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I heard this a lot during Obama's first campaign. So many white people I knew complimented him on being so "well spoken." Isn't that kind of offensive? I rarely hear that compliment bestowed on other white people. It's almost like saying that you expect a black person to speak terrible English, so when they actually speak well then it's surprising. It just annoys me.
It was just a compliment. People can choose to read more into it than is really there if they want, but that is not the problem of those offering the praise. How do you know they do not give the same compliment to politicians of all races that are well spoken?
It's annoying when white people say that a black person is well spoken, because the unspoken implication is that it is unusual. It is equally annoying when a black person accuses another black person of speaking like a white person just because they speak well - again, implying that it is not normal for a black person to speak well. I generally try not to read prejudisism into every little action of other people, but this is one of those things where there really are undercurrents of stereotyping.
I would hate to live in a society where you have to walk on eggshells before praising anyone, but for some people you do. That is sad. If someone does that to me directly (the old "what did you mean by that" to which I say "Exactly what I said, it was a compliment."), that is the last compliment they will ever get from me. Why bother with the hassle and their attitude when you were just trying to praise them? There was nothing wrong with those compliments for President Obama.
People that are that annoyed and bothered by compliments will never have to worry about being my friend (acquaintance at best). Kind of silly. We could actually use more compliments with all the dysfunction and conflict in the world. Just my two cents!
I really don't see the issue. It's not an insult to say someone is well-spoken. Also no one is stopping blacks from saying the same thing, they can say certain whites are well-spoken -- and not all are.
he is well spoken, he one of the few that i can understand the ebonic, not like some of the obama phone people, that i have no idea what they are saying
I heard this a lot during Obama's first campaign. So many white people I knew complimented him on being so "well spoken." Isn't that kind of offensive? I rarely hear that compliment bestowed on other white people. It's almost like saying that you expect a black person to speak terrible English, so when they actually speak well then it's surprising. It just annoys me.
Guess what? Biden said that of Obama and he got to be VP.
I heard this a lot during Obama's first campaign. So many white people I knew complimented him on being so "well spoken." Isn't that kind of offensive? I rarely hear that compliment bestowed on other white people. It's almost like saying that you expect a black person to speak terrible English, so when they actually speak well then it's surprising. It just annoys me.
I agree, lots of white liberal soft-bigotry of low expectations for blacks - as an educator I see it with lowered standards for blacks.
Harry Reid and Joe Biden are two examples of this soft-bigotry when speaking about Obama.
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