Also? Serious Business.
Posting on a whim on a Friday night. It’s fun when people are awake all over the world and stuff. Awesomeness, right ahead!
I’m watching Real Time with Bill Maher. I just got annoyed with Michael Moore (whose films I enjoy) because he said about Obama, “With all due respect, it’s time to take off the pink tutu.” Really? Are we still talking about political power in terms of who has a vagina and who doesn’t? Who is a pussy and who isn’t? FAIL.
Then Michael Moore proceeds to annoy me further by talking about how Obama isn’t doing enough: “He has the power to do so many things without Congress, and he should use that power for the next two years. He has regulatory power; he can issue edicts and orders…” Really? Isn’t that why you hated Dubya?
And then Bill Maher interrupts and says something that literally made me choke on my cheesy toast:
“And you know why it’s so disappointing, I thought when we elected a black president, I thought two years in, I would be making jokes about “What a bad ass gangsta he was…”
DO YOU SEE? THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!
A couple weeks ago, I stated that black men don’t have the luxury to get “mad as hell.” People got mad as hell at me. Called me the usual: Obot, weak, zombie defender; someone may have told me to fuck off. Who can remember? Those were heady times.
But honestly, y’all. This is what I’m talking about. I like Bill Maher. I like Michael Moore. But at a base level, I don’t think they get it. And, I don’t want to “play the race card.” I don’t want to throw out the standard, “It’s a black thing,” because I know it drives white folks crazy. When my father and I are talking about something… anything… and my mom asks what we’re talking about, my dad will say “It’s a black thing. You wouldn’t understand.” And then he’ll grin at me. He thinks it’s hilarious (and he doesn’t know that phrase is sooooo 1990.) But he gets the reaction he wants. It pisses my mom off. Not in an “I’m actually angry” way, but in a “goddamnit, I hate that! Is there something to it? Goddamnit, this sucks!” way.
So, that’s my question to all of you. Are some things just a [insert whatever] thing? A gay thing; an Asian thing; a g-thang, whatever. Do you feel like you have some experience that makes you better able to understand the nuances of a situation? Or do you think it’s a bullshit cop-out to claim ownership over a particular issue?
It’s midnight on the West Coast. Is anyone awake?
[For those who are curious, check out my new FAQ.]
Check it out. Over here at Balloon Juice.
The internets is 2 damn big!
[image via Dinosaur Comics, which I love, but really? "indubidibly"? T-Rexes are better than that.]
Looks like Bill Maher may have had a “holy crap the Republicans are nuts” epiphany. From Mediaite:
