December 14, 2012

"Cornball brother."

There's a current controversy about some ESPN commentator musing over whether RG3 is a "cornball brother."
"My question, which is just a straight honest question: is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother?" [Rob] Parker asked... "Well... he's black, he kind of does his thing, but he's not really down with the cause, he's not one of us. He's kind of black, but he's not really the guy you'd really want to hang out with, because he's off to do something else.... I want to find out about him.... I don't know because I keep hearing these things. We all know he has a white fiancee. Then there was all this talk about he's a Republican...."
All right. I just want to talk about the word "cornball," which strikes me as a very old fashioned word. I mean, I thought it was weird hearing Marlon Brando use the word in his 1953 movie "The Wild One":
Kathie Bleeker: Well, what d'ya do? I mean, do you just ride around or do you go on some sort of a picnic or something?

Johnny: A picnic? Man, you are too square. I'm... I... I'll have to straighten you out. Now, listen, you don't go any one special place. That's cornball style. You just go.
Brando's Johnny was the leader of a motorcycle gang that rode into a small town and scared people like Kathie Bleeker. I saw that movie when I was in college, circa 1970, and we thought it was very funny that Brando said "cornball." For years, perhaps decades, we amused ourselves by saying "That's cornball style," Brando-style, usually with an added, "Man, you are too square."

But maybe "cornball" has made a comeback, maybe specifically in the context of "cornball brother." I check Urban Dictionary, and (unsurprisingly) it's got a couple of completely new entries inspired by the RG3 flap: "A classy, intelligent African-American athlete. The kind of guy who dominates his enemies and doesn't fall in line with the opinion of douchebags — a freethinker and warrior." Fine, but not responsive to my inquiry. "Cornball" was the April 13, 2005 Urban Word of the Day with the definition: "Of a cheesy, corny, and otherwise over-the-top feelgood nature. Virtually any inspirational quote that makes you shudder." (The example given is of George Bush saying something deemed "cornball.") There's another entry — with more down than up votes — from 2005:
Its that dumbass motherfucker that says stupid ass shit and acts like a moron... STOP DOIN THAT! U AINT GOT NO FRIENDS GO HOME!
Okay, so... let's look at the Oxford English Dictionary, where if we skip past the references to "a sweetmeat made of popped corn or maize" — "Nanny remained near the dutch oven to keep us supplied with red-hot pones, or corn-balls" 1843 — we get to the metaphorical use of "a 'corny' person," with the first appearance being a mere 1 year before "The Wild One":
1952   R. C. Ruark in H. Wentworth & S. B. Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang (1960) 124/2   Eisenhower on no account can be called a cornball.
Now, the use of "corny" to refer to a kind of person goes back to 1932, according to the OED. The derivation is obvious as the word means "Of such a type as appeals to country-folk; rustic or unsophisticated; tiresomely or ridiculously old-fashioned or sentimental; hackneyed, trite; inferior."
1932   Melody Maker June 511/1   The ‘bounce’ of the brass section... has degenerated into a definitely ‘corny’ and staccato style of playing.
1935   Peabody (Mass.) Bull. Dec. 42/2   Corny—Derived from cornfed, meaning [music] played in country style, out of date, hill-billy, or in a style of pre-1925....
That's as much light as I can shed right now on the word cornball, which — you get my point — seems to be a word that is itself cornball.

117 comments:

AllenS said...

"My question, which is just a straight honest question: is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother?" [Rob] Parker asked

AllenS answers: "He's an n-word, motherfucker."

Portia said...

Did I hear, Robert Parker (of ESPN fame) has now been fired?

edutcher said...

The amusing part of this is the cornball brother is in the White House.

Unknown said...

RG3 is the face of the NFL now. The brothers in the league love him. Parker is an idiot. Stephen A Smith was about to give Parker a "n***** please" but thought better of it.

Roger J. said...

As always, AllenS gets it right. The cornball MF is Robert Parker. And Robert Parker also happens to be a ni##ger--but not as good a n##ger as RGIII

sykes.1 said...

