April 19, 2018

Apparently, it's right-wing to find the "Hotep Jesus" Starbucks reparations video hilarious.

I had no idea that I was evincing right-wingery by laughing, but now I am learning, reading "Right-Wing Media Promote An Anti-Semitic Extremist To Mock Starbucks Controversy" (at Right Wing Watch).

I thought it was kind of a Saul Alinsky/Yippie move, but I guess nothing is supposed to be funny anymore. Oh, yeah, I'm remembering I have a tag for these times — the Era of That's Not Funny.

Here's the original video — high-level comedy:



Brilliant! So much to talk about. It's really a Borat-style stunt. I assume the barista isn't playing a role but spontaneously responding to Hotep Jesus's demand for "reparations" and embodying all the empathy she's learned to show, even as she's videoed doing something that must be a firing offense, handing out free coffee.

Yes, there is something wrong with making light of reparations, but that's what makes it funny. It's transgressive. I'll group this with the story of Randa Jarrar, who extracted dark humor from the death of Barbara Bush. Oh, no! Death is super-serious. Don't laugh at death!

These are the very things we should be laughing about — death, racism — not because they aren't serious but because they are.

Help me, Randa.

151 comments:

robother said...

Free Speech!/Coffee/Whatever. That's what I'm talking about!

Gahrie said...

Yes, there is something wrong with making light of reparations

???? Why?

This is why the Left (and Althouse is of the Left) enrages me. That fruitcake asshole professor spewing vile against Barbara Bush is "free speech", but pointing out the absurdity of reparations is beyond the pale.

Michael said...

Help me Randa, help help me Randa.

Sebastian said...

Starbucks Reparations Voucher -- I admit, I laughed.

Gahrie said...

I'll group this with the story of Randa Jarrar, who extracted dark humor from the death of Barbara Bush

There was absolutely nothing humorous about those tweets, and they were not intended to be either.

Jeff Weimer said...

And "RightWingWatch" gets the vapors over tired and banal anti-semitic views (Jews run the world!) that go unremarked and unnoticed if say, Louis Farrakhan or Linda Sarsour say it.

Spare me the sanctimony.

Lucien said...

It’s great to see how much Starbucks has empowered its line employees to exercise discretion in cases like this. Just chalk it up to Black Privilege.

Reparations is an idea richly deserving mockery.

Jupiter said...

Is that Ta-Nehisi Coates? Or just his schtick?

chickelit said...

Bill Cosby should try that stunt.

AllenS said...

Let me explain to all of the cracker asses what you just witnessed --

1 adj A veiled comment is expressed in a disguised form rather than directly and openly. He made only a veiled reference to international concerns over human rights issues..., This last clause is a thinly-veiled threat to those who might choose to ignore the decree.

Bill R said...

It's hard not to like that guy. The girl too.

mockturtle said...

It's funny on several levels. Unknown [apparently] to many whites, black people are fully aware that most of their outrage is phony and are amused at how well it plays to their advantage. Love this guy!

The article was hilarious, too. The website is a classic name-calling, demonizing judgmental, racist example of identity politics warning blacks and women to stay on the plantation.

AlbertAnonymous said...

Wait, so white people have to pay 4 bucks for coffee at Starbucks, but black people get coffee for free? That seems... what’s the word...

Racist!

Isn’t this the company that wanted to have its baristas “start a conversation about race” with its customers?

Well, actually, I’m sure they were only going to start those conversations with privileged white people. No need to talk to those woke AF...

Fernandinande said...

A reparation walks into a Starbucks and says "I gotta take a shit but I don't want to buy anything except crack" and the Starbucker says "That's why our coffee isn't white."

rhhardin said...

Hey it's not her store and it's her last day. No trouble is a good option.

The guy might be making fun or the guy might be dangerous, you don't know.

Encourage the former.

ga6 said...

white ain't never right..once heard shouted on the westside of Chicago by yours truly...

rhhardin said...

t's funny on several levels. Unknown [apparently] to many whites, black people are fully aware that most of their outrage is phony and are amused at how well it plays to their advantage. Love this guy!

Dignity, unfortunately, comes from doing something for somebody else.

The day blacks take up a collection for poor whites they'll notice a change in their opinion of themselves.

Sebastian said...

Of course, the stunt also reveals some deep, deep secrets of American "racism"--that many whites cut many blacks a lot of slack, that blacks also benefit from being black, and that blacks are perfectly capable of using "race" to their advantage, like, you know, rational actors.

AZ Bob said...

There is a thin line between being an artist and being a bum.

Bay Area Guy said...

I am generally Pro-humor.

And this was darn funny!

The shotgun marriage between liberal white do-gooders and black folks will hopefully continue to fray.

robother said...

I thought he pushed it too far when he requested milk. Black reparation coffee should be served...black.

Limited blogger said...

That was some funny shit!

Gordon Scott said...

Starbucks puts hourly staff and managers out there on the pointy tip of politics. They fired the manager in Philadelphia for doing just what they trained him to do. It costs money to have furniture, outlets for chargers and gas fireplaces, i.e. ambiance. Starbucks wants coffee buying people to occupy that ambiance, because it's really annoying when a paying customer walks in and there's no place to sit. So they tell their managers to refuse bathrooms and seating to non-customers.

