Barack the Magic Negro

Ugh! How disgusting! Yes, that was my first thought while hearing about the controversy surrounding Republican National chair candidate Chip Saltsman including the song in a holiday disk…. “It’s satire! It’s a parody!” scream the handful on the right who are standing up for the garbage.

OK, so I try to be fair and understand source facts in arguments. Yes, I know that doesn’t make for exciting blogging. Still, if I’m going to have an opinion it should be based on reality not imagination, right? So in doing a little research about this, I found a few interesting things. Unless you look into the controversy, you may not realize that:

• “Magic Negro” is a literary term used to describe a non-threatening black character in a story who helps the white protagonist using special insight or magical powers, often related to his race.
• The parody “Barack the Magic Negro” is supposed to be sung from the point-of-view of Al Sharpton, who in the song says Barack isn’t really black like Snoop Dog or himself.
• The song’s point is taken from a David Ehrenstein Los Angeles Times article that accuses Obama of being a “Magic Negro” for America, to help whites overcome white guilt by electing a black man.

So let’s identify the outrage: A prominent Republican included the song in his holiday CD sent to fellow Republicans. The outrage is that someone of such stature would include an arguably racist message in his all-but-official holiday greetings.

This begs the question, is “Barack the Magic Negro” parody? If it is a parody, especially because it was inspired by an opinion article, does this mean it’s not racist? Well you cannot ask this without looking at the lyrics to the song that was originally written by Conservative satirist Paul Shanklin in 2007. I got these from Conservative Culture.

SHANKLIN (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!

[refrain] Oh, Barack the Magic Negro, lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
‘Cause he’s black, but not authentically.
Oh, Barack the Magic Negro, lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
‘Cause he’s black, but not authentically.

Some say Barack’s “articulate”
And bright and new and “clean.”
The media sure loves this guy,
A white interloper’s dream!
But, when you vote for president,
Watch out, and don’t be fooled!
Don’t vote the Magic Negro in –
‘Cause — ’cause I won’t have nothing after all these years of sacrifice

And I won’t get justice. This is about justice. This isn’t about me, it’s about justice.
It’s about buffet. I don’t have no buffet and there won’t be any church contributions,
And there’ll be no cash in the collection plate.
There ain’t gonna be no cash money, no walkin’ around money, no phoning money.
Now, Barack going to come in here and –

Wow. That was bad. Horribly, horribly bad. I don’t mean racist. I just mean incredibly lame. But it is using source material to poke fun at a societal issue. So yes, it is a parody (not satire).

But does this excuse the message? Let’s take a look at it. First of all, the lyrics are more an attack on Al Sharpton than Barack Obama. The lameness of the lyrics makes it difficult to really level an articulate position on what they say. Is it really about Obama being a Magic Negro, or about Sharpton being a greedy politician? To me, it’s more about Sharpton. It’s a poorly structured song with a garbled message.

So let’s go back to the source material: the David Ehrenstein Los Angeles Times article that accuses Obama of being a “Magic Negro” for America. This has likely been beaten to death in the blogs since it was first published March 19, 2007, but I am only reading it for the first time.

It seems obvious to me that Ehrenstein wasn’t expecting Obama to win.

Obama’s fame right now has little to do with his political record or what he’s written in his two (count ‘em) books, or even what he’s actually said in those stem-winders. It’s the way he’s said it that counts the most. It’s his manner, which, as presidential hopeful Sen. Joe Biden ham-fistedly reminded us, is “articulate.” His tone is always genial, his voice warm and unthreatening, and he hasn’t called his opponents names (despite being baited by the media).

Like a comic-book superhero, Obama is there to help, out of the sheer goodness of a heart we need not know or understand. For as with all Magic Negroes, the less real he seems, the more desirable he becomes. If he were real, white America couldn’t project all its fantasies of curative black benevolence on him.

Ehrenstein joined the masses of pundits who believed that it wasn’t what Obama said, it was how he said it. Even Geraldine Ferraro all but called Obama a Magic Negro (she said he was only winning the Dem nomination because he was black). These pundits just didn’t get it, and they were wrong the whole way through the election. It’s not about Obama. It’s not about race. It’s about America. It’s about bringing in a new generation of leadership that will get past the arguing and old politics in order to tackle the problems we are facing – which seem to increase every day. To overlook that and assume anyone likes Obama for some magical reason based on race – and not because Obama has demonstrated knowledge, wisdom, temperament and leadership – shows an inability to get past race. This is itself racism.

