Barack the magic negro
Ever since Chip Saltsman, a candidate for Republican National Committee chairman, circulated a CD with a parody on it called "Barack the Magic Negro," Republicans, pundits and more Republicans have been debating whether Saltsman's move was racist, racially insensitive, dumb or just a good ole boy's idea of clean fun.
Is the song, which has a white man posing as Al Sharpton singing along to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon," racist? Is it lampooning white liberal guilt and mocking other black leaders' supposed jealousy of Obama? Honestly, who cares? Rush Limbaugh referred to or played that song a bunch of times on his show and Barack Obama still won the election. Black punditry has hardly commented on this most recent flap; they're too busy picking out inaugural outfits.
But Saltsman still deserves to be raked over the coals. Not for anything to do with Obama, per se, but for campaigning with cultural references that are decades out of date.
"Puff the Magic Dragon?" You've got to be kidding. Was he on another planet Nov. 4? Did he miss how Republicans lost 66% of the vote of people age 30 and under? Thirty-year-olds weren’t even born when Peter, Paul and Mary's hit came out in 1963. Sure Limbaugh used the parody and his crowd loved it, but the average Limbaugh listener is 51. Then there's the parody itself and the faux Sharpton. Sure the Rev. deserves the disdain and disapprobation he earned for his outrageous behavior during the Tawana Brawley hoax case, but that happened in 1987. The World Wide Web wasn't even invented then, which means young people have never heard of it. To them, Sharpton is just that black guy from New York with the funny hair.
It's a given that Republicans are done trying to appeal to black voters, but are they really ready to give up everyone else who isn't white? Because if not, here's the thing: it’s not much of a stretch for Latinos and Asians -- who also voted overwhelmingly for Obama -- to imagine how a president-elect of their ethnicity also could be the target of such lighthearted Republican fun. "Mike the Magic Jap” and “Maria the Magic Mexican” probably wouldn't go over that well either.
It just goes to show that spanking is ineffective discipline. If it worked Saltsman would have learned from the party's its electoral walloping last month. By 365 to 175 electoral votes, Americans demonstrated that they want political leaders who are in tune with the themes of the current day, not the Billboard hits of 1960s.
UPDATE: An astute reader pointed out that Obama won by a larger electoral-vote margin than our post claimed. The correct total was 365 to 173.
Los Angeles Times photo
Boy (can you still use that noun or is it too racist?), if that isn't calling the kettle black (can you still use that adjective or is it too racist?) From your *very own* OpEd desk.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story
Moron. Today's 'journalists' just continue dumpster-diving for the new low.
Posted by: JM | January 05, 2009 at 07:49 AM
Does the LA Times writing staff lack the inclination or interest to read their own paper? Is that why one after another feigns shock and outrage when confronted with something their own wrote?
Posted by: Andrea | January 05, 2009 at 07:48 AM
Why all of a sudden is it wrong to joke or make comments about the President when it's always been done?
I hope the media and comedians continue to make their jokes and treat Barak Obama just as they have treated previous Presidents.
Posted by: Kenneth Crawley | January 05, 2009 at 07:48 AM
Given the David Ehrenstein column on which the parody is based, does it stand to reason that the LA Times has given up on black and other minority readers?
And who were the racists on the LA Times editorial staff who allowed that column to run?
Posted by: Rhymes With Right | January 04, 2009 at 09:38 PM
You know who else is a stupid racist? David Ehrenstein, LA Times contributor. What kind of sick bigot would come up with a phrase like Barack the Magic Negro? Dave Ehrenstein, that's who.
Next question: What kind of editors would publish racist tripe like that?
Posted by: Pablo | January 04, 2009 at 06:35 PM
You guys could of mentioned the LA Times printed this in 2007.
Obama the 'Magic Negro'
The Illinois senator lends himself to white America's idealized, less-than-real black man.
By David Ehrenstein, L.A.-based DAVID EHRENSTEIN writes about Hollywood and politics.
March 19, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story
Magic Negro indeed.
