Posts
Monday, April 27, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Garafalo long walk along a short pier...
After hearing the idiotic (though unsurprising) statements made by Garafalo on MSNBC regarding the folks who took part in "tea parties", I initially intended to respond with something to the effect of "Now you see what spending nearly your entire life on anti-depressants and in therapy will do to the logic centers of your brain" or "All she knows about the limbic brain is weak psuedo-scientific garbage she read in old Psychology Today issues while sitting in her shrink's waiting room day after day".
BUT...while searching out a complete copy of her appearance with that schmuck on MSNBC, I came across the following column, posted on the very left, and very liberal, Huffington Post.
Seeing as how these are the very folks she claims to be aligned with in the daily struggle against all things neandrethal (you know: conservatives, Republicans, whites, males, etc), and these same folks are willing to go on record in rebutting her moronic mouthing-off...how could I possibly make a better point than to reprint the article here on my blog (and hope that by giving full credit where it is due, that they don't get peeved enough to complain about my doing so).
Sophia A. Nelson
Posted April 21, 2009 | 10:40 AM (EST)
(last accessed 10am 4-21-09 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sophia-a-nelson/jeanine-garafolo-on-racis_b_189448.html)
Jeanine Garafolo on Racism--Why She is Way off Base
My first response on hearing and then viewing the video clip of Ms. Garofalo on MSNBC last Thursday evening was simply: WOW!
Is this what the Republic is coming to in the 21st Century? Political extremism has gone WILD!
Regular working class and rural, suburban White Americans must feel a bit under assault as of late.
How so you ask? Well, it started in the 2008 primary campaign with off handed comments being made by then candidate Barack Obama about "bitter Americans clinging to their guns and religion", then Senator Clinton started talking about "hardworking white Americans" in Pennsylvania as she desperately needed to carry that state.
Everything was about race in the 2008 Campaign. Former President Bill Clinton was deemed a racist red neck jack asem>s who didn't know when to shut up according to the media, political pundits and many black politicians for his comments during the South Carolina primaries. McCain was deemed a racist simply because he existed and was the GOP standardbearer. Once he picked working class, university of Idaho educated, mother of five Alaska Governor Sara Palin all hell truly broke loose.
I am so sick and tired of RACE. Period. When are we going to get over it? For Real folks. As someone who was an African American studies minor in college, pledged the oldest and most prestigious black women's sorority, was once a loyal card carrying member of the NAACP ( I did not renew my membership after the 2000 election campaign ads that ran against then Gov. George Bush paid for by the NAACP), started a very successful national organization for professional women of color, and I could go and on I am sick of the tearing apart of one set of Americans by their own fellow countrymen.
Yes, I am defending my mostly white (some Tea Party goers were black, Hispanic, etc.) Tea Party attending brethren because enough is enough. On last Thursday's "Countdown," MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and his guest Janeane Garofalo defamed fellow citizens who attended the prior day's Tea Parties with vitriolic contempt. Ms. Garofalo actually called Party-goers "a bunch of teabagging rednecks," adding "this is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up."
She is wrong and she knows nothing about true racism-having never spent a day of her life being black in America. I do know something about racism as I and millions of other people of color have endured and experienced its ugly insidiousness. It is not a word that should be thrown around lightly or recklessly. If we dare not stand in defense of our fellow citizens right to protest peacefully against our/their government then we are giving into a sneaky form of Tyranny. Race has nothing to do with the hardworking, decent American citizens who simply got sick and tired of being overtaxed and outspent by their government and showed up to do something about it.
That is our solemn duties as Americans. This freedom is what makes us the envy of the world.
I am deeply disappointed in the current diaglogue that seems to be developing on the current American horizon. If we don't stop yelling at each other, hurling insults and names, and band together as a nation once again, then those who seek the undoing of their fellow citizens of a different opinion, thought or political stripe had better grasp firmly the old saying "what you gonna do when they come for you?"
Seriously, what could I possibly add to that (other than the not really cool joy of being sarcastic and clever in the direction I intended to go)? Thank you Ms. Nelson for speaking truth, speaking it plainly, and without resorting to the name-calling and cheap-shotting that Olberman and Garafalo so casually threw around.
