Nov
10
Like, I don’t know what I’m talking about
November 10, 2009 | 4 Comments
It’s always helpful when one story lets me blog about two different topics. Thank you Michael Steele, who has once again said something completely idiotic.
On Sunday, Steele was on NewsOne, a network aimed at African Americans, for a political talk show hosted by Roland Martin. During the program, Martin and Steele had this exchange:
MARTIN: But your candidates got to talk to them. One of the criticisms I’ve always had is Republicans — white Republicans — have been scared of black folks.
STEELE: You’re absolutely right. I mean I’ve been in the room and they’ve been scared of me. I’m like, “I’m on your side” and so I can imagine going out there and talking to someone like you, you know, [say] “I’ll listen.” And they’re like “Well.” Let me tell you. You saw in Christie and you saw in McDonnell a door open because they went in and engaged. McDonnell was very deliberate about spending…
MARTIN: Right.
STEELE: I mean, Sheila Johnson was on his team. I mean, that was a big deal. That’s because he engaged her and she helped navigate him through that relationship.
Kathryn Lopez actually has a funny retort.
I revise and extend my previous comment: I know Republicans of all colors who are scared of what Michael Steele might say next.
Why is that every time Steele and the GOP seem to finally take a step forward, Steele goes and says something like this? Does he completely lack an internal monitor?
But what’s more galling is, like, Michael Steele’s little language tick. Let’s look at that first comment again.
You’re absolutely right. I mean I’ve been in the room and they’ve been scared of me. I’m like, “I’m on your side” and so I can imagine going out there and talking to someone like you, you know, [say] “I’ll listen.” And they’re like “Well.” Let me tell you. You saw in Christie and you saw in McDonnell a door open because they went in and engaged. McDonnell was very deliberate about spending…
I know that many of us have this penchant to sprinkle “like,” “ok,” “ummm,” and other interjections into our daily speech, but is it too much to expect prominent leaders to avoid talking like valley girls? Actually, is it possible for all y-chromosomed individuals to stop talking like teenage girls?
I notice this as I take the Metro to work – many men below the age of 30 have that same, annoying valley girl inflection. It’s a common affliction, it seems, for all people nowadays, but somehow it was less galling when confined to the female population. Sure I already cringe for the day when my little girl will someday say, “Daaah-deee, can ah have a new cuh-aaar?” That will irritate me. But if I have son that speaks in that same tone of voice, I might set myself on fire.
What the hell has happened to our society? First Valley girl-ism strikes all women below the age of 30, and now it’s even reached our boys. Is there no end to this madness? Is electric-shock treatment really too extreme of a measure to avoid having an entire population that speaks like Alica Silverstone in Clueless? I think not.
Comments
4 Comments so far
To understand Michael Steele, it helps to know who’s coaching him:
http://bit.ly/3ppyiu
(satire)
Apparently, you have never seen “Idiocracy”.
Apparently, you have never seen “Idiocracy”.
Oh man, you’re right. We might actually be headed in that direction for real.
so im like “dude your speech sucks” and hes like “no it dont” and I’m like “whatever” and he goes “l8er”
Ugh…it was painful even writing that. I hate what texting has done to our communication skills, and how atrociously our language has been corrupted (“i h8 txting and how ppl talk”, for those of you who can’t read full English sentences.)