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Joan Walsh on Matt Welch's "strange slur" and "racial nuttiness"
In my column about Barack Obama's health care speech yesterday, I described the president's "we will call you out" warning to lying Republicans as "a nearly Snoop Doggesque display," linking to a great new Snoop video whose chorus is "we will shut you down."
DING! DING! DING! We have a racial nut! Salon Editor in Chief Joan Walsh is on the case:
Every time I think I'm exaggerating the nature of the racial nuttiness that Obama faces, an ostensibly tolerant, smart guy like Welch does something boneheaded like this. What in God's name does Snoop Dogg have to do with Barack Obama (besides the obvious). Snoop's chorus is some variation on, "I run this town, act loud, get wild, we'll shut you down!" Oh, I get it: Obama runs Washington, and he threatened to call out people who lie about his proposals, and...that's the same thing?
Appreciate that "ostensibly," Joan. Probably even more than Michael Steele appreciated you schooling him on hip-hop.
You can find my response in Walsh's piece. Short answer: WTF? And since she quoted my e-mail to her, I'll quote her initial query to me, which is hilarious:
I think that line in your piece will go down in history as one of the dumbest white-boy outbursts in the history of covering Obama. Then I clicked on the video. Are you thinking about walking it back, as they say in DC?
I also recommend her highly entertaining white-girl Twitter outbursts on the subject, such as:
Twitter poll: Is "We will call you out" a black phrase? Kind of a black phrase? Urban? Street? Or Snoop Doggesque? (Someone called it that.)
Final bonus irony link: My last published Salon piece, in which I encourage Democrats to embrace the "viciously profane yet pragmatic demonstrations of tolerance" embodied in the great HBO series Deadwood.
Josh|9.11.09 @ 11:49AM|#
What is life like for the Obama Criticism Police? Is it fulfilling? Do they feel like they're making a difference? I just can't fathom the motivation behind trawling the internet trying to find a way to accuse strangers of racism.
Matt Welch|9.11.09 @ 11:51AM|#
I just can't fathom the motivation behind trawling the
internet trying to find a way to accuse strangers of
racism.
What's even better is that we're not strangers; we've swam in the
same pool together!
|9.11.09 @ 11:51AM|#
I love how she throws out her own racial slur in response to
your alleged racial slur. Yeah Matt, you are just a bitter white
boy.
Matt, this is who these people are. They are ignorant, pigheaded
and narrow minded. There is nothing interesting or good about them.
They kind of thought you were one of them. But, once you criticized
the Obamasiah, that is it. You are not better than Rush
Limbaugh.
|9.11.09 @ 11:52AM|#
"What's even better is that we're not strangers; we've swam in
the same pool together!"
Matt, you are out of the pool now. You are nothing but a gun
clinging, racist white boy now. Welcome to the club.
|9.11.09 @ 11:53AM|#
And what exactly does this chick bring to the table??
Terry
www.online-privacy.es.tc
|9.11.09 @ 11:53AM|#
Matt is gaining much respect from me.
Is it now a "slur" to compare someone to me? What is your problem
with me anyway Joan Walsh?! You don't like blacks?
And Yes "we will call you out" is a phrase often used by kids on
"The Real World". It is a pop-culture type phrase that is
unbecoming of someone who is suppsed to be a intellectual.
Either that or Matt really is a closet racist...I heard he has been
associated with Ron Paul types and we know what that means.
|9.11.09 @ 11:54AM|#
Matt, how can you even stand to be accused of racism? It must be
so humiliating for you, and your family.
Will you be moving to 'Pariah Village Apartments' now?
White Males|9.11.09 @ 11:57AM|#
We're so oppressed, John. Nothing harder than being a straight, white Republican male in America today. No sir.
|9.11.09 @ 12:01PM|#
John | September 11, 2009, 11:51am | #
I love how she throws out her own racial slur in response to your
alleged racial slur. Yeah Matt, you are just a bitter white
boy.
Matt, this is who these people are. They are ignorant, pigheaded
and narrow minded. There is nothing interesting or good about them.
They kind of thought you were one of them. But, once you criticized
the Obamasiah, that is it. You are not better than Rush
Limbaugh.
And immediately a leftist troll comes in to prove my point
White Males | September 11, 2009, 11:57am | #
We're so oppressed, John. Nothing harder than being a straight,
white Republican male in America today. No sir.
|9.11.09 @ 12:02PM|#
I do think it rather odd that many leftists feel the need to be
hypersensitive about racism on behalf of the President of the
United States' behalf. You know, the guy a large number of
people voted for. The most powerful man in the world, etc.,
etc.
