Tweety's SOTU WTF Moment: "I forgot he was black tonight for an hour"
Excuse me?
You know I was trying to think about who he was tonight and it's interesting... he is post-racial by all appearances. You know I forgot he was black tonight for an hour. You know he's gone a long way to become a leader in this country and passed so much history in just a year or two. I mean it's something we don't even think about. But I was watching him and said "Wait a minute, he's an African American guy in front of a bunch of white people and there he is President of the United States and we've completely forgotten that tonight". Completely forgotten it.
I think it was in the scope of his discussion; it was so broad ranging, so in tune with so many problems and aspects, and aspects of American life that you don't think in terms of the old tribalism, the old ethnicity. It was astounding in that regard and very subtle fact -- it's so hard to even talk about it -- maybe I shouldn't talk about it, but I am. I thought it was profound in that way and I think in terms of the seduction tonight -- I don't think he did anything tonight out of love for Republicans or deep understanding of people who disagree with him. He's probably incredibly frustrated by the failure of a single Republican Senator to step up and say "We've got to do something about health care. I'm challenging my caucus on this one. I'm with you buddy. I'm a profile in courage." Not a single Republican. That has got to frustrate a guy who has tried to reach out.
If only Tweety's brain was post-racial. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that MSNBC is going to do some apologizing tomorrow.
My husband and I both groaned audibly!
And then I *wish* the cameraman had panned to Rachel's face!
So, for one hour, Tweety forgot the president was black. That hour has passed. He's now back to normal again, thinking about Obama being black. What a rich, full life he leads.....
Second that, would love to have seen Rachel's reaction.
Seriously.
damn, is he blind or ignorant? I guess both. What a stupid thing to say.
Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
Racist.
I'm black, and I didn't take offense at what Matthews said at all, although, per his habit and custom, he mangled his point. Indeed, I made the same point to a couple of friends of mine a few days earlier.
I think it's short-sighted to discard the notion that Obama's presidency has subtly transformed race relations in a way that few expected. Notwithstanding his considerable gifts, virtually everyone, including well-meaning white liberals and moderates (and I mean moderates, not those right wingers claiming to be moderate), recognized Obama as the first/only black president. Now, it seems, people are starting to think of him as the president. Indeed, over the last several months, and especially the last few weeks, white liberals and moderates have become increasingly comfortable criticizing Obama on left-leaning talk radio for his perceived failure to champion a more progressive agenda. I don't blame them -- Obama, in my opinion, has been far too timid and conciliatory in his approach as far I'm concerned, but I think the fact that people have been vocal concerning their criticism is proof that they're evaluating his policies and actions on their merit, or lack thereof, and not his skin color.
but I've never understood the correlation between color and policy. I'm not sure how to say this. Jackie Robinson's acceptance into the Major Leagues was an undeniably remarkable personal and cultural achievement, which it seems perfectly appropriate to commemorate. But true acceptance didn't come until baseball fans began to measure him by his performance on the field. (Is that what you mean?)
As I said way down on this thread, I do recognize the difference between prejudice and racism. I should have chosen my words more carefully. I'm fairly certain Chris Matthews would also like a do-over. What's striking to me is that he did not make a statement about Obama's first-ness, or even about our broader cultural differences based on race. No, Chris Matthews, one of the most prominent political observers in America, after having observed this man's performance "on the field" for more than a year, was personally surprised to find that he was so able to relate to this President that he forgot he was black–for an hour.
Another tenuous analogy: "You know son, I feel so close to you right now that for a while there I forgot you're adopted."
Even when he's really truly doing his best to be nice, he's still a dickhead.
Oh dear oh dear that's rich.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
Indeed, looks like his mouth is faster than his brain. lulz
Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
This is a good one . LOL . Now lets watch him try and explain this one away . Sometimes the truth just slips out huh Tweety ?
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
"...it was so broad ranging, so in tune with so many problems and aspects, and aspects of American life that you don't think in terms of the old tribalism, the old ethnicity."
It's still shocks me everytime I hear someone say outloud something that most people wouldn't even admit they thought. (I think I'd like to hang on to that trait.)
Nationally broadcast stupitity, now that takes the cake.