Posted by: Dont Forget | January 04, 2009 at 06:35 PM
It's remarkable how so many in our society have become little more than uneducated, sycophantic rubes. I'd argue that we should hang the author who coined that term along with the staff of whatever publication advanced it, but I'm certain most would miss the irony.
Indeed, either those here who foolishly criticize others for making parody of the LA Times creation and distribution of this meme have to be asked if they're just completely incapable of complex thought, or if they apply a double standard which makes conditional use acceptable if it's a "person who is of our political class" but then it becomes hate speech if the speaker is not of the class, even if the in-class speaker is using it disparagingly and the out-of-class is using it to highlight the irony and inconsistencies of the class.
I warn those on the left to think twice about defining rights based on political class. We saw the extreme left use this technique throughout the 20th Century to isolate and exterminate millions and we don't need to advance that method of thought in the United States.
Posted by: HatlessHessian | January 04, 2009 at 06:35 PM
The phrase was first used by a black liberal in this very newspaper. Great fact-chacking, mainstream media!
Posted by: J.L. | January 04, 2009 at 06:33 PM
I think that this so-called song is totally racist. Rush Limbaugh is a racist for supporting it, and anyone else who supports this so-called song is racist also. If someone put out a song paroding a white official all hell would break loose. This so-called official who distrubuted the song also is racist. It just shows that no matter what African-Americans achieve in this country, we are still not taken seriously and have to continue to fight on a daily basis to be respected and taken seriously. I think they all need to be adults and get over it. You lost deal with it!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Charlotte Braxton | January 03, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Good grief this is pathetic. This song ridicules LA Times itself for running the original "Magic Negro" article. The LA Times article is The Reason the song was created in the first place.
Posted by: Paul S. | January 02, 2009 at 01:58 PM
Where in this article does the L.A. Times acknowledge that it was the newspaper that came up with this phrase?
Posted by: G Flores Jr | January 01, 2009 at 10:23 AM
George: In the second damn paragraph the REAL reference is made to wikipedia -- how can one 'coin' a phrase and reference it at the same time, in the same citation? Meanwhile, in the headline, itself, the phrase is in quote marks, i.e.: someone-else-said.
READ what you cite or you are a tool for others.
-r
-=-
Posted by: Robocrat | December 31, 2008 at 03:45 PM
Political satire? Give me a break. Saltzman may have you all fooled but not me. He has simply taken off his whiite robe and hood and replaced it with a song. It will be interesting to see if his party ousts him or will they support him. So far it looks like they will support him and his remarks thus provinig once again they are the same old party that has just traded their hoods for suits.
Posted by: John Morton | December 30, 2008 at 09:37 PM
Steve is an idiot. There are more whites on welfare and other public assistance than blacks. How's that for personal responsibility - give me a break!!!!
Posted by: John Morton | December 30, 2008 at 09:37 PM
The GOP is done trying to appeal to black voters? Well, if by appeal you mean give them more government money and buying their votes, then yes, the GOP should be done with that. Let the Dems, and Dems only, do that. I just hope the other minorities take a close look at how the black community has become dependent on the government and ask themselves if that's what they really want. Almost every black person I know, with the exception of a couple hard-core liberals, have conservative values. They vote Democrat, however, because "they take care of our people." I guess the only way for the GOP to get the black vote is to offer them even more free money. No thank you. Anyone of any color is ALWAYS welcome in the GOP, but only if you believe in personal responsibility and hard work.
Posted by: Steve | December 30, 2008 at 08:04 PM
Larry,If all the democracts are racist,why is it when the civil rights bills were passed under LBJ{Democract},,a large majority of whites left the party and went were to the Republican Party,which LBJ said they would do,What do they say,That there are over 800 hate groups in America,two of them are considered Black hate groups because they say they promote seperatism,but the rest well you know how they voted ,for the ones who do vote,and you can bet the majority of them do ,certainly for the GOP,and look at the beliefs of most of their candidates past and present, and that is exactly why you saw Klan like rallies, most of the time Sarah Palin spoke, such as in that famous little town,Johnson whatever Penn.I love it when a white person says we're all Americans right?then he wants to talk some mess about pandering, alright if you want a discussion on the truth,we can have it, just name the time and place,I can't wait,because I am a realist and I know plenty of people of all races who are realist too and will tell it like it is,because as my fiends we have always been that way with each other
Posted by: Chrisee | December 30, 2008 at 03:17 PM
George, thanks for the link to the Ehrenstein op ed. I hadn't read it a while.
