August 17, 2018

Trump Haters Can't Even Honor Aretha Franklin Properly.

On its front page, alongside a normal tribute to the great singer, The Atlantic has "Trump Can't Even Honor Aretha Franklin Properly/The president described the deceased soul legend first as a person who 'worked for me,' a telling remark in his ongoing disparagement of black women" by Vann R. Newkirk II. Newkirk is a "politics and policy" writer at The Atlantic, and you can see here, he put up another article, a much more substantive and respectful one, on the day we heard of the singer's death...
That other piece, "Aretha Franklin’s Revolution/The soul singer was an architect of the civil-rights movement as much as a witness to it," ends:
The literal meaning of the genre’s name [soul] speaks to its purpose. That purpose was taking the animus of a divine creator from gospel and pouring it into the music of the world. It took the black experience, with all its urgency and certainty of overcoming, and transliterated it into the vernacular. Soul was and is a revolutionary art, and Aretha belongs in the broader conversation about this country’s revolutionary heroes with any provocateur or patriot who ever lived.
That piece — with its grace and optimism — was linked lower down on the front page, but not among the featured articles at the top. It looks as though The Atlantic didn't like the stately "architect of the civil-rights movement" approach. God forbid we should drop our guard and feel good about racial relations in America. The relentless feel-bad agenda must continue, and it must revolve around Trump. So a trivial phrase in Trump's effort at honoring Franklin is yanked out of context and magnified into another racial problem. Because we can never have enough racial problems, it seems.
It’s hard not to find effusive praise for a woman who managed so much in three-quarters of a century, and Trump’s comments indicate he has some sense of the scope of what she’d done. But with four simple words—she worked for me—he ruined most of that. With that clause, he turned the stunning career achievements of a woman who was nominated for at least one Grammy Award in 24 of the 27 years from 1968 to 1995 into supporting evidence. The most important thing, the thing he just had to point out, was that she’d worked for him....
And the most important thing, the thing you just had to point out, was that Trump said something that could be construed as a racial microaggression.

82 comments:

tim in vermont said...

NPR couldn't even mention Trump's name, they said "The President of the United States praised..." then went on directly to Obama's words, giving him name credit of course.

tim in vermont said...

“I want to begin today by expressing my condolences to the family of a person I knew well,” Trump said Thursday during a Cabinet meeting. “She worked for me on numerous occasions. She was terrific—Aretha Franklin—on her passing. She brought joy to millions of lives and her extraordinary legacy will thrive and inspire many generations to come.” ... To be sure, it’s as yet unclear how well the president actually knew Franklin

LOL

rhhardin said...

It's the black people are sacred objects narrative.

Mid-Life Lawyer said...

President Trump should have commissioned a black and white photo of himself standing alone on stage at the Apollo then graced us with this poignant tribute like Comrade Obama would have done.

traditionalguy said...

Trump has a history of getting along with all black people in business. How dare he say that. Race War is Race War and it's not over until The Dems' media says so.

The Crack Emcee said...

"The most important thing, the thing you just had to point out, was that Trump said something that could be construed as a racial microaggression."

I feel so bad about my treatment, here. I no longer see a reason NOT to point such things out - even if I know Trump, himself, is not a racist - because many whites need to see others are as bothered as they are. It has to be known. They outnumber everyone, so it's too easy for them to delude themselves, just as slaveowners were always positive their slaves adored them, no matter what they did, when it simply wasn't true - and still isn't. They're horrible people.

Many whites are so relentless in their racial animosities - even when they're proven wrong repeatedly - I can't find a reason to spare them from a daily rub-your-face-in-it, because they're not going to stop and they're not going to educate themselves in anything but being bigger jerks. (They seem to not only get off on it, but - by standing silently by as other racists act - they also seem to enjoy watching others being cruel, and others enduring it, too.) Their own suffering seems to be all they respect. So let them. They're really horrible people.

The president's got a thicker skin than most. He'll be fine.

stlcdr said...

Media reports that Trump makes everything about Trump, while making everything about Trump.

Mark said...

I laughed my ass off seeing how Fox used a photo of Patty LaBelle instead of Aretha.

