It is why skin color is a lousy designation of identity.
Posted on 09/19/2006 7:43:04 PM PDT by Dubya
AUSTIN - Kinky Friedman has thrived on brash commentary, outlandish attire and crude humor. But some critics say the independent candidate for governor has gone too far with his comments about African-Americans.
Friedman, in a video clip that some of his opponents began circulating Tuesday, calls Negro a “charming word” and uses it in an explanation of what he would do to sexual predators if elected governor of Texas in November.
“Throw them in prison and throw away the key and make them listen to a Negro talking to himself,” Friedman said in the TV interview, which CNBC broadcast late last year. The comments hardly made a splash at the time, but the video, posted on the www.youtube.com Web site, is sparking fresh criticism.
Last week, Friedman came under fire for calling Katrina evacuees in Houston “thugs and crackheads.” Critics said he had unfairly stereotyped the evacuees, who are disproportionately black, as criminals.
Friedman offered no apologies then and offers none now, saying he is generating controversy only because he is doing something so rare in politics today: telling it like it is.
“Anybody who feels that anything is offensive about this should definitely vote for one of the other three candidates,” Friedman said in an interview Tuesday. “If I’ve got to lie to people, sweep the truth under the rug and worry about offending people, I’m not going to be very effective.”
He said he had no regrets about using the word “Negro” and stood by his remarks.
State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, immediate past chairman of the Black Caucus in the Texas Legislature, said Friedman has been using such inflammatory comments in a “pathetic” attempt to appeal to narrow-minded Texans in his attempt to unseat Republican Gov. Rick Perry.
Yet, because he is an entertainer and celebrity, Friedman has not been held to the same standard as other candidates, Coleman said.
“If Rick Perry had said this he would have been strung up by the media,” Coleman said. Friedman “has gotten a free ride. He’s trying to say, ‘I’m a comedian, not a politician.’ Every other politician I have seen that has said things like that have been blasted.”
The way Friedman sees it, that’s just the problem. He said politicians are so afraid to offend somebody that they don’t discuss the real problems - including, for example, crime tied to Katrina evacuees in Houston.
According to records released by the Houston Police Department, Katrina evacuees were suspects or victims in 59 killings in the first eight months of 2006. That represents the amount by which homicides increased over that period, the figures show.
But critics have said Friedman’s comments and language are hurtful and won’t help solve the issue of evacuee crime.
State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, current chairwoman of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, said in a recent statement that black leaders will no longer “sit idly by while Mr. Friedman makes sport of persons of color.”
Friedman has built his entertainment career on crude humor and off-color jokes. He has taken that same comedic style into his race for governor.
Friedman says, for example, that he would divide the Texas border into five districts, assign each one to a Mexican general and give them all multimillion-dollar bank accounts. Every time an illegal immigrant is apprehended, Friedman would deduct $5,000 from the general who let the immigrant through.
Friedman has also proposed making his friend Willie Nelson, a big promoter of bio-diesel fuel, the state’s energy chief. And Friedman supports legalizing marijuana, gay marriage and casino gambling.
Although some have written off his unusual candidacy as a joke or publicity stunt, Friedman has performed well in public opinion polls - one showed him in second place, behind Perry - and the candidate says he is serious about trying to win.
Friedman has taken many of his cues from the campaign of former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, the one-time professional wrestler and actor who shocked the political establishment in 1998 with his upset victory over better-known Democratic and Republican opponents.
But along with Friedman’s drive for political success come increased scrutiny and criticism. Sanders Anderson, a political analyst at Texas Southern University, a historically black college in Houston, said Friedman can’t have it both ways.
“Is he serious about running for governor, or is he running to entertain himself? He cannot entertain himself at the expense of an entire group of people,” Anderson said. “He has chosen to run for governor of Texas. If he is serious, he must look at all of the issues seriously. He must understand that words mean a lot in a race like this.”
Controversial comments
Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman is drawing criticism again for comments he made about African-Americans during an interview on CNBC. To see a clip, visit www.star-telegram.com .
Jay Root, 512-476-4294
Also, why is it that so many Americans of African descent think people of color is only for those of African extraction? There are no white people, and everybody except for a few albinos are brown, with yellow and red undertones. Varying amounts give varying shades.
Maybe he should've used the phrase "colored person" (as in NAACP).
The language police keep changing the word every generation and African-American does not "apply" to white South Afrikaners.
It is why skin color is a lousy designation of identity.
"Critics said he had unfairly stereotyped the evacuees, who are disproportionately black, as criminals."
Weren't criminals released? Weren't persons out on bail evacuated too?
It is not necessarily a designation based on class.
Now how stupid is this? What a fruitcake.
Fixed it.
It's been done before!
Pappy" O'Daniel
"Beautiful Texas" was one of O'Daniel's most popular songs.
W. Lee O'Daniel served as Texas governor and United States senator. Born in 1890 in Ohio, O'Daniel came to Texas at age 29 as a sales manager for Burrus Mills, a flour-milling company in Fort Worth. In 1928, O'Daniel took over the company's radio advertising and started a country music program to promote the flour. O'Daniel hosted the show and organized a band called the Light Crust Doughboys. Many of the musicians who made Western Swing famous, including Bob Wills, got their start in O'Daniel's band. In 1935 he organized his own flour company to make "Hillbilly Flour" and began to call his band the Hillbilly Boys. The slogan, "Pass the biscuits, Pappy," made O'Daniel a household name throughout Texas.
Radio fans urged "Pappy" to run for governor, and in 1938 he did. He attracted huge crowds, ran on a platform of the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule, and won the election by a landslide. Thus began a unique era in Texas politics. O'Daniel possessed almost no qualifications for success in the governorship, and accomplished little of the populist agenda he had promised the people of Texas. He ushered in an era of censorship and limits on academic freedom at the University of Texas by his appointments to the Board of Regents. But despite his obvious shortcomings as a leader, he remained very popular due to his masterful radio showmanship.
In 1941, O'Daniel won election to the United States Senate in one of the most controversial elections in Texas history, edging out Congressman Lyndon Baines Johnson by only a handful of votes. O'Daniel was ineffective in the Senate and was shunned by his more serious colleagues. With his popularity finally on the wane, he did not seek reelection in 1948.
In later years, O'Daniel was active in business and made two comeback attempts at the governorship, basing his campaigns on crude appeals to anti-communist and anti-civil rights feeling. But time had passed Pappy by and he attracted few votes. He died in 1969.
Handbook of Texas article on Pappy O'Daniel
what an idiot ,mr. kinky do you really think you have a chance in hell to win this election now? just to let let you know i'm a african american, no i mean a black man of heritage,and just to let you know i had planned on voting for you ,but after your ignorant comments i truly believe its time for another woman to be in Austin,so just crawl back in that hole you came out of. sincerly yours ,neonleon
Bye-bye to Kinky and all the Jesse Ventura talk.
Welcome to FR as I see this is your first post. One question. Do you really think Kinky is going to read you message here?
Unlike "politicians", Kinky won't back down and whimper like a whipped dog and apologize.
How refreshing; someone running for office who says what he means and means what he says.
For crying out loud, Kinky is a humorist and satirist. Texans know how to lighten up.
Hey Bucko, at least Kinky Friedman is an intelligent author of many books. You don't even know how to start a sentence with a capital letter or capitalize the word "American".
What grade were you in when you quit school? Go get some education before you post on this website anymore; DUMMY!!! Do they call you "neonleon" because you "light up" when you're high?
Don't listen to Kinky if you don't like to hear it the way it is. One of the reasons he has my vote.
"just to let you know i had planned on voting for you ,but"
Ah, another Butt Monkey.
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