The media always jumps at the chance to describe Black men as angry, many times missing the mark. Now that congress turned its back on the 90% of Americans who wanted something as simple as background checks (which many already thought was law) Obama’s pissed and so are we.
On today’s #TWiBRadio, we talk about a failing senate, athletes who should leave political statements alone, and the psychic liberal media that speaks through Family Guy cutaways.
Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe On Stitcher| Direct Download | RSS
And this morning on #amTWiB, #TheMorningCrew – discusses the continued investigation into Michele Bachmann’s 2012 campaign, Gabby Gifford’s moving piece on gun legislation, and a scientific discovery on Black America’s Y-Chromosome.
Subscribe on iTunes| Subscribe On Stitcher| Direct Download| RSS
Redshirt
Exactly right. The media has been waiting for the first time Obama exhibits even the slightest hint of anger in order to deploy the “ANGRY BLACK MAN!” myth.
Arclite
Yup, they love to blow that dog whistle.
Corner Stone
Call me whatever you like but I for one am glad he’s angry. It doesn’t make me conjure up visions of rampaging black males. I recognize a president who has a passion for some important item on an agenda of items.
This is just a bs meme, IMO.
The Other Chuck
No, Angry Black Man is Samuel L. Jackson.
I personally would love to see Obama get medieval on their asses.
Keith G
@Redshirt:
“The media”?
I am thinking that you painting with a very broad brush and engaging in a sort of stereotyping that serves to dilute an important central issue.
jl
I don’t watch enough cable news media to know whether they are are going all in wrt to the angry black man meme. I know wingnut bloggers have tried it out for a spin, but they do that on a regular basis anyway regardless of how he acts.
I don’t think Obama was particularly angry given the circumstances, and given the history of angry cranky presidentin’ episodes in the post WWII U.S.
What with Truman, Ike, LBJ, Nixon (whew boy…) and even Dub.
I think serious, determined, and stern are better characterizations.
But bigots gotta bigot, and there are plenty of those among the VSP media divas.
WereBear
He may be angry but he’s not out of control in any way. It was a dressing down, and well-deserved.
Call the lies, lies, Mr. President. Thank you.
jl
What we need is Biden coming out yelling “I am TIRED of these **** GOPers in this **** Congress!”
jl
Sorry, got the lines wrong.
Snakes on a Plane, THE line
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amYzBQMT4VI
Now, that would be angry.
Alison
And even here, where he’s obviously, and appropriately, irritated and disgusted and contemptuous, he’s still incredibly even and concise and civil. I don’t doubt that, like the rest of us, part of him wishes he could get up there and be like THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PIECES OF SHIT. To me, that he is always able to be so controlled and clear even when obviously upset gives the big ass lie to the angry black man stereotype.
Gravenstone
Yeah, just stopped by another site I used to frequent before heading over here. One of the local wingers decided to take issue with Obama expressing anger after Manchin-Toomey got smothered, yet he had the temerity to remain even toned while speaking after the Boston explosions. It was almost enough to prompt me to actually log back in and ream him out for it (and he’s largely the reason I left in the first place), but frankly the fucker’s not worth it. I might mention he’s an entitled rich fuck who made his monies as a stock analyst for a large investment house. Yeah, he’s a symbol of everything fucked up about this country in one simple, easy to hate package.
TooManyJens
@jl: I don’t know about the country, but I need that.
Baud
Obama was always an Angry Black Man, just as he was always lazy and always hated real America. The memes are invioable — the only thing that fluctuates from time to time is the amount of evidence that can be cited in support of them.
JPL
@TooManyJens: this
jl
@Baud:
Helpless in-over-his sadsack ineffectual (or is it ‘inadequate’?) clueless unable-to-lead black man, or evile omnipotent shape-shifting time traveling arch-villain anti-Christ. Gee, so hard to figure out this subtle difference between the two, hard to say exactly what Obama is, ain’t it?
eemom
Angry white woman here — i.e., angry as shit to live in a country where piece of shit 25 cent NRA whores rule the Senate. I can haz my own meme plz? kthxbai.
Redshirt
Biden’s head looks abnormally large in that still.
Omnes Omnibus
@eemom: Happy white man here. Just waiting for an open thread.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
I thought you said open throat. I was quite taken aback.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: Interesting. Could result in happiness, I suppose.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
I thought the recent experience with reddit might have changed you.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: No, I am aware that is purports to be a family and pet friendly establishment.
Arclite
@Alison:
Hey Alison, regarding Argo. I don’t recall any gory scenes. It’s rated R for language mostly (Finally! People talk like they talk in real life!). There are some distant shots of hung people.
From Parentpreviews:
Calouste
@The Other Chuck:
Ving Rhames, not Samuel L. Jackson, is the actor saying the “mediaeval” quote.
Mnemosyne
@jl:
I can tell you’re not from the Midwest, because I have seen Obama angry plenty of times, but rarely this angry. You know that way he gets very. precise. with. his. words? If a Midwesterner does that, you are in the very deepest shit of your entire life and if you don’t fucking shut up and listen, you are going to walk out with a new asshole ripped for you. Firmly and politely.
The fact that Obama doesn’t throw a temper tantrum like Chris Christie and make a big demonstration like a three-year-old doesn’t mean he’s not angry.
Omnes Omnibus
@Calouste: Jackson has the whole “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the
tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you!” speech though, so it’s cool.
jl
@Mnemosyne:
Truman and Eisenhower were from the midwest too, and IIRC from clips and documentaries, they could be angry and cranky in ways Obama has never dreamed of, at least in public.
