Oh yea....I'm all over this one.
~Key Questions to pose:
*When did the African-American race admit to embracing the 'N' word? (maybe I missed the memo)
*Who made 'Hussein' so taboo? and for WHAT?
*Is this guy really trying to make me swallow this garbage?
*An "Initiate"? As in the 1st to use/or propose it? Ummm....I'm all confused here.
Now, to begin, allow me to pardon myself for any harsh offenses anyone might take from this (my first:-) post. I am a democrat and i love my political party as much as the next democrat BUT i'm a little tired of the dramatics of this entire Democratic Nominee free-for-all. And when I see things in the media such as the above hogwash, I get even more antsy for it all to just be OVER. I feel like picketing or something.
"HELL NO WE WONT GO for 3 more months of this damn race when OBVIOUSLY the people have spoken and SOMEONE needs to bow out gracefully"
That's what my large banner would say. Hey I'm a bay-area girl. Close to Berkeley. U know we love to protest.
Anyway...so yea. Onto the questions I posed. So this reporter guy, Thornburgh, has suggested that Barack's middle name (Hussein, for those of you who might live at the bottom of the sea) is equally 'off-limits' to some as the 'N' word is. (I hate that term by the way. What am I, 4 ? The 'F' word. The'B' word. The 'N' word. Blah.) If Thornburgh was sitting in front of me right now, first I'd dare him to say that dreadful, awful 'N' word to me (just to watch him sweat), then I'd give him my own personal dose of a reality check. And it goes a little sumthin like this:
Senator Obama's middle name is just that, a name. Given to him at birth by a young and no doubt heavily sedated mother who probably thought the name had a certain ummph to it. (i won't question her judgment here ONLY because she's not around to answer it, God rest her soul) Barack did not grow up and adopt the name for his devious alter-ego who preys on white women and the rest of America's "precious goods". He did not ask for it. He did not hope, wish and pray for Saddam Hussein's namesake because he thought he was a really cool guy. The name just HAPPENED. And while he was innocently teased about it throughout his childhood, unfortunately in his adult public life, it's biting a healthy chunk out of his ass.
Now let's look at the 'N' word. God, I can't do it any more. (DISCLAIMER:to all the sensitive self-righteous people, look away from your screen cuz i'm about to let it rip) Let's examine the word Nigger. The 1st documented use of nigger in its current form was during the Revolutionary War. A long ass time ago. And it has stood the test of time as being one of the most vile, vindictive, evil and degrading words forced upon the black race in attempts to "keep em in their place" and impose feelings of inferiority. WE did not "initiate" the use of the term. WE did not say yessir, please trash my name given to me at birth and call me Nigger cuz that's what I is! In recent years, certain subcultures of our society have remixed the word, dropped the -er, threw in the letter -a and BAM!!! it's a term of endearment. *yawn* Miss me with that one because I will NEVER refer to myself or anyone else, friend or foe, as a nigga, nigger, niggo, niggy, niggette, or any other variation. For myself, the word is still a granade waiting to go off, it still symbolizes the despicable nature of human society at its worse and it still undercuts the growth blacks have made in EVERY aspect.
So, going back to Senator Obama's middle name and attempting to compare it to Nigger....ummm [ trying really hard here].... not seeing equal playing fields in the slightest. That knocks out Thornburgh's point that the 2 words may equally evoke as much anger, resentment and need for defense. I dont buy it. It could be giftwrapped, lined with 20 dollar bills and on clearance at Macy's and i still wouldn't buy it.
Who what when where and why is Barack's middle name on trial? And who what when where and why did reporter guy Thornburgh think it was relevant to compare & contrast the man's name to a racial slur? WHY you ask? Because he's a journalist. The media gets an A+++ for finding the pettiest, most ludicrous, marginal points of interest for the world to ignorantly salivate over. Yes, i blame us, the people, as well. Because if we all had enough common sense, we would sit back and think u know what, the guy didn't name himself and if he doesn't have a problem with his name, why the hell should I? I mean, some of us are walking around with some God-awful names ourselves and dont have to go through public crucifixion. I just find it sad that amid an election which will hopefully appoint someone who has the opportunity to re-route the road to hell that the U.S. is travelling on right now.... all media, republicans and other gullible losers have to do with their spare time is pick apart a NAME. Lord help this country cuz they all need to GET A LIFE & a hobby and move on.
[ I reserve the right to my own opinions, verbage, slants, biases and feelings because...well, I wrote it! ]
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Great blog.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid I thought that everyone with the same name was related. But I grew up and realized this wasn't the case. There are millions of males named Hussein. It's an honorable name. Only one Hussein among millions was a dictator. And only a xenophobic (and immature) culture can an excellent name into a curse word.
But even 'Muslim' is practically a curse word these days. I know. I am one. A convert of 27 years and tired of all this bs. (I will use abbreviations because I'm old--raised in a time when cursing was less acceptable).
I have sons who live in fear that their names (Musa, Ibrahim, Salahuddin) will one day be associated with terror. I could have named one of my kids Hussein or even Usama. I didn't. Lucky kids.
Barack Hussein Obama carries the name of his father, which is honorable. Oh, and btw, when the future president Obama was born, Saddam Hussein was a total unknown.
Well said, Ms. Timmons! I enjoyed reading this post. I completely and whole-heartedly agree with you. I have a huge problem with the media because they sensationalize the shit outta everything. I had to hit my parents with a dose of reality the other day. It's been in the news that we are getting ready to have a rice shortage so the price of rice will be going up. Shit really hit the fan when Costco started rationing their rice shipments. My parents read the article and immediately started going to all the Costcos in the area trying to buy this 20 pound bag of rice that they were selling for like eight dollars. I mean they were acting like dope fiends trying to find this rice. But every Costco was sold out. They say people are lined up before they open the stores everyday just to get some rice. I had to remind my parents...WE DON'T EVEN COOK A LOT OF RICE!!! Then they sat back and thought about it, we really don't eat that much rice. But that's what the media wants people to do. It's nuts isn't it?
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