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples, promising liberty and justice for all
What can you possibly say about that? There are no words...
about this sh*t in 2010 . . in terms of "skin color" . . . Bush Co dragged us back to the 1950's
I disagree with the knee jerk reaction on this one. I did an initial saywhaa..myself, but what he was getting at is the novelty of Obama being the first black president being no longer an issue for the average American. We're used to it, it's a given, a non issue at this point, he argued. Matthews is simply guilty of gross wishful thinking, since in my opinion the average American (and the media) is still coming to grips with this historical shift.
I can't speak for anybody else but I carefully considered my reaction to Tweety and why I felt that way.
Barack Obama: Change we can only imagine
No Disrespect to a worthy reaction but seriously, look at the larger context and point. Tweety has had me pulling my hair out only a billion times, but this was a rather simple if not nuanced observation regarding race and power.
a good point* until he started rambling on about the Godfather....
His brain is spinning faster than his tongue.
*chuckle faces sitting on their 'keysters'...
Cue the Kabuki....
It speaks volumes to the attutudes in this country when the color of ones skins even has to be an issue.
that may be true, but it's like that to a degree in every part of the world. the entirety of human society has a lot of work to do. in regards to this clip, i think people are overreacting. matthews, although kind of heavy-handed and clumsy in his descriptions, was just pointing out how it seems that the majority of people have gotten over or forgotten the novelty of electing a man of african descent as president of the united states.
I mean, come on. Do we really have to be Sean Hannities and pretend we don't know what he meant?
He stuck his neck out. It didn't come across the way he wanted tho.
So, he came off as a dumbass.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
We will NEVER become a post-racial culture as long as we continue to dredge up racial emotions for the sake of useless platitudes. Truly "colorblind" people don't make a point of highlighting their other friends; they just ARE. Matthews' idiotic analysis did NOTHING to heal the nation's deep wounds of bigotry. Instead he picked the scab.
oh please. we also can't help heal the wounds of bigotry by ignoring the fact they exist in the first place, either. we need an honest and open dialogue about race relations & its related problems in our country in order to mature as a society.
What part of what he said served to further the serious discussion of race relations in our country? This wasn't about solving the ongoing problem, including the damage of past wrongs. Instead of letting a black man BE President, Matthews felt compelled to remind America that THE PRESIDENT IS BLACK, as if that serves any purpose whatsoever.
Try this on for size: "You know, we've reached a point in our relationship that we've been talking over dinner here for a whole hour and I completely forgot about that birthmark on your face! Isn't that wonderful? We have clearly achieved post-superficiality."
how is being black akin to having an unsightly mark on one's face?
Don't you see? We've moved beyond petty concern over the color or clarity of your complexion. There's nothing holding you back any longer. You don't have to be self-conscious or think about the abuses you've suffered because of it. And for that, I am proud.
Is a facial birthmark necessarily unsightly? I ask because I have one. Some of us like to think of them as art work. I think the comparison is apt, because in both cases, the appearance of one's skin often determines how people treat you. I've had people say to me, "I don't even notice your birthmark." Oh yeah? Then why are you saying that? I'm supposed to be impressed?
Tweety Bird isn't a hard hitting journalist. Let's just put it that way.
"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
For somebody who forgot Obama was black, he sure did point it out a lot.
Barack Obama: Change we can only imagine
The State of the Union is not merely a speech; it is a key opportunity for Americans to come together, to set the course for the future as one nation indivisible. To have a pundit as prominent as Matthews point to race at a moment like this, is simply unacceptable by any standards of decency. He has not only embarrassed himself by revealing a racist mentality, but he has served to tear down the cohesiveness which our President has just enjoined. Chris Matthews should apologize to the nation.
but he has his moments though, the whole comment about Cornyn and McConnell Chuckling while they and their party are sitting on their asses during the woest recession in modern history is classic good tweety, lets give the good tweety some equal time tonight, can we post those comments?
ditto?
Cue the Kabuki....
I may be the only one to defend Tweety here. I think he meant it from a "color blind" society perspective which is what we are trying to strive to be in. The day when regardless of the president's color (gender or sexual orientation) we see him or her as simply the president. His continued commentary after the comment is what convinced me of his intent. Like the Harry Reid comment about Obama in a sense. Not the best choice of words perhaps but Tweety's not Rush Limbaugh. Tweety's not a racist pig.