Everyone understands those rules, including the two black guys who got arrested.

In Minnesota it's almost impossible to prosecute someone for shoplifting, because courts have impossibly high standards for evidence. So even if store security watches someone pocket something, they cannot restrain that person from leaving the store. In Minneapolis, the police won't even show up if you call them, and the county attorney won't prosecute.

Stores expect employees to somehow reduce theft by engaging customers. But whatever you do, don't make them feel bad, because they might take offense and there will be a Starbucks incident. So now people will walk in, fill a duffel bag with body wash (it can be traded in the hood for dope) and run out the door. $1200, retail. I've seen it happen. Imagine how frustrating it is to be an employee! If he does anything, anything other than "Sir, please put down the bag of merchandise you're carrying," the staffer gets fired.

It could be changed. Laws could be modified. But no one really wants to do the hard work.

Michael said...

Love his smile. Wry holding back full throated laughter.

tcrosse said...

I'm sure the young lady behind the counter was aware that she was on camera. That should be a tip-off that an Act is in progress.

Bay Area Guy said...

What do we want?

"Starbucks reparation vouchers for everyone!"

When do we want it?

"Now!...or after Yoga class"

Che Dolf said...

Yes, there is something wrong with making light of reparations...

Imagine believing this.

alan markus said...

At times like this I miss former Althouse commenter Crack Emcee (The Macho Response). Would be interesting to hear his perspective on this.

Freeman Hunt said...

That was really funny.

Rick said...

I'll group this with the story of Randa Jarrar, who extracted dark humor from the death of Barbara Bush. Oh, no! Death is super-serious. Don't laugh at death!

Jarrar's comment included no attempt at humor, so it's odd you'd pretend so to justify mocking her critics.

Jupiter said...

Gordon Scott said...

"It could be changed. Laws could be modified. But no one really wants to do the hard work."

You mean, just make everything free for black people? Sounds like a plan. Then they wouldn't need to burn down half the city every time they need a new pair of shoes.

JAORE said...

There was absolutely nothing humorous about those tweets, and they were not intended to be either.

I went back and read them again. Nope, not funny. Nope, not intended to be.

And anyone who believes her vile political extremism doesn't present itself in her classroom is insane.

Plus, yes, reparations, as presented by many are as funny as some of the "demands" by underclassman radicals on campus. Funny and dangerous... not always a good combination.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Like yeah.

madAsHell said...

He walks into Starbucks, and wants to be judged by the color of his skin.

Ken B said...

You don’t know you are “right wing”? You defend free speech for everyone. That is, in modern America, right wing.

Matt said...

That was funny. His comic timing, tone of voice, and, frankly, the straight (wo)man were all good. You could give a camera to 100 guys to do the same stunt, and none of them would be as funny.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

I found something on the web some time ago that suggested that girls and women will suddenly "appear" in Chinese stats sometime after their birth--and after the age of 4 which WaPo emphasizes. A girl's birth may not be admitted until a younger brother is born--the authorities might allow the girl to stay at this point. The beginning of school is another point when registration might occur, or even later say when getting married. The Chinese might have found ways to get around "one child."


https://twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status/852405553653465090

Anonymous said...

The guy at Starbucks has a great sense of humor. He takes advantage of the Left's theater of the absurd laughing all the way. The only thing he doesn't say - but clearly thinks - "Is this ridiculous , or what?"

M Jordan said...

Funny? It reminded me of the Triumph the Cominc Insult Dog’s interview of a bunch of white, Middlebury College (I think) students who simply couldn’t say a bad word or even accurate description of a black man who interrupted the scene. White liberals are terrified of blacks. It’s not a good look. This girl, likeable as is she is, would do anything to not be called racist.

The black guy is good-natured but the joke is surely on scared whites.

dreams said...

Randa has learned how to game the system, she even got a paid vacation for her venting.

mockturtle said...

As Laslo's character would say, "Lamar gonna set you straight". White liberals are oh, so easy to insult, mock and take advantage of.

BarrySanders20 said...

I must be humor challenged. It was interesting to see how he knew he could game current events to his own advantage. He pulled a good con by daring the young white girl to deny him his rightful free coffee, but it wasn’t humorous. He filmed it show that he could run a successful and completely legal scam.

How many days in a row can he repeat that? Not going to find last day workers every day.

But maybe I Just don’t get it.

Speaking of that, Althouse does show a magnificent lack of perception with the crass anti-Barbara Bush tweeter, which is odd because she usually is very perceptive.

CJinPA said...

Did he bring a kid along for this bit?

Jupiter said...

M Jordan said...

"White liberals are terrified of blacks. It’s not a good look. This girl, likeable as is she is, would do anything to not be called racist."

I think you're reading this all wrong. That woman (ahem) is shocked that a Starbucks mistreated those two poor black men. She apparently just assumes that Starbucks has authorized free coffee for blacks as a "gesture of goodwill", without considering the implications, practical as well as legal, of such a policy. She is delighted by this opportunity to signal that she is a goodwhite, not a "racist". She reminds me a lot of Igna. Except I suspect she will wise up a lot sooner than Igna, if she lives.

