Script for a trailer for the new blockbuster, "Obama Rex" (spoken in a deep, sinister voice):
The coronation is over. The curtain has risen. With Rahm Emanuel as his Iago, the Moor has taken the reins. See the conniving Shylock, his hands in everybody's pockets, played by Timothy Geithner. Hear Polonius, played by Joe Biden, utter the famous "to thine own self be true, and thou canst still be false to any man." Thrill to the sight of Lady Macbeth (Michelle Obama) after the infernal-obama-rescue-dog pees in the Lincoln bedroom, as she exclaims: "Out, damned Spot. Out I Say!" Tremble as the three witches(Nancy, Hillary, and Bill), their ambitions thwarted, brew their scheme to bring about his demise. Will the crafty Iago and the unwitting Obama out-maneuver the three, or will THEY prevail? Limited engagement opens January 20, 2009.
But, seriously, I heard the new president say that economic collapse was a "collective" failure.
So, it follows that we will to have a "collective" response. Collective--that is something like a commune, is it not? When he talks about a more mature tone in Washington, what he means is that Republicans and Conservatives better be mature. What about the 1.4 million clods on the Washington mall who booed the outgoing President Bush? They are Obama's constituents; will he implore them to be mature?
Finally, a word about the cute, charming, Rev. Joseph Lowery. Did I hear him Wright?
Did he say, "the brown man will stay around; the red man will get ahead, man; and the white man will do right?" So, white people do not do right? Strange thing to say, considering that, according to the new President, all of us, black, white, red, etc., are supposed to get along now. Strange thing to say, considering that the first black president was elected because of the votes of white people. Mr President, I have one word for you: Maturity.
*cf. INRI: Iesus Nazareni, Rex Iudaiorum
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8 comments:
1. I'm confused about elitism. Your constant use of Latin, and reference to Shakespeare (Obama the Moor, incidentally? Well, at least you didn't go with Othello.) seem rather elitist to me, as it usually requires some level of education to compile a trove of such references, and education at its cost today, is something for the elite.
2. Get your rhetoric right. Collective does not mean commune. That's absurd. He did not use the word "collective" as a noun. Furthermore, what problem could a self respecting patriot possibly have with the idea of work (A word I'd never heard out of Washington with any kind of veneration, until yesterday)? Working together - helping eachother out...it's what this country once - however hypocritically, considering it's origins as a Western nation - prided itself on. "Give me your tired, your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore
Send these the homeless tempest-tost to me..." - Irving Berlin.
3. Another confusing point - is this a timidly polite country, or is this a free country? The millions of people gathered in DC were expressing their singular right to free speech with their booing of Bush.
4. While it may have been somewhat, and only somewhat, inappropriate for Rev. Lowery to suggest as much at this event, I say that, no, the white man, at least in this country, has not nearly gotten it right yet. Not with regard to non-white people, not with regard to women, and not with regard to Jews.
Dear anonymous:
1. I am flattered you think I am intellectually elite.
2. Collective, as in collective farm. Collective farms were popularized by Stalin. In Obama lingo, it is a code word for expansion of the size and authority of the federal government.
3. I did not suggest that the gavones in the mall be arrested for booing Bush. Of course they have the right, just as I have the right to make fun of the Moor.
But it is undiginified, and, I repeat immature to boo the outgoing President on inauguration day. But then, what else can I expect from liberals? That they should be respectful? Aint gonna happen.
4. America did not invent slavery, we ended it. And it was ended by white people. Yes, it has been 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamaton, but we are the first predominantly white nation to elect a black man president. Has France, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, Australia, China, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, etc, ever had a black man or woman as its leader? I submit to you, we are the first, and Obama was elected by whites, not blacks: blacks ALWAYS vote for the democrat. It was white swing voters who put him over the top. For Rev. Lowery to make blatantly racist and offensive comments at the Obama's inauguration is appaling.
Anonymous. Come out of the closet! Who art thou?
"America did not invent slavery, we ended it," is the best point you've made on this blog, at least as far as the western world is concerned. Indeed, it ceased in most of Western Europe by the 1600s and the British Empire abolished it in 1812.
By this logic, I suppose Volkswagen should be proud of its history with the Jews because it was the last major car company to have used Jews as slave laborers.