That's what i got from it, but he clearly worded it wrong. And yes, i do not think tweety is a racist.
Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
I don't think he's a racist. He's just a dumbass from time to time.
You know his wife just went Oh Noes!
What is your conceptual, continuity?
oh, absolutely. like i said before in this comment section.
"his mouth is faster than his brain"
Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
Yeah, ain't it the truth.
I like to say, he speaks before his brain is connected.
Same thing. He's in deep shit now. For being a dumbass.
Then, he gets to go home. You just know his wife will be waiting for him at the door. LOL!
I can just see it. His wife in curlers, with a rolling pin in her hands.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
That's the part that bothered me, not that he mentioned it but that he then went on to say it over and over. It made me think of O'Reilly and how shocked he seemed that the people in a restaurant in Harlem were just like "normal people", (his words).
Barack Obama: Change we can only imagine
Tweety's not O'Reilly and MSNBC isn't FOX.
Nothing to see here folks, move along.
Because he had a producer yelling into his ear
STFU!
There is a noticible change in his face as he says 'perhaps I shouldn't'....clearly that dumb irishman took over his widdow bwain.
OMG, this person sounds like a normal human being! I totally can't believe he's black!! omg!
wtf?
Woody McBreairty
Amazing.
given some of the supremely ignorant nonsense coming from the msm punditry, is what tweety said really that far out of line from the others or unexpected?
a friend called me to talk about it. I said how refreshing it was to have a president that can string two sentences to getter and not flub the words. I to forgot he was black, my bad, was he supposed to speak in Ebonics?
no, esperanto!
Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
... Obama truly is a breath of fresh air. Of course, a lot of that air is merely empty multi-syllabic rhetoric.
Tweety? A tone-deaf asshole. Period.
Can't stand him.
BID
... would you just once check your brain before you open your spittle-flecked piehole?
First it's your swooning over Commander Codpiece, then your manly gushing over Fred "Aqua Velva" Thompson, then ... well, name any of a number of cringe-inducing utterances. You've been chock-full of them.
What IS it with you, man?
BID
. . . of what Matthews said, he's wrong.
There are millions of Birthers, Tea-Baggers, Aryans, Patriots, Skinheads and fans of Beck & Limbaugh who NEVER forget Obama's skin color.
sorry....but that comment borders on racism
surprise....the prez can speak english
quite a change from 8 years of listening to a functional illiterate
"functional"?
Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
or Pat Buchanan in a tweety mask?
What a pitiful display. I don't find what he said offensive anymore than I find what Harry Reid said offensive.
I do think his thoughts should have remained a part of his an inner monologue. But, he obviously doesn't know any better.
And, this "colorblind" hogwash is just that... hogwash. No one should be colorblind. The goal is to not be prejudiced when you see people who are a different "color" than you are.
I can see color. I notice the color of everyone's hair, eyes and skin. But I never find it important.
Tweety, why did you go color blind for an hour? Explain.
.
i gave up on this klown.
WTF indeed.
How else can you prove you're not a racist then by boldly stating the fact?
You forgot to mention how sophisticated and insightful you (and I) are for understanding that truth.
It really seems like Chris is acting as if he's surprised that a black person can be intelligent, well spoken and charismatic vs. being loud and ghetto like the stereotypes. His comment kind of reminded me of O'Reilly's iced tea comment.
no he's expressing his surprise that after such a momentous and historic election, the factor of his race that was once a really big deal has gone out of his and many people's minds, and that we are looking at him as the president, and not the black president. you people are really reaching here.
mathews knows what he is saying and what reaction he will get.
misspelled something earlier to have been deleted.
I didn't see any misspelling in yours or mine that were deleted. Must be something else.