Anonymous said...

AA: ...reading "Right-Wing Media Promote An Anti-Semitic Extremist To Mock Starbucks Controversy".

From the article:

"But none of these outlets mentioned Sharpe’s anti-Semitic views, his affiliations with white nationalists, or his belief in insane conspiracy theories."

Dear Stick-up-the-Butt Left: When an anti-Semitic, white nationalist-affiliated, insane-conspiracy-theory believer has a keener sense of the ridiculous than you....well, shouldn't that be telling you that you've got something wrong with you? Something seriously wrong?

AA: I'll group this with the story of Randa Jarrar, who extracted dark humor from the death of Barbara Bush.

Now I'm sure that you're "challenging" us trollingly.

richlb said...

I both love and hate this.

Also, it can't be a firing offense - it was her last day already!!

roesch/voltaire said...

This is a good ironic send up of reparations-- free coffee is all it amount to so far-and the Starbuck embarrassment over a racist act that can be, or not, set right by one cup of free coffee with Carmel. Good theater well played by both.

traditionalguy said...

Huge Reparations are owed to the victims of African slavery, and 90% of it is owed by the British Monarchy,the next 8 % by New England families and 2% by the old Confederates. But the old Confederates paid out all they had in 1865, except a small historical collector value of their Confederate Bonds and currency.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I wonder if the "free coffee for blacks" will be part of the re-education day at Starbucks?

dreams said...

"Bill Cosby should try that stunt."

Feminism trumps Bill Cosby's race. And he besides he tried to lift up his race by taking blacks to task for not being responsible and so he must be punished.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

It used to be that is you hung out in a store without purchasing anything, you might be asked to leave. Now, if you happen to be black, you can treat private business like it's a public space.

Because racism.

BarrySanders20 said...

“It used to be that is you hung out in a store without purchasing anything, you might be asked to leave. Now, if you happen to be black, you can treat private business like it's a public space.”

By popular demand, and coming soon to a Starbucks near you: safe spaces for blacks only.

Jupiter said...

Angle-Dyne, Angelic Buzzard said...

"From the article:"

Yeah, the article does put a slightly different light on Hotep Jesus, doesn't it. Not sure what he expected to have happen, but I don't think he was ready for "Is that a real thing?". White people. Go figure.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Hilarious! Maybe I'll try that.

I'd suspect that dimwitted barista bitch was Melissa Click's daughter, if I didn't know Professor Click was a dried up, barren old cat lady who never reproduced, praise Heaven.

Anonymous said...

r/V: "This is a good ironic send up of reparations..."

Yes, it was. Too bad the joke went over your head.

r/V continues: "[retarded humorless "analysis" of the video]"

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

"He walks into Starbucks, and wants to be judged by the color of his skin."

Blacks tried that "judged by the content of their character" shit, but it didn't turn out well for them.

Gahrie said...

But none of these outlets mentioned Sharpe’s anti-Semitic views, his affiliations with white nationalists

Wanna bet that those Black guys who got arrested support Farrakhan and the NoI?

or his belief in insane conspiracy theories.

Yeah everybody knows that Black people never believe in conspiracies.

The sad, unpleasant truth that cannot be acknowledged is that White racists have much more in common with the Left than the Right and are increasingly caused by the Left's obsession with race.




Anonymous said...

Jupiter: Yeah, the article does put a slightly different light on Hotep Jesus...

Well, I quoted it to put a light on the stupidity and stick-up-the-butt earnestness of the site: "Right Wing Watch: A Project of People for the American Way".

The video is funny and dead-on regardless of what Hotep Jesus thinks about other things. And I'm sure as hell not going to take Right Wing Watch: A Project of People for the American Way's word for it about whether Hotep Jesus is any of those things. He may be all of those things, but Right Wing Watch: A Project of People for the American Way would say as much about anybody who disagreed with them about reparations, including you and me.

If I cared, which I don't, I'd look it up for myself.

Temujin said...

This is one fucked up generation.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Yes, there is something wrong with making light of reparations, but that's what makes it funny. It's transgressive. I'll group this with the story of Randa Jarrar, who extracted dark humor from the death of Barbara Bush. Oh, no! Death is super-serious. Don't laugh at death!”

Some things aren’t funny. This was funny. Jarrar wasn’t funny and I don’t think she meant her words to be taken as a joke. She was dead serious (so to speak). Mistaking people’s hateful comments as a joke, when they’re not joking, seems like a lack of judgment/ discernment. Althouse many times attributed humor to Trump words, when he wasn’t trying to be be humorous and was actually being very serious.

robother said...

"Mistaking people’s hateful comments as a joke, when they’re not joking, seems like a lack of judgment/ discernment."

On the other hand, labelling your hateful comments as serious would make them even funnier.

wholelottasplainin said...

Just wait til the homeless tweakers set up their tents inside a few Starbucks.....

DanTheMan said...

"I hope your mom drops dead and suffers horribly, because she's a monster."