And while, yes, a lot of those people would like that vote back,
it's not because they suddenly noticed that he was black.
|9.11.09 @ 12:02PM|#
"John, What do you mean "these people"??? :-)"
LOL. I think over-educated race obsessed guilty white people in the
media would cover most of them.
|9.11.09 @ 12:07PM|#
Speaking of the race shield around Obama, I wonder how much more
criticism he'd be withstanding now if it weren't for the fear many
have of being labeled a racist for criticizing him? It's definitely
a factor. The man is looking almost totally unqualified for the
office, yet few want to publicly acknowledge the fact.
And his lack of qualifications or leadership ability has nothing to
do with his race, sex, national origin, or religion.
Citizen Nothing|9.11.09 @ 12:08PM|#
I ask, yet again, how can Jack Shafer refrain from going up to
Joan Walsh and kicking her right in the nuts?
The man must have a will of iron.
$|9.11.09 @ 12:08PM|#
Is "We will call you out" a black phrase?
I don't know to what depth her ignorance is feigned in that
apophatic question, but "call you out" used to be a thing
only black people said, until black people started saying it in
songs that only white people listen to, so now only white people
affecting a veneer of blackness say it.
Snoop's probably wasn't the right name to drop, but it would have
been contextually awkward to call the phrase "Obamaesque," wouldn't
it?
anon|9.11.09 @ 12:10PM|#
I heard the line "we will call you out" as a Fremen challenge. As in, I Barack Muad'Dib Obama, the all-now-seeing Kwizats Haderach, will fight you to the death for leadership of the seitch.
JB|9.11.09 @ 12:12PM|#
Joan Walsh is a really dumb cunt.
Oh, and that isn't sexist because I call Obama a 'cunt' as
well.
|9.11.09 @ 12:14PM|#
Matt--You should have linked her to the Tea Par-tay! video
instead.
No, wait, that showed white people having fun. Racist.
Jonas|9.11.09 @ 12:14PM|#
You know, I wouldn't mind so much that Joan Walsh thinks Matt is
a racist if it weren't for the fact that she uses it to avoid
discussing the substantive arguments in his article. It's like
these people DIG for something to call racist just so they can use
a Dwight K. Schrutesque "shun" technique to pretend like nothing
else was even said.
It's kind of like: I genuinely think that a lot of sexism was
involved in attacks on Sarah Palin. People belittled her for being
good-looking, or for being a mother, or called her a "diva", etc.
But just because some people were sexist about opposing her doesn't
mean they didn't also have legitimate complaints about her
politics. And I think for the most part Republicans owned up to the
legitimate complaints.
But if there's even a WHIFF of racism in somebody's critique of
Obama (and frankly even if there's not), then people are brushed
aside by the Democrats as being "militant right-wingers" or "latent
racists" or "lying naysayers"... it's NEVER the case that Obama
could be WRONG about something!
|9.11.09 @ 12:15PM|#
Man, that is so wack.
Will the real Matt Welch please stand up? Please stand up? Please
stand up?
Tim Cavanaugh|9.11.09 @ 12:16PM|#
Maybe you should have said "Krushchevian." I know Krushchev said "We will bury you," though I don't subscribe to that point of view.
|9.11.09 @ 12:17PM|#
It's funny that Walsh cites Urban
Dictionary and then cherry picks the only definition related to
gaming while ignoring those related to hip-hop culture:
"6. call out
When someone wants to fight you...
Yo, dat kid nick is callin you outtt kidd.."
"7. call out
to start a battle in:cwalken, clown walken, blood walken(fuck
bloodz), beatboxin, flowin, etc.
ey yo..i heard jay called out ryan and ryan got faded"
It's also funny that a middle-aged, middle-class white female has
to refer to Urban Dictionary.com to understand pop culture
references.
As an aside, I'd like to see an Obama vs. Michael Steele crip-walk
dance-off to settle their respective street creds once and for all.
Is that racist of me?
|9.11.09 @ 12:18PM|#
Whoa, whoa, whoa. "Call you out" is not a hip-hop phrase. Back when dueling was common, one called out an offender to invite him to a duel. I think that term somewhat predates Snoop.
Craig|9.11.09 @ 12:18PM|#
Any politician should be honored to be compared to someone useful like an accomplished entertainer. Now if you had compared Obama's fiscal policies to those of Zimbabwe, she could call you a racist all day long, because we would know you're not talking about inflation!