Are you really having that much difficulty seeing the difference between the David Ehrenstein (black movie critic) column and a the Saltzman CD (rep National Committee Chair hopeful)? There's no sense trying to school you on this unless you really don't understand.
Here's the song if you haven't listened to it, (I'm assuming you have George),
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfxVkLhlu5s&feature=related
Posted by: BCT | December 30, 2008 at 11:24 AM
The Republican Party consists of bottom feeders whose snarky, boy's club remarks are legend. What they don't get is that those "We are better then you are" remarks are not what this country needs or wants. It is not shocking or amazing that fellow Republicans are coming out with statements like,"I don't see anything wrong..." because sadly they don't. They have no discernable moral compass. It is of the greatest good fortune that the Republican Party is in a self-inflicted "downsize" mode.
Posted by: Classicalgregg | December 30, 2008 at 10:09 AM
"The LA Times coined the phrase Magic Negro in relation to Obama, here is the link.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story?coll=la-opinion-center
Hypocrites for sure"
Posted by: George
I you had bothered to read the Opinion article that you refer to above you would know that the LA times did NOT come up with the phrase "Magic Negro", Spike Lee did. Duh.
Posted by: Doug | December 30, 2008 at 10:08 AM
The term "Magic Negro" is a racist insult. As would be: the Magic Jew, the Magic Whitey, or the Magic Redneck. There are so many other things you can say about a person WITHOUT saying anything about their race.
Society is so quick to call issues like these "Black Sensitivity", time and time again, when if it were said about their race, there would be an immediate uproar. There is no term "White Sensitivity." Any offense is immediately seen as racisim, so why is it different for Blacks? Because (though not true of every non-Black person) there is basically a deep seeded hatred that Blacks even exist. And yet, we're fine for sports and the military (but even that was years of challenges).
With the world looking to us for leadership, what does that say about our country? Racisim is a stain that needs to be washed away, not continually accepted as a joke.
Posted by: cj | December 30, 2008 at 10:08 AM
Soon I'm hoping, the LA Times will be relegated to history. The print media in this country is failing and falling and consumers have other choices for their information. The spin masters -- journalists -- are about done, thank God. Oh and yes, it was the LA Times who gave rise to the phrase "Barrack, the Magic Negro" and yes, they are the types to start a fire just so they can cover it and write their story. A pox on them...
Posted by: Hank | December 30, 2008 at 09:26 AM
The World is looking to us to set "The Example"
It's time to outgrow your racism.
See:www.myspace.com/callmeanamerican
Posted by: Jimmy Fox | December 30, 2008 at 09:23 AM
All those who are saying that the LA Times coined the term "Magic Negro" really need to read the article written by in March, 2007. It never ceases to amaze me that so much information is so readily available, yet so many fail to take advantage. They won't allow facts to get in the way of their opinions.
Posted by: Pat | December 30, 2008 at 09:23 AM
Has everybody already forgotten that the Shanklin parody itself was based on an LA Times opinion piece published just last year? Here's the link: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story
Pot - meet kettle.
Posted by: Paul M. | December 30, 2008 at 09:23 AM
Just dumb but I did laugh a bit. Sharpton sounded kinda funny and he was parodied pretty well. I'm just thankful that Obama is beyond this type of sophomoric stuff and I believe that many of his supporters are as well. It's just like the junk in the basement... just sweep it out later because you know it isn't going anywhere (unfortunately in this case).
Posted by: Eddie Smith | December 30, 2008 at 09:23 AM