Apparently, it means "Uncle Tom," a race traitor, a sell-out.

Big Mike said...

I'd like to see Parker sentenced to walk around Southeast DC carrying a sign that says "I dissed RGIII."

mccullough said...

Chris Brown called Jay-Z a cornball back in 2009 (though Brown denies this allegation).

Brown may have single-handedly resuscitated the word.

So apparently Jay-Z are RGIII are cornballs.

vandylawdawg said...

Rob Parker meant it as an "Oreo" or an "Uncle Tom".

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

Like C. Thomas, C. Rice, T. Sowell, H. Cain - RGIII is just not ni**ered up enough for some folks, I guess.

Shouting Thomas said...

Back to Louis Armstrong.

Throughout the 60s, he was often called an "Uncle Tom" because he insisted on being a cheerful entertainer instead of a sullen, angry black nationalist.

Apparently, he should have stopped mid-song to harangue his audience.

Likewise, RGIII's critics seem to want him to be angry and to spit at whites.

The reference to the Brando movie is interesting in that "One Eyed Jacks" has enshrined forever in our memories an event that never took place... the great motorcycle riot at Hollister.

Anonymous said...

Soy loco por las cornballs!

AllenS said...

Let's get something straight, Mr. Parker, men like to fuck women for all kinds of different reasons. Every once in a while, black men like to fuck white women. Ask OJ Simpson, or Tiger Woods.

Seeing Red said...

cornball - hokey

mccullough said...

Isn't calling someone cornball itself cornball?

gerry said...

"He isn't down with the cause" translates to "If you don't hate white people enough to avoid marrying into that race, you are a race traitor."

Let's see: Mein Kampf, page 27, right?

AllenS said...

Maybe, Mr. Parker, white women won't let you fuck them, because you come off like too much of an n-word.

N-word.

Wince said...

Relax. Don't worry. The Karma has evened-out.

Because the usually "cornball" Mitt Romney just went gangsta'!

DADvocate said...

I've been trying to figure out (discern - for you intellectual types) what a "cornball brother" is ever since reading about this earlier today. Cornball always meant goofy, silly, or stupid in a funny way. RGIII doesn't seem to fit any of those.

His parents were both U.S. Army sergeants. So, he comes from a different background than not just most blacks, but most of us period. It's my understanding that RGIII learned discipline and hard from his parents.

Maybe Parker is one of those who believes that all blacks should fit into the liberal stereotype. That's what I took from it.

Shouting Thomas said...

I grew up in the capital of corn... central Illinois.

I think "cornball" is a reference to small town life out there on the prairie. That small town life seems remarkably "normal" and "uneventful," and the people in those small towns don't care much for excitement and drama.

Also, those small towns are almost 100% white, and the inhabitants are predominantly of Germanic descent. A very bad thing, according to the left.

On the left, over the past few years, corn has become something of the new symbol of evil. Corn agriculture depletes the soil, engenders the production of corn syrup, feeds the animals in the factory farm lots, etc. Anyway, that's the lefty rant.

When I think of "cornball," I think first of "The Music Man!"

SteveR said...

As others have offerred up here, Parker obviously wanted to use a harsher word but could only fall back to "cornball" when the pressure was on.

Known Unknown said...

Everything has an Arrested Development reference.

ricpic said...

...he's not really down with the cause...

The cause, or the struggle, is a con. A giant con. And it'll be over when RACISSS!!! rolls off Whitey's back like water off a duck's back. Ya know, Whitey, the hated oppressor and simultaneously golden goose designated payer for the baby daddys' and baby mommas' offsprings' upkeep. The central question, the central survival question facing the United States is which comes first, does Whitey wake up to the con or does the con swamp the country?

twinsdad said...

ESPN deserves ever more than the usual criticism for this asshole. They kept even after he call Henry Aaron a "coward" . A man who had played minor league baseball in the south in the 50's and then suffered through death threats as he overtook and finally passed Babe Ruth as home run king, called a coward by this punk because he wouldn't go to San Fran to watch Barry Bonds break his record. The two douche bags who sat there as Parker showed his ass should be joining him



Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Robert Parker has been suspended.