BUT...while searching out a complete copy of her appearance with that schmuck on MSNBC, I came across the following column, posted on the very left, and very liberal, Huffington Post.
Seeing as how these are the very folks she claims to be aligned with in the daily struggle against all things neandrethal (you know: conservatives, Republicans, whites, males, etc), and these same folks are willing to go on record in rebutting her moronic mouthing-off...how could I possibly make a better point than to reprint the article here on my blog (and hope that by giving full credit where it is due, that they don't get peeved enough to complain about my doing so
Sophia A. Nelson
Posted April 21, 2009 | 10:40 AM (EST)
(last accessed 10am 4-21-09 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sophia-a-nelson/jeanine-garafolo-on-racis_b_189448.html)
Jeanine Garafolo on Racism--Why She is Way off Base
My first response on hearing and then viewing the video clip of Ms. Garofalo on MSNBC last Thursday evening was simply: WOW!
Is this what the Republic is coming to in the 21st Century? Political extremism has gone WILD!
Regular working class and rural, suburban White Americans must feel a bit under assault as of late.
How so you ask? Well, it started in the 2008 primary campaign with off handed comments being made by then candidate Barack Obama about "bitter Americans clinging to their guns and religion", then Senator Clinton started talking about "hardworking white Americans" in Pennsylvania as she desperately needed to carry that state.
Everything was about race in the 2008 Campaign. Former President Bill Clinton was deemed a racist red neck jack asem>s who didn't know when to shut up according to the media, political pundits and many black politicians for his comments during the South Carolina primaries. McCain was deemed a racist simply because he existed and was the GOP standardbearer. Once he picked working class, university of Idaho educated, mother of five Alaska Governor Sara Palin all hell truly broke loose.
I am so sick and tired of RACE. Period. When are we going to get over it? For Real folks. As someone who was an African American studies minor in college, pledged the oldest and most prestigious black women's sorority, was once a loyal card carrying member of the NAACP ( I did not renew my membership after the 2000 election campaign ads that ran against then Gov. George Bush paid for by the NAACP), started a very successful national organization for professional women of color, and I could go and on I am sick of the tearing apart of one set of Americans by their own fellow countrymen.
Yes, I am defending my mostly white (some Tea Party goers were black, Hispanic, etc.) Tea Party attending brethren because enough is enough. On last Thursday's "Countdown," MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and his guest Janeane Garofalo defamed fellow citizens who attended the prior day's Tea Parties with vitriolic contempt. Ms. Garofalo actually called Party-goers "a bunch of teabagging rednecks," adding "this is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up."
She is wrong and she knows nothing about true racism-having never spent a day of her life being black in America. I do know something about racism as I and millions of other people of color have endured and experienced its ugly insidiousness. It is not a word that should be thrown around lightly or recklessly. If we dare not stand in defense of our fellow citizens right to protest peacefully against our/their government then we are giving into a sneaky form of Tyranny. Race has nothing to do with the hardworking, decent American citizens who simply got sick and tired of being overtaxed and outspent by their government and showed up to do something about it.
That is our solemn duties as Americans. This freedom is what makes us the envy of the world.
I am deeply disappointed in the current diaglogue that seems to be developing on the current American horizon. If we don't stop yelling at each other, hurling insults and names, and band together as a nation once again, then those who seek the undoing of their fellow citizens of a different opinion, thought or political stripe had better grasp firmly the old saying "what you gonna do when they come for you?"
Seriously, what could I possibly add to that (other than the not really cool joy of being sarcastic and clever in the direction I intended to go)? Thank you Ms. Nelson for speaking truth, speaking it plainly, and without resorting to the name-calling and cheap-shotting that Olberman and Garafalo so casually threw around.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The coolest thing yet in 2009...
I'm sure you've heard about it by now, probably even seen at least a clip about it; but this is an event that is worth passing around for a long time to come (I have watched it 5 times now, and I tear up and get a lump wedged in my throat every time).
On the English TV show "Britian's Got Talent", an average middle-aged Scottish woman amazed the entire audience, and much of the world with her unbelievable performance.