Rob said...

I’m guessing she performed at Trump’s casinos a few times. In other words, worked for him.

robother said...

"Many whites are so relentless in their racial animosities - even when they're proven wrong repeatedly - I can't find a reason to spare them from a daily rub-your-face-in-it, because they're not going to stop and they're not going to educate themselves in anything but being bigger jerks."

Crack, you do see that you're doing this to yourself, don't you? You are projecting your own anger on every white person you encounter, you imagine you know what's in their minds (better even than they do themselves). And it only makes you more angry. What a waste of a human mind, a life. You can drop it, you know.

BamaBadgOR said...

The Atlantic has allowed itself to be used by Newkirk as his personal blog.

Rick said...

To be sure, it’s as yet unclear how well the president actually knew Franklin

Apparently people have to be lifelong friends to express condolences. Non-leftists anyway.

tim in vermont said...

“We sincerely apologize to Aretha Franklin’s family and friends,” a Fox News spokesperson said. “Our intention was to honor the icon using a secondary image of her performing with Patti LaBelle in the full screen graphic, but the image of Ms. Franklin was obscured in that process, which we deeply regret.” - Fox News

Yep, Fox News is a bunch of racists to whom all black people look alike!

rehajm said...

The Trump hate-a-day will get them through Friday. However, Saturday will soon be here.

Oso Negro said...

. Soul was an American cultural expression, and Aretha Franklin was one its finest. Sad that people can’t just think of it that way.

tim in vermont said...

I once hosted a party in my sumptuous Vermont digs and a bunch of liberals were there and Aretha Franklin came up on the stereo singing Gospel and I got an actual complaint about playing Christian music. This is a true story. I told my friend who invited these people that I wasn't turning off Aretha for nobody, and he sheepishly agreed with me.

Quayle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Quayle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kylos said...

Quayle, in all sincerity I want you to consider that your condescension is obnoxious.

Quayle said...

Kylos, you’re probably right. Sorry to all.

The Crack Emcee said...

robother said...

"Crack, you do see that you're doing this to yourself, don't you? You are projecting your own anger on every white person you encounter, you imagine you know what's in their minds (better even than they do themselves). And it only makes you more angry. What a waste of a human mind, a life. You can drop it, you know."

You do realize the first post here, about me, was a racial one - made by a white person, right? Did anyone step in to shut him down? No. But you will step in, to school me, right? Why? To take the blame off of me and pretend I'm doing this to myself. GASLIGHT.

No, Baby, Flashlight.

Look, I'm not going to act like you guys treated me fairly and deserve the benefit of the doubt: you're horrible people.

If you don't like it, do what you expect everyone else to do: police yourselves.

The Crack Emcee said...

"To take the blame off of whites and pretend I'm doing this to myself. GASLIGHT."

Darrell said...

Donald J. Trump

Verified account

@realDonaldTrump
21h21 hours ago
More
The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, is dead. She was a great woman, with a wonderful gift from God, her voice. She will be missed!

Temujin said...

The post describes him thusly: "Vann Newkirk III is a staff writer at The Atlantic where he covers politics and policy." Let's just cut out the shit. Let's call these things what they are.

Vann Newkirk III covers race. Period.

If you look for it in everything, you'll find it.

What else would you expect The Donald to say about someone great other than how he was connected to them or they to him? Pretty much like Obama, minus the class. They are both self-centric people, but one of them shows immense class in his view of self in the world, the other has no governor or filter for this view. It's not racism. It's The Donald. I mean- he was known and mostly liked as The Donald for decades before he became the hated President. This behavior and speech of his is not new. Just parsed all day everyday like never before. How self-centric is he? Who else has ever been called The (fill in first name)? Seriously: The Barack? The Bill? The Ann? Oh wait...we do have our beloved and respected The Crack Emcee. Just kidding- that's not the same.

This is not my racial animosity. In my world, I look at people one at a time, as they enter my sphere. Except of course for the Albanians. Everyone knows you can't trust them.

Lewis Wetzel said...

