MSNBC’s Chris Matthews: “I Forgot He Was Black”
So the often controversial Chris Matthews has once again said something that could be interpreted as disrespectful. After last night’s State of the Union address, Matthews went into a long rant about how he forgot Obama was black. I’m not really sure what he meant by his remarks, although it’s clear that he wasn’t trying to be nasty. He prolly hasn’t met too many articulate black people before, and for the first time in his life was being forced to challenge his racialized vision of the world.
Check the video and more commentary after the jump.
But the truth is that I am not sure that it’s a good thing that Obama didn’t remind Matthews that he was a black man. After all, African American working class people are experiencing unique issues during this economic crisis. Not only are nearly 50% of all African American men unemployed, but 4 out of 100 black youth could not find jobs last year. He could have spent more time acknowledging the unique set of problems facing African Americans.
So yes, while it’s awesome that Obama is focusing on the entire nation, if he is going to truly rebuild this country, he is going to have to tackle the problems of black American head on, and address the issues facing this community with specific policies that acknowledge the uniqueness of the black community. Otherwise, he will just be running from the problems facing the most important demographic in his 2012 reelection bid.
Biko, you are focusing so much on matthews, that you missed the important parts of the speech.
Matthews statement to me was not racist…i believe more than anything it is the result of conditioning. Like the by product of white privilege, even the statement “white privilege” is a by product of inferiority in the collective race of we as black people.
The idea that his statement wasnt okay, should not only be made known, but should be understood that the idea that you could inadvertently erase a persons cultural identity struggles and history w/o a pause as to why it was wrong is the result of a lifetime of conditioning. You would never hear someone say “Oh, almost forgot he was Jewish” because the people, as whole will not allow for any level of their history to be interpreted by the aggressors of there history.
man…i noticed my typo. It was actually 4 out 100 found jobs…missed the quote.
thanks tamara for catching me
biko
Bobby Drake now that was deep, well said..I forgot he was black before the speech.
Mathews’ statement was both stupid and racist. It’s just a shame that “liberal” whites don’t realize it. This is no different than a white person telling an African-American person, “You speak so well.” It’s really just a dumb thing to say, because in actuality, what you are really saying is . . . “My expectation of your race is that you would not have done what you did as well as you did it.” Just goes to show the sickness of racism, prejudice and discrimination in this country and around the world, as promoted by white people (some) throughout history. Mathews actually thought his stupid statement was a complement. Somebody please tell me where the line ends for white people that make dumb comments, because I can’t see the end.
I read this and was disturbed. Not becuase of what was said but because of the response. I do not like matthews but he was not being racist. I can see why blacks are upset but in reality he was giving obama a complenment. I also do not like obama. Not because he is black but because he is a progressive and is ruining this country. And the problem I have with the black community is that you feel that obama should do for you because he is black. There are whites that need help but you do not hear us asking for help based on the prusunmption that leaders are white. If we did this we would be called racists. If anyone needs help that is deserved they should get it no matter what race they are. Well I could go on all night but I have to get up for work soon.
A good night to all and bless you.
Chris Matthews: i really blew it with the whole i forgot he was black, but that Michelle…can’t forget she’s black, baby got back! sorry i mean large protruding buttocks? no, no…a phat ass!– that’s it right?
MSNBC producers: huge sighs whatever Chris…we’re all post-racial now…
@ awhiteman . . . If you read the statement above yours, and took the time to understand it, you would realize that telling an African-American, “I forgot you were black” or “You speak so well”, is not considered a complement for the reasons I explained. Another problem with some of you people is you don’t listen, as is demonstrated by people like “awhiteman”. And what does whether or not you “like” Obama or not have to do with this topic? Obviously, you are just another angry white guy who trolls African-American message boards looking to vent your hatred or “dislike” for President Obama(and probably any other African-American), no matter what the topic. It doesn’t even make sense to me for someone to say I do not like someone because they are a “progressive”. Do you even know what the definition of progressive is? I doubt it. I could care less what title someone is labeled as. If you dislike someone because of a title, something is wrong with YOU. You say you don’t like him because he is “ruining this country”? I am certain that you cannot name anything that Barack Obama did to “ruin this country” that George Bush did not already do. But I’ll bet you didn’t have anything to say when the mental midget Bush was leading the country down the crapper. If Barack Obama is ruining this country, what the hell do you consider what Bush did to this country for the past 8 years? You can’t be saying that he did something great for this country since if it weren’t for him and his retarded leadership, the country would not be in this mess in the first place. Bush and his administration did more to set this country back than Barack Obama could ever dream of doing in a lifetime. Bush and his inept administration set the environment for what you see happening to the economy. Bush and his inept administration got this country involved in not one, but TWO wars. Bush and his inept administration took a budget surplus and turned it into a TRILLION dollar deficit. Bush and his inept administration stripped away regulations that were already in place to prevent the collapse of the banks and Wall St. and created the problems you say are “ruining this country”. Bush and his inept administration continuously coddled to Wall St., big business, and the banking industry at the expense of the average person on the street (including YOU), and you’re posting on this board talking about how Obama is “ruining this country”? Are you serious? You must be used to getting away with that nonsense with your FOX news buddies but that lame excuse will not wash with anyone with any sense of intelligence. Take that garbage to the FOX message boards where you’ll find like-minded idiots that will not challenge you on the facts.