Matt Welch|9.11.09 @ 12:18PM|#
I ask, yet again, how can Jack Shafer refrain from going up
to Joan Walsh and kicking her right in the nuts?
They work for different publications.
|9.11.09 @ 12:19PM|#
Matt--Maybe you need to tune your dog whistle? It's off-note tone could be the problem.
|9.11.09 @ 12:20PM|#
Apparently the extreme caution Reason writers exhibit in racial matters isn't enough to keep even their acquantices from labeling their dissent racism. I apologize for giving you trouble for your warranted tenderfootedness.
Matt Welch|9.11.09 @ 12:20PM|#
Whoa, whoa, whoa. "Call you out" is not a hip-hop
phrase.
Who said it was?
|9.11.09 @ 12:21PM|#
In the Age of Obama, everyone will be racist for 15
minutes.
I was called a racist a couple of days ago for make some offhand
criticism of cash for clunkers and nationalizing the car companies.
I didn't even mention Obama. It was a first for me and my accuser
was shocked that I was laughing about the accusation.
Citizen Nothing|9.11.09 @ 12:23PM|#
Ah, sorry, Matt. Salon, Slate. Those people all look alike to me.
|9.11.09 @ 12:23PM|#
Matt,
I didn't mean that you were doing that; it just sounded like
everyone was missing the older use of the term. Referring to some
old dueling phrase would've had the impact of a wet sponge without
the more modern usage noted, I agree.
|9.11.09 @ 12:24PM|#
Back when dueling was common,
Isn't that also when slave owning was common? Racist.
Tony|9.11.09 @ 12:25PM|#
But if there's even a WHIFF of racism in somebody's critique of Obama (and frankly even if there's not), then people are brushed aside by the Democrats as being "militant right-wingers" or "latent racists" or "lying naysayers"... it's NEVER the case that Obama could be WRONG about something
Here's the thing. So much of the criticism is simply not based in
fact. Few people seem to be against his actual legislative
priorities: they're just ranting hysterically about socialism and
what not. Given the right's history with racial code language and
racial resentment, don't be surprised if liberals are a little
touchy when old, angry southern white guys are going nuts arguing
against not any specific policy proposal that exists in reality but
truly the mere fact that Obama is president. The sentiment "We want
our country back" may not have a molecule of racism behind it, but
it does pose the question of who exactly "we" is supposed to
be.
|9.11.09 @ 12:25PM|#
I screwed that up. First, I should've said the "impact of a
white glove"; second, I should've called out someone.
Dammit.
Citizen Nothing|9.11.09 @ 12:25PM|#
In the Age of Obama, everyone will be racist for 15
minutes.
You could be on to something. Even Obama is racist, according to
Glenn Beck.
Wouldn't it be something if it was our racism that brought us all
together?
|9.11.09 @ 12:25PM|#
I would like to ask Joan "what is so wrong with Snoop Dog?" Last I saw he was doing Crysler commercials and coaching his kid's high school football team. The guy is a regular Ward Clever these days.
|9.11.09 @ 12:27PM|#
"Few people seem to be against his actual legislative
priorities"
Yes because Welch and the Reason staff never had a problem with an
increased government role in healthcare until a black guy started
pushing it. Further, Republicans were just pussycats when Hillary
wanted to socialize medicine. They only got angry when a black guy
proposed it. God you are stupid Tony.
JB|9.11.09 @ 12:30PM|#
In the Age of Obama, everyone will be racist for 15
minutes.
We is all racist now!
I do wonder if these people (Leftists, morons, whoever) realize
that they are creating more actual racists by claiming everyone is
racist. 'Hell, if I'm going to be called a racist for nothing, I
might as well earn it.'
Folks like Joan Walsh are definitely spouting prejudice and likely
creating more of it: 'Poor wittle Obama is a poor unfortunate
minority who needs strong whitey Joan to defend him.'
|9.11.09 @ 12:31PM|#
Can I spread some friendly pox on both your blankets? (A bit
more goes on Joan's than yours.)
Matt is right that variants on "don't make me call you out" scan
completely legibly as "black" - for lack of a better shorthand.
Soon after O said "we will call you out" my entire twitter network
- mostly Brooklyn style black media types, for purposes of social
location - lit up with pleased "Ha!"s of recognition. (The twitter
angle actually makes Joan's confusion a bit odd considering that a
lot of those folks are part of her network; look at the "will call
you out" tweets from folks associated with TheRoot.com, for
example.)