His comments reminded me of the unsustainable apartness, I've witnessed, that has been tolerated by social commentators and most so called 'observers' alike for as long as I can remember... with very few exceptions.

Its clear that both elections of Obama have hardly made any difference to people like the ESPN commentator.

I say unsustainable because the only barrier, as I see it, still nourishing that cloak of willful separation is a fast ending numerical disadvantage.

Whites are on their way to becoming a minority in this country... and when they do, what will be the excuse for these remaining dinosaur cornballs?

X said...

RGIII has a lot of class.

prediction: RGIII takes the high road and disagrees that Parker should lose his job over this.

mtrobertsattorney said...

Maybe if RGIII had not gotten his degree in political science and instead dropped out of college, he stand a much better chance of being a "real" brother. But what would really cinch it would be if he endorsed Jamie Foxx's idea of killing all the white people.

AllenS said...

Let me guess, Cornhole Brother would be a black man who takes it up the ass from a white man. How am I doin'?

Eric said...

I like it when you drill down Althouse.

Shouting Thomas said...

Robert Parker has been suspended.

The ritual suspension isn't a good idea, either.

AllenS said...

It's best that Robert Parker remains kept on display (TV). A good teaching tool is ignorance on display.

Hagar said...

@AllenS
Please cool it.

purplepenquin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I like to take some Marlon Brando braggadocio for pointing the professor on Brando's direction, last night, when I commented on the ESPN commentators bromide...

I quoted the cornball sounding Apocalypse Now... the horror, the horror.

Shouting Thomas said...

No penguin, the term at issue is "Uncle Tom."

You're in Ritmo territory now... attributing your own vicious thoughts to other people.

The thought occupies your brain. Own it!

purplepenquin said...

Please tell me Thomas, what exactly was it that you think I said? 'cause your response has nothing at all to do with what I did say and then delete...

KCFleming said...

It's also quite possible that Parker used the wrong word in ignorance.

Pianoman said...

Rush Limbaugh was unavailable for comment.

X said...

you could tell us what you actually wrote penguin

Shouting Thomas said...

Own it penguin.

You, as I said, are a scam artist. You're always trying to pull a scam.

Responding to your attempts to embroider your scam is a waste of time.

The vicious thought originated in your consciousness, not in some fantasized political opponent.

Own it!

Shouting Thomas said...

penquin wrote that his fantasized political opponents were dying to employ the term "nigger!"

As I said, he's a scam artist, trying to dump his own vicious thought onto others.

Shouting Thomas said...

Ritmo pulls this scam that penguin just tried, except Ritmo never has the sense to delete his posts.

Ritmo writes lengthy soliloquies of horrifyingly vicious ideas that he then attributes verbatim to his political opponent.

It never seems to occur to Ritmo, or to penguin, that the thought originated in his head.

purplepenquin said...

penquin wrote that his fantasized political opponents were dying to employ the term "nigger!"

I most certainly did not, and you are either a liar and/or deluded to claim I did.

I typed a word and then explained that I was simply trying to see if people were censoring themselves or if the system was doing it. Having seen the results of the test, I deleted it. Nothing more, and nothing less.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

You people need to go see Django...

Wait...

Its Django the black Schindler's List?

Shouting Thomas said...

One of the most interesting facets of the behavior of the scam artist, penguin, is that the scam artist scams himself first.

Sorun said...

Sportswriters and sportscasters are retards. That's all anyone needs to know.

kentuckyliz said...

"Cornball" to me seems to mean slapstick goofy.

purplepenquin said...

Responding to your attempts to embroider your scam is a waste of time.

Go home Thomas, you're drunk again.

AllenS said...

Hagar, when you're hot, you're hot.