I do not understand the reverence that some white people have for Black music, because it is Black music. It is as though they are trying to find something that Black people created, or do, that redeems them in the eyes of white people like themselves.

Rick said...

Look, I'm not going to act like you guys treated me fairly

Treating racists poorly is treating them fairly.

The Crack Emcee said...

Rick said...
Look, I'm not going to act like you guys treated me fairly

'Treating racists poorly is treating them fairly."

A racist, who made a song that doesn't reference race, is friends with the hostess (and host) and is a Republican.

You guys are the worst kind of racists: REALLY stupid ones.

The Crack Emcee said...

Rick said...

"Treating racists poorly is treating them fairly."

There is absolutely no difference between this behavior and a Democrat insisting astrology is real.

Temujin said...

I do not understand the reverence that some white people have for Black music, because it is Black music. It is as though they are trying to find something that Black people created, or do, that redeems them in the eyes of white people like themselves.

I grew up in Detroit. I loved all sorts of music. Detroit being a great jazz town, I grew up listening to jazz, then later going to clubs, and working in clubs that featured jazz music. I also loved rock and classical music. But the music of my youth was Motown. There was that, then there was everything else. Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Supremes, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Jackson 5, Jimmy Ruffin and others. Then there was Aretha. There was no voice like Aretha's. Never will be. If you have not, you really need to listen to some of her music. It'll shake you up to listen to her.

This was not a white guy trying to find something that black people created. I don't even understand that kind of mentality. It was the soundtrack to my life. The very music of all of our lives back in the Detroit area, in those days. If anything, it was the only thing that we all agreed on back in the late 60s in Detroit. Detroit was always one spark from burning down. We were a city full of people that looked at each other with distrust. But this music: We all thought of it then (and still do) as OUR music. This was Detroit's music. It was the only thing (that and the Tigers) that we all agreed on.

MikeR said...

"You do realize the first post here, about me, was a racial one - made by a white person, right? Did anyone step in to shut him down? No."
Uh, no, didn't realize it. Haven't seen it. Still don't know what you're talking about. And my life's too short to be shutting down commenters. And I'm not sure what you think I'm expecting everyone else to be doing...

narciso said...

Whereas Obama I dubbed him zaphod always made it about him.

Rick said...

There is absolutely no difference between this behavior and a Democrat insisting astrology is real.

If you think racism doesn't exist you should probably stop commenting.

Oso Negro said...

I think that when Crack came back a lot of people jumped on him for things that he didn’t seem to be doing now. I missed Crack while he was gone and find his changed persona interesting. While I don’t see that anyone should kiss anyone’s butt, I don’t see that his contemporary posts warrant the vitriol they got. I think it is good he is here. Crack, I saw this was happening and I am sorry I didn’t speak up sooner. I thought perhaps I had missed something in some post. I accept you as an equal and interesting person and poster. Please don’t become discouraged and leave again

Oso

Oso Negro said...

@ Lewis Wetzel - when I was growing up radio wasn’t segregated like it is today. You were as likely to hear Sam and Dave as the Beatles. I don’t like that music because black people made it - I like it because it is GOOD. That’s all. Nothing extra.

narciso said...

In the UK obamafilia was nearly as bad in the Dr who episode, where all the fools had their minds infused with the masters conciousness.

Rick said...

A racist, who made a song that doesn't reference race, is friends with the hostess (and host) and is a Republican.

Let's look at each of these evidences which are supposed to prove he's not racist:

1. We're to believe a racist cannot create art which is not racist. Not one single time?
2. So some of your best friends are white?
3. Republicans can't be racist?

Who finds this nonsense compelling?

stevew said...

This Trump Bad 24/7 is a self-defeating argument. The more bad stuff they try to attribute to him the more his approvals improve. Keep it up. As they say, this is how you get more Trump.

-sw

Wince said...

My comment yesterday recounts one annecdote of how personally Aretha viewed her working relationship with those who paid her to perform. I wonder if Trump was expressing a similar sense of the woman in the course of his experience?

Sebastian said...

"God forbid we should drop our guard and feel good about racial relations in America. The relentless feel-bad agenda must continue, and it must revolve around Trump. So a trivial phrase in Trump's effort at honoring Franklin is yanked out of context and magnified into another racial problem. Because we can never have enough racial problems, it seems."

