12 times and someone is talking to a brick wall. Dense comes to mind.

nm.

Coalitions require solidarity.

Because it keeps this topic in the news?

Again, if you didn't spend just as much time talking about Ted Nugent, stop spending so much time talking about Bill Maher.

Yes, Maher is an ass.

But equal time is important

Do you think it's helpful to diminish racism, tell people they should STFU and talk about what you think is important? Do you have any idea how much I do as far as activisim goes- do you care? Or do you feel that pretending liberals are perfect or keeping this show on the air - despite its problems- is worth sacrificing solidarity w POC?

Interesting all the rude accusations I've seen, Helping Trump is a pretty disgusting whopper of a lie. It doesn't help Dems to pretend racism isn't there. You should be more concerned if black voters see comments like these belittling their concerns. I'm mortified at the prospect. But many don't seem to care. This party has a lot to learn about solidarity. You could learn a thing or two about respectfully engaging with others instead of engaging in passive aggressive whispering like this.

Seem to give anyone else. I can and do multi-task. You're effort to belittle me is noted.

Sasse made the statement about working the fields, Maher, tried to take a shot back at him by making the house n word crack.

It seems Maher got sucked into a stereotype and mouthed off in way he shouldn't have.

He apologized, Sasse gets to laugh at him for being such a mark.............lets move on, we have Thursday to look forward to...

I thought I got it, but apparently people disagree.

Sasse comes from Nebraska, and the Missouri Compromise that created the Nebraska territory prohibited slavery. But the state does have fields, and so Sasse joked about the fields.

Maher was the one who turned it into a racial joke.

I was asking if my list was incomplete? I'll see if I need to edit to make that clearer. Thanks!

By Samuel j. Jackson and compare it to the workers in the field and tell me if you spot a difference.

Is that really new to anyone? I guess so!

When Malcolm X was alive, negro and "n......" weren't synonymous. So comparisons with Malcolm's commentary now and that word in particular are a bit disingenuous.

The nomenclature of the n-word is also important. You'll read people say.. "well black people say the n-word all the time" - no we don't. I've seen "nigga" which is a form of ownership of the word, you will never hear a black person say that word with "er" at the end. The difference in nomenclature is significant. I never use the word personally but I'm just putting that out there.

W.r.t to Bill, he was referencing himself, which is not the same as using the word as a slur against someone else. He was referencing the historical paradox of the house negro vis a vis the field negro - The house negro is viewed as a traitor to their race, in Maher's context he referenced himself as a sell out. It was self deprecation using a very specific term using the n-word which is unecessary. He should not have used the phrase but the wisest response , in my view, is to not excuse the gaffe but examine

1) The selective outrage against pc culture ( republicans fine with the most egregious uncivil behavior in discourse, but quick to jump on cases like this and control the narrative)

2)why Bill's own railing against "identity politics" was wrong headed. Everything has to do with identity, it shapes history, how we treat with power, how we try to attain it. It's impossible to inoculate race or gender from social struggle right now.. It has defined American history - I hope at some point this occurs to him the next time he repeats the meme about the evils of "identity politics"

that. Ironic.

I thought the strange part of Maher likening himself to the house slave (look what i didn't say there) is that it's an admission he's a hypocrite for his masters too. That he identifies w his corporate overloads. And that's the opposite of his image. He really fits no where in the slave narrative, truthfully except as a master.

The only part of this I found amusing is that the man who constantly chides Dems for apologizing, who paints himself as the ultimate iconoclast has actually gone an apologized to his corporate masters. So I guess the house slave comment was actually prescient. The irony is kind of delicious. But that runs counter to his many supporters who insisted he had nothing to apologize for. Do they "get that"? I've seen no evidence they have.

Am still confused about what's missing in the OP.

anyway. You've got regional concerns,, and subgroups of people along ethnic lines are other factors that bind communities together.

You didn't miss anything in your op

Thanks JHan.

made a poor choice in going for a joke by saying he's a house n____r (house n____rs worked inside the house and didn't get their hands dirty in the fields).

