Am I the only one who still doesn't understand why Jesse Jackson said he wanted to cut Barack Obama's nuts off? Jackson seems to be so deep in apologizing-and-backpedaling mode, that we're not getting much of an explanation of what he was saying.
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About Those Nuts
09 Jul 2008 11:03 pm
Comments (54)
My impression is that Jackson was angry because he felt like Obama was Sister Souljahing the entire black race with his lectures about parental responsibility and the like.
Plus his choice of vulgarity gives the phrase "a generational thing" a rather relevant ring.
He's jealous of Barack and he's opposed to his new way of talking about race, one that doesn't primarily blame the woes of African Americans on govt.
The way this generational divide is playing out is stunning, to the extent that Jesse Jackson isn't falling over himself in support of Obama but wants to "cut his nuts off" speaks volumes.
Hey boomer's... you're done. Help, or get the fuck out of the way.
Am I the only one who still doesn't understand why Jesse Jackson said he wanted to cut Barack Obama's nuts off?
Obama has a beautiful singing voice, for now.
Jackson felt Obama has been overemphasizing "personal responsibility" as the cause of and solution for problems in the African American community and deemphasizing governmental policies that lead to these problems and/or should be implemented to address them.
There, that didn't take long, did it, Matt?
The way this generational divide is playing out is stunning, to the extent that Jesse Jackson isn't falling over himself in support of Obama but wants to "cut his nuts off" speaks volumes.
The Iron Law of Institutions in action.
It's as clear as mud to me.
Jackson's apology is pretty much an admission of guilt.
But the tape that's on the Post is edited to death: a few seconds, with close-captioning, and the crucial word is bleeped out.
All we really know is that he says:
"wanna cut his - off"
Now look at this quote, from the Post article linked by Drudge:
"In such settings, Obama has urged greater emphasis on fatherhood, advised parents to choose reading books over playing video games and most recently told young students to stick with school and forget about a career as a rap star or professional basketball player."
"Jackson said that in doing so Obama was hurting his relationship with black voters, "that the senator was cutting off his you-know-whats with the black people and black churches."
So there's no threat in this quote, and word is clearly "roots"
If he said, "wanna cut his roots off" as in "he wants to cut his roots off," it would make sense.
So I'm not sure I trust the story.
My guess is it's half some slip of the tongue by Jackson, half some winger fantasy about castrating a black man.
Is it really that hard? Jesse Jackson thought Jesse Jackson would be the first black president. Once it became clear that wasn't going to happen, he figured there wouldn't be a black president in his lifetime.
I find it hilarious that he accuses Obama of "talking down" to black people. Anyway, Jesse Jackson has an obvious interest in not moving toward any sort of "post-racial" America or any new way of talking about race.
How pathetic, that remarks of Jesse Jackson are on the front page, instead of two amazing remarks of John McCain within the past day, about killing Iranians and the disgrace of the Social Security system.
Is the U.S. ready to elect a castrated president? Would this make Obama's election even more historical and momentous if he were not only the first biracial/black president, but also the first eunuch president? What would Chris Matthews say? How would the Nascar Dads react? How will it play in Missouri?
Or maybe Jesse Jackson is Sister Soulja'ing himself for Obama's benefit. Didja ever think of that? Huh?
I think "cutting off the nuts" is a reference to lynching. When a black man was lynched, multiation of the penis and testicles was common, such as cutting them off and shoving them in the mouth of the hanged man prior to igniting him on fire.
That is why the nuts is really bad for Jackson and it just happens to be one of those things that I think certain black folks get, but white people don't think about.
Jackson implied that he wants to lynch Obama. Imagine if Imus said it?
Jesse Jackson has proven himself to be every bit as slimy as Bob Johnson during this election. When Bill Clinton denigrated Obama's win in SC by comparing to Jackson's. Jackson said that it was actually a compliment to Obama.
I am so glad that these folks are through.
Am I the only one who still doesn't understand why Jesse Jackson said he wanted to cut Barack Obama's nuts off?
Like other powerful southern men he's threatened by the sexuality of black men?
Jealous of Obama, using the idea of Obama "talking down to black folks" to justify his resentment, to himself and to others.
Anyone else intrigued by how much of the tape we still don't know about. As Drudge reported:
O'REILLY: 'We held back some of this conversation... we didn't feel it had any relevance to the conversation this evening. We are not out to get Jesse Jackson. We are not out to embarrass him and we are not out to make him look bad. If we were, we would have used what we had, which is more damaging than what you have heard'...(I'm assuming against my better judgment that this is an accurate transcription.)
So, basically, Fox News is openly holding dirt on Jesse Jackson that they do consider newsworthy--in the sense that it's very damaging to a public figure. That seems like a great way to try to put Jesse Jackson under your thumb for the foreseeable future. Should create an interesting dynamic . . .