I guess that meets Ann's definition of "dark humor".

Achilles said...

Time to take a short position on Starbucks.

dreams said...

"I'd suspect that dimwitted barista bitch was Melissa Click's daughter, if I didn't know Professor Click was a dried up, barren old cat lady who never reproduced, praise Heaven."

I thought she handled the situation well.

Yancey Ward said...

Is it just me, or has Twitter taken down the attached video- I can't play it.

Yancey Ward said...

Ok, never mind- refreshed the page and now it plays.

Brian McKim and/or Traci Skene said...

I know humor is subjective. (And I have dealt with that fact for over 30 years.) And I see that Mr. Jesus has a smile (or a smirk) on his face as he introduces his stunt. But I did not perceive his schtick as particularly "funny." And, since humor is subjective, I am not about to tell anyone, with any certainty, that this clip is "not funny." But, from a purely technical standpoint, I am struggling to imagine how this might be "funny." Mind you, I don't think it's "not funny," (a subtle distinction) but I am trying hard to put myself in the mental position of someone who thinks this is funny. I thought it was interesting to see the reaction of the barista. I thought that the idea for the video was provocative and executed with some degree of lightheartedness (as opposed to anger), but something more than lightheartedness is needed to create "funny." (Otherwise we have the equivalent of a joke for children.)

Bill Peschel said...

"who extracted dark humor from the death of Barbara Bush."

I would love to know where Professor Althouse found humor in her tweets, because I honestly don't see it.

Personally, I hope the doesn't lose her job. I'm sick of calling for a person to lose their livelihood and their health coverage over saying something away from their job* that someone happens to disagree with. Fresno State thought she was worthy of hiring, they should stay glued to her and parents should know that when it comes to deciding where to send their little darlings.

* a.k.a. "the alt-Kaepernick rule"

Bill Peschel said...

Krep, I mean "Personally, I hope the looney professor doesn't lose her job."

Gunner said...

Racemongers like Randa draw the line at making fun of black bodies or portraying them in a bad light.

steve said...

it reminds me of this scene from the Richard Pryor movie "Bustin Loose"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sWt4259vsU

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Unfortunately, for some reason I can't see the video. Perhaps the link is broken.

Whatever. As a person who has had the misfortune to hold the shitty job of standing on my feet all day and dealing the the public.....if I were the barista....I ain't got time for this crap. Dealing with the normal run of the mill public is a big enough pain in the ass. Dealing with jokers, time wasters and the crazy is not something anyone needs to do.

You shouldn't have to accommodate crazy people and practical jokers. I just want to deal with you, give you your product take your money for the product, wait on the next customer and finally!!!! get to go home. Pay for your stuff. Sit down and STFU.

I don't like practical jokes. I don't like mean jokes. I really really don't like crazy race mongering people who try to pull me into their political vortex. Again. I didn't see it, but I don't imagine it to be funny if I were on the receiving end. Perhaps funny to people who like to vicariously watch sadistic jokes being played. Not to me.

I would be tempted to just disappear in the back of the store and not come out until the crazy and possibly violent person left. If they didn't leave....then I would, because the alternative is to make him WEAR a cup of boiling hot coffee.

NO job is worth standing and being berated by the crazy.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Firing offense? I think Starbucks should promote the girl. She just provided her employer with a free viral ad.

Yancey Ward said...

It wouldn't be funny if it were, let's say Chik-Filet. That it is that bastion of cloying PCness, Starbucks, is what makes it fucking hilarious. Starbucks is now going to find itself the establishment of choice for vagrants because the management is non-vertebrate.

Howard said...

Hotep Brothers Un-Woke

Anonymous said...

Brian McKim and/or Traci Skene: I am trying hard to put myself in the mental position of someone who thinks this is funny. I thought it was interesting to see the reaction of the barista. I thought that the idea for the video was provocative and executed with some degree of lightheartedness (as opposed to anger), but something more than lightheartedness is needed to create "funny." (Otherwise we have the equivalent of a joke for children.)

Well, there ya go. No need to *over*think, just go with "the people who thinks it's funny must have a really retarded sense of humor", if that's what you think.

I, for one, won't demand reparations for your dissing my sense of humor.

Big Mike said...

Yes, there is something wrong with making light of reparations, but that's what makes it funny.

No, there is nothing wrong with it. Seriously.

animal lover said...

It certainly proves if you give a liberal an inch they will take a mile. No matter how much butt kissing Starbucks does it will never be enough. My heart pumps piss for them

Big Mike said...

I don’t patronize Starbucks because can’t see paying a lot of money to drink coffee that tastes burned and eat stale pastries. The thought that I might be treated to an ignorant jackass shouting into a bullhorn doesn’t improve the odds that I would change my mind.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Jarrar wasn't laughing at death - she was being an a-hole about someone who died. Those are two different things.

JaimeRoberto said...

The barista's sweatshirt has Cyrillic letters on the sleeve. They are obviously Russian trolls. This probably was filmed in St. Petersburg or Novosibirsk. Sad.

mockturtle said...

It would have been funnier if the barista had answered his request with, "You're shittin' me, right?"