I don't know, Matthews does seem to have a chronic case of foot in mouth disease but I think I understand what he was saying here. He was highlighting a trend that is happening in our society as we slowly become more integrated. Educated and thinking people have friends, neighbors, coworkers, and acquaintances of all races and backgrounds and are beginning to accept these differences as part of the natural order. I think this is clear (upon reflection) in what Matthews is referring to in his attempt to explain his feelings on Obama's speech. However, I cannot accept the fact that this is a trend that is happening across all of society. Just look at the Lt. Gov. of South Carolina's comments about the poor in his state, a significant portion of which are people of color. The language he uses implies that his poor constituents are subhuman animals not worthy of consideration as equals. His message is clearly directed at a white audience of a certain mindset and couched in the euphemisms that civilized society has forced people to use. The economic disparity that negatively impacts people of color disproportionately, still evokes these old style Jim Crow responses in a significant portion of the population. I think this is where we must focus our energy as a society, in defeating economic disparity, and bring Americans at the lower rungs of the economic order to our level, so we can all be screwed equally by the corporations.
But then again I'm not outraged by the Lt. Gov. comment either. I don't feel his comment implied that they were subhuman animals, he was stating his opinion that if you give people what they need they feel they have no obligation to work for it. He may have done so in a poorly worded manner but that is what I got out of it.
Also what is the significant portion of "people of color"? He referred to all not just certain minorities. I'm feeling a bit lazy and since you brought it up, do you have any stats on the racial breakdown of people on assistance in that state?
Hopefully, I didn't leave the impression that poor white people don't exist in this nation, but we are talking about proportion here. And as a matter of history white politicians in the south have pitted middle class whites against poor minorities as a political strategy. Because of the higher proportions of minorities living in poverty they are demonized and blamed for sucking up tax dollars through assistance programs. Poor whites aren't even considered in this strategy because it doesn't serve the political purpose of division, as it's clear in people's thinking that minorities vote for Democrats in droves so they must be against 'us'. That's a matter of political history and the concept was started in the Hoover administration and put into full effect by Nixon.
As for his analogy, you are once again failing to see the historical context with which he makes it in but I'm afraid that will be a matter of perception to you and others. Blacks and other minorities have regularly been referred to as animals and subhumans for a good portion of our nation's history. If you can't see how important the use of language is, taken in context with the statistics on poverty, then our discussion must end.
Here are some of the Statistics you wanted on poverty by race in SC
http://statehealthfacts.org/profileind.jsp?in...
After the initial "Holy f_cking sh_t did he just say that", this is all I could think...http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/52051ec56f/airplane-oh-stewardess-i-speak-jive-from-dirttron
What the hell does that even mean "I forgot he was black"
At first, I was thinking something like this too because of his poor word choice "I forgot he was black", but upon some further reflection I understand what he was getting at. It's not that Obama has managed to mask his innate jive dialect like many have taken this, but something more like, "the president is speaking to congress and the nation and I am listening intently focusing on his words and the historic importance of Obama's race isn't occupying much space in my thought process".
is just code for "I always think about how Obama is black, always, and this one time, I totally got swept up in the moment and forgot about my prejudice, and saw him as a human being instead of whatever the hell it is I usually think."
Chris Matthews, you embarrass humanity by existing.
I honestly don't think Chris Matthews is a racist, but what a fricken dingbat for saying all that. Surely he regrets it. What a bunch of totally meaningless drivel that added nothing to the conversation and was just plain stupid. CM needs to count to 10 sometimes, so he can think a little before putting his foot down his throat.
Did he ask for a fingerbowl to accompany his barbeque spareribs again?
Everyone knows you just say ribs.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
The fact that he is black? We know that the GOP top dogs have some racist tendencies, but their real problem is they have screwed up everything so badly in the last thirty years, that they are trying desperately to change the focus from their fuck ups to anything.
They will do anything including hurt America to try and get back the corrupt/criminal enterprises they were able to crank up during the bush years. Fact is these people stand to lose millions in bribes and kickbacks if we fix things. Hell they just got it the way they wanted it now we are going to change it? Over their dead bodies. They are going to fight for the only thing a republican care about, greed!
republicanism/conservatism is a mental illness!
With having rammed his foot in his mouth like this, those toes have to taste really nasty.
You sound so quaint and innocent compared to your media whore brethen over at the most trusted name in news, fox.
If you could just get that mouth and that brain connected to the same synapses and both sides of that brain working at the same degree of efficiency, there may be hope for you yet.
for an hour I forgot that Chris Matthews is a dumbass. I remember now.
...the Doo Dah Man once told me you got to play your hand. Sometimes the cards aint worth a dime if you don't lay 'em down.
jetmonkey I got to agree with you, man.