Correct. Now, one more step: this is deliberate, a maneuver in a war, an effort to beat down non-prog whitey, and to force you, and I mean you, to bow down. Good to see you haven't. But the magnification and the manipulation and the badgering serve a purpose.

And one more step: remember this is what they do, this is who they are, when it is time to vote. There are no nice "pragmatic," "best persons" with your interests at heart left on that side.

Crimso said...

"I once hosted a party in my sumptuous Vermont digs and a bunch of liberals were there and Aretha Franklin came up on the stereo singing Gospel"

So she worked for you?

n.n said...

Adversity politics.

The Crack Emcee said...

MikeR said...

"Uh, no, didn't realize it. Haven't seen it. Still don't know what you're talking about. And my life's too short to be shutting down commenters."

But not too short to correct me? The only black person here. [Facepalm]

Rana said...

Well said, Temujin! I, too, grew up in Detroit in the 60s, and Keener 13 and CKLW were the powerhouse radio stations at that time (at least to me and my tiny transistor radio). I just checked a WKNR playlist from April 1965--Dylan, the Beatles, the Supremes, Tom Jones, Chubby Checker, and Esther Phillips all in the top 30!

Ray - SoCal said...

Journalist lives!

All this continued biased Trump coverage just discredits the msm, but in their echo chamber they are hero’s of the resistance!

Unfortunately they forgot their true customers are not the Resistance, but regular people.

It’s like they are in a competition to see who can slime Trump more.

The Crack Emcee said...

Oso Negro said...

"Crack, I saw this was happening and I am sorry I didn’t speak up sooner."

Thanks, Oso. I'm not as pissed as I sound. (We've been here before.)

Yesterday, I had to go somewhere I didn't want to go, and then got a call saying I didn't. I thought "Cool" and headed back home when I heard a man's voice ask if he could use my phone. I turned to find a white guy covered in skull tats, about 25, kind of buff and sporting a Richard Spencer haircut over a baby face. He had sort of a military bearing, which - having been around European Nazis and American white supremacists - marked him as something curious. I gave him my phone and said "I was in the Navy. I didn't know they let Jarheads get tatted-up like that nowadays." To which he replied "I'm a prisoner" and, our eyes meeting, all his social facade gave way. I'd nailed him. He wasn't a white guy using my phone. We were equals. I asked him what he got busted for and he said drugs. I didn't bother to tell him I was The Crack Emcee.

He handled his business and gave me my phone back. I asked him if he wanted a cup of coffee, pointing at a nearby cafe, but he declined. Said the authorities were coming to pick him up. I said I understood and gave him a fist bump. Then I said "This too will pass." He looked at me weird, scrunching up that baby face that said he's just beginning his odyssey down in the hole. But it will. For him.

Amadeus 48 said...

The Chicago Tribune, channeling its betters, is a non-stop Trump-shock, Trump-bad zone. You can't get through the first section without being assaulted by page after page of "news" stories attributing every bad thing to Trump--and then you get to the editorial page. The business section is full of Trump abuse. A story about US Steel putting $750 million into the 110 year old Gary Works is matched with two articles about the tariffs raising the cost of steel for construction and trotting out those dimbulbs at Harley-Davidson who are moving production to Europe to avoid EU tariffs. Then you get to the sports section, where some semi-educated thug blames his lousy jump shot on Trump.
Yep. Trump gets it wrong all the time. I would be surprised he can find his way to the helicopter if I believed what I read in the Trib.

Michael K said...

I feel so bad about my treatment, here.

The paranoia is probably a common characteristic of blacks these days.

I have previously commented about the problem American blacks have in medical school compared to African or West Indian blacks.

It's probably the paranoia; the assumption that they will be discriminated against.

That's too bad because it is sometimes a self fulfilling prophecy,

Fernandinande said...

Speaking of s***ers, Jesus has been charged with murder.

Derek Kite said...

That means he paid her. So she could eat, pay for housing, transportation, her band.