Luke Lea said...

The barista was so cute and nice about it. If that was a fireable offense, somebody will hire her in a nonce. I didn't laugh, I smiled.

Quaestor said...

History shows the more free stuff African Americans get the poorer and less employable they become.

There! I said it.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"The black guy is good-natured but the joke is surely on scared whites."

4/19/18, 10:32 AM

Of course it is. The joke is on scared PC whites.

Why else do you think "Right Wing Watch" has their panties in a bunch about it?

n.n said...

free stuff African Americans get the poorer and less employable they become

Redistributive change is profitable for the redistributor, but it is an econommic mode known to cause spiritual destruction in the redistributee, and a first-order forcing of progressive corruption and dysfunction. The collateral damage is not limited by diversity, and is a common risk for all people.

FIDO said...

I find it disingenuous for Ms. Althouse to make a defense for humor to excuse what was meant, not as a joke, but as a hateful and hurtful remark by Rhada, unless she will also defend (and laugh at) the following joke:

"What do you tell a woman with two black eyes?"

"Nothing. You already told her three times."

If one picks and chooses appropriate and inappropriate humor, than you are not defending humor and free speech...you are picking winners and losers.

What Ms. Althouse seems impervious to is the fact that all these free speech attacks are always coming from the Left (or at least the vast majority of them)

One saws away at rights and cultural civility at one's peril. The Jacobins thought that they were immune when they sawed away at the Ancien Regime.

Oops.

mezzrow said...

Don't worry, be happy.

Bay Area Guy said...

Fuck the "Starbucks Reparation Voucher" plan.

From now on, Starbucks should serve free coffee to all Blacks.
That will surely help cure the lingering effects caused by racist, multi-national, Barista corporations.

And, while we're at it - Unionize the Baristas!

Drago said...

"Hotep"

Another hilarious attempt by American blacks to appropriate the arab/Greek Ptolemaic Egyptian empire as their own.

Here's a good book: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Out-Africa-Afrocentrism-Republic/dp/046509838X

DanTheMan said...

>>It wouldn't be funny if it were, let's say Chick-Fil-A


No, it would be Tuesday. Free breakfast mystery item. No reparations or race baiting required.

Infinite Monkeys said...

Like I'm going to listen to opinions about race and politics of some guy named Jared. I clicked through to look at his picture and read the mini-bio provided. Did he ask them to use the most boring, bland photo they could?

Rabel said...

If someone puts a bullet in Jarrar's head I am gonna laugh and laugh and laugh. It is gonna be a hoot. I'm telling you, there's nothing funnier than death, especially when it's an old person or a fat person or - this is especially good - a midget. Watching their little arms wriggle around while they struggle for life just doubles me over and keeps me giggling for hours.

Somedays, Althouse, you're one of the brightest and most astute and insightful commenters on the American scene I've ever encountered. Other days, you seem certifiably nuts.

madAsHell said...

I had to turn it off. The girl sounded so....vacuous.

Jim at said...

Racism isn't funny, per se. But making fun of the leftist assholes who turn everything into racism is.

Who says we Wing Nuts don't have a sense of humor?

Jim at said...

Althouse many times attributed humor to Trump words, when he wasn’t trying to be be humorous and was actually being very serious.

Try as you might, you just couldn't do it, could you?
You just couldn't make a reasonable comment and leave it at that.

Jim at said...

Personally, I hope the doesn't lose her job. I'm sick of calling for a person to lose their livelihood and their health coverage over saying something away from their job* that someone happens to disagree with.

Sorry. Nope. She needs to be fired just as if a right-leaning prof would've been had the roles been reversed.

The left needs to be held to the same rules they impose upon everybody else. That's the only way they'll stop.

PM said...

Outrage drives engagement; engagement drives money to YouTubeGoogleBook. Plus a free coffee! Win-Win.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

"I thought she handled the situation well."

I suppose so, if handling the situation well means giving away the store. I'd love to see Starbucks go under.

An interesting fact about Starbucks is that they don't franchise. I wouldn't want to hurt some local business owner/franchiser, but corporate owns all their own coffeehouses, or licenses the name to other corporations at supermarkets, airports,etc., which is why I'm making this proposal:

Teams of Deplorables should pick a day to camp out at Starbucks. They should wear camo/MAGA gear/open-carry guns where allowed by law, NRA ball caps, Scott Walker t-shirts, and the like. They should not order ANYTHING, and seat themselves strategically so as to inconvenience each cafe and reduce sales as much as possible, all while using the restrooms and free wifi. They should not act disorderly, destroy property, commit any crimes or harass or provoke anyone. They should just sit and talk amongst themselves while eating and drinking items clearly marked as being from the local competition. This should be done at as many Starbucks as possible, as often as possible.

I'll do it on my days off. Who's with me?

Quaestor said...

Another hilarious attempt by American blacks to appropriate the arab/Greek Ptolemaic Egyptian empire as their own.

Great book. Bought a copy years ago and read it with a sense of impending doom as the foundations of Western scholarship were and continue to be gnawed by the rabid rats of the leftism.