But that said, though, Joan (perhaps owing to being a bit older
than Matt?) is inadvertently on to something in thinking that Snoop
is all wrong as a way to describe O's use of the phrase. Calling
someone out is something an older man does, and you can imagine
Bernie Mac or Steve Harvey doing it much more readily than
Snoop.
So yes, Joan is pretty thoroughly off base, but yes: it would have
been nice if the first black male reference to pop into Matt's head
wasn't a (semi-random) rapper.
I will say that there is a way in which Snoop could make sense, in
that there has always been a
50-year-old-man-in-a-(stoned)-30-year-old-man's-body thing to his
schtick. And his current incarnation as reality TV dad definitely
has him on a trajectory that ends somewhere in Bernie Mac land. But
this is where I turn in a certain kind of black asshole and say
that I just don't think Matt's racial CCD (or is that printer?)
comes with enough pixels to properly render that distinction, so I
doubt this is what he meant by reaching for Snoop. But I could be
wrong.
Mike Laursen|9.11.09 @ 12:31PM|#
Twitter poll: Is "We will call you out" a black phrase? Kind
of a black phrase? Urban? Street? Or Snoop Doggesque? (Someone
called it that.)
Isn't "to call someone out" originally a Western movie gunfight
scene cliche?
Citizen Nothing|9.11.09 @ 12:34PM|#
--I ask, yet again, how can Jack Shafer refrain from going
up to Joan Walsh and kicking her right in the nuts?
-- They work for different publications.
After careful consideration, I declare that this still shouldn't
let Shafer off the hook.
I will say that there is a way in which Snoop could make sense,
in that there has always been a
50-year-old-man-in-a-(stoned)-30-year-old-man's-body thing to his
schtick
BING BING BING!!! WE HAVE A WINNER!
|9.11.09 @ 12:36PM|#
In the Age of Obama, everyone will be racist for 15
minutes.
It's the Mendacity of Hope!
|9.11.09 @ 12:38PM|#
I screwed that up. First, I should've said the "impact of a
white glove"; second, I should've called out someone.
I'm calling you out for such a blunder, you misspeaking cur.
Tony|9.11.09 @ 12:39PM|#
Sorry guys, but I had a rough night. My boyfriend beat the fuck out of me in the Applebee's parking after I accidently scratched his IROC. I deserved it, though.
Kunal|9.11.09 @ 12:41PM|#
I heard the line "we will call you out" as a Fremen
challenge. As in, I Barack Muad'Dib Obama, the all-now-seeing
Kwizats Haderach, will fight you to the death for leadership of the
seitch.
Barack Obama is not a Zensunni. He is a decent family man.
Michael|9.11.09 @ 12:42PM|#
...don't be surprised if liberals are a little touchy when
old, angry southern white guys are going nuts arguing against not
any specific policy proposal that exists in reality but truly the
mere fact that Obama is president...
So Matt Welch is old, angry and southern now?
nobody special|9.11.09 @ 12:42PM|#
Given the right's history with racial code language and
racial resentment, don't be surprised if liberals are a little
touchy when old, angry southern white guys are going nuts arguing
against not any specific policy proposal that exists in reality but
truly the mere fact that Obama is president.
Matt Welch is old and southern? I thought he was youngish and
urban-nerdy.
Matt Welch|9.11.09 @ 12:48PM|#
yes: it would have been nice if the first black male
reference to pop into Matt's head wasn't a (semi-random)
rapper.
A couple of days before this very important incident, my G-Chat
status message was a link to this song (which, again, has a catchy,
sing-a-long, totally repetitive chorus of "we will shut you down").
So when I heard "we will call you out" my mind didn't go, "let's
see, black guy, black guy, black guy.... SNOOP!" it went: "Oh, just
like my new favorite song."
If the key phrase in the speech was "Don't stop believing," I
wonder what we'd be talking about now?
Tim Cavanaugh|9.11.09 @ 12:51PM|#
Isn't "to call someone out" originally a Western movie
gunfight scene cliche?
Yes, and in fact when I was a wee urchin, kids in Margate, N.J. had
an elegant process of a declaring a fight, with the aggressor
saying "I call you out" and the defender responding "I accept."
Until one day a kid realized it was smarter just to hit the other
kid without saying anything, and the tradition died out. Margate
was about as black as Murray Hamilton at the time, so I don't think
the phrase has any special African American connotation.
@|9.11.09 @ 12:58PM|#
"how can Jack Shafer refrain from going up to Joan Walsh and
kicking her right in the nuts?"
