Salon Writer Asks If Eric Holder Is President Obama’s ‘Inner N****r’

[AllINeedIsCoffee]

President Obama‘s powerful speech on the aftermath of Trayvon Martin‘s unpunished killing has spawned a panoply of reactions, but one Salon writer’s review of the President’s remarks is drawing molten-hot criticism on Twitter. Demos Senior Fellow and sometime Up panelist Richard Benjamin blasted the speech as a tepid shadow of Attorney General Eric Holder‘s advocacy, and declared that “Some of us have an Inner Child. Others have an Inner N****r. Is Holder the president’s conscience? Or his Inner N****r?”

http://www.mediaite.com/online/salon-writer-asks-if-eric-holder-is-president-obamas-inner-ngger/

The liberal blogosphere has lost its fucking mind.

[BainsBane]

1. What is wrong with this country?

How could they think it was acceptable to publish such a thing?

[uponit7771]

2. What dumb bastard thinks this is ok?!

[Number23]

3. "The liberal blogosphere has lost its fucking mind"

If he's wanted to post this on RichardBenjamin.blogspot.com or even Jack and Jill that's one thing. Salon is not even close to the appropriate venue for this foolishness.

[ProSense]

4. They're all

vying for 15 minutes of fucking fame, and teh stupid is epidemic.

[Number23]

9. Yep. The "stupid" bar is pretty high right now. You gotta jump awwwwwfully high to reach it

and some are apparently all too willing to do so if that means they'll get the $$$ that comes with the clicks and views.

[msanthrope]

61. Check this out....Obama did not spend enough time on the streets..according to DU

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3300217



nice, eh??

[Cha]

65. I have that

OP on ignore and wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't gone to the link.

It's like watching a bunch of snakes snarling around in their pit.

I need a shower.

They fucking hate Pres Obama and are so damn jealous that he can't even give an amazingly comforting speech to the Nation and to Trayvon's parents about where we can go from here to help African American boys.. without them whining about something else.

They can't admit it was a great impromtu speech.. it's look over here.. "Ray Kelly!" "Forget Obama's speech.. it's all about Ray Kelly because I'm incapable of seeing what that speech was all about."

[msanthrope]

66. Amazing hatred from those who claim to be on the side of angels. nt

[BeyondGeography]

79. Spot on...many twisted souls here

There was a factual (and positive) thread on Obama yesterday in GD and one of the antis jumped in and said, "Shouldn't this be in the BOG?" Obama only exists for them when they can tear him a new one. The rest is mindless hero worship. It's a child's cartoon view of the world.

[Cha]

81. That's a good way to put it, BG..

"Obama only exists for them when they can tear him a new one."

That poster outed himself/herself.. "Shouldn't this be in the BOG?" they think DU exists only to rag on Pres Obama. what a tiny little self centered mind. rofl

[Number23]

86. And I love the 6-0 jury vote to leave. As a black poster in the AA forum just sagely noted

"DU doesn't do race well. Never has."

[msanthrope]

89. DU has a contingent of firebagger/libertarians who think this President owes

them something. The racism is so blatant.

[quinnox]

5. Richard Benjamin is an African-American

I think its important to note that.

[ProSense]

7. Who knew?

"I think its important to note that. "

And what the fuck difference does it make?

[quinnox]

12. The OP left that out

So wanted to make sure that was noted. Its important. Its very clear if this had been a white political commentator, the reaction would be (and should be) on a whole different level.

The article continues - "The President has faced harsh provocations from other black commentators, but this is a whole different level. "........."Following the barrage of criticism, Benjamin tweeted “What black person doesnt understand duality/double consciousness? Legit Q: Does Holder embody PBOs complex double consciousness? @Salon”

[ProSense]

20. Again, what difference does it make?

The comment is moronic.

[quinnox]

23. if you don't understand the difference, I can't help you

[ProSense]

26. You apparently don't understand why this is wrong, that's your problem. n/t

[dsc]

24. really?

I am not defending what he did, because I think it was both stupid and inflammatory but if say Joan Walsh had done it, it would have been exponentially worse.

