Quote Origin Citation
“You know who voted for it? You
might never know. That one.
[inclining head toward Senator
Obama] You know who voted
against it? Me.”Senator John McCain
Republican of ArizonaSecond debate between
the candidates, October
7, 2008“[Obama’s] an attractive guy. He’s
articulate. I have been impressed
with him when I have seen him in
person. But he’s got a long way to
go to be president.”George W. Bush From an interview on
Your World with Neil
Cavuto, Fox News.
January 31, 2007Mr. Obama and his well practiced,
articulate diction seem to be more
of a focus of attention than the
prime time line-up.David Brezler Examiner.com, January
26, 2011In the examples provided, the most startling and openly racist is the use
of the word “boy” to refer to President Obama. In Ash v. Tyson Foods
(2006) the Supreme Court ruled that under certain circumstances, calling
an African American male “boy” was indeed evidence of discriminatory
intent. Not every use of the word could be considered racist or
discriminatory, but “it does not follow that the term, standing alone, is
always benign. The speaker’s meaning may depend on various factors
including context, inflection, tone of voice, local custom, and historical
usage” (Ash v. Tyson Foods 2006).
Almost as evocative and offensive as “boy” is the word “uppity.” In the
South especially, the use of “uppity” to describe an African American is a
strong expression of condemnation. It is a way of chastising someone who
aspires to more than is his or her place in life, in terms of education or
lifestyle. A person who didn’t show subservience – specifically an African
American who insisted on living a full life – was “uppity.”
In the wake of criticism of Representative Lynn Westmoreland’s use of
the word (The Washington Post, September 4, 2008), he steadfastly
claimed he didn’t know that “uppity” had racist connotations, an assertion
that did not fall into the realm of plausible deniability.^19 So outrageous
was Westmoreland’s assertion of ignorance that other prominent
Republicans from the South spoke openly and critically of the incident: