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Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Lindsay Lohan and the first "colored" president
Like the rest of Hollywood, Lindsay Lohan is excited by the first "colored" president. Yup, she used the word "colored." Insensitive? Sure. An innocent mistake? Of course.
Posted by Matthew Johnston on November 12, 2008 in International Affairs | Permalink
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Comments
If people actually respected anything that Lohan said, this might have made a bigger splash. But luckily for her she is completely insignificant and irrelevant when it comes to her existence outside of LA's club of the week.
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Posted by: jennysmith | 2008-11-12 1:26:18 AM
Even George Wallace had more tact.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2008-11-12 5:09:46 AM
Silvio Berlusconi described Obama as "suntanned" Bwahahahahahaha
Posted by: The Stig | 2008-11-12 6:11:41 AM
Matthew,
Lindsay Lohan? This is newsworthy? Really? I mean, really???? Must be a slow news day, huh?
Posted by: Fact Check | 2008-11-12 6:51:21 AM
Lindsay Lohan? This is newsworthy? Really? I mean, really???? Must be a slow news day, huh?
Posted by: Fact Check | 12-Nov-08 6:51:21 AM
Matthew probably posted it so when you're playing trivial pursuit with your mother you'll know the answer.
Posted by: The Stig | 2008-11-12 7:37:44 AM
Fact Check, it's not like there is limited column space. The beauty of blogs is that you can post anything that is mildly interesting and not take space away from more important issues.
Posted by: Hugh MacIntyre | 2008-11-12 8:09:23 AM
No limited column space? OK , so now we have to scroll through miles of crap to find something of import now is that it?
No thanks, MSM does that already.
Epsi
Posted by: epsilon | 2008-11-12 9:08:19 AM
Fact Check: I watch too much TMZ. :-)
But I do think there is something to this story. Will the African-American community react strongly to this? Or are we truly in a post-racial era in which black Americans feel secure enough to ingore this sort of innocent slight?
And how do you explain to someone like Lindsay that the existence of the United Negro College Fund and the National Association for Colored People doesnt make "negro" or "colored" acceptable terms?
See, there's a story here. It's all in the analysis.
Posted by: Matthew Johnston | 2008-11-12 9:10:33 AM
Just another airheaded American semi-celebrity displaying the ignorance of her class.
Posted by: Charles Martin Cosgriff | 2008-11-12 9:57:59 AM
I don't see what is wrong with the use of "coloured" as a descriptor. I believe that it refers to any other race than white. I have never heard Obama refer to himself as white even though his mother is white. I must confess that I haven't kept track of the latest PC term de jour for Blacks, Negroes, African Americans, etc. I've inadvertently heard snippets of Rap (I avoid listening with a passion) where Black's refer to themselves as Homies (SP?) or Niggers and that it is somehow acceptable within PC society. The same words used by non-Blacks can be career/reputation-destroying.
I'm reminded of a PC multi-sectoral land-use negotiation that I was unfortunately involved in where a West Coast Indian monopolized several hours of discussion on his opposition to the use of the PC term de jour "aboriginal" and that it should be reserved for Australia and that he should be referred to as an Indian or Native American. First Nation hadn't yet caught on then.
We could all just refer to ourselves by name (Group Hugs, Kumbaya, etc), but the politics of identity is just too damn lucrative. So I guess the PC police should just predominately display the latest PC term de jour for all races, mixes, colours, tints, breeds etc. Perhaps MSM TV or the google tool bar could be mandated to provide a continuously running banner as a reminder.
Posted by: John Chittick | 2008-11-12 10:55:08 AM
"So I guess the PC police should just predominately display the latest PC term de jour for all races, mixes, colours, tints, breeds etc. Perhaps MSM TV or the google tool bar could be mandated to provide a continuously running banner as a reminder."
We're getting there. Last year, I was in a university class where the instructor spent the first hour going on about the "evolution of language" regarding natives.
He said that he "liked" the term "first nations," but noted that there was some "fascinating new research" coming out suggesting that first nations might be a "racist term." If such research pans out, we'll all have to refer to natives by their individual tribe names so as not to lump them together as a racial group.
Seriously... this is what gets taught in university-level history courses these days.
Posted by: Jeremy Maddock | 2008-11-12 11:33:23 AM
He is colored… he's not albino, and he reflects different frequencies of light in disproportionate ways… He's a somewhat darker brown than I am. sort of a stained oak if you will… it's a color.
Racist term my ass, it's an accurate scientific description. I don't mind when people call me white, or brown or Arab or western (I, like Obama am of mixed race) I do mind the occasional "sand n****r" but mostly because the country of my ancestors is neither sandy nor in Nigeria.
People need to grow the hell up.
Posted by: Pete | 2008-11-12 11:56:10 AM
My dad always called them "Darkies". "Coloured" was fine for "them" until the 70's. My older brother used to call his African classmates "burrheads", and they had some humourous names to throw back at him. If you're not mean spirited about it, it shouldn't matter all that much.
Older "Native Americans" still call themselves "Indians". A friend of mine showed me his Indian ID card once, and sure enough, it said "Indian" in big letters.
Nobody could keep up with every little detail without a manual. Persians get pissed off when someone calls them Arab. Most Canadians don't have a clue about things like that. My girlfriend's Chinese, and she gets pretty choked when someone asks her if she's Korean or Japanese.
And how about when redneck Canadian guys who get called Americans when we're on vacation somewhere? I've seen a couple of my friends take great offense to that. I figure it's all good as long as I don't get called late for supper.
Posted by: dp | 2008-11-12 1:05:35 PM
good grief who cares, how about Obama is one of the most pro-abortion presidents ever elected in the USA as he soone enacts the FOCA and who knows what he will do with the Born Alive Act.
Person of colour,black negro Afro-American? choose one.
Dont use the N word tho as only black rappers can say that one.
Posted by: Merle | 2008-11-12 8:24:57 PM
Colored? And what color would that be, Lindsay?
We're all "colored" one way or another...
No one will remember this in...zzzzzzzzzzzz
Posted by: JC | 2008-11-12 8:59:51 PM
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