Thursday, June 12th, 2008

"Baby Mama" Drama For Michelle Obama

2008’s Imus moment went down last night.

Where else? On Fox News.

A chyron on the following clip from Fox News reads “Outraged Liberals: Stop Picking On Obama’s Baby Mama!”

Nice to be reminded of how far we’ve come in this post-racial nation from, um, “Nappy Headed Hos”.

Or maybe last week with that “Terrorist Jab” fist-bump.

Here’s the video. Check out Michelle Malkin for added irony.

I’m certain you’ll be hearing about this a lot more from my esteemed Vibe bloggers and many others–Oprah, where ya at?–but in the meantime, some questions…

Damn. If Hillary brought out the misogyny in (far too many) pundits, where are they headed with Michelle?

Will Hillary supporters so outraged by sexism they are vowing to vote for McCain come back to the fold now? Or will they, as Tim Wise wrote last week, continue to let their whiteness show?

Are those male civil rights leaders going to make any noise about this? You know who I’m talking about.

Will Fox News blame their stupidity on hip-hop?

posted by Jeff Chang @ 8:29 am | 4 Comments

4 Responses to “"Baby Mama" Drama For Michelle Obama”

w&w says:

June 12, 2008 at 1:39 pm

“gratuitous cheap shots” — you don’t say, michelle?

the ironies abound.
The Nightshift Chronicler says:

June 13, 2008 at 5:38 am

we could also blame tina fey and amy poehler for this kind on nonsense.
Ben Atkinson says:

June 14, 2008 at 4:10 pm

John Scalzi captured the heart of the matter.

http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=870

Fox News Would Like To Take a Moment To Remind You That the Obamas Are As Black As Satan’s Festering, Baby-Eating Soul

Published by John Scalzi at 11:22 am

Money quote:

“…It’s shit like this that makes this story on CNN, about whether Barack Obama should be considered black or biracial, an absolute hoot. Here’s a quick test on whether Obama should be considered fully black: Poof! Barack Obama has been magically transported to a KKK meeting in deepest, whitest Klanistan without his Secret Service detail. There’s a rope and a tree nearby. What happens to Obama? If you say, “why, Barack Obama walks out of there alive, of course” then sure, he’s biracial. Also, you’re a fucking idiot. To everybody who cares about Obama’s racial identity, either positively or negatively, the man is a black man, married to a black woman, who has black children. Black black black black black black black black.

It sure as hell matters to Fox News, which is why it’s dog whistling about Barack so loudly that it’s vibrating the windows. Calling Michelle Obama a “baby mama” isn’t just Fox News having a happy casual larf; it’s using urban slang to a) remind you the Obamas are black, b) belittle a woman of considerable personal accomplishment, and c) frame Barack Obama’s relationship to his wife and children in a way that insults him, minimizes his love for and commitment to his family, and reinforces stereotypes about black men. Someone at Fox News just ought to call Barack Obama “boy” at some point so we can have all the cards right out there on the table…”
Colin Ehara says:

June 23, 2008 at 11:18 am

Mr. Chang,
Ive never commented here before, but I want you to know that as a young APIAmerikan Hip-Hoppa, you are someone whose work I admire, look up to and deeply respect. “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop generation,” is one of my favortie pieces of lit. ever and I recommend it to every Hip-Hoppa I know.

Michelle Obama > Michelle Malkin (is an understatement),

C

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