Slouching Donkey, Lying Elephant: Hesiod jumps the shark

Hesiod not only jumped the shark, he sailed right over it, landed in the pool, and started splashing around to get its attention while calling it nasty names.

At issue is a post he made about Colin Powell's recent dishonest whoring for the Bush Administration. The text of the post is as follows:

ROOTS CANAL: Colin Powell dances for his massah.

I'm sorry, but any shred of dignity or integrity Colin Powell may have had is now long gone. His continuing Stepin' Fetchit routine on behalf of the Cheney/Rumsfeld administration is outrageous and embarrassing.

How humiliating.

Any man in Powell's position with the slightest shred of pride or self-respect would have resigned a long time ago.

I am not arguing that Powell is acting like a compliant Uncle Tom BECAUSE he's black, and that's just the way black people act. Quite the opposite. It's demeaning for a man of his stature and reputation to be put forward by this administration and to dance for the cameras, and lie about pre-war Iraq intelligence.

A man with, as I said, pride and self-respect...and a sense of HONOR would refuse to do so. Now, maybe I could say the same thing without using racially charged phrases like "massah," and "stepin' fetchit." But would they have the same impact? I doubt it.

Bullshit. Nonsense. Codswaddle. Puckernuts. This is rationalization of the highest order.

Only one question need be asked of Hesiod in order to puncture his justifications for using this kind of rhetoric: what criticism would he have leveled at Powell for his dishonesty and political whoring, had Powell not been black?

Hesiod has offered no satisfactory answer for this question--and it, or variations on it, have been asked of him several times. He has offered defensive rationalizations when he should be offering an apology to his readers. In the realms of civil discourse, there is no room for crafting your attack on someone on the basis of their race, regardless of the point you're trying to make.

Edit: Tacitus cuts straight to the heart of the issue using far fewer words than I just did:

Is this even an excuse? "I had to yell 'n----r' or no one would listen!" Here's a rule of thumb: if you can't make your point without resorting to racism, don't make it. It signifies one of three things: your point is wrong; you're utterly irrelevant in this world; or you're a thick-headed fool.

I don't get it, I guess. Must be an outgrowth of living in a major city. Why is calling someone a "Stepin' Fetchit" racist? As Hesiod points out, he's not characterizing black people. A Stepin' Fetchit character is one who plays to the racist views of whites. Now, that may not be a fair characterization of Powell, but how does using that language make Hesiod racist?

Posted by: Mithras at January 11, 2004 11:16 PM

Now, that may not be a fair characterization of Powell, but how does using that language make Hesiod racist?

I didn't say Hesiod was a racist--I'll leave that argument for others to make, and there's been a great deal of back-and-forth about it over at Tac's blog. But what he said /was/ offensive and inappropriate. When you're criticizing someone's behavior, it strikes me as completely inappropriate to compare them to a racist caricature unless they are pointedly and knowingly aping that caricature.

Let me put it another way. My fiancee is Jewish. Occasionally she affects an exaggerated New York Jewish accent and caricatures herself a joke. In that context, someone could very well criticize her as perpetuating a stereotype. But it would be /extremely/ inappropriate to nastily compare her to Jewish stereotypes if she and I were arguing over finances.

Posted by: Catsy at January 12, 2004 08:30 AM


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	January 11, 2004


	Hesiod jumps the shark

	Hesiod not only jumped the shark, he sailed right over it, landed in the pool, and started splashing around to get its attention while calling it nasty names. At issue is a post he made about Colin Powell's recent dishonest whoring for the Bush Administration. The text of the post is as follows: ROOTS CANAL: Colin Powell dances for his massah. I'm sorry, but any shred of dignity or integrity Colin Powell may have had is now long gone. His continuing Stepin' Fetchit routine on behalf of the Cheney/Rumsfeld administration is outrageous and embarrassing. How humiliating. Any man in Powell's position with the slightest shred of pride or self-respect would have resigned a long time ago. This is pretty vile, at face value. Later, after receiving a whole lot of deserved flak for the post in his comments, Hesiod clarifies the point he was trying to make: I am not arguing that Powell is acting like a compliant Uncle Tom BECAUSE he's black, and that's just the way black people act. Quite the opposite. It's demeaning for a man of his stature and reputation to be put forward by this administration and to dance for the cameras, and lie about pre-war Iraq intelligence. A man with, as I said, pride and self-respect...and a sense of HONOR would refuse to do so. Now, maybe I could say the same thing without using racially charged phrases like "massah," and "stepin' fetchit." But would they have the same impact? I doubt it. Similar arguments are made in his comments, and at the comments over at Tacitus. What it essentially boils down to is this: Hesiod was trying to make the point that Powell was once an honorable man, and that his continued dishonesty in service of Bush's lies gives him the appearance of a racist caricature which, Hesiod is presumably implying, Powell should be above. Bullshit. Nonsense. Codswaddle. Puckernuts. This is rationalization of the highest order. Only one question need be asked of Hesiod in order to puncture his justifications for using this kind of rhetoric: what criticism would he have leveled at Powell for his dishonesty and political whoring, had Powell not been black? Hesiod has offered no satisfactory answer for this question--and it, or variations on it, have been asked of him several times. He has offered defensive rationalizations when he should be offering an apology to his readers. In the realms of civil discourse, there is no room for crafting your attack on someone on the basis of their race, regardless of the point you're trying to make. Edit: Tacitus cuts straight to the heart of the issue using far fewer words than I just did: Is this even an excuse? "I had to yell 'n----r' or no one would listen!" Here's a rule of thumb: if you can't make your point without resorting to racism, don't make it. It signifies one of three things: your point is wrong; you're utterly irrelevant in this world; or you're a thick-headed fool. Posted by Catsy at 03:32 PM \| Comments (2) \| TrackBack (0) Comments: I don't get it, I guess. Must be an outgrowth of living in a major city. Why is calling someone a "Stepin' Fetchit" racist? As Hesiod points out, he's not characterizing black people. A Stepin' Fetchit character is one who plays to the racist views of whites. Now, that may not be a fair characterization of Powell, but how does using that language make Hesiod racist? Posted by: Mithras at January 11, 2004 11:16 PM Now, that may not be a fair characterization of Powell, but how does using that language make Hesiod racist? I didn't say Hesiod was a racist--I'll leave that argument for others to make, and there's been a great deal of back-and-forth about it over at Tac's blog. But what he said /was/ offensive and inappropriate. When you're criticizing someone's behavior, it strikes me as completely inappropriate to compare them to a racist caricature unless they are pointedly and knowingly aping that caricature. Let me put it another way. My fiancee is Jewish. Occasionally she affects an exaggerated New York Jewish accent and caricatures herself a joke. In that context, someone could very well criticize her as perpetuating a stereotype. But it would be /extremely/ inappropriate to nastily compare her to Jewish stereotypes if she and I were arguing over finances. Posted by: Catsy at January 12, 2004 08:30 AM Post a comment Name: Email Address: URL: Remember personal info? YesNo Comments: