Cause he's not from the hood.
See, real black men, like Snoop Dog,
Or me, or Farrakhan
Have talked the talk, and walked the walk.
Not come in late and won!
I can see why people would defend it as satire - it is similar to the infamous cover of the New Yorker, but again, look at the source. Rush Limbaugh played it. I just don't see good intentions here.
Posts
December 28, 2008 at 7:09 AM
I just saw the Youtube video and was appalled. Ignorance and fear abound.
December 29, 2008 at 10:13 AM
I do see this as a satire. It's not particularly good or funny and is in kind of poor taste. It's more making fun of Sharpton & White guilt than Obama. Not that that makes it any better...
Besides, are neo-cons EVER funny? Name one funny conservative. This is "funny" to them, and we have Jon Stewart. It's not even a fair fight.
December 29, 2008 at 2:42 PM
Hahaha... well put, Danyell.
December 29, 2008 at 11:21 PM
Oh, sure! When Sarah Palin, her husband, and her entire family is insulted time and time again on SNL, the Tonight Show, etc., it's just a big joke. Now that someone pokes fun at "the Messiah", people are "appalled"?? Oh, but Palin is only a "whitey", right? And everyone knows making fun of whites is okay, but making fun of blacks, or other non-whites, is "racist". Can you say "double-standards"?? It's even worse when white people use this double-standard! Are you ashamed of your own race, or what?? Why can you defend every race except your own!?
December 30, 2008 at 2:01 AM
Michael, you clearly have a very warped definition of "insulting" and "poking fun at."
Using an actress who looks and speaks astonishingly like Sarah Palin and giving her a script that nearly matches up word-for-word with what the real Palin actually said? Poking fun.
Setting our country back 50 years by promoting the use of the offensive term "negro" among other racist stereotypes and attributing them to a historic figure who is already plagued with racist attacks from ignorant people? Insulting.
Sarah Palin found the SNL skit humorous and was more inclined to laugh at it, rather than get offended, because it was merely poking fun.
Barack Obama would find no humor in this horrible song because it's insulting.
Making fun of non-whites is not automatically racist. But using the term "magic negro"? That IS racist. Not "racist." Racist.
And despite our differences in opinions, I have defended Sarah Palin time and time again when she has been the victim of terrible sexist attacks and objectification. If there was something truly wrong with the SNL skit, I would not have found it funny. But there was nothing wrong with it.
I'm not sure why you're calling this a double standard. The Sarah Palin skit didn't even mention her race - if there was a song called "Palin the Magic Cracker," and I wrote a post about how funny and intelligent it is, then you would be correct. Otherwise, you are not.
December 30, 2008 at 6:59 AM
People make fun of Palin, Bush, etc., for their actions and personality. The "satire" the conservatives are putting out is making fun of ethnicity. Not only the "magic negro" but "the star spanglish banner" does the same. Making fun of someone's actions and personality is good satire and parody - making fun of someone's ethnicity or the like is racist. They are not the same thing. Being proud of your ignorance and hate is no laughing matter. It is a way of saying "I am better than you" because I'm "white", because I'm "male", because because because.