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."
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Tags: Barack Obama | Tiger Woods
6:09 PM ET | 01-30-2008 | permalinkFor 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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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