That is what you do when you value what someone does, you pay them.

I listened to a few of her songs yesterday. I can honestly say she never got a dime from me. Not because i didn't want her to get my money, simply that i didn't buy anything from her. I didn't hire her to sing.

The socialist bastards would have their musicians pure and hungry.

Anonymous said...

Oso Negro: While I don’t see that anyone should kiss anyone’s butt, I don’t see that his contemporary posts warrant the vitriol they got.

He doesn't get any more "vitriol" than Inga or Ritmo get, and he gets it for the same (perfectly sound) reasons.

Dude1394 said...

The democrat propaganda media arm and the democrat party are the ONLY organizations in America that actually profits from stirring up racial unrest.

More racial strife, CNN viewership goes up. The democrat propaganda media IS a danger to the people. Just like a foreign powers propaganda would be a danger.

Oso Negro said...

@ Angle Dyne - I would say that Inga gets it for "I know you are, but what am I" posting. I don't see that in contemporary Crack

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I do not understand the reverence that some white people have for Black music

I have reverence, appreciation for good music, no matter who is creating it. There is good music, and there is bad music. Although....bad and good are subjective in that there are many people who greatly appreciate music that I don't like.

Music that blends elements from many cultures together is one of the best healing balms we can have.

Aretha Franklin was one of the great talents, for generations, and one who overcame the racist culture of her times. Can't we just appreciate and honor her without getting all nasty with each other. OR...trying to use he as a cudgel in trying to one up each other.

The Crack Emcee said...

"Aretha Franklin was one of the great talents, for generations, and one who overcame the racist culture of her times."

She didn't "forget" she was black, either. Y'all didn't ask it of her, either. She would've laughed at you.

Will blacks overcome the racist culture of our times?

As long as you stay that funny.

Anonymous said...

Oso Negro: I would say that Inga gets it for "I know you are, but what am I" posting.

Inga, Ritmo, and Crack get it for voluminous posting of logic-challenged, self-absorbed, often hysterical, and just all around stupid shit. (Though I'd say Inga is probably the least hysterical and self-absorbed of the trio.)

Occasionally, no doubt, each of them manage to say something of interest to somebody.

I don't see that in contemporary Crack.

You enjoy reading Crack, that's fine. Same for Inga and Ritmo. Most of the time I scroll over all three, for the above reasons, but each to his own taste, not a problem for me.

What I don't get is when people act puzzled about the "vitriol" any of these three chuckleheads attract. Lol. (Okay, I can't say I've ever seen anyone flutter over Ritmo as if he were an injured lamb of a substantive commenter, as I've seen done for Ing or Crack.)

iowan2 said...

OT sort of.
Yesterday I heard someone on MSPMS covering the topic of the day, Amorosa, and how the DNC offered her a job after she was fired. She would do some meetings, give presentations, speak to groups. 15K month. The speaker (Lara Trump?) said she had the ability, she was knowledgeable, and articulate.

So that set off the discussion by experts that the word articulate, is a racist dog whistle.
Joe Biden could not be reached for comment.

My point is, I'm white. I accept that, and I accept that all Black people do not respect me because of the color of my skin. I will interact with Blacks accordingly.

Consider all the hectoring by the race baiters a complete success. Carry on.

Paula said...

I'm leftish and even I thought it was disgusting when someone on one of the morning shows brought climate change into their comments about Aretha. I think it was Batiste from the Colbert show who made the comment. Trump is a rhetorical clod. But even I know the media attacks that started before he actually did anything is dangerous and disgusting. But I sure wish conservatives would stop referring to the media and people like Clinton and Cuomo as left. Corporate shills all. The actual left has been exposing the MSM for decades. Checkout fair.org. Back in the 70s/80s I subscribed to a mag called LIES OF OUR TIMES that exposed the NYTimes exclusively. I will always consider Judith Miller's articles on the front page of the NYTs as a great enabler to a tragic war. Par for the course.

William said...

America isn't the only place on earth where black people are oppressed, It is, however, the only place on earth where such oppression is ennobling. Where are the great soul singers from Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria, the Congo. Millions of mistreated black people there and not a single top forty hit.