"They work for different publications."
All the better. It would be so unexpected.
Miss Walsh?
Yes?
Jack Shafer here to see you.
What does he want?
I'm not sure. I think he mentioned nuts.
Send him in.
Hymie Greedstien|9.11.09 @ 12:59PM|#
matt -
you're all sorts of racist this week. you need some sensitivity
training.
|9.11.09 @ 1:00PM|#
JW,
Precisely. My seconds will call on your seconds. Which is
a good thing, 'cause I don't intend to show up, so they'll be
fighting you or each other.
|9.11.09 @ 1:00PM|#
Nobody Special, don't let the glasses fool you. Remember, Welch called out that angry, white, Palin picking man in the last election.
|9.11.09 @ 1:03PM|#
Oh Matt, you pickled-in-the-modern-ether dilettante, when will
you learn?
Pop culture references are a dangerous tool, even in the most
skilled of hands, and usually fly right over the heads of the great
washed and prep schooled.
Please, Matt, just stop confusing whitey.
|9.11.09 @ 1:05PM|#
ProL--Why do you think I hired a second? Outsourcing is the way to go with dueling!
|9.11.09 @ 1:07PM|#
Before she even gets to the "racial nuttiness" stretch, Joan Walsh pulls off a classic Obama-can-do-no-wrong turn. She acknowledges that Matt makes a good point about the health care plan's costs and that some of the numbers don't add up, but she disagrees that the president is lying about them. He must be confused or out of the loop or something. No way he'd lie.
|9.11.09 @ 1:28PM|#
Indeed. My seconds have seconds. Some call those thirds, but I prefer to think of them as seconds, once removed.
Harpoon|9.11.09 @ 1:29PM|#
I believe Welch was saying Obama's expression was syntactically similar to Snoop's (We will you ). That's a comparison that has nothing to do with race or hip-hop or the origin of the phrase "call you out". It always kills me when the caring, compassionate, nuanced liberals turn on you as soon as you do or say anything that could be against the orthodoxy. Something very similar happened to me recently.
|9.11.09 @ 1:33PM|#
If the key phrase in the speech was "Don't stop believing," I wonder what we'd be talking about now?
That Steve Perry is really black?
wingnutx|9.11.09 @ 1:35PM|#
Obama could put an end to all this by simply adopting the catch-phrase "I'll buy that for a dollar!"
@|9.11.09 @ 1:37PM|#
I don't know Joan Walsh. I've only seen her on the TV, where she appears to be utterly evil. Maybe she isn't entirely odious, but she has a face I'd like to drop an anvil on.
|9.11.09 @ 1:39PM|#
That's a great idea. Rather than print money and cause runaway inflation, the government should fix the price of everything to $1.00.
|9.11.09 @ 1:57PM|#
What? No Beastie Boys for the O-man?
"You gotta fight! For your right! To h-e-e-e-a-a-a-lth care!"
Sean W. Malone|9.11.09 @ 2:04PM|#
Hymie Greedstein, Sean O'Drunkard & Deepak Premednerdi
FTW... The others could use some work.
Oh and Matt... You racist!
Slap the Enlightened!|9.11.09 @ 2:15PM|#
You stepped in the pile by even attempting to offer a civilized
response. All that's gonna buy you is grief. The appropriate
response would have been telling Joan Walsh, "Yeah? So fucking
what?", and then bitch-slapping her until her ears rang.
Never eat at a restaurant called Mom's, never play poker with a man
called Doc, and never sleep with anyone crazier than you are. And
never, never waste a fucking minute of your life trying to prove to
a liberal you aren't a racist. It's a lose-lose proposition.
Mike Laursen|9.11.09 @ 2:19PM|#
...and never sleep with anyone crazier than you
are.
Now, how's that gonna work? You want the entire human race to die
out?
Justin Raimondo|9.11.09 @ 2:21PM|#
You can dish it out, Matt ol' boy,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKBlk1Vpeuw
but you sure can't take it.
This just proves: there IS a god.
|9.11.09 @ 2:33PM|#
Whoa, whoa, whoa. "Call you out" is not a hip-hop
phrase.
that's right!
beeyotch.
|9.11.09 @ 2:34PM|#
Never eat at a restaurant called Mom's, never play poker with a man
called Doc, and never sleep with anyone crazier than you are. And
never, never waste a fucking minute of your life trying to prove to
a liberal you aren't a racist. It's a lose-lose
proposition.
sounds like good advice.
