"'I don’t feel no ways tired. I come too far from where I started from. Nobody told me that the road would be easy. I don’t believe He brought me this far,' drawled presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton, mimicking black voice to a black audience, at the First Baptist Church of Selma, Alabama.
I’m wondering if Mrs. Clinton visits an Indian reservation she might cozy up to them saying, 'How! Me not tired. Me come heap long way. Road mighty rough. Sky Spirit no bring me this far.' Or, seeking the Asian vote she might say, 'I no wray tired. Come too far I started flum. Road berry clooked. Number one Dragon King take me far'."
—Walter Williams
Hmm, she was quoting word for word from Gospel song by the Rev. James Cleveland. She prefaced the quote by giving the source.
ReplyDeleteIn the same speech Hillary quoted from St. Paul using archaic English terms from the King James Bible. That choice of language must have been pandering too.
"She prefaced the quote by giving the source."
ReplyDeleteAnd that's supposed to make it "OK"?
The preface only kept her from suffering a Don Imus moment.
"In the same speech Hillary quoted from St. Paul using archaic English terms from the King James Bible. That choice of language must have been pandering too."
Irrelevant.
If you think this is only about "language", you've missed the point.
THAT'S what Professor Williams was talking about.
Looked at Williams' blog, he doesn't mention that Hillary cited and was quoting Cleveland or that the audience, who was familiar with the song, joined in word for word. Many black churchgoers reading the quote would recognize it right away; surprisingly, Williams doesn't (or why would he have mocked it in the subsequent paragraph).
ReplyDeleteMore interesting still, you think that repeating a black gospel hymm from the pulpit of a black church roughly equates to Don Imus' slur ("nappy-headed hos"). Wow!
"More interesting still, you think that repeating a black gospel hymm from the pulpit of a black church roughly equates to Don Imus' slur ("nappy-headed hos"). Wow"
ReplyDeleteVery close.
It was used in a condescending and pandering way for the worst possible reasons.
It was the functional equivalent of the Imus remark.
Imus was just a little more transparent with his words.
On the other hand, perhaps you consider Imus a racist.
That might account for your lack of judgement here.
Bubba, I think Williams' post is hilarious. But I think the practice of campaigning in a church raises questions as well. Would she have been there were it not for her presidential campaign? If it is wrong for Republicans to receive support from churches, then it is also wrong for the other side.
ReplyDeleteJoe Guarino
"But I think the practice of campaigning in a church raises questions as well. Would she have been there were it not for her presidential campaign?"
ReplyDeleteAll the more reason why the pandering and the remark itself were so offensive.