As Wash in "Serenity" said, "Do we care about that? Are we caring about that?"
Who gives a shit what Jesse Jackson says? This guy has been a bullshit artist since day one. He's the worst combination of black politician and black preacher. Obama is far more sophisticated than Jackson and far more intelligent.
And some people still think Jackson set up Martin Luther King to be assassinated by changing the motel rooms. I wouldn't doubt it's possible, myself. If you think James Earl Ray wasn't the shooter, well, then, that pretty much explains the motel room change.
You would think by now Jesse would be worried about people reporting things he said off the record.
What putnam said. How does that shit not make the papers?
Also, for the record, the phrase was "cut his nuts out," which makes it all the more mystifying to me.
God, the media is fucking pathetic. While I agree that clearly this is not the biggest issue (McCain's SS comments should be getting much greater prominence), the media's eager self-censorship is ridiculous. I'm reading article after article saying how "Jesse Jackson apologizes!" "Barack Obama accepts apology!" "Jesse Jackson Jr. criticizes dad!" and not a single one actually says what Jackson is apologizing for!
Not a good day for Jesse Jackson, and he should know better... he was in a Fox studio of all places.
I agree w/ Putnam. Why are we even talking about this when McCain has said some terrible things about Iranians in the past few days and earlier? McCain's words are more likely to be reflected in actual policy than Jesse Jackson's.
I agree w/ Putnam. Why are we even talking about this when McCain has said some terrible things about Iranians in the past few days and earlier?
Sorry, but whether you guys like it or not, a high profile Democratic politician insulting the Democratic nominee is news. That isn't to say McCain's comments aren't ALSO news, but it shouldn't be an either/or proposition -- criticize the media for its inability to carry concurrent stories (instead pushing 24-7 repetition of meme-like news) and for not also covering McCain's comments, but it's fair to cover what Jackson said.
Of course, the media isn't actually covering what Jackson said. So stupid.
He wanted to neuter Ometronome, that's all. Emasculate him. Right now Opendulum is leading the Democratic Party and Jesse Jackson's jealous, because he can't hold Oweathervane's jock, so that's what it's all about. You got it now?
I think what Jackson said was newsworthy given his stature, and it's great tabloid fare in any case.
The thing is that McCain's comments are way more newsworthy and tabloidy, and they're not even being covered as controversial.
I think that this whole affair is a brilliantly orchestrated ploy by Jackson working in conjunction with the Obama campaign.
This is no time for the Obamas to be getting pregnant. I agree, he should get a vasectomy.
Jackson actually just clarified his comments, saying they were being misconstrued by the Hymie news media.
Excellent blog post title, by the way...
Isn't it very possible that Jesse Jackson created this entire episode?
Remember the West Wing episode where President Bartlett pulled the "hot mic" trick (saying something into a hot mic you couldn't say otherwise, as a tactical volley in a campaign).
You're trying to tell me Jesse Jackson, who has been dealing with hot mics for over 20 years, just accidentally did this?
I don't believe it.
More likely, he did it on purpose, on Fox, the only place he KNEW they'd end up using it.
For what purpose, I can't say. But obvious possibilities would be:
A - Jackson hates Obama, because Obama is going to be the 1st black President and Jackson ain't, and Jackson wants to take his pound of flesh
B - Jackson is doing this "For" Obama, knowing it will likely not hurt him with black folks and will end up helping him with white folks - the "Sister Souljah" moment
Look, Jackson facilitated that response so fast, it was out before the news even came out! The speed of Jackson's war room must be supersonic! The fastest crisis response time in media history!
Or not.
Of course, Fox is playing it slick, "holding back" one piece of info, which will be talked about every single day until it's released.
In the sleep-inducing boredom of this chasm between the primaries and the conventions, this is a juicy episode.
Remember the West Wing episode where President Bartlett pulled the "hot mic" trick
Speaking of which, Jimmy Smits' character in West Wing was based, in part, on Obama.
Wait, so does he want to cut Obama's nuts "off" or "out"? I'd never heard of the latter phrase. It seems to imply an actual opening of the scrotal sack, as opposed to just a straight-up castration.
Jimmy Smit's character in West Wing was based, in part, on Obama.
And Alan Alda's character was based, in part, on John McCain.
And Alan Alda's character was based, in part, on John McCain.
Posted by The Hot Mic Theory | July 10, 2008 5:39 AM
I thought it was pretty hilarious that the only way they could make a likable Republican candidate who people might think would win was to make him Pro-Choice. But I love Alan Alda, so it worked for me. WW was long past its prime anyway.
Oh, and to answer Matt's question, Jesse Jackson likes it when people talk about him, and now we are.
Oh, and to answer Matt's question, Jesse Jackson likes it when people talk about him, and now we are.
"My impression is that Jackson was angry because he felt like Obama was Sister Souljahing the entire black race with his lectures about parental responsibility and the like."