1. I'm not talking about slavery, I'm not talking about the holocaust, and I'm not talking about pre-the-legalizing-of-voting-for-women. These are all examples to which racist/sexist people might respond, "Well, that's over now. Everything's okay." It's similar to the notion that electing a black president officially ends racism. Racism, antisemitism and sexism are still prevalent in this country - when it's not overt enough, you can turn to statistics. The huge and growing income and education gap between black people and white people, and the income gap between men and women, are just two popularized-but-valid examples. And, to suggest that these are not, in some way, the fault of white men (this, obviously, is a generalization - not to be applied to every single white man) is to suggest that there is something inherent in non-white people, non-male people that causes them to be less educated, less deserving of opportunity, and deserving of lower pay.
1a. You can throw out examples of countries that are worse at this than we are all you want. I see these examples as moot points. We may be less racist-antisemitic-sexist than SOME other western countries, but that doesn't mean we can't and shouldn't do better.
2. I submit to you: Obama absolutely was elected by black people (and white people, and latinos). Yes, generally speaking, black people do always vote democrat. But, the voter turnout this time was much greater than it's been in recent history. Which demographic do you think had the greatest increase in voter turnout?
3. Respectful? Watched Fox news lately? Listened to Limbaugh lately? Seen that clip of O'Reilly on youtube yet? These Republican heroes have been blatantly insulting Democrats, non-Christians, black people, Latinos, homosexuals, and women for years. They're where you get a lot of your terminology from. It's not "respectful" to refer to all Democrats, Obama supporters, and otherwise non-Republicans as "liberals,libers, and big libs" just as it is disrespectful to refer to undocumented immigrants as "illegals," environmentalists as "global-warming wackos," etc. There's immaturity on both sides, as eviniced most readily by Fox News and MSNBC. I'm capable of being a Democrat, while engaging in respectful conversation with a Republican, without using media inspired epithets. Are you?
Anonymous,
1. Considering statistics for issues such as income and education gaps between different races, have you taken in account culture and work ethic? Look at decay of the morals of popular culture in the last few decades for the answers. Work ethic is also key. No man is forcing another man not to work hard or study hard, one has to just do the work to get ahead.
I know this is not the point you made, but I would agree with your assertion that the white man is keeping others down if you had said it in the following way. The programs of Affirmative Action, Welfare and others like them while well meaning have kept minorities down by removing the incentives to achievement.
3. I agree that discourse between political sides has been ridiculous and really childish over the last few years. But I don't see how an undocumented immigrant is not an illegal immigrant --> the tens of thousands that live in my city are not vacationers :)
RKL
To Anonymous:
Bloggery rule 1: keep it short. By short, I mean shorter than my attention span. I could not even finish your last comments.
And I have a question: are you a self-hating white Jew? I am a Jew, but not a self-hating one. Anti-semitism is, indeed, rampant, but mostly in the middle east, europe and the UN. In our country, most of the anti-semitism comes from the political left wing, and much of that comes from liberal Jews, ashamed that their brethren had the gaul to establish a country, Israel, and the backbone to defend it to the death against incredible odds. Do not get me started on anti-semitism, or I will have to write a blog about it.
1. I am not blogging. I am responding. Less government (fewer rules), more freedom, right? I'll write as much as I want, thank you.
2. I am indeed a white Jew, but am not self hating. I said "prevalent." You said "rampant." In our country, antisemitism, AND racism, AND sexism reside in the south (I'll leave it to you to decide whether it's "rampant" or "prevalent"), where there is not much liberal anything.
3. To say that "liberal Jews," whatever that means, are antisemites is offensive to me as a Jew. What kind of antisemite goes around complaining about antisemitism? Who said anything about Israel anyway? I was talking about America, and its problems. I support Israel. Ask RKL how he feels about Israel / Jews.
4. I suggest you try again to finish reading my comments - say the last sentence or two of my comment from 01/26.
5. I thought that Bafflegabbed told me that I sould be "anonymous", but I think I misunderstood. Gkates says that I should not. I think Gkates might be right - much as I hate to admit it.
I wondered if that was you. Bafflegabbed doesnt seem to exist any more, and I miss it. Did you notice the timer on the right side of my blog? It tells how much time left in the Obama presidency, assuming he gets re-elected in 2012.
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