And who said that the entire community of African-Americans felt that President Obama should do something for them “because he is black”? Obviously, this is another problem that YOU have deep in your brain since every African-American does not feel this way no more than every white person feels that President Obama is the one who is “ruining this country”. I think you need to have a psychiatric evaluation done and see if you can figure out the root causes of your dislike for African-Americans. Obviously, when you generalize about what an entire race of people thinks just because you saw one person with brown skin on the news making a statement, something is wrong with YOU. You also said,
“There are whites that need help but you do not hear us asking for help based on the prusunmption that leaders are white. If we did this we would be called racists.”
Whites don’t need to ask for help based on the “prusunmption” that leaders are white because white leaders are already doing everything they can do to allow whites (even the most unqualified ones) to get ahead. Whites made the rules for this society and they own everything because they discriminate against anyone who is not white and are still doing this to this day. Don’t know where you were during history class but this has been going on in this country since its inception. It is only when African-Americans adapt to the rules and gain ground that whites want to change the rules. History in this country is bombarded with facts that will prove this. Read about how whites changed the rules after the civil war because African-Americans were being elected as politicians and acquiring land during reconstruction. The whole concept of Jim Crow was based on this. Read about how, because of Wilt Chamberlain, whites changed the rules in pro basketball (widening the lane in an attempt to keep him and his finger-roll farther from the goal, implementing the offensive-goaltending rule and revising the rules regarding inbounding and free throws). There are many more examples I can list. I know you are probably not intelligent enough to know any of this information but try to educate yourself someday please. White people in this country have experienced little in the way of obstacles compared to African-Americans, so don’t try to lecture African-Americans on what they shouldn’t do because whites don’t do it (in your mind).
I still don’t see the end of that line. The stupid comments by white people continues with this beauty from Dan Rather, an old white man who used to be a TV news anchor. Rather said in reference to President Obama . . .
“Listen he’s a nice person, he’s very articulate” this is what’s been used against him, “but he couldn’t sell watermelons if it, you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic.”
So President Obama is, AGAIN, “very articulate”. White people NEVER say this about other white people, only African-Americans. This means that they have this deep-seeded prejudice that tells them that it is somehow abnormal if an African-American can speak well. This tells me that they really don’t pay attention to any African-Americans other than the most negative depictions of African-Americans which, unfortunately, are the norm in the main stream WHITE media. If that wasn’t enough, he couldn’t resist going back to his Fuzzy Zoeller roots and playing the “watermelon” card. This tells me that when people like him look at a man like President Obama, they probably run the gambit of stereotypical images in their minds. He chose to play the watermelon card this time. Next week it will probably be the fried chicken card. By the way, there is nothing wrong with watermelon or fried chicken and I will never be ashamed or embarrassed to eat either one. Watermelon is not only delicious and refreshing when it is served cold during the hot summer, but it is also VERY good for you. Only white people would turn that into a negative thing. Of course I limit fried foods because they are not healthy as a frequent part of the diet. And I think the reason why white people see fried chicken as a negative is because they can’t cook it properly. I have never had really good fried chicken from any group other than African-Americans. For some reason, whites just don’t prepare or season it properly. This probably frustrates the hell out of them. Even Kentucky Fried Chicken ain’t what it used to be. LOL!!!