Maybe, however:
Jackson fathered a child out of wedlock, and he himself was fathered out of wedlock. He is likely to take comments about parental responsibility personally.
Jackson was clearly attempting to convince anti-Barackers that Mr. Obama actually has 'nads.
Thanks to Obama's kiss-and-make-friends proposals for dealing with Iran, many of us out here in fly-over land have come to perceive him as a soft chocolate-covered cream puff.
The black preacher has historically had a very special role as the arbiter of morality in the black community. It's possible that Jackson is simply defending his turf and self-perceived privileges - who the hell is Obama to be lecturing the black community on such matters - he's merely a politician. And if Obama brings it up - sooner or later someone is going to start wondering why Jackson himself hasn't been saying the same thing.
At least Obama doesn't cheat on his wife or fathered illegitimate children the way Jackson has - perhaps the criticism hit too close to home.
The clip they played on Olberman began with Jackson saying (about Obama's father's day speech)
"He's talking down to black people ... I wanna cut his ____ off ... He's talking down to black people"
My reading was that Jackson was responding with his classic victimization response. The only card Jackson and Sharpton et al. know how to play.
They jumped all over Bill Cosby too, when he said pretty much the same thing.
Yglesias' point is right. The mystery is not what Jackson has said the context was, but why that is supposed to explain the remark.
There is a lot of speculation here about motive more based on people's attitudes towards Jackson than anything that might count as evidence.
But "I want to cut his nuts off" does not fit naturally into a paragraph about how Obama should put more emphasis on the fact that society needs to meet the black community half way."
And while offhand remarks are sometimes embarassingly caught on tape. Jackson would have to be pretty politically savvy to realize that those remarks would be among them for the theory of him creating the incident to either help Obama or promote himself. The alternative is that he would have to be going around saying such things repeatedly until he happened on a case in which an open mic caught it.
Thanks to Obama's kiss-and-make-friends proposals for dealing with Iran, many of us out here in fly-over land have come to perceive him as a soft chocolate-covered cream puff.
I'm from fly-over land, too, pal. And that comment makes me want to cut your nuts off.
I think that Matt's question still stands.
Fitting this incident into a previously existing "novel" about the rivalries between black political leaders does not explain the content of the statement.
Is the statement a projection? Was Jackson saying that Obama's position emasculated black men, and so that the appropriate response would be to emasculate Obama?
Why would Jackson believe that Obama's rhetoric was emasculating? Jackson has been saying the same things himself since 1984. These are well-used tropes in many Black churches. It is only white people whose understanding of black culture is derived entirely from reading mainstream media that think that these sentiments are somehow a daring deviation from the black consensus.
BTW, the notion that the problems of black America are caused primarily by a culture of black irresponsibility is the bedrock article of faith of racism, shared by everyone from Jesse Helms on over to most white Democrats.
Castration anxiety is not only about protecting one's procreative powers, but also about claiming full and adult manhood, which includes anger at those who deny it. Does Obama fail to express that anger in black men, and is that why so many white progressive Democrats love him?
I think we all would have been better off if Bill Clinton had checked his nuts at the door when he entered the White House. Maybe Jackson was suggesting it as a precautionary measure?
He was hungry.
Also, for the record, the phrase was "cut his nuts out," which makes it all the more mystifying to me.
Google 'BME pain olympics' for further elucidation.
Also, for the record, the phrase was "cut his nuts out," which makes it all the more mystifying to me.
Google 'BME pain olympics' for further elucidation.
He was referring to Obama's kung fu. He can retract his testicles into his body along with the foot of an opponent who kicks him in the groin. He can then drag his opponent across the floor by his entrapped foot.
You've probably seen this technique in some old kung fu movies. That is why the nuts would have to be cut "out."
This is the only explanation that makes sense.
A) Conventional reason: he's angry at Obama's insults to the dignity of African-America.
B) Real reason: he's jealous of Obama's success.
C) Conspiracy Theory reason: because the Obama campaign paid him.
Given what we have seen with Obama's campaign and his disgraceful retreat on FISA, it appears Jackson is late to th eparty. The cutting has been done. By equivocating and backtracking, Obama just makes McCain look manlier and more decisive, despite McCain's incredible weaknesses as a campainger and as a leader. This is Obama's to lose and, ever since Hillary stepped off the stage, Obama has been playing not to lose. Which means he is likely to lose.
He was hungry.
The whole thing is stupid, he said it, now he's apologizing. Either mean what you say or shut up, one or the other.
From Leon Panetta's walnut trees to Barack Obama's nuts, American politics has it all: http://theseedsof9-11.com
Comments closed July 23, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
My guess is that Jackson wanted this to emerge, though maybe not in this way. He's positioning to defend his clout among blacks.
Posted by SqueakyRat | July 9, 2008 11:08 PM