BeesInTheBrain|9.11.09 @ 2:35PM|#
@Mike Laursen
You are correct sir, it is a played out old western phase. Of
course imagine the outrage if Matt had made a Sherrif Bart saving
the poor folks of Rock Ridge reference.
|9.11.09 @ 2:38PM|#
It predates the Old West. Honestly, am I going to have to have my seconds' seconds chastise each of you?
|9.11.09 @ 2:42PM|#
[Obama] must be confused or out of the loop or
something.
Oh, well, that's alright then.
I wonder if the black hole of cognitive dissonance that is Barack
Obama will ever cause people like Joan Walsh any discomfort.
Citizen Nothing|9.11.09 @ 2:50PM|#
"order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the
blacks to pick up their welfare checks."
Yeah, Raimondo. I can see how this is just like that.
Citizen Nothing|9.11.09 @ 2:52PM|#
...and plenty more quotes where that came from.
(Not that I wouldn't vote for Paul in a heartbeat.)
Sean W. Malone|9.11.09 @ 2:52PM|#
Pro Lib - why does your second need a second? I mean... If we
extend that relationship out - by the end of any duel, half of the
population of the world would be dead, no?
I mean... If everyone had a second - it'd eventually be a round
robin death-match to the very end.
|9.11.09 @ 3:00PM|#
My seconds are too high and mighty to actually do anything, so they've hired their own seconds.
|9.11.09 @ 3:02PM|#
white gloves? black holes?
seriously, ProL and R C need to take a look inside their racist
souls and think about how language can hurt other people...
P Dier|9.11.09 @ 3:10PM|#
if he said like "cash rules everything around me", you might have something
Sean W. Malone|9.11.09 @ 3:11PM|#
Too big of pussies to step in and finish the job themselves you mean.
T|9.11.09 @ 3:16PM|#
Really, it's impossible to get good dueling assistance these
days.
That's what you get for pussing out and have subcontractors in the
first place.
It's all about choice of terms, ProL. Pick something you're good
at, or that your opponent is horrible at. Like throwing knives at
100 paces. He'll get tired before he hits you.
SxCx|9.11.09 @ 3:19PM|#
Hey, why doesn't Reason come in Spanish? Are they afraid
Hispanics will crave liberty?
And how come they aren't sold at the corner store? Do they think
there's no money left after diapers?
P Dier|9.11.09 @ 3:24PM|#
I wonder if the black hole of cognitive dissonance that is Barack Obama will ever cause people like Joan Walsh any discomfort.
that's racist!
dhex|9.11.09 @ 3:25PM|#
"Yeah, Raimondo. I can see how this is just like that."
you have to admit his response was fleet-footed, though.
P Dier|9.11.09 @ 3:26PM|#
for such a clean and articulate guy like Matt Welch to step in it this bad.... I lose hope in taking back our country
|9.11.09 @ 3:27PM|#
T,
I fear your inexperience on the field of honor is showing, T. The
one challenged has the choice of weapons, which among the
aristocracy, means sabers, pistols, giant clubs, or nuclear
weapons.
Scarcity|9.11.09 @ 3:28PM|#
No Avenue Q love yet? The best I could find (with odd anime
since there's no actual video of the show), just for you,
Matt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR0DogIrzrk
T|9.11.09 @ 3:36PM|#
I fear your inexperience on the field of honor is showing,
T. The one challenged has the choice of weapons, which among the
aristocracy, means sabers, pistols, giant clubs, or nuclear
weapons.
True enough. I'm a low class bastard. My weapon of choice is .338
Lapua Mag, at a distance of about 800 yards, 5 minutes before the
official start. Not very sporting, but I've never been much for
that.
Justin Raimondo|9.11.09 @ 3:54PM|#
To Citizen Nothing: Gratuitous Snoop Doggy Dog(g) references are
arguably racist when uttered in relation to the Dear Leader: after
all, what's the connection except race?
On the other hand, the Ron Paul newsletter stating that the
violence in LA stopped when it came time for the rioters to pick up
their welfare checks was simply reporting the "racist" facts.
Tony|9.11.09 @ 3:59PM|#
Yes because Welch and the Reason staff never had a problem with an increased government role in healthcare until a black guy started pushing it. Further, Republicans were just pussycats when Hillary wanted to socialize medicine. They only got angry when a black guy proposed it.
Oh I don't think anyone on Reason's staff is a racist, even if they
are mostly all white men. Reason is consistent in its hysteria
about most everything the government does. I was talking
specifically to whoever was whining about the race card being
played when there is merely a "whiff of racism" (or maybe even none
at all!) in their criticism.