[ProSense]

25. Yes, really, and

if you're "not defending what he did," what's your point?

[dsc]

29. that if a white person did it it would be worse

Just like if my gay friend says I am such a fag it is one thing and if you say the same thing it is quite another. His falls in between since I am presuming he isn't a friend of the President and the post was public, not private. If he had privately mused with the President and a group of black people, what he wrote in that piece, I think it would have been no real problem. By writing it in a public venue it becomes one, but not nearly the problem than if say Joan Walsh did so.

[ProSense]

31. What the hell does that have to do with labeling the comment offensive?

"that is a white person did it it would be worse"

Is this supposed to be dismissive?

[dsc]

32. you seriously think

that a white person using the n word isn't worse than a black person using it? Really? Well of course, you thought that nothing at all had changed for gays from 93 to 09 so I guess I should realize who you are.

[ProSense]

36. Who cares? n/t

[dsc]

35. and I made a typo is for if

sorry they are two keys apart and I sometimes make typos. I am sure you never do, being perfect and all, but the rest of us occassionaly do.

[Ed Suspicious]

51. I'm thinking Prosense doesn't see race. At least he wants to make it known he doesn't acknowledge it

[nomorenomore08]

73. From a white person these comments would be beyond the pale (no pun intended).

Even from a black person, though, they're still needlessly inflammatory and really, really fucking stupid.

[BainsBane]

16. The site is mainstream and not geared toward African Americans

It was the height of irresponsibility for Salon to publish this. Moreover, who is this guy to refer to the President of the US in that way?

[quinnox]

18. That is a matter of opinion

and about "who is this guy to refer to the president in this way" To me, that is a strange question to ask.

[BainsBane]

19. It's disrespectful

He's the President. People can't see his race through an online publication, and it's a public commentary, not a private comment. It's irresponsible.

[quinnox]

22. the president does not get any special protections in terms of what people say about him

I'd bet "disrespectful" things and much much worse are said about the president every day in this country. It doesn't require a license or some kind of special standing to do this. And that is the way it should be.

About this article, I think it is none of my business if a black person wants to use this kind of language in their political commentary regarding the president. As a white person, its not my place to tell him he can't use this language.

[ProSense]

30. Please, get real.

The comment is offensive, and you're trying to pretend that labeling it as such is "special protections"?

"About this article, I think it is none of my business if a black person wants to use this kind of language in their political commentary regarding the president. As a white person, its not my place to tell him he can't use this language."

WTF? As a person, black or white, you should be able to tell when something is offensive.

[quinnox]

34. I believe I have made my opinion very clear, its a nuanced one and not black or white

As always, there are shades of gray in life. There are few things I see as easy and simple enough to put in a neat "good or evil" category.

[Whisp]

43. sick puppy.

[BainsBane]

44. It may be none of our business what they say among themselves

but when it's a public statement about the President, I have a right to speak out. IF he didn't want public commentary, he shouldn't have published the article. His entire point was to elicit a public reaction. If you are so unconcerned, why are you even in this thread?

If you don't tolerate being insulted, why should it be okay to insult the President?
If people can't show basic respect for the office, they don't deserve respect themselves. That goes for right wingers, leftists, or anyone else.

[quinnox]

55. well, your post seems reasonable to me. You do have a right to say what you think

as do I, and this is what makes Du click. I respect your opinion, I just happen to feel differently. It is a complex matter, language and human communication. It can be hard to go into when trying to express what we mean in simple brief posts.

So I will clarify a bit more. If this had been a white person saying this, I would have condemned it. It would be wrong and racist for a white person to say this. But a black person using this type language is very very different. It is well known to most of us who walk around the daily world, and are actually "in the street" in terms of being out and about in the public every day, that some black people use this language when referring to others in their culture. So it is not shocking to me to hear this. As a believer in free expression and also understanding there are complexities in language and groups who use it as part of their culture, I don't have a problem with it.

About the last part regarding insulting the president - I just disagree with you. Sorry, I have never felt this kind of built in reverence towards authority. Just because someone is a president or in a position of power, does not mean they deserve automatic respect. I think the last president before Obama, Bush Jr., proved this very well.

