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The annoying thing about Michelle Obama has absolutely nothing to do with her race.
It has everything to do with her arrogance. Both she and Barack share that. There is a sense of superiority in each of them that we don't usually see in candidates (I include Michelle as part of the Barack team since she has chosen to take such an up front role in this election).
I have noticed recently that Michelle is attempting to step away from that image (beginning with her warm and fuzzy The View appearance), but for me it's too late. No one changes their demeanor overnight so I see this switch as purely manipulative.
Yes, I agree that they are both quite arrogant. Again, has nothing to do with black or white, it is who they are intrinsically, flawed people. And she is a heavyweight on the team and I believe part of a cadre who have been planning Obama's future for years.
Personally, I think the first impressions that people got of her had everything to do with race. I know a lot of black women who try to go out of their way to distance themseleves from the stereotypes and the assumptions that people make about us and it just ends up turning people off because it comes across as artificial.
I don't know how many people watched The View but Whoopi's comment:
Quote:
"I'm really glad to see you because ...any time you see black folks on the news, particularly women, they have no teeth, and the teeth that they have have gold around them and they can't put a sentence together and perhaps now, we can, this is, you are helping to change a perception. I know it sounds funny and silly but If you are a black women and you are tuning in and everytime you see someone who is supposed to represent black women and women not very very fair skin women, I am talking about dark black women, I just want to say thanks."
is true. There are a lot of negative perceptions about black women, especially darker ones and we don't see a lot of women like Michelle Obama on the news. I think Michelle intended to come across as a strong, black, educated woman but she overdid it. You know everyone likes to say that she's arrogant or a *****, but I can only imagine the amount of pressure she's under. Not because her husband is running for president but because she's black and now that she is out in the public she is a representative for black women for better or for worse rather she wants to be or not. She's dealing with something that no other potential first lady has had to deal with so I'm withholding my judgment for now.
Natalay, I'm afraid I have to disagree. What I find objectionable about Michelle I also find objectionable about Hillary .... and she's White. Where is it written that if you're arrogant, you're Black. It's just not true. Michelle comes across as arrogant with her nose tipped ever so slightly in the air not because she is Black, but because it's who she is. And nothing she can do now to appear warm and fuzzy can change that fact.
If I'm going to be brutally honest, here is something that bothered me a lot. I saw her speaking in front of an urban neighborhood group and she said this ....... "Let me tell you about me and Barack....".
Now this grammatical error is made by both Blacks and Whites when they have not had the best education. But she's had a great education and I know she doesn't speak like this. She was pandering to the group she was speaking to.
On the other hand, on "The View" she said "Barack and I" and "Barack and me" using the correct grammar. And that day she was dressed in a "Leave It to Beaver" dress! Again ... pandering. (For those too young to know, "Leave It to Beaver" was a cutesy TV show in the 60's or thereabouts).
As far as Whoopi's comment, I did see it. And I was shocked!!! Shall I start listing all the amazing Black women in our country who are in positions of power, who are seen as TV anchors and (yes) talk show hosts, who definitely have teeth, have no gold around those teeth, who can certainly put 2 sentences together, who are most decidedly Black ... not fair skinned. I thought Whoopi's comment was an insult to all those women!
I love Whoopi, I love her fairness despite her personal politics, I love her way of handling almost all situations, but that comment was inexcusable and just plain wrong.
Now this grammatical error is made by both Blacks and Whites when they have not had the best education. But she's had a great education and I know she doesn't speak like this. She was pandering to the group she was speaking to.
So because she made a grammatical error, she was dumbing down to the po' black folk? And they were so stupid that they didn't even notice it! Good thing you're around to point it out, right? Riiiiiiiiiight.
Maybe - stay with me - maybe she just made a mistake. God knows I've heard Barack say a couple of things that surely made English teachers cringe, including the time he talked about how he "speaks good." (Cue my mother and I exchanging slack-jawed looks.) There are enough speeches of Michelle stumping all over YouTube, and she sounds the same in just about all of them.
So because she made a grammatical error, she was dumbing down to the po' black folk? And they were so stupid that they didn't even notice it! Good thing you're around to point it out, right? Riiiiiiiiiight.
Maybe - stay with me - maybe she just made a mistake. God knows I've heard Barack say a couple of things that surely made English teachers cringe, including the time he talked about how he "speaks good." (Cue my mother and I exchanging slack-jawed looks.) There are enough speeches of Michelle stumping all over YouTube, and she sounds the same in just about all of them.
Please don't be so annoyingly condescending. I am "staying with you". You're not at all difficult to follow.
She did NOT make a grammatical error (further Barack is not the issue so I won't even go there). It was clearly deliberate. If I even considered the idea it was a "mistake", I would NOT point it out. She knew exactly what she was doing. She was reading a printed speech!!!!! Michelle Obama is a highly educated woman who has long since put "me and .........." behind her.