So the leadership of the backward opposition political party demonstrates their narrow mindedness by sending a poorly crafted (and not humorous) parody of Al Sharpton accusing the first black president of being a tool elected by whites to magically save them from their own guilt. By sending the greeting only to Republican National Committee members, he further identifies his fellow Republicans as the party hung up on judging people by the color of their skin.

They can’t get past race. It’s got to be about race. Well this isn’t about race. It’s about the next generation of leadership, and the next phase in American progress. New generations are coming about – generations that don’t care about race or sexuality or old gripes. Obama is the first of many new leaders who aren’t your typical silver-haired white guy. When Republicans exhibit behavior that shows they are not ready to be a part of this new reality, they falter. That’s why this whole holiday CD thing is such a fiasco for them.

CNN’s Salzman Calls Obama a “Cusper,” Ignores the 13th Generation

CNN has it right, Boomers are out. (Finally!)  But Marian Salzman calls Barack Obama a “cusper,” as if a “cusper” is a whole new generation. “Cuspers” are those who are born when generations overlap and can provide a translation between the conflicting generations.

After strutting and tub-thumping and preening their way across the high ground of politics, media, culture and finance for 30 years, baby boomers have gone from top dogs to scapegoats in barely a year.

As baby boomers lose their authority and appeal, generational power is shifting one notch down: to cuspers (born roughly 1954-1965), who arrived in style in 2008 with their first truly major figure, Barack Obama (born 1961).

Commentary: Baby boomers out, ‘cuspers’ in – CNN.com.

But even calling Obama a  cusper is wrong. Wrong! Does CNN fear handing over the reins to Generation X? Fear not. Barack Obama’s attitude is very much Generation X: “Cut the crap. Let’s get this thing done.” Over 17 years ago, Strauss and Howe predicted Generation X’s leadership would be “nomadic”.

Nomadic leaders have been cunning, hard-to-fool realists, taciturn warriors who prefer to meet problems and adversaries one-on-one.

Barack Obama is part of the 13th Generation. He’s an Xer. Our time has come. Get over it.

Sony Home for Homos

Part of the experience of being gay is embracing an identity that is also used as an insult. Even as being gay is being seen more in society a normal part of life, the word “gay” has even taken on new meaning as “stupid” especially in youth vernacular. This poses a struggle for business and technology. Sony can’t seem to get “gay” right in it’s new virtual world, “Sony Home.” The San Francisco Chronicle’s Ryan Kim reports on a user trying to create a gay/straight alliance:

The problem was that the words he was using – “gay,” “lesbian” and “bisexual” – were being filtered from text chats and were not being allowed in the naming of clubs or in postings in club forums. Marsh, who is straight but supports gay rights, said he raised the issue with Home community managers during the private beta test, but the problems persisted after the public beta introduction of Home on Dec. 11.

“I can understand if they’re filtering out profanity, but if feel like it’s discrimination,” Marsh said. “By blocking a word like ‘gay,’ which is a preferred term by the gay community, you’re encouraging it as a bad word.”

Sony struggles with creation of its virtual world.

LOL @ DCist

More inauguration news from DCist.

You won’t be able to stand under an umbrella in the case of rain, either — those are banned from the Mall for the inauguration. If it’s rainy and windy, it’s up to President-elect Barack Obama to keep us warm.

Morning Roundup: Presidents Past, Present, and Pretend – DCist: Washington DC News, Food, Arts & Events.

Sparkle Your Wine Without Spilling Your Wallet

NV U Mes U Fan Tres

In our house, we drink sparkling wine from a vinyard that we call “Bad Math.” The actual name is “NV U Mes U Fan Tres” or 1+1=3. We get it down the street at Modern Liquors for about $15. It’s a Cava Brut that is quite tasty!

For those of you like me who love the bubbly, here are some recommendations from Slate to save a little $$ on sparkling wine.

(D)on’t bother with the Champagne aisle: Its prices are still tailored to a world in which the Dow is at 13,000 and there is a McMansion in every lot. Fortunately, Spain, Italy, the United States, and other parts of France offer good, inexpensive sparkling wines that can either put you in the festive spirit you seek or serve as the balm you need.

Dirt-cheap sparkling wines to drink on New Year’s Eve. – By Mike Steinberger – Slate Magazine.

Jewcy: Calm Down About Rick Warren!

I’ve grown a bit torn over the Rick Warren thing after chatting with my buddy Bullneck the other day. More on why in a later post. But for the most part, I’m still inclined to say this is a political move by Obama that will benefit gay rights if it helps him succeed with his plans for America. Even Harvey Milk, radical as he was, wanted to build bridges.