[BainsBane]

47. If you don't see the difference between what people say in private

and a publication, you're aren't thinking at all.

[hughee99]

82. Do you have to be "someone special" to refer to the president a certain way?

People (any people) are free to refer to the president any way they like (at least for now), and other people are free to make judgments based on those statements.

[BainsBane]

83. No one should refer to the president that way. No one.

[hughee99]

84. No one should, but anyone can. That's my point.

Also, If no one should refer to the president this way, then why did you ask who the author thinks they are? Is there ANYONE they could think they are that would make it acceptable in your mind to make such a remark? According to your follow up, there isn't.

In any case, it sounds to me more like they're talking about Holder than Obama.

[bravenak]

58. I will not be giving him a pass just because he's black.

I'm black too and I have more sense. As a matter of fact ill be harder on him because he's black and should know better. Inner nigger? No.
Would it be okay if he's uses terms like inner wetback? Inner chink? Inner kike? No matter what it's offensive. He's being a troll.

[Justitia]

60. Amen. -eom

[nomorenomore08]

74. Totally stupid and offensive comment no matter what, I agree. You don't talk about the President

of the United States that way. Even if Bush II, as much as I hate(d) the guy, had been insulted with say, a gay slur, I still would've objected to that choice of words. Not an exact analogy by any means, but I had to stretch to think of one, sorry...

[enough]

6. Holder, that paragon of advocacy. (nt)

[Cha]

39. Yeah, AG Eric Holder.

Just watching United States Attorney General Eric Holder during his press conference on Tuesday remembering what it was like for him as a young black man in America whose father had to give him ‘the talk’ about how he should behave if ever he was stopped by the police was, I’m quite sure, a revelation to a large segment of the nation. And not the darker segment, because we already know. And as I watched him describe how he felt certain that his father didn’t think his son’s generation would likely have to give that same wise but fearful advice, and then how he wove that into the tragic verdict excusing George Zimmerman for murdering an unarmed black teenager, I couldn’t help but think about the fact that only a black man could offer that perspective on the verdict. No matter how sympathetic many of our white fellow citizens may be, only a black man can talk with authority about what this really means for young black men.

But more importantly, this wasn’t coming from some anonymous black man interviewed on the street. This opinion was coming from the nation’s top lawyer, the man who is in charge of the United States Justice Department. And this man talked about one night not all that long ago when he was stopped by the police in Georgetown as he was running to get to a movie – simply because he was running while black at night in Georgetown. He was a federal prosecutor at the time.

http://www.politicususa.com/2013/07/18/hear-that-george-zimmerman-justice-catching.html

[JaneyVee]

8. Wildly offensive. I expect Salon to be boycotted with fury.

Note to Salon, get some damn editors.

[Tutonic]

27. Amen, Amen, Amen.

What editor reviewed this screed and thought "yeah this is gonna be edgy yet right on"? Rich Benjamin should be fired right after his editor. We have devolved.

[Tarheel_Dem]

59. Thank you. nt

[nomorenomore08]

75. +1

Agree completely!

[Nye Bevan]

10. There is a school of thought that says it is fine for blacks to use that word (nt)

[AllINeedIsCoffee]

13. I don't think that school of thought is reaching the Twitter community. nt

[SMC22307]

38. Surely you jest.

https://twitter.com/FreddieGibbs/status/285082775005044739

Bitches AND niggas:

Kanye West Gets Introspective About Use of ‘Bitch’ and ‘Nigga’
http://gawker.com/5940072/kanye-west-gets-introspective-about-use-of-bitch-and-nigga

Nigga, niggas and niggaz:

https://twitter.com/JColeNC

Those are just from a quickie search... there's a lot more where that came from. Is it OK to use, or not?

[Tutonic]

28. Yeah, I'm guessing Rich Benjamin

assumed that to be true. Guess he figured wrong.

[nomorenomore08]

76. I guess so... But RE: the President of the U.S.A.? I think that's a bit different...

[Niceguy1]

78. the people complaining are old school

And don't understand today's generation.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

11. *This* Richard Benjamin?

http://www.richbenjamin.com/about.html

http://www.richbenjamin.com/whitopia.html

http://www.demos.org/rich-benjamin

Not familiar with him.

