And my response to Bill got my biggest laugh of the night. I said to Bill that Black people talk to each other differently when we aren’t around white people. (True. Sorry, White people.) I thought that would be that. But this clip has turned out to be a Rorschach test for ignorance. If you think he gotcha’ed me or the panel, I feel sorry for you.
And the real freaking bummer of all of this is that there is an awesome conversation to be had in the two different quotes from Ryan and the First Lady.
1. Is there a difference between what Paul Ryan said and what Michelle Obama said? (Yes, it’s called context.)
2. What is the difference between “othering” and “identifying”? (In one you are outside of the group of which you speak – Ryan. In the second you are a member of the group you are talking about – Michelle Obama was raised on the South Side of Chicago. It doesn’t get much “blacker”.)
3. Does context change the meaning of rhetoric? (Yes. Dramatically.)
4. Does Michelle Obama’s quote being pulled out of the middle of a commencement address that was in front of an audience of people who likely have direct relationships to the issues she is referencing play substantially differently than two white Neo-Cons in the echo chamber of conservative talk radio? (Umm… Yes.)
5. Is Michelle Obama’s quote potentially problematic? (Sure. But let’s discuss and… Oops, Bill says we’re moving on.)