Jamie Kirchick at Jewcy agrees that we need to save our “gunpowder” and not “cry wolf”

“The person selected to deliver the invocation has the honor of serving as the spiritual representative for the entire nation,” writes Leah McElrath Renna. Perhaps I missed it, but there is no “spiritual representative” of our constitutional republic, and Renna does her cause no bit of good by ascribing such official significance upon a private citizen like Warren, a man whom most Americans did not know about until gay rights activists raised such a stink, and upon further investigation sounds like a pretty nice guy not deserving of all the insults heaped upon him. The uproar over Warren has the detriment of confirming one of the worst stereotypes of homosexuals: hysteria…

The problem for gay activists is that many Americans agree with Rick Warren when it comes to same-sex love. And these people, numbering in the over 100 million range, are not going to be budged in their views by hectoring activists who call them bigots (even though that’s what many of them are).

The Gay Community Needs to Calm Down About Rick Warren | Jewcy.com

The Gay Man Who Imagined Santa Claus

J.C. Leyendecker's Santa

Is Santa Gay? No, not the original St Nick, Nicholas of Myra, whose propensity was for leaving coins in shoes left out for him. (Slightly more suspicious is that he’s the patron saint of sailors, and we all know about sailors.)

No, the Santa I’m talking about is the iconic, white-haired bear in the red and white suit whose iconic appearance was perfected by a gay man: Joseph Christian (J.C.) Leyendecker, America’s foremost early 20th century illustrator and the man who popularised art in advertising.

MCV – Melbourne Community Voice for Gay and Lesbian Readers – Last Word: J.C. Leyendecker – MCV – Melbourne Community Voice for Gay and Lesbian Readers

Today’s Christmas Playlist

I put my Christmas songs into playlists by albums, but I do not have full albums to these individual songs. So I made a playlist. This is what I’m listening to right now.

1    It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year Andy Williams
2     Christmas in Jamaica Brent Dowe
3     Run Rudolph Run Chuck Berry
4     Zat You, Santa Claus? Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem Band
5     On Santa’s Way Home Marc Broussard
6     Jingle Bells James Taylor
7     Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow Michael Bublé
8     Step Into Christmas Elton John
9     Christmas Wrapping The Waitresses
10     Christmas Blues Traveler
11     Same Old Lang Syne (Album Version) Dan Fogelberg
12     Christmas Song Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds

(silence – 30 seconds)

13     (There’s No Place Like) Home For The Holidays Perry Como
14     Better Days Goo Goo Dolls
15     Santa Baby Madonna
16     Merry Christmas Baby Chuck Berry
17     Baby, It’s Cold Outside Margaret Whiting And Johnny Mercer
18     Winter Wonderland Johnny Mercer
19     Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Gene Autry
20     Do You Hear What I Hear? Andy Williams
21     Ding Dong! Merrily on High Chanticleer
22     Christmas Eve In Washington US Air Force Concert Band and Singing Sergeants
23     O Holy Night Kurt Herbert Adler, Luciano Pavarotti & National Philharmonic Orchestra of London
24     Silent Night Sarah McLachlan

Vegas and How the Country Needs to Change

America needs to regroup and rethink how we do things. David Sirota thinks so too.

We don’t stop driving Hummers around a warming planet just like we don’t stop building population centers in deserts, just like we don’t stop gambling when wages drop, just like we don’t stop wasting energy on casino signs. Why? Because it’s fun to drive tanks, live in desert climates, double-down on 11 and gape at bright lights in the big city. And during the years of cheap energy, income growth and seemingly endless water supplies, fun always trumped pragmatism.

That period, of course, has been supplanted by the Age of the Finite. And to its (few) sober visitors, Vegas implicitly asks whether our whole society is genuinely ready for that new reality.

Whether hanging Christmas lights in Toledo, buying SUVs in Boulder, taking long showers in Atlanta, residing in sprawly suburbs near Chicago, or overspending anywhere, we are all Las Vegans now. And because we have become so environmentally and economically interconnected, what happens in our own Vegas no longer stays in our own Vegas — it affects everyone.

Knowing that, are we ready to turn off some lights in our homes? Is it possible for Americans to forfeit McMansion dreams, drive smaller cars, take public transit, embrace water restrictions, or live in more sustainable geographies? Can we resist materialism, halt the bone-crushing stampedes to Wal-Mart, and stop needlessly spending beyond our means?

