Posted on 12/31/2005 5:11:20 PM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
December 31, 2005 - 19:48.
When a few years ago Rush Limbaugh suggested that the media, hoping for a black-quarterback success story, had over-rated Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, ESPN fired him from its Sunday night football show.
Can you imagine what the media would have done to Rush had he dared to employ the classically racial "feets don't fail me now" line?
Yet that is exactly what major ESPN personality Chris Berman did a few minutes ago in introducing coverage of this afternoon's Denver Broncos game.
He apparently said it vis a vis white Denver Broncos QB Jake Plummer.
Berman's co-host, black former Denver linebacker Tom Jackson, gave what seemed a rather forced laugh in response.
Odds that Berman, who has described himself as a "New England Democrat," will face any discipline? Slim, IMO.
To all who think "feets don't fail me now" isn't racist, I can only ask you to trust me that it has its roots in the worst kind of racial sterotype.
If Rush Limbaugh had ever used the phrase, I have absolutely no doubt it would have been blared all over the MSM immediately with headlines along the lines: "Limbaugh Employs Racist Stereotype".
Ahh, I didn't say that the statement was racial. I was merely pointing out that it was used, a lot, in old films and at the time was a sterotype of black people. Black people were scared of ghost etc. Today, I doubt if most people would consider it racist. However, I do believe that the liberals would call a conservative on it if it was used by one in any context what-so-ever. Thanks and have a good day.
Chris Berman is liberal, but one thing I respect about him, was that he defended Rush Limbaugh and is still friends with him and the 2 of them do talk now and then.
You may be correct in your feelings, but that doesn't change the reality of the situation. You seem to lack a bit of understanding of cultures other that your own.
White people got feets, black people got feets...all God's chirruns got feets.
Hm. OK, so there's an old racial angle to it, that I did not know about until just now. Berman is without doubt the same way -- it was a fitting comment, and funny in context.
There's absolutely no way Berman thought he was making a racial comment, and the only racial sentiment involved belongs to ... Mark Finklestein, who decided we needed to make a racial issue out of it -- and for laughable reasons, at that.
The whole premise of Finklestein's article is preposterously stupid.
Thank you - I was beginning to think I was the only one who understood the history of the phrase.
Then hop in the Beemer to go to Starbucks for a double decafe latte with chocolate sprinkles to calm your nerves?
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Sorry, but that was an incredibly yuppie post.
Horse manure. The only way it's racial is because YOU ARE MAKING IT racial. For everybody else, it's just something funny that was said by cartoon characters.
I believe the preposterously stupid angle on this is "I've just heard of it, so it can't be a big deal."
I think his point is: had a conservative said it - all hell would have broken loose...
Don't be so sanctimonious.
I'm well aware of other cultures and well aware of the history of stereotypes and how hurtful they were. This is simply one that, in my opinion, has been virtually stripped of its original connotations. Most people wouldn't be able to tell you if it originated with Stepin Fetchit, Abbott and Costello or Bugs Bunny. And that is not necessarily a sign of historical ignorance but is a sign of how coopted the phrase has become. I can picture all three characters saying it. Lou Costello looked just as foolish when he cowered, stammered and ran away from ghosts.
When said in 2005 about a white guy, and after all the years of being used in different contexts, there is simply no racial connotation intended.
And you knew it was racist ... when?
Stupid knee-jerk reactions to a statement that was learned from Saturday morning cartoons, as a funny thing said by a talking animal, cannot be understood as racist, nor meant as racist. To suggest otherwise is worse than useless: it makes you look stupid and petty.
I would suggest that the only people making this a "racist" issue are the ones who are pounding the table about it being racist.
I am certainly not going to accept your "racist" tag, because I am not a racist, and the statement isn't either. Sorry, but perhaps you should give your knee a rest.
You're not. But there are also many who understand that history doesn't stand still and phrases that were once meant in a racist context can be coopted by the larger culture and stripped of their original racist meaning. That certainly hasn't happened with many or most stereotypes or phrases but I believe it has happened with this particular one.
Berman is 50, plenty old enough to be well aware of the racist overtone of the phrase.
I'm not saying Berman is racist, but I am saying that if Rush had said the same thing he would have been excoriated by the MSM.
Do you disagree? Do you really think Rush Limbaugh could use the phrase "feets don't fail me now" and the liberal media would look the other way?
I'll bet anything you are under 40.
Methinks you doth protest too much. LOL
Another racial controversy. Well, zzzz........
Sorry, I fell asleep.
A conservative (apparently) did say it -- and he is a fool for making the comparison. It's a dumbass comment, and his "point," such as it is, is a stupid one. This is just another lamentable example of "conservative pundits" trying to manufacture a controversy about something idiotic. It just makes him -- and by extension, us -- look silly.
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