# Harris's father pushes back on comment made by daughter **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 21, 2019, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940 "2019-02-21T02:49:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/1 "2019-02-21T02:49:39Z")
All is apparently not well within the Harris family. Kamala Harris’s Jamaican born father (a professor, if that’s relevant to anyone) took issue with her recent claims about not having being opposed to pot legalization as California AG, because “are you kidding? Half my family is Jamaican”. Now I do not know what Kamala Harris’s father’s political beliefs are, or whether they may have influenced his statements here. But I do know that this story fits within\reinforces one of negative impressions I’ve had of Ms Harris since pretty much the beginning. Namely that of being willing to say any damn thing she believes might help her win, truth of said statements be damned. Or, if not that specific, the general impression that she doesnt really believe in or stand for anything. Not for anything but herself. > **[Kamala Harris’s dad on her pot-smoking comment: Our family wants to...](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/kamala-harriss-dad-our-family-wants-to-dissociate-ourselves-from-this-travesty-2019-02-20)** > > That’s professor Donald Harris, the Jamaican father of Kamala Harris, reportedly sounding off in a statement to Jamaica Global Online about his daughter’s... ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/2 "2019-02-21T03:47:29Z")
[Video of the comment](https://www.facebook.com/CNNReplay/videos/kamala-harris-supports-legalizing-marijuana/562336330934716/), if anyone wants it. She made a five-word joke about the stereotype of Jamaicans and drugs. In a sane world, no one would care. Of course it’s the left that gotten completely wound up in the idea that stereotypes are by themselves harmful, and that even a tiny little joke can be harmful, painful, traumatizing, etc… ([Here’s one example](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/12/06/columbia-students-boot-comedian-stage-citing-offensive-jokes), there are countless others.) So I guess anyone who shares such crazy beliefs would have to say that Harris has just inflicted severe harm on Jamaican listeners. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/3 "2019-02-21T04:09:18Z")
The proper response is, [“Lighten up, Francis.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN-aXzpQUdw) ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/4 "2019-02-21T04:14:09Z")
I agree that the father overreacted but that’s not the point. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/5 "2019-02-21T04:34:55Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I agree that the father overreacted but that’s not the point. Then what is the point? ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/6 "2019-02-21T04:40:28Z")
Good question. I’m at a loss to understand how this story could be interpreted as reflecting badly on Ms. Harris. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/7 "2019-02-21T04:50:17Z")
It was just morning-radio. But yeah, a bit tone deaf to anyone who knows that most Jamaicans are quite conservative and very much dislike the Jamaicans=rastas stereotype. I don’t think the father overreacted. Just like her comments were to morning radio, his were to a local Jamaican audience for whom a US-presidential candidate with Jamaican roots is a very big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/8 "2019-02-21T04:52:47Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Then what is the point? It may have been a joke (or “half joke”) but it also served a purpose: to bolster her pro-legalization bona fides. The point is the fact she made the joke at all in that context. It just seemed to align with some of my preconceived notions about Ms Harris. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/9 "2019-02-21T05:52:28Z")
Can you explain why? I mean, if she didn’t actually support legalization and is now saying she did, that’s one thing. But if she did support it, I don’t see what the problem is with her making that joke. Even granting for the sake of argument that it was offensive to Jamaicans, how would offending Jamaicans support the narrative that she “doesn’t stand for anything but herself”? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/10 "2019-02-21T12:41:46Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > So I guess anyone who shares such crazy beliefs would have to say that Harris has just inflicted severe harm on Jamaican listeners. You do? Why would you expect consistency from people you describe as having crazy beliefs? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/11 "2019-02-21T14:44:29Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Can you explain why? I mean, if she didn’t actually support legalization and is now saying she did, that’s one thing. But if she did support it, I don’t see what the problem is with her making that joke. Even granting for the sake of argument that it was offensive to Jamaicans, how would offending Jamaicans support the narrative that she “doesn’t stand for anything but herself”? Because she knew it wasnt true, yet she said it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/12 "2019-02-21T14:52:52Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > But if she did support it, I don’t see what the problem is with her making that joke. > [@](#): > > Kamala Harris, who admitted to smoking pot — “I did inhale,” she said… > “Half my family’s from Jamaica,” she said. “Are you kidding me?” Of course a Jamaican is going to support legalization—Jamaicans are all a bunch of pot-heads. You don’t see the problem with reinforcing that stereotype? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/13 "2019-02-21T15:27:41Z")
Is there a reason this needed it’s own thread instead of going in the existing Kamala Harris thread? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/14 "2019-02-21T15:28:36Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Of course a Jamaican is going to support legalization—Jamaicans are all a bunch of pot-heads. > > You don’t see the problem with reinforcing that stereotype? I think the dynamic changes when the person making the joke is Jamaican herself. ---
**Author:** ![Inbred\_Mm\_domesticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/aca169/32.png) [@Inbred\_Mm\_domesticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inbred_Mm_domesticus)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/15 "2019-02-21T16:33:45Z")
Kamala Harris is American and repeated an American-style stereotype of Jamaicans. It’s an American tradition - we adopt the identity of our ancestors while at the same time not knowing a single thing about our ancestors’ culture. We also get overly uptight over jokes about cultural stereotypes. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/16 "2019-02-21T17:05:38Z")
I’m a Harris fan but a willingness to play off stereotypes gives me pause. Even ones that play off of stereotypes of ones own heritage. I’m Jewish and it sort of rubs me the same way as if Sanders responded to a question about banking regulations with something about being Jewish so _of course_ he knows the industry! If she played off a Black stereotype it wouldn’t be as easily shrugged off as just a joke. Would it play well if she answered about small business ownership with a reference to Quickimarts and an Apu imitation? Just because Jamaicans have less power here doesn’t mean having fun at their expense is more justifiable. Quite the opposite. Minor in the scheme of things but a ding against her nevertheless. Still in my top two though for now. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/17 "2019-02-21T17:11:27Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I’m a Harris fan but a willingness to play off stereotypes gives me pause. Even ones that play off of stereotypes of ones own heritage. > > I’m Jewish and it sort of rubs me the same way as if Sanders responded to a question about banking regulations with something about being Jewish so _of course_ he knows the industry! > > If she played off a Black stereotype it wouldn’t be as easily shrugged off as just a joke. Would it play well if she answered about small business ownership with a reference to Quickimarts and an Apu imitation? Just because Jamaicans have less power here doesn’t mean having fun at their expense is more justifiable. Quite the opposite. > > Minor in the scheme of things but a ding against her nevertheless. Still in my top two though for now. I’m not (yet) a big Harris fan. I’ll keep an open mind. In my opinion this comment rates about a 0.25 on an outrage scale of 0 to 10. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/18 "2019-02-21T17:31:38Z")
A ding not a dent. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/19 "2019-02-21T18:33:16Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Is there a reason this needed it’s own thread instead of going in the existing Kamala Harris thread? 😕 Probably not. Mea culpa. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940/20 "2019-02-21T19:46:49Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Because she knew it wasnt true, yet she said it anyway. What did she say that wasn’t true? She said she “inhaled” (tee hee). I doubt you have convincing evidence that that’s untrue. Then she said half her family is from Jamaica. Is that not true? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harriss-father-pushes-back-on-comment-made-by-daughter/829940.md?page=2)