[madashelltoo]

40. This Richard Benjamin and others like him

are the reason we take one step forward and three steps back. All he has done is put his inadequacies on display. To disrespect the President and Attorney General like this only speaks ill of the author. To disagree with them is fine. To disrespect them using those terms is disgusting, and a handful of balloons won't hide this author's ugly soul.

[Cha]

42. Thank you, madashelltoo..

very well said.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

48. I would never have used that language, or entertained those thoughts.

But I'm a lily-white woman living in Whitopia.

Just a hunch, but the OP probably isn't cheesed off about the use of the n-word -- it was more of an opportunity to bash liberals and "alt media." Yawn.

[madashelltoo]

53. Whatever point that ass was trying to make

Got lost in the pile of shit he left on the page.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

54. I wouldn't know...

I didn't read it. Turned me off from the start.

[quakerboy]

77. You clearly have not spent much time at DU

I have no opinion of this author or his work, Haven't read it, dont care to. But I must correct you. It is markedly NOT ok to disagree with the president here on DU. Those who might dare to do so will be put in their place with many recursive links, statements about how they must want president McCain, and thinly veiled accusations of racism.

[Hekate]

14. I think I want to throw up. That would be my Inner Nausea.

ODS -- and yes, I saw the photos in this thread.

[Redford]

15. Help a white hispanic girl out....

is he calling Holder his house N or his black conscience?

[BainsBane]

17. I think the latter

the equivalent of his Luther, I guess.

Only when Key and Peele do it, it's actually funny and far less insulting.

[LittleBlue]

21. Salon is a joke

Haven't taken them seriously for a long time.

[Cha]

33. Oh dear.. I just saw that on salon from a link on TOD.

I went there. Couldn't believe it. I didn't want to register to knock rich benjamin off his self-inflated pedestal, though.. especially since so many others were doing such a good job of doing it for me.

It's so easy for assholes to sit back in their chairs and bloviate vapidly on something that know fuck all about. And, end up only letting everyone know everything they need to know about them.. in this case, rich benjamin is a stupid racist asshole. Next.

[dsc]

37. you do realize mr. Benjamin is black

[Cha]

41. as a matter of fact I did not. But, I still think he's

he's stupid asshole.

[ecstatic]

45. Since you've mentioned that multiple times

Here's a hint: The comment is disgusting and disrespectful regardless of the race of the person making it. Inner N*gger? Really? WTF does that even mean and how in the world does it add to the discussion in any way?

[dsc]

52. I mentioned it twice

not several, unless the new meaning of several is twice. Second, I really think you know damn well why I mentioned it here. Hint, it was calling him a racist.

[madashelltoo]

46. Being black does not excuse him!

It makes his remarks ten times more offensive. There is nothing Teabaggers love more than people who loathe their own. Clarence Thomas, Cain, Rubio, Alan West and the women in Congress whose names escape me because I find them even more repulsive for standing with people who would strip them of every right women have fought long and hard for.

[BainsBane]

50. It's a so-called news publication

Not a comedy act or music release.

[Douglas Carpenter]

49. Profile of Richard Benjamin

Born
United States

Residence
United States

Education
Wesleyan University (BA)
Stanford University (PhD)

Occupation
Author, television commentator, cultural critic


Rich Benjamin is an American cultural critic, mulit-media journalist, and author.

Benjamin is perhaps best known for the non-fiction book Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America.[1][2]

He is also a lecturer and a well-known public intellectual, who regularly discusses issues on NPR, MSNBC, and FOX News. His writing frequently appears in The New York Times and Salon.com.[3][4] Benjamin’s work focuses on US politics and culture, money, class, African Americans, Whites, Latinos, LGBT issues, public policy, and demographic change.

Benjamin is currently a Senior Fellow at Demos.[5]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Benjamin

[quinnox]

64. wow, impressive. A PhD from Stanford

I never heard of this guy before I saw this thread, but I'm definitely interested to read more of his work in the future.