Don't get your knickers all in a knot. You're the one mentioning "po black folk" (which I would never do since that was not what I meant at all). I specifically mentioned grammatical errors are not reserved for any particular race.
So please (stay with me now) do not turn this into a race issue when I was very clear that it was not.
Michelle Obama has turned on a dime. She is not the same person she was mere weeks ago. She has been re-invented, she has image people, PR people, telling her what to do and what to say to look attractive to a wider audience. I don't happen to bother with YouTube, but since you do I'm surprised you haven't notice the 360 degree spin in just the past few weeks.
Where is it written that if you're arrogant, you're Black.
Disagree away because that's not what I said. I said that she may have been trying to come across as strong, proud, confident,etc but overdid it and instead came off as arrogant. Please don't twist my words around.
Quote:
Originally Posted by McMolly
If I'm going to be brutally honest, here is something that bothered me a lot. I saw her speaking in front of an urban neighborhood group and she said this ....... "Let me tell you about me and Barack....".
Now this grammatical error is made by both Blacks and Whites when they have not had the best education. But she's had a great education and I know she doesn't speak like this. She was pandering to the group she was speaking to.
Yeah, because only uneducated people would make a mistake like that. I bet no one she was speaking to even caught that because they were probably too busy listening to the content of what she was saying to listen for grammatical errors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by McMolly
As far as Whoopi's comment, I did see it. And I was shocked!!! Shall I start listing all the amazing Black women in our country who are in positions of power, who are seen as TV anchors and (yes) talk show hosts, who definitely have teeth, have no gold around those teeth, who can certainly put 2 sentences together, who are most decidedly Black ... not fair skinned. I thought Whoopi's comment was an insult to all those women!
I love Whoopi, I love her fairness despite her personal politics, I love her way of handling almost all situations, but that comment was inexcusable and just plain wrong.
Once again, we'll have to disagree. I knew exactly where Whoppi was coming from and I agree with her. The comment was not there are no amazing black women in our country in positions of power but the fact that those aren't the ones you see on the news. Very rarely do you see an educated black woman on the news and if you do 85% of the time she is fair skinned. While Michelle Obama is certainly not the first, she is one of the few.
Since you offered, I would love to see this list of amazing black women, because obviously you know more than I do.
And you know that how, other than that's what you want to believe?
Penny, I think I wrote my reasons for believing that. As I said ... it was a printed speech and she was reading it. I don't know whether she wrote it or someone else did, but I really doubt anyone in her employ would put that in her speech without it being deliberate.
And everything I say on here is only what I believe ... obviously. That's all anyone is doing here ... giving their opinion. Do you accept anything written here as gospel? It's opinions, nothing more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by natalayjones
Disagree away because that's not what I said. I said that she may have been trying to come across as strong, proud, confident,etc but overdid it and instead came off as arrogant. Please don't twist my words around.
Yeah, because only uneducated people would make a mistake like that. I bet no one she was speaking to even caught that because they were probably too busy listening to the content of what she was saying to listen for grammatical errors.
Once again, we'll have to disagree. I knew exactly where Whoppi was coming from and I agree with her. The comment was not there are no amazing black women in our country in positions of power but the fact that those aren't the ones you see on the news. Very rarely do you see an educated black woman on the news and if you do 85% of the time she is fair skinned. While Michelle Obama is certainly not the first, she is one of the few.
Since you offered, I would love to see this list of amazing black women, because obviously you know more than I do.
Natalay, I apologize if I misunderstood you. You said you believe that the first impression formed about Michelle had "everything to do with race". I thought you meant arrogance has something to do with being Black ... and it doesn't.
As to her speech, she was speaking in front of a crowd but it was meant to be before a televised audience. This was not something picked up on someone's video camera for YouTube ... this was a televised event. So she was speaking to all of us. I have to be honest; I paid no attention to the crowd, I never do ... it's inconsequential to me. But when she used those words I surmised (and again this is my opinion from my experience) that she was speaking that way to be one with her audience. I still believe that.
And I'm sorry for noticing a grammatical error (I should not have to apologize for that) ... but it happens some things are just chalk on a blackboard for me. I could make a list of those, but I know you're not in the least interested.
You and I may have a different definition of being "on the news". Michelle Obama is on the national news so that's what I'm referring to. Also, you talk about "fair skinned" and I have to confess I'm not sure where you draw the line. I don't think Michelle is particularly dark skinned.
So just to name a few, I see the following women on TV frequently (in capacities other than their own shows): Oprah Winfrey, Whoppi Goldberg, Condoleezza Rice, Maya Angelou, Robin Roberts are four names that come to mind right off the top of my head.
Penny, I think I wrote my reasons for believing that. As I said ... it was a printed speech and she was reading it.
In other words, you have no idea. Just checking.
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. Where is it written that if you're arrogant, you're Black. It's just not true. Michelle comes across as arrogant with her nose tipped ever so slightly in the air not because she is Black, but because it's who she is. And nothing she can do now to appear warm and fuzzy can change that fact. 
