But did you know that that "white" woman is seen as a teen in a photograph circulating on the web with a beer bottle in her mouth and that she was also arrested for shoplifting and running a red light as a teen? What would make a woman who works for a Republican Congressman in the capacity of a communications person (!) think she could insult the First Lady and the President and their two teenage daughters with impunity, implying that they are dressed for a "spot at the bar" rather than a corny presidential jokey ceremony, while at the same time insulting their parents as bad role models, when she herself, this very "white" woman when she was the president's daughters ages, or actually even older so she should have known better, let someone take a photo of her with a beer bottle hanging from her mouth (yeah, that's right) and was arrested for shoplifting at 17 and running a red light at 19?
White privilege that's what.
Here's the post, followed by the shot with the beer bottle that's supposed to be the "white" woman when she was younger:
4 comments:
Michael:
I'm not sure I would politicize this in quite the way you have.
I think the deeper point is that the younger generation has become so glib and disaffected by the new "social media" of quick hits and free-floating disdain and superciliousness that they can't even gird up for a Presidential photo-op.
The Obama girls are probably typical, in that they don't "want" to display respect and courtesy, believing that these qualities are passé and "unworthy" of them. They're just too cool to be thought mannerly.
I'm not putting the girls down, just suggesting that there's a deeper point here than attacking the "white woman" for insensitivity.
The girls looked beautiful and for most of the ceremony were engaged and had lovely smiles etc. but for a few seconds they looked bored or distracted. There was no reason to criticize them at all and I noticed you don't address what the Republican operative wrote about them and their parents that was so completely disrespectful, hateful and UNTRUE (as well as race based since I doubt she would have said white teenagers dressed so normally were looking for a "spot at the bar" etc.).
Curtis:
"The Obama girls are probably typical, in that they don't "want" to display respect and courtesy, believing that these qualities are passé and "unworthy" of them. They're just too cool to be thought mannerly."
Really? And how do you come by this "knowledge."
~ Willy
Michael and Tom:
What I'm suggesting is that there are different ways of looking at this scene.
Tom, you question whether we can "know" what the girls are thinking.
We obviously can't. My impression of Obama and his family is that they don't particularly want slavishly to over-subscribe to the privilege of the station; they aren't idolatrous. I think they're just like the Bush girls: They're teenagers, they don't necessarily like all the media glitz and officialdom. Maybe they really don't like to be sweet little girls. Maybe they want to say "fuck all this pretense and showtime". For Christ's sake, they're teenagers in 2014.
Give them some space for god's sake. Don't put them on pedestals and smarm over them.
I'm not supporting a criticism of them. Neither am I trying to politicize an observation. Either way.
Who's being racist? Look in the mirror!
Post a Comment