And I'll give some good advice here, don't back down from confrontation. Some things people don't want to talk about. Racial issues are one of them, among many. I refuse to let one side of the racial confrontation issue statements without confrontation, and, may I say, rebuttal, if not outright in your face rebuttal.

Let's understand something about Robert Parker's statement, if a white man had said those words, what would have been the response?

Here's my response, Hagar, up your motherfucking n-word ass.

Anonymous said...

What color is a cornball?
Not black, not white, yes?

I think it's funny.

American Chinese (Chinese American?) call themselves "banana", white with a yellow skin. I think it's funny too even after some overwrought bananas said it was racist.

Shouting Thomas said...

Go home Thomas, you're drunk again.

I wish. I can't drink at all anymore. Rosacea.

If I drink, even a few drops, my face explodes to twice its size for two weeks. It's painful.

I'm very unfortunately sober.

purplepenquin said...

@AllenS

Why are you saying constantly "n-word" rather than simply "nigger"?

Shouting Thomas said...

Why are you saying constantly "n-word" rather than simply "nigger"?

A sensible strategic retreat, but you're still playing out the scam, although you're disguising it better.

purplepenquin said...

I wish. I can't drink at all anymore

You mean you're simply a violent lying asshole in general and it has nothing to do with other factors?

Thanks for clearing that up. Only question left in my mind is do you also behave as such when out&about or is this just your online persona?

Shouting Thomas said...

Only question left in my mind is do you also behave as such when out&about or is this just your online persona?

Desperation sets in.

Shutting up for a while might be a better strategy.

purplepenquin said...

Shouting Thomas said "Responding to your attempts to embroider your scam is a waste of time."




AllenS said...

purplepenquin said...
@AllenS

Why are you saying constantly "n-word" rather than simply "nigger"?

I'm trying to be politically correct. Do you disagree?


purplepenquin said...

Shutting up for a while might be a better strategy.

That is the goal of Althouse Thugs like yourself, isn't it? Anyone who isn't with the GroupThink needs to be heckled and harassed until their voices are no longer heard.

Shouting Thomas said...

"Nigger" was the first word that popped into penguin's head.

But somebody else made him think it. They just shoved that thought into his brain with a hypodermic needle or something.

Seems to happen a lot to him... and Ritmo!

I'm Full of Soup said...

Race seems to be an issue in the news more and more often. I thought we were now in a post-racial period.

Carol said...

"One Eyed Jacks" has enshrined forever in our memories an event that never took place... the great motorcycle riot at Hollister.

It was the Wild One, wasn't it?

purplepenquin said...

I'm trying to be politically correct. Do you disagree?

I think it is kinda silly to dance around like you are...especially for someone who earlier said "don't back down from confrontation"

If it is something you wanna say, then say it. The way you're behaving now is as if you want to be a bad boy who uses bad words, but you're too scared/timid to actually do so.

Shouting Thomas said...

It was the Wild One, wasn't it?

Yes, I stand corrected.

But, the basic idea is still the same.

The great motorcycle gang riot at Hollister never happened.

AllenS said...

Hey, interpret what you want. If you need to put words in my mouth to make your point, go ahead.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

On second thought... dont go to see Django and go see Schindler's List... again.

X said...

Carol said...
"One Eyed Jacks" has enshrined forever in our memories an event that never took place... the great motorcycle riot at Hollister.

It was the Wild One, wasn't it?


if you combine the two, you get Timerider

purplepenquin said...

"Nigger" was the first word that popped into penguin's head.

Oh. I get it NOW!

You sincerely beleive that those messages at 3:43, 3:48, 3:50, 3:54, 3:59, and 4:56 were actually referring to naggers and you think I'm totally and completely out of line to think it was something else, eh?

Golly gee! You sure got me!!!

*rolls eyes*

purplepenquin said...

Hey, interpret what you want.

Rather than try and interpret, it is better to simply ask the source. When you use the phrase "n-word" are you referring to nagger, nigger, or perhaps something else?

Please clarify. Thanks!

Bob Ellison said...

It's kinda hard to think about this today.

Automatic_Wing said...