[Douglas Carpenter]

68. "Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America." by Richard Benjamin

is his most famous work




About the Author

Rich Benjamin is a well-connected scholar, lecturer, and commentator on contemporary American politics and culture. His commentary is featured on NPR, FOX radio, newspapers and the blogosphere, including The Huffington Post, Tom Paine, Afronetizen, and Talking Points Cafe). He has PhD from Stanford University in Modern Thought and Literature; in 2001/02, he was a visiting scholar at Columbia Unviersity Law School, and he is currently a senior fellow at DEMOS,a progressive national think tank based in New York City.


Release date: October 6, 2009
"It sounds like a recipe for a riot: an inquisitive black writer journeying into some of the most segregated neighborhoods in the country. But Benjamin...pulls off his quest with good cheer."
--Time
"[Benjamin] offers in the end a chilling vision of the future for progressive values."
--Daily Kos

"Exploring the identity, inhabitants, and social and political implications of...small towns...is the premise of Benjamin's provocative new book."
--The Daily Beast "Benjamin examines the history, politics, economics, and culture of race and class as seen in the growth of these `whitopias,' racially and therefore socioeconomically exclusive communities from the exurb St. George, Utah to the inner-city enclave of Carnegie Hill in Manhattan. . . . This is a thoroughly engaging and eye-opening look at an urgent social issue.

http://www.amazon.com/Searching-Whitopia-Improbable-Journey-America/dp/1401322689#_

http://www.powells.com/biblio?inkey=65-9781401322687-2

http://books.google.com/books?id=rgtAANgg010C&dq=Searching+for+Whitopia:+An+Improbable+Journey+to+the+Heart+of+White+America&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Yy3qUe-BG4Hw8QTa9oDACg&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA

[Number23]

56. The fail is ever so strong with this thread. And I ain't talking about the OP...

[AllINeedIsCoffee]

80. Very telling with the "I MUST READ MORE BY THIS RACIST" nt

[bravenak]

57. Read it.

This is some bullshit. I have no innernigger. Racist bullshit. And his hair looks stupid. Inner nigger. I can't get over that. He can kiss my grits.

[HangOnKids]

62. Why does his hair look stupid?

[bravenak]

63. Because I don't like it. My mom has the same style and I tell her all the time that I hate it.

He should get dreadlocks. Or comb it. It looks like he's trying for both and can't figure out which one he wants to have. Is it okay with you? I do black hair, braids,Extensions, weaves, Dreadlocks, presses, press and curls, relaxers, even Jheri curls. This style I don't like.
You may like it. I don't. It looks stupid. It looks like my hair when I wake up in the morning before I do anything with it.
Do you know anything about black hair? And how to do it?
Should I put a picture if myself in the morning so you'll know what I'm talking about?

[HangOnKids]

67. You said it looked stupid and I asked why you said that

Your diatribe is quite silly, I could care less what your hair looks like or if you style hair, but the defensive attitude is telling.

[bravenak]

69. And I told you why. But you didn't really want me to answer.

The eye rolling thing made me feel like I had to give you a detailed explanation. And hair stylists are always critical about hair, obviously.
I'm not defensive, I did nothing wrong. He did. If you didn't want to know why I thought it looked stupid, why did you ask?
Or was it a rhetorical question?
How dumb, ask a question, and when you get a detailed answer, call the person silly.
I actually thought you wanted to know why I thought it looked stupid.
You obviously just wanted to roll your eyes at somebody.
Carry on, and good day.
End of diatribe.

[HangOnKids]

70. Go away

Thanks! Have fun and knock yourself out.

[bravenak]

71. Didn't I tell you good day?

It means leave me alone I'm done with you.

[Number23]

87. Don't you love it when simple... er, I mean people jump into a conversation for no reason

and then tell you to "go away" as if you are somehow victimizing them by responding to the conversation that THEY initiated??

[bravenak]

88. Makes me feel so warm and fuzzy.

I'd rather be ignored.

[Douglas Carpenter]

72. Richard Benjamin - Whitopia - a 4 minute video

[Jamaal510]

85. Instead of Benjamin trying to troll people like this,

his time would be better spent in the barber's chair.