Ray - SoCal said...

I appreciate Crack is back, and his comments this time are a lot more thought provoking / interesting, and not a continual stream of anti White comments. They add a lot to the conversation.

Paula said...

Lewis Wetzel, most great music, black or white, never makes it to the radio. Franklin broke through and her pre-disco music was great. Still I understand what you're saying as it seems from watching TV that the country is at least 70% Black. That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is beating it into people's heads that they are oppressed. I suspect that many of the thugs now terrorizing Atlanta feel that they are so oppressed they're going to rob you a** or maybe shoot you on the highway for kicks. BTW, Johnny Cash's most exquisite music, his later AMERICAN series also got almost no airplay. Now that I think about it, I don't remember Cash's death getting this kind of coverage. But I could be wrong.

tim in vermont said...

But I sure wish conservatives would stop referring to the media and people like Clinton and Cuomo as left.

Why did the left cover for Clinton for so many years then?

tim in vermont said...

So she worked for you?

That's what you took away from that true story?

Rick said...

But I sure wish conservatives would stop referring to the media and people like Clinton and Cuomo as left. Corporate shills all.

What left government ever in power was ever not in bed with business? You want to pretend these were personal failings but in fact the problem is endemic to your thinking. You think you're opposing business but your governance plan actually grants them more power not less.

So when you say Clinton was a corporate shills so are you.

robother said...

Crack:
"You do realize the first post here, about me, was a racial one - made by a white person, right?"

There is no such post about you, there never was such a post about you. Maybe I was wrong in assuming that you could free yourself from your racist anger. Proceed as you were.

Lovernios said...

I think what happens in the conversations among Crack and other commenters is miscommunication. ("What we have here is a failure to communicate") And that miscommunication engenders emotional reactions. Crack is trying to relate what it's like for him to be a black man in America. I don't get the impression that he is anti-white.

Take reparations, which is an important point for him, some of the responses are:
1. 600,000 dead!
2. My ancestors fought to free the slaves!
3. 50 years of welfare!
4. (my favorite) You're the racist!

So he gets frustrated and offers back "Stupid White People!"
Which gets another round of "You're the racist!"
And so on.

Patrick Henry was right! said...

Sorry to see that an avowed and proud racist is back commenting.

Im sorta old school, where racists, all of them, from David Duke to Farrakhan, should all be shamed and shunned, no exceptions.

Racism is a cancer. You do not ever allow it in, as the Professor (Emeritus) seems to have done again.

I'm out, till he repents or goes on to his next thing and leaves this blood racist free.

Vance said...

I have to confess, I can't see what Trump said that was so bad or racist or whatever. Apparently the problem is "She worked for me."

Exactly how is that racist? How is that bad? See, to me it reads that Trump wanted to honor a legend that passed on. And the thing is, lots of people want to honor Aretha. Tons of condolences from all over, right? How to make it mean a bit more? Well, Trump knew the woman--she worked for him! He's not some random dignitary sending out empty words because that's what is expected, Trump knew Aretha, and he genuinely respected her and is going to miss her! His "she worked for me" bit is moving Trump into the category of "people who knew Aretha genuinely saddened by her death" versus "People sending out perfunctory condolences because we are expected to do that."

Aretha Franklin, like everyone else, worked for other people. Steve Jobs had bosses at one point; Bill Gates, maybe even Zuckerberg (though with that swarmy Ritmo clone, who knows?). Aretha Franklin worked, worked hard, was good. She gave concerts lots of places. Where's the racism in acknowledging that?

rcocean said...

Franklin and Trump weren't personal friends. Trump correctly described their relationship.

I liked Franklin as a singer. And she came off in public as a nice person. But anyone who looks up to a singer/actor as some sort of political icon or role model is crazy.

rcocean said...

BTW, I think its hilarious the way, Trump is dribbling out his yanking of security clearances.

What is NYT's going to do when Trump pulls Comey's clearance. Give him an Editorial too? Trump will probably pull at least six clearances. Are we going to have six editorials?

People will be very bored by the time we get to number five.

Sam L. said...