What could be more cornball than being a talking head on ESPN?

Shouting Thomas said...

What could be more cornball than being a talking head on ESPN?

Charles Barkley is great! He's funny as hell!

More often, however, he's on the NBA broadcasts for TNT.

Unknown said...

Purplepenquin,

I was quoting Stephen A Smith:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZEGv7RtfCI

And you misconstrued him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcOJEkQ-dDs&feature=player_embedded

Don't you call people teabaggers?

Amartel said...

He's acting white.
White's are corny.
Cornball brother.

purplepenquin said...

I was quoting Stephen A Smith

In that clip I didn't notice that he censored himself like you did.

And you misconstrued him

???

I didn't have anything to say about what he did or did not say. What leads you to beleive I did?

Don't you call people teabaggers?

Nope, I don't think I do...unless it is quoting others and I don't think I've censored the word.

Have a specific incident in mind or are you simply making assumptions without consulting any of the available data?

jr565 said...

We hear a lot of talk about republicans being racist, but really who is the racist here? It's the guy arguing from the left:

"My question, which is just a straight honest question: is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother?"

the old Uncle Tom negro reworded for today. But do conservatives think there are authentic blacks and cornball blacks? Liberals do! Black liberals do! What was the whole point of MLK's judging people on the content of their character thingy? Do you think that color blind scenario had cornball blacks in it, blacks who aren't authentically negro enough? for the left, if you aren't down with the cause ours not authentically black. Racist. And practicing racial identity politics.
[Rob] Parker asked... "Well... he's black, he kind of does his thing, but he's not really down with the cause, he's not one of us. He's kind of black, but he's not really the guy you'd really want to hang out with, because he's off to do something else.... I want to find out about him.... I don't know because I keep hearing these things. We all know he has a white fiancee. Then there was all this talk about he's a Republican...."

He's not down with the cause? I.e he has his own opinions? he not a slave to identity politics?he doesn't view blacks and whites as blacks and whites along identity lines? no wonder he's a republican. And yet, conservatives are the racists. Doing your own thing is a good thing. Not being down with identity politics defining authentic and cornball blacks a good thing. Oh, and he also has a white fiancée? well, that's suggestive that he isn't in fact a racist. And this is somehow bad, why?
There is no black identity. (Just as there is no white identity) . Unless you parlay in endless racial identity politics. And in that case it's all bells whistles and code words, and blacks needing to conform to "the cause" lest they be cornball.
I agree that he's probably not the guy rob parker would like to want to hang out with. But he's a guy I wouldn't mind hanging out with. Parker, not so much.

Unknown said...

Purplepenquin For Hire, I didn't censor myself. I censored Stephen A. Smith. And according to him, you misconstrued him.

But everything seems to fly over your head.

Methadras said...

I never find it hard to fathom how dumb, ignorant black people can still continue to denigrate other black people they find to be 'sellouts' to the man. RG3 has done nothing but try to be an examplary person who is now a professional football player and this hack has the nerve to say that he isn't one of them? This type of racism within the black community has been going on for a long long time, with light skin blacks going after dark skinned blacks and vice versa. But the one thing that blacks excel at usually is trying to bring a successful black man down when he is doing well for himself if he doesn't tow or capitulate the skin color line. Blacks exceedingly denigrate each other on intelligence, politics, skin color, status, wealth, and a multitude of other criteria for the sole purpose of seeing how deep in the hood they can be compared to other blacks.

Methadras said...

I never find it hard to fathom how dumb, ignorant black people can still continue to denigrate other black people they find to be 'sellouts' to the man. RG3 has done nothing but try to be an examplary person who is now a professional football player and this hack has the nerve to say that he isn't one of them? This type of racism within the black community has been going on for a long long time, with light skin blacks going after dark skinned blacks and vice versa. But the one thing that blacks excel at usually is trying to bring a successful black man down when he is doing well for himself if he doesn't tow or capitulate the skin color line. Blacks exceedingly denigrate each other on intelligence, politics, skin color, status, wealth, and a multitude of other criteria for the sole purpose of seeing how deep in the hood they can be compared to other blacks.

purplepenquin said...