They had different styles. I think Eisenhower had a high quotient of cranky sputtering old man in his anger. And Truman, of course, swore and threatened to punch out various lights and smash balls.
Anyway, compared to previous presidents, we have define ‘angry’ way down to get to Obama. Which is a credit to Obama. And also a rebuke to bigots and partisan propagandists masquerading as pundits and newspeople who make up stuff.
Edit: re Eisenhower, kind of a like a cranky old man would sputter and mutter at his damn power mower when it wouldn’t start, and then stomp off back into the house. Definite ‘sputter and putter’ approach to anger. And both Truman and Ike, being white men, could do fabricated anger demos to accomplish various political points, which Obama is not free to do, or at least does not think he is free to do.
I personally, think Obama could pull it off, in appropriate circumstances, and average voter, white or otherwise would not lose their shit over angry black man nonsense.
eric nny
Elon, your anger is scaring me.
Bruce S
Yeah, but that white guy standing next to Obama looks REALLY pissed!
The Other Bob
The thing I cannot understand is how parents of Newtown control their anger. I was expecting a bomb to go off in NRA’s HQ, not Boston.
Ben Franklin
I saw ’42’ yesterday and was glad to find that Jackie Robinson was a VERY angry black man.
I respect that.
Ben Franklin
WTF Elon? You preempted Cole? (turnabout is fair play)
Ben Franklin
The question remains; Is Obama really angry? Is this just kabuki?
Darkrose
@Mnemosyne: Oooh, yeah. When my mother got mad, she’d scream and curse. My father, on the other hand was an incredibly calm, soft-spoken man. When he got that tone, like Obama has? I KNEW I was in deep shit.
Alison
@Arclite: Hey, thanks! Sounds like it’s doable for me then :) I’m really sensitive to graphic stuff and I hate not knowing what to expect going into a movie.
AxelFoley
@eemom:
What else is new? ;)
Chyron HR
@Ben Franklin:
It’s impressive that you can hate Obama both for trying to “grab” your precious guns and also because his gun grabbing is just “kabuki”.
Omnes Omnibus
@Chyron HR: There is one constant.
GR
The Onion has a couple of articles up about this that are so full of rage, they barely contain satire or humor. Can’t blame them at all.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/i-won,32106/
http://www.theonion.com/articles/the-onions-tips-for-passing-gun-control-legislatio,32103/
Ben Franklin
@Chyron HR:
It’s impressive that you can hate Obama both for trying to “grab” your precious guns and also because his gun grabbing is just “kabuki”.
Christ. Yer projection is awwwwessssome. I don’t hate Obama, I hate the sin. He’s just another victim of the Black?White dichotomy. I will say this. He has the consistency of
Granite/Playdough.
Mnemosyne
@GR:
This one’s even better:
Ben Franklin
Add to this; 20,000 children die of malnutrition every day Worldwide, but….NEWTOWN !!!
Mnemosyne
@Ben Franklin:
I realize that psychopaths like yourself have a difficult time understand or interpreting human emotion, so we’ll clear it up for you: yes, he’s angry.
I realize that you were totally unmoved by the deaths of 26 people at Sandy Hook, but yours is, thankfully, the minority position.
Mnemosyne
@Ben Franklin:
Ah, yes, the old favorite: you care equally about all of the children’s deaths in the world, which means that you don’t care about any of them.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ben Franklin: Cram it up your ass. Okay?
S. Holland
@Alison: Amen, perfectly expressed my thoughts!
Ben Franklin
@Mnemosyne:
thanks for the clarification….mmmppfffff !!!
Ben Franklin
@Omnes Omnibus:
a passion-filled retort. Congrats, Counselor.
Mnemosyne
@Ben Franklin:
Well, we have to try to explain human behavior to you sometimes since you seem to find it puzzling that people are sad when children are gunned down at school.
Corner Stone
@Mnemosyne:
I’m so sick of this stupid fucking line. Shut the fuck up about how midwesterners are so dangerously angry when they don’t show anger.
It just sounds ridiculous to imagine some adult saying this out loud.
OmerosPeanut
He’s not even that angry. It struck me more as a profound disappointment and disgust with Congress. I don’t know how he managed that level of control over his emotions as I would have been livid.
rikyrah
Go Mr. President!!
Redshirt
I love Barack Obama and Family!
Cygil
The background check measure was not defeated. It was filibustered. It never got to a vote.
So now the media has accepted the Senate effectively has a 60 vote supermajority requirement for all legislation, now?
Of course the Democrats should have just abolished the damn thing when they had the chance. And Obama should have instructed Biden, using his position as Senate President, to push for abolishing the Senate fillibuster.
Corner Stone
@OmerosPeanut: I thought he was more like, “You pathetic assholes. Now I have to look these hurting people in the face and explain you’re a fucking bought and paid for coward? G-D it.”
Cassidy
@Corner Stone: Kind of like the myth about how rugged and independent texans are.
White Trash Liberal
@Cygil:
In this instance, Harry Reid set the threshold at 60 in order to avoid NRA friendly amendments from getting simple majorities.
Personally, I am torn on filibuster reform. I would rather have gridlock than simple majority up or down voted with the tea party controlling the House.
Corner Stone
@Cassidy: You’re such a sad little man. What you posted is a non sequitur and doesn’t actually make any sense in the context of my criticism.
But keep fucking that librarian or whatever stupid nonsense phrase you come up with next.