Trump haters gotta hate. It's what they do.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Lovernios: And that miscommunication engenders emotional reactions. Crack is trying to relate what it's like for him to be a black man in America.

Nobody doesn't "get" that Crack is trying to relate what it's like for him to be a black man in America. There is no "miscommunication" or misunderstanding there. What you dismiss as "emotional reactions" are rational responses to his presenting "what it's like for him" as dispositive arguments for whatever he's arguing for (e.g., reparations). "I'm right and you're wrong because of my experience as an X in America" is not the same thing as "This is my experience as an X in America."

Not buying the "I'm right and if you don't agree with me it's because either you don't understand me or you're stupid" line isn't "miscommunication".

Take reparations, which is an important point for him...

That it's important to him doesn't mean he's making good arguments in its favor.

...some of the responses are:

1. 600,000 dead!
2. My ancestors fought to free the slaves!
3. 50 years of welfare!
4. (my favorite) You're the racist!

So he gets frustrated and offers back "Stupid White People!"


I fail to see how any of the above "Because History" arguments are less valid than any of the "Because History" arguments in favor of reparations that Crack presents.

As I said, I generally ignore Crack's posts, so please enlighten me if I've overlooked any reparations arguments of his that rise above the "Because History" wheeze.

Anthony said...

Lewis Wetzel said...
I do not understand the reverence that some white people have for Black music, because it is Black music.


It's the "Oh, I have several Black Friends!" syndrome.

I admit I don't much care for most "Black music". Notable exceptions are Earth, Wind, and Fire and Louis Jordan. Lionel Richie maybe (someone did a cover version of All Night Long -- Roxxon, white peeps -- and I'm actually quite taken by it; they may have transferred it to a minor key).

But nah.

Anthony said...

I like ol' Crack, for the most part.

Lovernios said...

Crack's argument for reparations, it seems to me, is not merely that historical wrongs were inflicted on his ancestors, but more of the economic result of that history.

I think you would agree that pre-emancipation, the enslaved population had very little opportunity to amass capital and acquire property. Post-emancipation, due to legal, social segregation and violence, the now free black population was also severely hampered in acquiring capital. As a result, today black Americans lag behind in per household wealth. And while much has improved, for example in earnings, the gap continues to prevent acquisition of property for a large percentage of black Americans.

Home ownership is a key indicator of economic success and status in America. Most of the average American's wealth is in home ownership. So, Crack is in favor of one time payments to the descendants of enslaved Africans to make up that gap. Similar to what was paid to Japanese Americans for the internment during WWII.

Saying that 600,000 Americans died, or that one's ancestors participated in the Civil War do not change those facts.

Lovernios said...

And to be clear, I have a tremendous respect for the Union soldiers who fought and died, including the Massachusetts, 54th Black Regiment and its commander Robert Gould Shaw who died with his men at Fort Wagner, SC.

I also have sympathy for the Confederate soldiers who fought and died in a lost cause, defending for a system that benefited mainly wealthy plantation owners.

I did not mean to belittle their struggle and sacrifice.

JaimeRoberto said...

She apparently performed at his casinos a few times, so yes, she did work for him. Perhaps he could have phrased it better and said she performed for him or performed at his casinos, but we all know he would have been criticized for that too.

victoria said...

Let's face it, Trump couldn't even honor Aretha Franklin... It always has to be about him. Gag me, tired of it.

Vicki from Pasadena

Jim at said...

Let's face it, Trump couldn't even honor Aretha Franklin... It always has to be about him.

Did he post a picture of himself gazing at a portrait of Franklin? You know, like President Precious did countless times in similar situations?

In fact, was there ever a time Obama 'honored' someone without including a picture of himself?

But, yeah. Trump makes it about himself. Gag.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Musicians don't work; they play.

Oh well, I really don't give a shit about iggners and their outrage anymore. I'm all iggnered out.

Unknown said...

You nailed it "The relentless feel-bad agenda must continue, and it must revolve around Trump" which describes just about anything today!

JOSEPH ANGEL said...

Yes, all day I have had to hear SWPL whiteys cucking about Franklin's death. She is dead. Get over it.