I didn't censor myself.

When you (mis?)quoted him, your post was obviously self-censored. Or was it the blog software that did that? 'cause it didn't do so when I tried a test.

Perhaps blogger has some sort of criteria for censoring, where someone who says an objectionable word many times has asterisks automatically inserted but folks who use those words sparsely won't be affected.

I censored Stephen A. Smith.

Actually, his comments on that video link came through loud&clear...I didn't notice anything beeped-out.

But everything seems to fly over your head

Not quite everything, but it does flies over my head why you'd assume I call people "teabagger"...or even why that would be relevant to this convo. Or why you keep insisting that I misconstrued what Mr. Smith, when I haven't said anything about anything he has said.

It also goes over my head why you added "For Hire" after my name. Is that some kind of inside joke or something?

traditionalguy said...

The attitude of Griffin he is calling out is the Texas attitude. Yes it's cornball of a type, but it sure as heck does not feel inferior like the rest of the South has been trained to feel about their accents and their religious faiths based upon the Bible.

Texans are bigger and better so why should the be the ones needing to change their attitude.

See, Dalton, Andy of TCU QB fame. He has no feelings of self hate just as Griffin from Baylor (70 miles South of Forth worth feels).

Amartel said...

Methadras,
Yah, kind of just exactly like white people, dropping emotional guilt and shame trips on each other to be "authentic" and hold the political party line.

"One of us, one of us, one of us."

Would Prissy Parker ever say that to his face, though? Heh heh. Scenes I'd like to see ..

Black people see this for what it is. Do they care? Just like with whites or anyone else it depends on how open-minded they are.

Barry Dauphin said...

RG III was quite funny after his injury. He said that when he was hit he screamed...like a man (pregnant pause, perfect comic timing and the roomful of reporters burst into laughter).

After the season is over, he should guest host SNL and play Rob Parker in a skit where Rob Parker interviews RG III.

X said...

does Robert Griffin make Bryant Gumbel look more or less like Malcolm X?

Chip Ahoy said...

It's shocking in Rob Parker's world there are only two kinds of brothers. A worldview, weltanschauung as it were, that simply could not be answered. Bang, you fired.

X said...

looks like RG3 is gonna have to choke a bitch.

Unknown said...

Chip
A+

reformed trucker said...

"but he's not really down with the cause, he's not one of us."

I'm so sick of this narrow minded bullshit from simpletons.

Methadras said...

Amartel said...

Methadras,
Yah, kind of just exactly like white people, dropping emotional guilt and shame trips on each other to be "authentic" and hold the political party line.

"One of us, one of us, one of us."

Would Prissy Parker ever say that to his face, though? Heh heh. Scenes I'd like to see ..

Black people see this for what it is. Do they care? Just like with whites or anyone else it depends on how open-minded they are.


You don't see it so much in white boy circles unless they are wiggers emulating their darker skinned brethren. White folks usually reserve their jealousy and envy to themselves. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I'm just saying it isn't as over as it is within black communities. I've seen it time and time again. You have a smart black kid doing well in school, the other black kids will start to target him as being uppity and thinking he is better than they are because he might be smarter, faster, has more insight, doesn't talk like they do, etc.

Methadras said...

reformed trucker said...

"but he's not really down with the cause, he's not one of us."

I'm so sick of this narrow minded bullshit from simpletons.


I want to know what that cause is so it can be crushed and never used again as a tool against people who merit celebration for their positive attributes rather than the skin color they were born with. Mindless nonsense.

HT said...

I guess that other Rob is just feeling insecure. The NFL is what? about 65-75% black? Something like that. There's really nothing to feel insecure about. Does he question the blackness or cornballness of a black lineman?

So QB is higher profile, but no need to ratchet up the insecurity. You are still good.

RGIII is a special human being, and I wish he would quit football now before he gets killed. He's got so much sparkle and cackle and life. He's adorable.