That said, libertarianism and white supremacy are not like totally
unconnected in history.
|9.11.09 @ 4:06PM|#
My weapon of choice is .338 Lapua Mag, at a distance of about 800 yards, 5 minutes before the official start.
Damn, I'm impressed. Being able to hit a mansized target at 800
yards is some damn good rifle shooting. :)
Sean W. Malone|9.11.09 @ 4:14PM|#
Did the Ron Paul newsletter ever actually specify that the
welfare recipients or rioters were all black? Cause honestly...
Living in LA,
I think rioters stopping only to pick up their welfare checks is
hilarious - and not out of character for some of the people I've
met. Certainly a lot of people seem to believe they're entitled to
both be destructive non-contributing zeros AND a free lunch.
T|9.11.09 @ 4:16PM|#
Being able to hit a mansized target at 800 yards is some
damn good rifle shooting. :)
Step 1: Buy equipment that's better than you are.
Step 2: Practice.
Step 3: Repeat step 2, ad nauseam.
Of course, the big dog doesn't get out of the safe much. Until I
get the reloading stuff back out of storage, .338 is just too damn
expensive to buy right now. I mean, 6 bucks a round? WTF? I can buy
match grade .50 BMG for less.
Citizen Nothing|9.11.09 @ 4:17PM|#
the violence in LA stopped when it came time for the rioters
to pick up their welfare checks
Sorry, J.R., no dice. That's not what the quote said.
Justin Raimondo|9.11.09 @ 4:42PM|#
Oh right: I should've written "The violence in LA stopped when it came time for the KOREANS to pick up their welfare checks." My bad....
None of your business. |9.11.09 @ 5:24PM|#
Is it just me, or does the heavy vein of racism in support of
Mr. Welch's response kinda give the lie to the idea that racism
isn't influencing people's responses to Obama?
Also, I might have missed this - how often did Mr. Welch compare
President Bush to a rapper he happened to be listening to? After
all, since Mr. Welch has clearly established his "gangsta" roots,
I'm sure there are plenty of examples of him relating a white
politician to a rap artist, right?
Or maybe his invocation of Snoop in this instance does have
something to do with Obama's race, whether Mr. Welch has the balls
(or brains) to admit it or not.
|9.11.09 @ 5:32PM|#
With all of the pop culture references that are made by the
writers and the commenters around here, I'd be careful suggesting
that jumping on a line from a song is anything other than more of
the same.
Not to mention, even if it did have a tangential relevance to Matt
because Obama is black, that doesn't make it racist. That's like
saying that making a connection between Bush and, say, ZZ Top
demonstrates a prejudice against Texans.
Reminds me of...|9.11.09 @ 5:34PM|#
"Don't call me white, Don't call me white...
The connotations wearing my nerves thin
Could it be semantics generating the mess we're in?
I understand that language breeds stereotype
But what's the explanation for the malice, for the spite?"
ahhh Friday
|9.11.09 @ 6:20PM|#
Is it just me, or does the heavy vein of racism in support
of Mr. Welch's response . . . .
[citation needed]
|9.11.09 @ 6:21PM|#
Also, I might have missed this - how often did Mr. Welch
compare President Bush to a rapper he happened to be listening
to?
How often did President Bush use lingo reminiscent of rap
songs?
|9.11.09 @ 6:27PM|#
"""What in God's name does Snoop Dogg have to do with Barack
Obama """
Not sure, but I'd rather have Snoop for President.
A hooker in every bedroom, change I can believe in!!!!
wayne|9.11.09 @ 6:32PM|#
I watched Joan Walsh do an interview about the Ricci case (white
firefighters denied promotion in New Haven because no blacks passed
the test). She insisted that there was absolutely nothing wrong
with the decision to promote nobody, as long as they were white.
Nuff said.
Joan is a blatant racist, embraced by the left. Nuff said.
|9.11.09 @ 6:32PM|#
Matt, given her continuous and juvenile coverage of your
comment, as well as the fact that you've both shared a swimming
pool, I think I've figured out the root of the issue.
She's got a serious crush on you, but is so socially inept that
this is the only way for her to get your attention.
Joan's mackin on you big time.
Trekkie Monster|9.11.09 @ 6:34PM|#
Everyone's a little bit racist
Sometimes.
Doesn't mean we go
Around committing hate crimes.
Look around and you will find
No one's really color blind.
Maybe it's a fact
We all should face
Everyone makes judgments
Based on race.
