Ofay? Honkey?
Mr. Charley? Chuck?
Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.
Well, a guy called me a “cracker” once. Which is pretty offensive to a peckerwood.
Sorry but your analogy to Telemundo makes zero sense, so I’ll skip that one.
First of all, I don’t watch BET in any form, ever. You seem to be making me out to be somebody looking to BET for guidance to understanding the scary foreign to me concept of the black community- not the case.
But to not beat around the bush with language here, I am of the opinion that if you go up to the coolest hippest black guy in the 50 Cent mold, a guy who is aware of both men, and ask him which one he’d rather hang out with, or which one he thinks is coolest, or is HIS “nigga”, IMO Bill would win hands down, especially when he was Pres. This applies to those who knew him from when was President- that was eight years ago after all, many younger people don’t know him. You seem to think the concept that a particular white by definition cannot be considered more of a “bro” to a black than any other black guy could. All the black people I know personally as well, who love the guy, they’re are in on it too, to make me look stupid I guess.
And I ask you again, directly- why out of a billion white guys on the planet did a thousand comics all simultaneously choose Bill as the basis for this joke? Why not Tom Brokaw? You’re saying there no bit of truth in this particular gag? Or you’re admitting its true, but it can be “taken away”- well yeah, if Bill went on some racist rant, sure.
No one is saying Bill could go up to a black person and call them a racist name, that wasn’t the question in the OP. Whether I could call you a certain name doesn’t mean you can’t like me better than someone who by society’s definition would be allowed to call you said name.
Okay, so why did you bring BET up in the first place? And if you don’t watch it, then it makes me wonder how you know what the comedians on there talk about.
Yeah, when he was president. When he was president, the concept of a viable black presidential candidate was as foreign as ET. So relative to all the 40 some-odd white guys who had come before him, Bill Clinton was like a “bro”. And? That’s not really saying a whole lot.
I think you’re making yourself look that way by speaking with an authority that you lack, quite frankly. Bill Clinton can be well-liked by black people just as much as any white guy can, and he may even be affectionately called “black” because he played the sax on Arsenio and pounds fists with John Lewis. But you’d only be fooling yourself if you think this means anything in terms of real racial politics. When the chips of down and the claws come out (as they did on Monday), you can tell which way the loyalities truly lean. An “honorary black” man who talks a good game is handicapped against a real black man who also talks a good game.
Because he’s a well-known political figure, for one thing. And because he’s known to partake in things that black people also stereoptypically partake in (weed, sax playing, rumpy women). And because he has been involved in Civil Rights, for another thing.
I’ve never denied that there isn’t any basis for the “Bill is black” meme. I’m just saying its silly to take it so seriously as to actually argue that Bill is seen as blacker than a guy who is actually black. I mean, maybe I’d understand your point of view if Obama was a Shelby Steele or even Colin Powell conservative, but Obama is a bonafide liberal.
We aren’t talking about just liking someone, though. Being a “bro” means you are allowed to say things to other “bros” that someone who is not a “bro” can’t without raising some eyebrows, at a minimum. If Clinton can’t call someone “my nigga” without causing a gigantic hoopla, that should make you question how much he is actually a “bro”.
Not to beat around the bush with my language, but basically, it sounds like your opinion is based on seeing one black comedian tell one joke about Clinton being a brother one time. Am I wrong? First you said they were all doing it on BET, now you admit you never watch BET. So I’m thinking your view is based on a combination of black stereotypes and the popular view of Clinton.
Clinton is viewed that way, as far as I know, for a few reasons: the “white trash” background (single mother, not a lot of money), his appearances on Arsenio Hall’s show, and what Toni Morrison said.
So you are saying that White Guy A and Black Guy A are best buds, something happens and Black Guy A has to choose between defending White Guy A and Black Guy B, he’s going to choose Black Guy B just becasue he’s black, and can call him nigga with impunity?
IMO if Bill were running against Obama, the black vote would be closer than you think. We’ll never know, so obviously my opinion.