I remember with disgust those posters sold in record stores showing a negro Cleopatra posing in absurd erotic finery that even the worst exploitationist Hollywood director would cringe at. Here's an interesting rebuttal.

Quaestor said...

Tags aren't working for some reason. The link that should have appeared above: https://blog.oup.com/2010/12/cleopatra-2/

walter said...

Heh..she is..perky.
I think she was trying to string out the conversation at the end.

Be said...

Didn't Glen Reynolds use to talk about the "Comfy Chair Revolution," which was all about people taking up space / sponging off other businesses in order to further themselves? Maybe it isn't a Black Thing so much as a Libertarian one.

That video was cute. Jesus Hotep was wonderfully tongue in cheek, and the barista a great 'straight man.' Someone mentioned about the annoyance of pranksters when one works in service: worked in an equally, if not moreso, hipster hash-slinging situation for a couple years a while back. Sometimes the customers could be tiring. Other times, someone would walk in, and things would just *Click.* I'm not talking Hepburn and Tracy level repartee, but close.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

It's not at all amazing that this Starbucks story completely drove the FB-livestreamed murders of Devyn Holmes and Rannita Williams out of the news cycle in about a week. SAY THEIR NAMES!

BTW, Starbucks has always encouraged CUSTOMERS to linger, not loafers to LOITER, use free wifi, and their restrooms while NOT BUYING ANYTHING. Why do you suppose the bathrooms have locks?

Couldn't those two "real estate brokers" have scraped together $2 for an Americano? Maybe they could have ordered one frappuccino and two straws. Anyway, they got what they came for -- publicity, the chance to harass white minimum-wage workers, a dip into the deep pockets of Starbucks, and the warm glow that comes from being righteous crusaders for JUSTICE.

Anyway, that was, what, two days ago? Now their policy is to give free shit to Blacks. I hope they go down in flames.

walter said...

A straight man is part of the/in on the act.
She was just a dupe.

Kelly said...

The entire controversy is ridiculous. I was in Starbucks a few years ago in Killeen Texas. I stood in a pretty long line and when it was my turn the barista noticed a black (presumably) homeless guy had just come in. She became extremely excited. Invited him to the front of the line (in front of me). Told him he could have whatever he wanted. She read the entire menu for him (or it seemed like it). He finally decided on a vente mocha frappachino. He went outside, stood next to the door while he smoked and enjoyed his free drink.

The Godfather said...

@Char Char Binks: I like your idea of a MAGA/NRA sit-in at Starbucks. Unfortunately, the only Starbucks in my little town is a drive-through, and I think that a sit-in there would just be too easy.

RMc said...

I thought it was kind of a Saul Alinsky/Yippie move, but I guess nothing is supposed to be funny anymore.

It's only funny when our ideological enemies are the butt of the joke, citizen.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"That video was cute. Jesus Hotep was wonderfully tongue in cheek, and the barista a great 'straight man.'"

He was mocking PC grievance-mongering. She was earnestly PC. She was sympathetic and chatty with him, but the thought in the back of her mind might have been "The manager didn't say anything to me about giving out free coffee to blacks, but I'd better do it or he could be standing here with a crowd tomorrow yelling at me for being racist. So I have to show I'm not."

If she was aware she was being filmed, that might have increased any anxiety she felt. "Can't be racist, I'm on camera, gotta show I'm woke..."

Ann Althouse said...

Barbara Bush spoke plainly and didn’t do civility bullshit. My remarks are a better tribute to her than these lame efforts to champion her dignity.

Ann Althouse said...

I invite you to make jokes about me after I die.

Ann Althouse said...

The sobriety is ludicrous... and not in a fun way.

Rabel said...

Not long ago I watched a 93 year old woman die in conditions similar to those which afflicted Barbara Bush. There was nothing funny about it. Not one God Damned thing.

Nothing darkly funny, or ironically funny, or LOL funny. Nothing.

Making jokes about someone after their death is fine. Celebrating the death is sick. Evil.

The Vault Dweller said...

Randa Jarrar said some shitty things but this outcry demanding she lose her job is an overreaction. I agree with the general social rule of don't speak ill of the dead, at least not near in time to their death, because there are going to be people who cared deeply for that person that are hurt by it. That doesn't mean the proper reaction is get her fired. I think social media has propagated too much of this outrage culture, where someone does or says something bad, and then an outrage mob forms to 'do justice' and they aren't satisfied until they get their pound of flesh. Free speech isn't just a legal concept, it is a cultural value. And part of that being a cultural value means that society ought to develop thicker skins to 'outrages' and think about more tempered, proportional responses.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Maybe I'll do a sit-in all by myself. Maybe that will get the ball rolling. I don't even have any MAGA/NRA gear, but I'm sure I could find some. I'd open carry if I could get away with it.

I'll at least ask for free coffee and the bathroom code. I'll claim to identify as black.

walter said...

Death is, or should be sobering.
Shitting on her because of her family is "angry drunk" behavior.

mockturtle said...

Not sure where the 'don't speak ill of the dead' came from but I never had anything BUT ill remarks about Ted Kennedy, dead or alive.

chickelit said...