Princeton:
Now not big judgments, like who to hire
or who to buy a newspaper from -
Kate Monster:
No!
Princeton:
No, just little judgments like thinking that Mexican
busboys should learn to speak goddamn English!
Kate Monster:
Right!
Both:
Everyone's a little bit racist
Today.
So, everyone's a little bit racist
Okay!
Ethinic jokes might be uncouth,
But you laugh because
They're based on truth.
Don't take them as
Personal attacks.
Everyone enjoys them -
So relax!
wayne|9.11.09 @ 6:55PM|#
Oh I don't think anyone on Reason's staff is a racist,
even if they are mostly all white men.
Priceless, Tony, priceless. Are you channeling Joan Walsh?
green mamba|9.11.09 @ 7:13PM|#
"Not to mention, even if it did have a tangential relevance to
Matt because Obama is black, that doesn't make it racist. That's
like saying that making a connection between Bush and, say, ZZ Top
demonstrates a prejudice against Texans."
Yay, someone said something smart!
Matt Welch|9.11.09 @ 7:21PM|#
Also, I might have missed this - how often did Mr. Welch
compare President Bush to a rapper he happened to be listening
to?
Google exists just for purposes like that. Surely if I unconscious
bigotry affects my presidential pop culture reference, a digital
trail exists. Find that racist!
SxCx|9.11.09 @ 7:54PM|#
Man, remember when racism referred to things that were tangible and imminent?
J.P.|9.11.09 @ 8:15PM|#
I'd love to write a piece on the seeming spike in hyperbolic
nuttiness in American politics... fascist, rascist, socialist,
terrorist.
If only I had a nickel everytime the linguisticly-challenged
crapped an "ist" out of his/her mouth.
Ms. Walsh seems like a classy lady... stay gold Ponyboy, stay
gold.
|9.11.09 @ 8:35PM|#
Man, remember when racism referred to things that were
tangible and imminent?
YOU A RACIST OR SUMPHIN'?
SxCx|9.11.09 @ 8:42PM|#
I was once called a racist for smelling Mexican food and asking
if it was prepared by the Mexican roommate.
"But...why would you think it was him...?"
|9.11.09 @ 9:41PM|#
"Not to mention, even if it did have a tangential relevance to
Matt because Obama is black, that doesn't make it racist.
One of the problems with these people*, and reasons why they are so
fundamentally screwed up in the head, is that they simultaneously
want everyone to be as obsessed with race as they are (to the point
where they are perfectly willing to use the government to
discriminate), and yet also have those same people remain easily
shamed for noticing it (i.e., describing a criminal by it).
Btw, has Matt Welch spent 20 years in a white-nationalist church?
Did he write an autobiography obsessing over his own
racialism?
No? Well that's good. Otherwise I'd worry about him.
*For the racist leftists out there, "these people" means you
whackos.
|9.11.09 @ 10:14PM|#
Joan Walsh is an excellent argument for bringing back the practice of burning witches.
alan|9.11.09 @ 11:02PM|#
Undocumentedo is *descriptive*, not negative, and
unavoidable in the context of talking about what the actual bigots
usually call "illegals" (and chafe at calling "undocumented,"
because they find it euphemistic).
Bigots and non-biggots commonly use the term fairly
unselfconsciously. I don't have such a thin skin that I give a damn
either way, but 'undocumented' is not only euphemistic but coming
from urban professionals it has the connotations of a mushy spine
and a soft belly. In other words, the gringiest of gringos.
I'm sure you can come up with something better than that. Something
with 'outlaw' in the title. Everybody has a romanticized view of
the word 'outlaw'. What about transborder outlaws?
alan|9.11.09 @ 11:06PM|#
Joan Walsh is an excellent argument for bringing back the
practice of burning witches.
I would like to think we are more civilized than to just go out and
burn people at the stake. Surely, a trial is in order first. If she
floats, she is a witch. If not, well, no system is perfect, as the
demonologist Gödel would put it.
BoscoH|9.12.09 @ 1:04AM|#
I'm trying to remember who linked to the ass-whooping that Mark Whicker is taking for a so-labelled "insensitive" column. I know Nick linked to the 9/11 cartoon. Here's what these have in common. The shit-load of self-righteousness and hypersensitivity is indicative that the leading ideas and leaders who espouse them are completely f*cked and they know it.
Jim Treacher|9.12.09 @ 1:39AM|#
"Why do you keep insisting it's a leading question to ask why you're a racist, you racist?"
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