In the broad context of Tweetie's somewhat rambling speech, I get what he was driving at. Which is what jetmonky elucidated in his initial post.
Was it clumsy? Yes.
Was it racist? I guess if you draw a long bow on it, yes it could be seen that way, but only if you were hell bent on that interpretation.
Me, I think it was just what it was.
An "bar-room conversation" style observation, albeit a slightly clunky one.
It was a harmless comment. I think it's being blown way out of proportion.
Let's move on to more serious issues.
Why?
Please think before you speak. Good god, you're on live TV, Man.
NOBODY 2012
Maybe Tweety had a profound moment? Maybe he was seeing something that we take for granted? Maybe he was saying that this was the first time he didn't think others were seeing Obama as a Black President but as just The President? Just maybe.
Nah.... Just foot in mouth again.
It would be nice to have a ying and yang moment here on C+L. Tweety also came down hard on the partisanship of the Republicans.
"White people keep saying he speaks so well! WFT? What do you expect to come out of his mouth? He's an educated man! What do you expect? I'za gonna' a-drops me a bomb too-day, I be the prez-o-dent." Nice Tweety. Really nice.
I've seen some stuff, man. And some thangs...
This is Obama's second speech before Congress and the second time Tweety put his foot in his mouth.
He should just shove this loafer in his mouth from the get go, and avoid the embarrassment later.
Seriously, Tweety's problem is he is all over the map. He tries to make arguments and spout opinions from both sides, ultimately gets confused, and comes off looking like a moron. That is exactly what happened here.
He's simply not quick or sharp enuf to pull it off.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
IMHO being a racist requires a level of premeditated malice. I didn't feel any hate....and I absolutely can't stand Matthews.
There is an important difference in connotation there.
Matthews isn't malicious. He's simply ignorant.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
mention that Matthews often brings up the fact that Obama is black and the first black prez. I don't watch the show anymore and haven't in quite awhile so I can't comment to that accuracy of that statement, but maybe it sheds some light on this Matthew's rant. In Matthew's mind Obama's race is a constant issue (not saying as a racist - just as an issue in general) and during the SOTU speech he actually forgot about it. As for commenting/projecting on society in general, perhaps, but certainly American "growing up" or "making more progess" would have went over much better - but if it's true Tweety obscesses on the race thing (again, not as a racists but just an issue for discussion), it's not surprising it came out the way that it did.
I've seen some stuff, man. And some thangs...
By patting Obama on the back he was really patting himself on the back for how racist he was able not to be, which is a flavor of racism. What makes me groan though is how stupid it was more than how racist.
I thought it read "Tweety's STFU Moment"
This clown lives in his own wee world. The man has no idea that everyone doesn't care about that crap.
Interesting insight into his own mind.
because I was watching Fox, to see another brand of stupidity.
Normally, I feel no sympathy for Tweety-bird, but in this instance I think he was trying to express a good idea in his normal, inartful way. As soon as I heard the words come out of his mouth, I knew that everyone was going to get all up in arms about his poor choice of words and lose sight of the point that he as trying to make. The fact that we have an African-American President after our history of slavery, institutional racism and outright racism is an incredible and wonderful thing and it is one reason why I can feel pride about being American again.
This is the general point that I heard him try to make. Of course, it came out in villager, myopic speech so the point got missed. I think that if we're really going to distinguish ourselves from the crazy right-wingers, one way to go about it is to not get all balled up in these false "scandals" and actually listen to what people are saying.
I have been saying for 12 months that people see the president in racial terms. Can you imagine what the racist GOP and T-baggers call the president in private?
It's possible that the opposition to the President is racial AND that he's not doing the job he was elected to do.
Damn. I expected by now, someone would have invoked Hitler or Nazis.
What's wrong with you people?
notKeith
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
Statements like this remind us white folks that there still is a lot of unspoken racism in this country.
I like Chris Matthews. I believe what he was trying to say was how wonderful it was to look at the President and not see black or white, but, just the powerful President of the United States.
Can you tell me no black person that night noted the color of his skin and thought how proud they were?
Point being, how great it is ,black or white to not see or give any thought to the color of their skin. Get it?
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