I’m disappointed that the college rewarded the potty mouthed professor: they lifted her teaching load but kept her on full salary. Win-win for her. Now she tweet invective 24/7/365.

walter said...

Well mock, I don't remember Barbara Bush killing anyone or making waitress sandwiches.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Try as you might, you just couldn't do it, could you?
You just couldn't make a reasonable comment and leave it at that.”

I say what I want, asshole. It’s not like I’d say I’d dance on your grave....

Big Mike said...

That doesn't mean the proper reaction is get her fired.

So what is the proper reaction? As Jim at points out upthread, the response to a conservative professor commuting a much less horrendous affront would be to call for firing, if not a lynching. (C.f., Professor Bret Weinstein)

Drago said...

Ann Althouse: "Barbara Bush spoke plainly and didn’t do civility bullshit. My remarks are a better tribute to her than these lame efforts to champion her dignity."

That is absolutely perfect.

The Vault Dweller said...

"Not sure where the 'don't speak ill of the dead' came from but I never had anything BUT ill remarks about Ted Kennedy, dead or alive."

I agree and in the days and perhaps a week or two following his death, it would have been inappropriate to trash him, (even though his actions made it deserved) because that hurts those who cared about him so near in time to his death. But after a certain amount of time it is ok to bring out the guns so people don't forget the bad a person has done.

chickelit said...

Rabel notes: “Making jokes about someone after their death is fine. Celebrating the death is sick. Evil.”

Randa Jarrar is morbidly obese.and the whole world knows it now. That cannot be a fun way to go through life. Perhaps she’ll be able to donate her dead corpus to the needy.

chickelit said...

Ann Althouse: "Barbara Bush spoke plainly and didn’t do civility bullshit. My remarks are a better tribute to her than these lame efforts to champion her dignity."

Sorry, but voting for Hillary Clinton was doing “civility bullshit.”

The Vault Dweller said...

"So what is the proper reaction? As Jim at points out upthread, the response to a conservative professor commuting a much less horrendous affront would be to call for firing, if not a lynching. (C.f., Professor Bret Weinstein)"

If the goal of the actions is to make the left live up to their own standards because they seem to have lost the ability to recognize why it is bad for society for people to lose their jobs or face other significant penalties for saying extremely mean things, and the hope is that the left will then relearn the wisdom of a society that has a thick skin to non-harmful moral transgression, then yes I agree that doing this to her is fine. If the goal is to do what a reasonably just society would do and not get a woman fired despite the odious things she may have said because overall society is better when people can express themselves without fear of disproportionate response, then no I don't think demanding her firing is good. As far as a good response? Raise money and so you can buy a space on a billboard on her commute from her home to work and take out and add that has an unflattering picture of her, with the caption, "Randa Jaffar is a fat, malignant cunt."

Big Mike said...

@Inga, I’m planning on having my ashes launched into space. You’ll be welcome to dance all over them, preferably sans space suit.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chickelit said...

“Sorry. Nope. She needs to be fired just as if a right-leaning prof would've been had the roles been reversed.”

The left knows and accepts “an eye for an eye” mentality, so I tend to agree. If the left hadn’t thrown Christianity overboard, I’d be more sympathetic with setting good examples.

Lydia said...

Barbara Bush spoke plainly and didn’t do civility bullshit.

When she did the "rhymes with rich" thing re Geraldine Ferraro, she later phoned Ferraro and apologized. After the fact, but still civil behavior.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

The left knows and accepts “an eye for an eye” mentality, so I tend to agree. If the left hadn’t thrown Christianity overboard, I’d be more sympathetic with setting good examples.

4/19/18, 6:38 PM

Yep. Several years ago I would have agreed that she should not be fired. But I am tired of the "civility bullshit" being applied to one side only. We all know what would happen if Michele Obama died and a prof sent out a tweet rejoicing and mocking her husband and children's grief.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Ann Althouse said...

I invite you to make jokes about me after I die."

Jarrar tweeted out that thinking about the grief the Bushes were feeling gave her pleasure. Hahahaha. That's so amusing.

When my mother died, one of the people who eulogized her referred to her driving. She was a really terrible driver and must have been in at least 6 fender benders. None of them were serious, thank God. She was scolding me once after she picked me up from my high school. She ran a red light and ended up driving onto someone's corner lot and running over their JFK lawn ornament. (And she was a Democrat.) To this day, I burst out laughing every time I think about it. And so did everyone at the funeral service. She would not have minded.

Poking good-natured fun at the quirks and foibles of the deceased is vastly different from what that prof tweeted out. She was being deliberately cruel because she hates the Bushes.

Since you've extended the invitation, I suppose the joke I'll make about you after your death will have something to do with how you never, ever admit you are wrong about a subject once you have stalked out a position.

chickelit said...

Exiledonmainstreet wrote: “But I am tired of the "civility bullshit" being applied to one side only.”

Related: Seeing Christians turned into chumps by the left for their forgiveness strikes me as something that Althouse would laugh about. Maybe we can discuss this openly after she passes, but only in a joking way.

BUMBLE BEE said...