The comic in him trumped his better judgement and he used the N-word where he could have cracked the same joke by just saying he was a house negro.

Too bad, he went for being edgy to gain attention. It worked but the attention he got is not the kind he sought — unintended consequences happen and Maher deserves what he's getting.

Sometimes you gotta dial it back and use your head not your unthinking, edgy "wit".

Deported or the child labor laws. But why be relevant when you can poke fun at slavery? I appreciate your reply.

Now that he's bowed down and apologized. I suppose it was only because he could lose his job. Better than nothing, I guess .

A House n was usually a LIGHT SKIN black person, the product of rape by the slave master or other white males of African females on the plantation. A FIELD n was brown to dark brown skin.

Bill Maher was saying I'm light skin so I would be in the House and not in the field. The other implication is Bill Maher was suggesting he has AFAM blood and has been PASSING all these years.

I thought it was a poor choice of words because it mocked the rape of African female slaves by the white slave masters and other white males who had charge over them.

Go to the US Census and look at records from 1850. You will see that slaves are listed by color black or mulatto and age. No names because they were considered chattel. The mulatto slaves indicate the number children produced by rape. Some of these victims were as young as 10 years.

Thought I was clear about that. Thanks anyway
More details are good. I'm pretty familiar with that stuff.

Can someone fully explain what deep nuances and cultural references I missed in the Maher joke?

It seems you missed the deep nuance of my response.

I was suggesting the way Maher used the phrase "house n***ER" was to imply that he's an African American who has bee passing as white all these years.

Last edited Sun Jun 4, 2017, 11:37 PM - Edit history (2)

None of which I asked for.

Maher has never suggested he has black blood- has he? you think he's cryptically outted himself here? It's a wild theory (that doesn't make the joke work- becasue no one thinks he's black) , and the metaphor of him working in the house and not the field works fine without any black blood. I took it to mean he was commenting on how that's a lucky accident of birth. How could it be an intended part of the joke if no one except you thinks he is black? Doubtful.

What's funny with the house slave/ Malcom X thing is how Malcom trashed house slaves for being down with the masters- jumping when they say hop. And now in apologizing, Maher is down w HBO apologizing like the hypocrite he is. That's the funny part of you ask me.

Sorry if I was impatient but after 7-8 times having people lecture me on house vs field slave I edited to ask if Inwas missing any other elements. I guess I still wasn't clear enough about that. Have a good night!

I don't think it was a joke meant to be gotten by white people. It went right over their heads and landed on the phrase instead of it's historic meaning and significance.

I expect to see an article about it any day.

Sorry if I sounded impatient. Aside from the house/field replies I've been treated with dozens of paragraphs that list how bad DT is and why ain't I talking about that and also lots of variations of the "get over it" theme.

You're literally like one of three responses w new thoughts so I do appreciate it! The other one I got that's not in the OP is that it was crucial he was talking to Sasse and that he was literally accusing him of wishing he could own slaves. I think that's metaphorically true of all the GOP but somehow the poster maintained it's literally true of Sasse. Having the hardest time wrapping my head around that one.

Am fascinated to see if your prediction comes true! Have a good night.

100? 150? You obviously have a problem with Maher that goes way deeper than what he said. You are not doing more than one thing at a time, you are obsessed with him for some reason and attempting to use this overblown "story" to do what? Taken him down. Have him erased from our culture? Jailed?? He is not a racist, he said something he shouldn't have and sincerely apologized. But you cannot let it go for some weird reason.

This last attempt using insincerity to create a "story" when there is none is particularly pathetic. You're not asking questions you want answered, you are pretending too in order to do what, exactly? Try being honest for a change. Your hate for Maher is obvious. Where does it really come from and why so visceral? Any reasonable person from the left would take his whole history and not react as you have.

You seem to be really really angry about this racism being uncovered. Hits a nerve, huh?

Jailed? The crazy responses in defense of the bigotry are more facinating than the bigotry itself.

He does a live show, said something stupid off the cuff and then apologised for it.