Sometimes I wonder about that "like a man" thing - kinda made him seem a little bit insecure himself. But he's the bomb.

Hagar said...

It would be nice if some Black people would follow the Rev. King into the Promised Land now that it is within sight, rather than insisting on roaming the desert for another 40 years first.

Hagar said...

Did not think of how that might misrepresented before I hit "publish."
I am, of course, referring to his "I have a dream ..." speech.

HT said...

It would be nice if we could all stay busy doing our best to prepare the field for the promised land instead of constantly complaining and pointing out the negative.

virgil xenophon said...

Anybody here ever remember Lil' Abner's General Jubilation T. Cornpone? LOL. Is our man Parker insinuating that RGIII is a coward? Or would our esteemed "commentator" even know who he was? So, thinking out loud her, and guessing as a betting man that Parker is totally ignorant of that era, I guess I've overthought the problem. Parker is just a tribalist, nativist asshole..

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger.
Obamaphone.
I feel better.

maninthemiddle said...

The "not one of us" syndrome has virtually destroyed much of black society. Well spoken, graduating early with honors, mom and dad instrumental in his formative years, honors God... Parker apparently thinks these things make him less black. And therein is the rub.

Dante said...

Ann, you are too caught up in denotative meaning, and missing context.

The use of the word is "The guy's off the Democrat plantation," and all that implies. None of it good. It needs to be added to the urban dictionary.

Kylos said...

Brian, I'm not familiar with the marinelli incident other than what was written in the article you linked, but it seems to me that the suggestion that marinelli was engaging in nepotism was fair. Maybe a little forward, but a fair question nonetheless.

Nomadic100 said...

And "the cause" is??

brian said...

Kylos,

Everyone in Detroit was down on the Lions at that time and Marinelli especially. Still the same people thought Parker was a jerk with this question. He still comes on one of the late night Sunday sports shows and talks about his "close personal friends" on the inside of whatever team, have given him the inside scoop. Yeah right.

brian said...

Two other Parker incidents outlined in this article. http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/12/14/espns-parker-suspended-for-cornball-brother-comments-toward-rgiii/

Smilin' Jack said...

Why are black people opinionating about anything to do with corn? Everyone knows they live exclusively on fried chicken and watermelon.

Jim in St Louis said...

Althouse- Corny when I grew up was a side reference to alcohol. I assume from the backwoods/still/prohibition days. Old timers would say a man was 'all corned up' meaning drunk.

I liked the entomology digression, and the intelligent comments that followed.


The rest of you thread-jacking mother-fuckers can go cram it with walnuts.

Bandit said...

Of course the issue this nitwit has is that he has a white fiance and might possibly be a GOPer. Which just doesn't work for narrow minded racists.

Aridog said...

What I'd pay money to see is Rob Parker disrespecting Ndamukong Suh as not black enough in the parking lot of his TV facilities...where both could tangle unfettered. Bwahahahaha.

Ya' know Jamaican and Cameroon "breeds" ain't black enough to be "down with the cause." Especially one with multi hued girl friends.

Rob Parker was born in 1964, in Queens NYC...so what "cause" has he ever been down with? What cause has he risked anything to support or march with anywhere?

Answer: None...he's a fricking fake.

Anonymous said...

This is hilarious. Some white-girl banging sub-human is suddenly "not black enough" for the uncivilized Stepin Fetchits of ESPN. I guess he needs to start using "ghetto slang" and supporting OJ some more.

Perhaps they can teach him, right after their next segment "White people can't dance and are goofy, damn, and all our problems are their fault."

Your leaders, America!

JorgXMcKie said...

Rob Parker has been dropped from just about every gig he has had in Detroit. He now appears occasionally on the local NBC Sunday Sports wrapup, evidently when they can't find anyone useful to appear and they don't want the sports chick to be alone.

His schtick seems to be that he's the provocative iconoclast who asks the questions and makes the remarks others won't. In reality he's rather obviously a self-aggrandizing *sshole desperately seeking attention.