The "nearly 48" year old woman, Susan Boyle, is an unemployed church volunteer who lives alone with her cat, and claims she has never been kissed. A plain-looking average woman with graying hair and a double-chin, she received snickers, jeers, and rolling eyes from the audience and the judges when she matter-of-factly said she dreams of having a singing career the equal of Elaine Page.
Page is often referred to as the First Lady of British Musical Theatre and has numerous awards and platinum albums to her credit.
But before she had finished the first verse, all the snide attitudes and outburts had stopped dead, and were quickly replaced with looks of utter shock, and cheers of glee as Boyle sang "I Dreamed A Dream" from the musical Les Miserables, a song about a hard-luck woman whose life of misfortune has stolen her youth and her dreams.
With a very rich, seasoned, and powerfully controlled voice, Boyle's performance and choice of song brought a roaring crowd to standing ovation and many in the audience were brought to tears.
(View the performance HERE)
Her brassy tenacity is a hoot as she trades jibes with the judges, and to face all that nasty animosity and stand there and perform anyway was a lesson in courage we all can afford to take note of.
Since the show, people have viewed her performance ala YouTube, MySpace and others over 100 MILLION times in less than 2 weeks (That's more than 5 times as often as Obama's victory speech!), and will likley be the most viewed of all time very soon. Her Wiki page has also been viewed more than a half million times, and a Facebook fan page has over a million members.
Since the Scotland Daily Record discovered a CD produced for charity in 1999 that contains Boyle singing the old jazz standard (and one of my all-time personal favorites) "Cry Me A River" her online popularity just keeps rising.
(Listen to "Cry Me A River" below)
Simon Cowell, one of the judges, and a judge on American Idol told TV Guide, "I'm thrilled to bits for her. That's why I love making these shows. You can't plan for it."
This incident is one of those very rare occasions where the world gets a reminder of how insensitive and full of ourselves we to often are, and one of those rarer occasions where a very average, humble, never even been kissed nobody of a lady is finally rewarded in life by getting to be the one to make us all eat a little crow.
Shame on all of us, and hooray for you Susan! Enjoy it for all it's worth!
On the English TV show "Britian's Got Talent", an average middle-aged Scottish woman amazed the entire audience, and much of the world with her unbelievable performance.
The "nearly 48" year old woman, Susan Boyle, is an unemployed church volunteer who lives alone with her cat, and claims she has never been kissed. A plain-looking average woman with graying hair and a double-chin, she received snickers, jeers, and rolling eyes from the audience and the judges when she matter-of-factly said she dreams of having a singing career the equal of Elaine Page.
Page is often referred to as the First Lady of British Musical Theatre and has numerous awards and platinum albums to her credit.
But before she had finished the first verse, all the snide attitudes and outburts had stopped dead, and were quickly replaced with looks of utter shock, and cheers of glee as Boyle sang "I Dreamed A Dream" from the musical Les Miserables, a song about a hard-luck woman whose life of misfortune has stolen her youth and her dreams.
With a very rich, seasoned, and powerfully controlled voice, Boyle's performance and choice of song brought a roaring crowd to standing ovation and many in the audience were brought to tears.
(View the performance HERE)
Her brassy tenacity is a hoot as she trades jibes with the judges, and to face all that nasty animosity and stand there and perform anyway was a lesson in courage we all can afford to take note of.
Since the show, people have viewed her performance ala YouTube, MySpace and others over 100 MILLION times in less than 2 weeks (That's more than 5 times as often as Obama's victory speech!), and will likley be the most viewed of all time very soon. Her Wiki page has also been viewed more than a half million times, and a Facebook fan page has over a million members.
Since the Scotland Daily Record discovered a CD produced for charity in 1999 that contains Boyle singing the old jazz standard (and one of my all-time personal favorites) "Cry Me A River" her online popularity just keeps rising.
(Listen to "Cry Me A River" below)
Simon Cowell, one of the judges, and a judge on American Idol told TV Guide, "I'm thrilled to bits for her. That's why I love making these shows. You can't plan for it."
This incident is one of those very rare occasions where the world gets a reminder of how insensitive and full of ourselves we to often are, and one of those rarer occasions where a very average, humble, never even been kissed nobody of a lady is finally rewarded in life by getting to be the one to make us all eat a little crow.
Shame on all of us, and hooray for you Susan! Enjoy it for all it's worth!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