Marley23, in the 90’s Bill is a brother was a standard for every black comedian with a microphone. If you doubt that you’re simply mistaken. And it doesn’t matter why blacks like him, they just do. Ask one.
I should add, in my experience, black people tend to think of a non black as one of there own if the person is one who they sense is genuine when dealing with them, and not a phony. I often hear blacks talking about whichever white in the office is "real’ or “fake”- its seems to be a pretty big deal to distinguish between a white who seems cool and nice and polite but wouldn’t have you over to their house vs. one who would hang out with you and does so naturally. Black people can tell that when Bill is talking to a elderly black person, or holding and kissing a black baby, its not some political thing, its genuine, and can tell when Bush is trying to do some phony cool handshake with some black staffer that its fake.
I just think it’s weird that you know this, and yet you haven’t named one, or quoted or paraphrased a joke or anything.
No, I’m not saying that. You’re conflating liking someone with them being a “brother”. Two different concepts, is what I’m saying.
Which is an interesting data point, but has nothing to do with whether Bill is “blacker” than Obama. At one point in time, Hillary was polling higher among blacks than Obama was. We should not take that to mean blacks think Hillary is “black”.
Wouldn’t it be more specific ethnic groups? Such as:
-Hunky
-Dago
-Wop
-Polak
-Bohunk
-Kraut
-Jap
-Kike
-Chink
-Mick
BTW, I’m NOT saying that the above is the same as “nigger”, with the possible exception of say, chink, kike, jap or dago. Just that in the past, there was no term for generic whiteness-more for specific nationalities.
I don’t think one can objectively say which is worse. The only thing one can objectively say is that Blacks have been treated worse than any ethnic group in the US (with the possible exception of Native Americans). The Chinese had it pretty bad at times, and the Japanese, of course, were interred during WWII. But neither of those rises (or descends) quite to the level of what was done to Blacks, and to the extent that the racial slur conjures up those actions, then “nigger” is the worst.
Are you being deliberately obtuse? No one else is arguing this point- its (or was)one of the biggest cliches in black comedy. Asking for a cite for this is like asking for a cite that black comics do bits on how nerdy white guys are.
Some of us (maybe a lot of us) don’t watch a much stand-up-- Black, White or Purple. I know I don’t. I’ve never seen any comedian make a remark on this. You’re insistence that everyone knows this simply makes it seem like you can’t support the assertions you are making.
So, I would have to see quite a few quotes, in context, to determine if the joke was at Clinton’s expense, or in support of the idea that he really is bro’. I can easily imagine the former.
you with the face, who doesn’t agree with me on this topic, agrees it is/was ubiqutious. This is tantamount to “I’ve never heard of American Idol, give me a cite such a program exists”.
Well, you said no one else was arguing the point. I chimed in to say that I would argue the point. And note that I said I needed to see the quotes in context because, despite your citing ywtf’s recognition that such jokes exist, she disagrees with you as to what the jokes are about.
So, do we get the cites or not? If you don’t want to give us cites, you always have to the choice of withdrawing the assertion…
You got me, I made the entire concept up, and filled the internet and youtube with such references years ago in anticipation of duping two people in this thread in 2008. Black people despise Bill Clinton and no comedian has ever done a bit on how cool Bill is.
:rolleyes:
Let me know when you’re ready to debate and I’ll come back. Until then, I’ll leave you and your giant excluded middle alone and let the readers judge for themselves how strong your case is. If you’re setting out to convince yourself that you’re right, then you’re doing a great job. Other than that, you got nuthin’.
Yes, but you’d be able to cite that, now wouldn’t you?
I’m not saying the jokes didn’t exist, I quoted one. It might be the only one I’ve ever heard and it was probably quoted by some white guy on the Internet, but I know they exist. But you’re using them to represent some kind of consensus among black people, or least black comedians, so a hint that you’re even close to correct about the popularity of these jokes would support your case. Tell me one, at least! If you compare it to “black comedians doing jokes about white people being nerdy,” you’re asserting it’s passed into ‘everybody knows that!’ territory without actually showing it’s true. And I could name you black comedians who do jokes about white people being uptight. Richard Pryor, for one.