News & Views
 

Tiger Woods: Obama Is 'Articulate'

When Joe Biden said it, it was a major faux pas. But Tiger Woods would agree -- in part -- with his characterization of Barack Obama.

Said Woods: "I've seen him speak. He's extremely articulate, very thoughtful."

Read the rest.

comments | |

 

Comments

View all comments »

Add a Comment

Please note that all comments must adhere to the NPR.org discussion rules and terms of use. See also the Community FAQ.

NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.

For a person like Tiger who is extremely cautious about his image, neutral about his political or social leanings I'm quite surprised he said anything.

Well, there's a difference when a white person refers to a black person as "articulate" than if a black person uses the same word; but does that mean Tiger is admitting he's black after all?

P.S. For my Caucasian friends, don't taser me about stating the difference. Just take it for what it is, just like you can't say the "N-word."

Sent by Moji | 7:10 PM ET | 01-30-2008

Moji, Biden was being condescending and patronizing toward Obama in his comments. They are political equals and colleagues, and were rivals where being articulate and "clean" is expected. That is different when coming from someone who may have just heard a speech and connected with the way the speakers ideas came across. And, Moji,for someone to use the N word says more about the user than anything or anyone else.

Sent by skweeky | 8:28 AM ET | 01-31-2008

See what I was talking about . . .

Skweeky:

Biden wasn't condescending nor patronizing just clueless. Biden misspoke; anyone who knew Biden will know that he was and is a man of honor, who was a champion for civil rights causes. In no way were his words ill-conceived.

Also, please don't take my words out of context. I never said nor implied "articulate" carried the same weight as the "N-word," so the social commentary is absolutely not necessary. But it is insulting to a black person who speaks proper English like his/her white counterpart only to be thought of wow "articulate" and the other normal.

Have you ever watched Chris Rock stand up taking white folks to task for referring to Colin Powell as "articulate?" . . . I rest my case.

Sent by Moji | 11:44 AM ET | 01-31-2008

moji, actually no i don't see what you're talking about. a little miffed actually.

1st- i agree with skweeky. biden was being condescending & patronizing because he would never have said that about another white colleague. Articulate & clean? And just because someone 'champions civil rights causes' doesn't mean they can't be condescending & patronizing. Actually it's what the Demos are good at.

skweeky's post didn't compare articulate with the n-word or suggest that you were giving it the same weight..how did you get to that? skweeky's comment seem to be a separate comment solely about the n-word and those who use it..how did you miss that??

And the little sight at Tiger didn't go unnoticed. Tiger admitting he's Black. Please!! This is really really some unsophisticated BS: Tiger's upbringing was about culture not race. Tiger NEVER...NEVER said that he isn't Black. What he said (while sitting with his mother who is; NEWSFLASH Asian) was that he isn't just or only Black, that he is all this other stuff too. For most of his life he would go on a Buddhist trek to Asia every year with his mother. Guess he is suppose to ignore those cultural influences for some narrow political definition of race. Yep those Buddhist treks every year is right in line with 'traditional Black culture' huh? Oh sure, just go to Compton, Baldwin Hills, Shaker Heights, Atlanta and you'll find that everyone does it.

By the way Tiger didn't call a press conference and say I'm not Black; he was responding to a stupid question. WHAT THE HELL IS HE SUPPOSE TO SAY? IGNORE, DISRESPECT HIS MOTHERS HERITAGE AND SHE'S SITTING RIGHT THERE; just to appease those who are insecure about their Blackness so much so that they NEED badly for Tiger to say he's Black.


Sent by Jon J | 6:23 PM ET | 01-31-2008

You guys missed Maji's point. "Don't taser me about stating the difference. Just take it for what it is, just like you can't say the 'N-word'."

In other words, when praising or admiring the Black Man, we must be careful not to compliment him on any character trait that has an inverse opposite stereotype. Like if an African American is having a bean sprout and tofu sandwich, you can't say "Wow, you eat healthy, there's like no fat". That would be bad because it implies that you thought Black people eat fatty unhealthy foods. Could you imagine you're at the companies "Holiday Party" and your African American co-worker is dancing like Elaine Benes? You would have to leave. There would be nothing you could say.

Sent by Walter D | 12:41 AM ET | 08-29-2008



   
   
   
null


 

SPECIAL PROGRAMMING NOTE

 
 

About 'News & Views'

News & Views is the companion blog of NPR's news magazine show, News & Notes. It extends News & Notes' ongoing conversation about the diversity of the African-American experience. For more information, read our Frequently Asked Questions guide and our Discussion Rules.

 
 

Staff & Bloggers

Tony Cox

Host,
News & Notes

 

Nicole Childers

Executive Producer,
News & Notes

 

Christabel Nsiah-Buadi

Sr. Supv. Producer,
News & Notes

 

Geoffrey Bennett

Producer,
News & Notes

 

Geoffrey Gardner

Web Producer,
News & Notes

 

 
 

Search 'News & Views'

Search for the word(s):
 
 

Browse Topics

Services

Programs