I should have known that.
I’m not sure it’s “much ado about nothing” though.
I think “Obama’s Baby Mama” is kinda witty. It’s no worse than “shrub” or “Dubya.”
They also mentioned that Malkin dubbed her “Obama’s Bitter Half.”
Also kind of funny.
Frankly, at this point I am completely apathetic to any namecalling back in forth in politics.
Big deal, so what, who cares, sticks and stones, get a life, move on dot org, shut the fuck up, light up a lucky, it’s miller time.
I’m voting for Obama, so neener neener neener.
Wasn’t part of it to rhyme “Obama” with “baby momma”?
Good thing his name isn’t Reeyotch.
Or Hunt.
I’m pretty sure it’s wrong how much these made me laugh.
Yes it is worse. For one thing, “Shrub” isn’t racist. For another, it does not imply that his children were born out of wedlock.
I wouldn’t say it’s racist exactly. It was a riff on vernacular used in the inner city, predominantly black, yes, but it is not racist. And so what if it implied kids born out of wedlock. That is false on its face and just makes the person doing it look ignorant. But I have a question: is the phrase used to describe unmarried relationships only? I think I’ve heard it playfully used to describe mothers and fathers of children born in wedlock, as well.
They never would have used it to refer to Laura Bush or Cindy McCain or even Hillary Clinton. They never would have even thought to use it for a white woman. It was meant to be demeaning and insinuate that Michelle Obama is a lower class of woman than those others.
From my experience working in inner city schools and neighborhoods, it’s almost always used to indicate a parent to whom the other parent is not married and does not have a current relationship with. It arose specifically to distinguish such a person from a spouse or a current partner. It signifies that the relationship exists only through a shared child. Believe me, that is understood in its common usage, even if some couple might use it playfully with each other (though I’ve never actually heard married people say that…I think a black man actually might get smacked for referring to his wife that way).
I’m willing to accept that it arose as you indicated and that it is normally used that way. The question for me is if this was some ham-handed attempt to mimic what Michelle O. had said at some point.
No. Not even FOX is that stupid. It wasn’t a lazy attempt by FOX to mimic Michelle. It was a calculated ploy to denigrate and insult, and as a message to the faithful.
Baby mama and baby daddy are terms that are a further application of the common practice by undereducated blacks of leaving off the ‘s’ at the end of possessives, e.g.: My mama house, my friend bike, my daddy truck, etc…
Baby mama is offensive; used pejoratively to cast aspersion on the wholesomeness of the target and, like the word nigger, to denigrate and caste the target as inferior, especially when used by whites.
Maury Povitch and Jerry Springer have been getting away with using the terms for years on their sensationalist dreck talk shows by having women come on to confront the father of their children, who are now dating, or living with, other women. Sick, embarrassing, and disgusting.
FOX knew exactly what it was doing when they ran “Obama’s baby mama” on the chyron. They are going to scream from the rooftops “Hey everybody! Don’t forget Obama’s black and scary!” every chance they get, in every way they can…just short of calling him a nigger.
Agreed. Fox will immediately suspend him. He’ll sue. Then he’ll get a job co-hosting a live show with Don Imus. Sadly predictable…
Cartooniverse
Really? I never heard a black person speak that way. How common is this?
Wow. I know I got to this thread late; but after reading the whole thing I’m still just stuck on stupid thinking that they actually said that.
The last time I watched fox news was at the outset of the “shock and awe” bombing. (actually, I was at someone else’s house who was watching it.) What they said that day was so offensive and disgusting that I will never watch it again. Yet, I’m still surprised that they said that about Ms. Obama.
How often has Fox News (or, some comparable, major news organization) used “Shrub” or “Dubya” in the byline graphics?
Good on ya! 
Wow. I missed this story, but am glad I saw this thread. That blogger was quite funny about the whole thing. I must say I am surprised at Faux News-- I thought they were capable of more subtlety, but I guess not. I always had FN figured for “genteel racism”, but this is right out there, no holds barred, bumper sticker bigotry. Might as well accuse Obama of being Mr Step and Fetch It for the Democratic party–I see no difference. How about we change his name to George while we’re at it? Or run a story purported to be from African-Americans claiming he’s nothing but an Uncle Tom? I could keep going, but you get my drift.
I work with 90% African American female nurses/aides. I have no idea how or what they joke about in the private lives. For all I know, they refer to one another as “niggahs”. No clue. I DO know that there is not one of them who would consider what Faux did to be “funny” or “cute” or “silly”. Babymama and babydaddy are not lighthearted tongue-in-cheek terms bandied about when joshing one another. I would think two people would have to be very good friends for them to call one another babymamas even in jest.
I have talked to them and with them about the challenges presented by failing schools, the prevalence of drugs/sex/irresponsible choices that all of their children face (as do mine). This is not something shrugged off, Jerry Springer and that ilk notwithstanding. I know of no RN who takes “babymama” lightly–if anything, they are harder on “one of their own” making such a choice than outsiders. When that term comes up, it is with a resigned cynicism and a dejected air of bitterness for the most part.
To me, Faux News putting that term out there in reference to Michelle Obama, a First Lady candidate smacks of nothing but racism, clear and simple. This term would not have come up for Hillary or Cindy McCain–it wouldn’t have even been a remote possibility. In a weird way, I am glad this happened-- for me, this story lends a great deal of credence to some of the complaints I have heard over the years from AA nurses, things that I tended to put down to pessimism and bile–shit like this really does happen. I see it clearly and absolutely. And it makes me sick (and angry).
Doesn’t it, Dio? Doesn’t it? Now who’s being naive?
Racist?
My kids call their mother, “Mama.” She’s white?
Explain the racism?
How the hell does “Baby Mama” mean the kids are bastards?
I think you’re reaching.
Maybe he’s reaching, but faux naivete doesn’t advance your argument.
The meaning of the term has been laid out repeatedly in this thread. There’s a case to be made that they’re just using the term to be cool, like some of the gossip papers and networks have started doing, but I still think they wouldn’t have used the word about a white woman, which introduces a racial component.
I’m still unclear on if they were attempting to riff off something Michelle had said previously. If they did, I’d say it is not racism. If this was out of the blue, yep, racism.
Extremely. Not a lot of uneducated black folks in your life, huh?
-Joe