MATTHEWS: You know, I was trying to think about who he was tonight, and it’s interesting: He is post-racial by all appearances. You know, I forgot he was black tonight for an hour. You know, he’s gone a long way to become a leader of this country and passed so much history in just a year or two. I mean, it’s something we don’t even think about.
I was watching, I said, Wait a minute, he’s an African-American guy in front of a bunch of other white people. And here he is President of the United States and we’ve completely forgotten that tonight — completely forgotten it. I think it was in the scope of his discussion. It was so broad-ranging, so in tune with so many problems, of aspects, and aspects of American life that you don’t think terms of the old tribalism, the old ethnicity. It was astounding in that regard — a very subtle fact. It’s so hard to even talk about; maybe I shouldn’t talk about it, but I am.No really, he said this. On television.
What a coincidence. As a black man, I forgot Chris Matthews could be a racist idiot.
It's annoying as hell to see this man blithely talk like this, and yet I am reminded that there are Americans out there that are similarly amazed at what Barack Obama (or any black person, apparently) is able to do. Like be President, for example.
On the iPhone so I can't link, but TNC has an elaboration of the blurb you wrote beneath the video calling out my white brethren for continueing to want to absolve themselves of their alienness with blacks.
ReplyDeleteI would only add that my generation doesn't even relate to Matthews or Buccannon when they go on about how Obama is good... For a black man. Instead, I continue to be amazed that we won 2008 so decisively considering the racist wreckage all around the corpse of 2009.
Gay marriage, pot legalization, and better racial integration are on the tip of my generation's tongue... Unfortunately the average age of a Congressperson is something like 60 so we have a ways to go.
It reminded me of O'Reilly's astonishment at the behavior of patrons at Sylvia's: ZOMG, they weren't yelling, "Bring me my motherfuckin' ice tea!" They were acting like...normal people!
ReplyDeleteSTFU, Tweety. Really. Just STFU already. Gah.