We all live in Las Vegas now | Salon

HRC to Press Obama: Good Idea? Bad Idea?

I still feel like we got Don’t Ask Don’t Tell partially because the Press and the LGBT community pressed Clinton to act on it too quickly on Gays in the Military upon entering office. This allowed the opposition to distract the media and the new administration, and we ended up with DADT.

HRC has come up with a list of policy goals it wants to immediately see from a new Obama administration. Is pressing Obama to act on LGBT issues quickly a good plan when he already has some of the biggest problems this country has ever faced waiting for him when he assumes office? Is coming up with a plan to eliminate DADT within the first 100 days really a priority we can honestly expect Obama to take up? And will we then turn our backs on him when we don’t?

The LGBT community is pissed and wants action. But it also needs to work for the common good. Are these demands too self-centered, or are they reasonable actions that we should expect from a new administration?

Human Rights Campaign

Note HRC asking that Obama “Support only a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act” following HRC’s previous support of a non-exclusive bill. Hyporcitical? Or just practical?

A gay-rights group has launched a petition drive to urge President-elect Barack Obama to commit to a slate of its policy goals to make up for his decision to invite conservative evangelical Rick Warren to pray at next month’s inauguration.

The Human Rights Campaign petition is raising support for its “Blueprint for Positive Change,” aimed at fostering equality for gays and lesbians.

HRC’s Blueprint for Positive Change calls on President-elect Obama to:

• Issue an Executive Order within the first 100 days that reaffirms protections for federal workers based on sexual orientation and expands them to also include gender identity;
• Work with Congress to sign Hate Crimes legislation into law within 6 months;
• Support only a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act ENDA;
• In the first 100 days develop a plan to begin the process of eliminating the failed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy; and
• Work with Congress to end unequal tax treatment of domestic partnerships benefits.

PageOneQ | Human Rights Campaign works to help Obama ‘turn the corner’ on Warren controversy

Sullivan: Judge Obama on Whether He Delivers the Goods

I find myself agreeing with Andrew Sullivan most of the time. Or rather I often form my own opinion then find out he has reached the same conclusions. It seems we again agree, this time about Rick Warren. Emphasis added:

If we are going to endure as a single polity, we have to live and have a dialogue with those who oppose us. Rick Warren is not Pat Robertson. He can be engaged. He does good work in many areas. Better to have him in the dialogue than to return to the arid brutality of the culture war. And better for Obama to include Warren in his inaugural, while working to bring greater equality to gay couples and gay people, than to exclude him and preen in purity. We should judge Obama on whether he delivers the goods.

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Obama: I Am Fierce! Defends Choice of Warren, Namedrops Rev. Joseph Lowery

Obama Defends Choice of Pastor

“…I am a fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans…

“It is important for America to come together, even though we have disagreements on certain social issues…

“We’re not going to agree on every singe issue. But what we have to do is to be able to create an atmosphere… where we… can disagree without being disagreeable and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans.”

Are Straights Obsessed with Two Men Kissing?

Why are straight men obsessed with gay affection?

Poor James Franco. (And poor Sean Penn. But for the moment, poor James Franco.)

In the relentless publicity interviews he’s been doing for his new movie, “Milk,” there’s plenty to ask about his performance as the neglected lover of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, the gay rights martyr. So what does every interviewer — from David Letterman to the Philippine Daily Inquirer to public radio’s Terry Gross — want to discuss most?

The kissing.

Wasn’t it really difficult to kiss another man? Implied: Without throwing up, seeing as you’re so obviously straight? Did you rehearse it? What was it liiiiiike?

Rick Warren Picked to Say a Prayer: Big Deal

Am I the only gay blogger who really doesnt care that Rick Warren was chosen to give a prayer at the inauguration?

It’s the policies, stupid. If Obama can use a prayer from Rick Warren to open the tent and bring in more people to understand and support him, so be it. It’s who Obama puts into government positions and what they do in his name that is most important to the lives of LGBT Americans, not who he chooses to have say a prayer.

LGBT groups and voices need to shut up and pick our battles. The invocation is not one of them. Leave prayer to those who pray. Demand policy be in the hands of those who lead for the common good.

Loving Brokers with Hands on Their Faces

Exasperated brokers are usually so darn cute. Photographers often look for ways to tell a story, and a financial broker with a hand on his or her face is a great way to say “oh shit, the economy is tanking!”

Bullneck Reviews Life in Washington DC

Bullneck offers a review of life in Washington, D.C.upon his second anniversary of living in what he calls the “Federal City.”