REPARATIONS: Money to non-victims from non slave owners. What a deal!

chickelit said...

“REPARATIONS: Money to non-victims from non slave owners. What a deal!”

Someone asked unthread or earlier about The Crack EmCee. If Crack were here he’d argue that black people are victims of 350 continuous years of slavery, and that white people are guilty of master mentality, He said it so often that I know it by heart.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Whoa. Here some more “humor”, this time from Roger Stone.

“Trump ally Roger Stone has doubled down on his criticism of Barbara Bush after calling the former first lady "a nasty drunk" following news she had died Tuesday at the age of 92.

"She is descending into hell right now. She's not going to heaven. She was a bad person," Stone told controversial website InfoWars.com Wednesday.

Stone's comments come after he posted an initial statement on Instagram where he tore into the former first lady following her death.

He added she made former first lady Betty Ford, who struggled with alcoholism and substance abuse issues, look like temperance movement leader Carrie Nation.

"Barbara Bush drank so much booze, if they cremated her ... her body would burn for three days," the political trickster wrote.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/roger-stone-steps-up-attacks-on-barbara-bush-she-is-descending-into-hell-right-now

Ann Althouse said...

Jarrar was expressing passionate hatred of the Iraq war and the perceived callousness toward the poor people overwhelmed by Katrina. She put that hatred into pointed jibes against a privileged woman. Ignore it if you don’t like it. Don’t try to get her fired.

gpm said...

>>Not sure where the 'don't speak ill of the dead' came from

Ancient stuff. There's a Latin version: "de mortuis nil nisi bonum." There's an ancient Greek version I can't quite remember, but it includes the thought that it's bad luck: They might somehow bite back. I'm sure it goes much further back.

--gpm

Bad Lieutenant said...


Ann Althouse said...
I invite you to make jokes about me after I die.

4/19/18, 5:45 PM


Do we gotta wait till you croak?

Gahrie said...

Jarrar was expressing passionate hatred of the Iraq war and the perceived callousness toward the poor people overwhelmed by Katrina. She put that hatred into pointed jibes against a privileged woman. Ignore it if you don’t like it. Don’t try to get her fired.

She'd be the first one in line to get one of us fired.

Michael McNeil said...

I have been asked to leave a coffee shop when they decided I wasn’t consuming enough of the proprietor’s product for the time spent there — but never had a Starbucks do so. They’ve always been super laid-back in this regard — but then I haven’t tried to push my luck — beyond the rather remarkable extent that I found they allowed.

Here’s what I used to do at Starbucks (after ceasing to patronize that other establishment). A few years back I didn’t have access to an office, so for a year or two I frequently spent quite a bit of time at one of several possible Starbucks in the area.

I don’t drink coffee, mind you. At the (non-Starbucks) place I used to frequent I’d buy a cup of tea every time — but at Starbucks I don’t like their tea, and so there I got into the habit of bringing my own quality teabag (Twinings Earl Grey, $0.15 each) — then marching (politely) up to the Starbucks front counter and requesting of the barrista one (1) cup of hot water.

He or she, in turn, would bring back the piping-hot water — in, of course, a Starbucks cup. I’d then deposit a $1 bill into the tipjar, turn to the condiments table, steep my teabag, add (Starbucks) sugar and milk, then sit down at a nearby table and work on my laptop there for the next 3-4 hours. About halfway through the session I’d ask for a refill of hot water and steep another cup of tea from the same teabag. I did this maybe 100-200 times. Nobody ever said squat to me about it — or even just gave me the hairy eyeball from across the room.

Not sure what would have happened if I hadn’t left that daily tip in the tipjar, though….

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

"I like my coffee like my slaves"
--(black and strong?)
No... FREE !!!

hombre said...

Fits my pictures!

PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...

If there was justice in the world, Starbucks would pay people to drink their coffee flavored beverages.

John Henry

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Roger Stone is a jerk.

chickelit said...

@Inga: Maybe there's some dirt on Trump's opinion of Barbara Bush in Comey's latest redacted memos.

♫ Jim Comey to the rescue,*
Jim Comey to the rescue,
Jim Comey to the rescue,
Go, Jim Comey! Go, Jim Comey! ♫
______________
*[That's "James," not "Jim" - ed.]

chickelit said...

Little know facts of history: James Comey's hero, J Edgar Hoover, on FDR:

"FDR has yellow teeth, small quadriceps, and cheats on Eleanor."

Lewis Wetzel said...

She put that hatred into pointed jibes against a privileged woman.
Jarrar is a privileged woman. She bragged about her privilege.
She may feel that she is a despised figure for her religion or sex or whatever, but that's not my problem. She should act like a frikkin' human being worthy of respect if she wants respect.

Rick said...

Jarrar was expressing passionate hatred of the Iraq war and the perceived callousness toward the poor people overwhelmed by Katrina. She put that hatred into pointed jibes against a privileged woman. Ignore it if you don’t like it. Don’t try to get her fired.

a. Why not? James Damore shows that's the left's rule. Why shouldn't they live by it?
b. Explain how Bush's comment was callous. Use her words and not the politically motivated distortions.

Naeempc said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.