He also makes vague claims to having insider connections that give him info others don't have or won't use.

He seems to have pretty well worn out any welcome he had in Detroit.

I've read his columns and watched his tv appearances, and it's not apparent that he has more than marginally adequate thinking, writing or speaking skills. He's a loser trying to appear not to be.

Skid Marx said...

I am down with Jim in St.Louis, totally.
Language is huge, but specifics aren't all that binding. "Cornball" as a descriptive has been discussed pretty well here, but alone it really doesn't mean much. Cornball brother is a lot more specific, I believe it is the politically correct version of the pejorative country nigger; a term which means: 'He jes showed up, he don't know shit but massa told him'. I haven't seen this dicussed here.
Although it's kind of OT, I read the word wigger in these comments. A stupid, awkward word. I don't discuss this stuff much, but when I do, I say ofay. A much better word, and it's been around for a couple of generations or so.

Skid Marx said...

I am down with Jim in St.Louis, totally.
Language is huge, but specifics aren't all that binding. "Cornball" as a descriptive has been discussed pretty well here, but alone it really doesn't mean much. Cornball brother is a lot more specific, I believe it is the politically correct version of the pejorative country nigger; a term which means: 'He jes showed up, he don't know shit but massa told him'. I haven't seen this dicussed here.
Although it's kind of OT, I read the word wigger in these comments. A stupid, awkward word. I don't discuss this stuff much, but when I do, I say ofay. A much better word, and it's been around for a couple of generations or so.

Douglas said...

It is clear from Ann's etymology research that Rob Parker used the word "cornball" in a different context than the way it has been used historically.

At this point, I'm recalling the line by Frank Zappa in the song "Cosmik Debris:" "Now is that a real poncho, or is that a Sears poncho?"

Skid Marx said...

What if I were to say I bought Overnight Sensation at Sears ($3.29, all day)as an impulse, while schlepping for a new sweater? Is this a real album, or is it a Sears album? Cornball style? Maybe, but is this a great country or what?

Big Mike said...

I still want to parade Parker through Southeast DC with a sign on him saying "this guy dissed RGIII."

Problem solved.

Jim said...

Maybe he meant "corn-fed" brother. I have heard african americans refer to big,athletic,robust caucasians as being "corn-fed". The idea is that they have been like cattle in the feedlot eating well and excercising to get big and strong.



RideHandsomeBlackCowboyStudBrett1953 said...

I'm glad to be a "cornball brother!!!!"

RideHandsomeBlackCowboyStudBrett1953 said...

I'm glad to be a "cornball brother!!!!"

Name withheld to protect innocent said...

As anyone who has ever seen a hushpuppy (a deep fried cornball) knows, it is dark on the outside, but pale on the inside.
Hence, "cornball brother" is a derogatory term like "Oreo" - black on the outside, but white on the inside.

Quintessential Black Male said...

Against my better judgement, I'm going to explain the meaning of "cornball" and some insight on the mindset of like-minded people like Rob Parker and black people, in general.

"Cornball" is a commonly used cut-down amongst low class, ghetto black men and women who see black men without the sexual personification of black sexuality(thug/gangsta, uber attractive black model-esque/celebrity, highly desired ladies men)... or as we call it... SWAG. The men that are more focused on their education(ie... nerds) are less likely to have the SWAG it takes to attract black women. Cornball is synonymous with the white equivalent of being a "square" or "lame"(lame is used heavily in Black America).

Rob Parker did use "cornball" and "Uncle Tom" in a improper context, but the insult was quite clear. Basically Parker called RGIII a ugly, self-hating, sell-out black man who can't attract black women.... Common rhetoric from black women use against famous celebrity and successful(rich) black men who choose to marry non-black women.

RGIII did nothing wrong but graduate in 3 years with his Poly Science degree from Baylor and got engaged to the white female he met as a freshman and now is a successful NFL QB...... and a sell out to non-progressive, ghetto black men and women.