(O)ne spot of brightness is the next plus to DC: it’s Youthful Population. Through a combo of university clusters here, a job market geared toward entry-level government or contracting types, and the continued population boom, DC has one of the highest percentages of folks aged 18-29 amongst US cities. In this sense I feel completely amongst my peers, and the city has an increasingly energetic vibe with a forward-looking bent.

Another pro, and it’s a big one for me, is the cluster of Cops here. I don’t need to go into explaining this one other than to say that whereas NYC is perhaps the only city which can even compete with the Federal City for more police visibility, it just plain doesn’t match up with the variety that DC offers through a combo of Federal and local agencies and the annual locus of police events here every May.

Con: Crime. However, despite the amount of police agencies and visibility here, DC remains heavily-affected by crime, especially violent crime. There are areas of the District and region I just plain don’t step foot into. I’ve never not felt ’safe’ here, but there’s a sense that crime is going to get much worse before it gets better.

Read the whole thing.

Photos from Aaron and Vern’s Christmas Party 2008

Aaron and Vern’s Christmas Party 2008 – my set on Flickr

Miss Piggy – A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa

John Denver and The Muppets: “A Christmas Together” is still one of my favorite Christmas albums, and the album and TV special are part of my fondest memories as a child. So it was delightful to see this memory from Miss Piggy on Monsters and Critics during an interview about the new Muppet Christmas special on NBC Wednesday, December 17, 2008, at 8:00 p.m. (tomorrow).

April MacIntyre’s Miss Piggy interview: NBC’s A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa

What’s your fondest memory of past Christmases?

Miss Piggy: My fondest memory? Let’s see, you know, it might’ve been sitting around a campfire with my Kermie and John Denver…
Yes. And he was a very special friend to all of us. And we just sang Christmas songs together and it was wonderful. It was cold outside but we had the fire and we had our body warmth…which I shared with Kermie.

Who do you think is the most beautiful female celebrity currently?

Miss Piggy: Besides moi?

Yes, that you would give props to.

Miss Piggy: Okay. Of course, the assumption has to be made. Let’s see, well, you know, we have many beautiful, talented actresses that I handpicked to costar in the Christmas special with moi.

Just to name a few: Uma Thurman, yes – you might have heard of her?

You have Petra Nemcova and Uma Thurman appearing with you on your special.

Miss Piggy: Yes, Petra Nemcova – yeah, exactly. Her and Jane Krakowski, yes, and Whoopi Goldberg. Yes, all of them. Yeah, I handpicked them myself because I find that they are beautiful people both on the inside and the out, but not nearly as beautiful as moi.

Don’t Attack My President

Yeah, I can’t stand Bush the man or his presidency. And I consider myself a liberal. But I am an American, and I do not appreciate anyone throwing a shoe at my president. And I don’t appreciate my friends on the Left laughing about it.

It took me about half a day after seeing the footage to reach this conclusion. At first I found it funny just because of the sheer farce of it, of course. And I share Conan O’Brien’s impression that Bush was fast at dodging the tossed object. But I am an American, and I am alarmed when the leader of my country is physically attacked.

What really has bothered me was the second shoe. How did this guy ever throw out a second shoe? He should have been flattened to the ground immediately and arrested.

I’ve learned not to speek too much about things I can’t really understand (not exactly a Blogger’s manifesto, huh?). I don’t know what it was like for our Secret Service or how they were limited in their ability to protect him, so I will not presume to know how to better do their job. But as an American who is about to entrust the Secret Service with a new president who makes an attractive target to a racist nutjob, I hope they have everything under control.

Spotswood: ‘Milk’ Misses Key Point on Assassination

Though this column buries the lede, >Dick Spotswood may hold a keen observation:

‘Milk’ is good, but misses the mark on a key point – Marin Independent Journal.

The movie ignored a key fact. The assassinations were primarily about Moscone – not Milk. In the film Moscone was erroneously characterized as a peripheral character. In reality, the murderer’s motivation was a $9,600 part-time job as a district supervisor and a bruised ego. White had impulsively resigned his supervisorial post at a time when his Pier 39 food shop The Hot Potato was failing. Moscone had the duty to appoint his successor.

It was only by chance that Milk was there that morning. White’s murder of Moscone was premeditated, but his murder of Milk was a crime of opportunity. It’s been said that if a few of White’s other adversaries had had the bad luck of being present, they would have found that there was a bullet saved for them as well.