by Damozel | Fox News scores another, and you don't have to be an Obama supporter to find it offensive --- just a reasonably evolved human being. At Salon, Joan Walsh wrote:
An alert reader wrote in just a little while ago to let us know about something he'd spotted on Fox News Wednesday afternoon. During a segment discussing conservative attacks against Michelle Obama, the wife of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, the network described the former as "Obama's baby mama." ... In fact, that description was displayed on-screen several times during the segment, which featured anchor Megyn Kelly and conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, an FNC contributor.
You can see the screenshot here. Yep, that's what it says. Cute!
As Oliver Willis says, why stop there?
So here’s the thing (because during this campaign I’m apparently learning that we black people have our own secret code and hand signals so this stuff has to be explained like you are speaking to a child at times), using the phrase “baby mama” to describe this woman implies that like too many people in the black community, she is a mother on her own with no man around doing his job.
At Donklephant, Justin Gardner is happy to explain why all the outrage.
First, there are various definitions of “Baby Mama”, but they all basically boil down to a single, unmarried mom. Urban Dictionary has the definition as “the mother of your child(ren), whom you did not marry and with whom you are not currently involved.” So not only is the term offensive, it’s also completely inaccurate.
Second, nowhere in Fox’s segment did “outraged liberals” actually say this. No, this was just Fox News’ clever little way to say that Dems are warning conservative groups that they shouldn’t go after Michelle Obama.
I didn’t think they could get this clueless, but between Murdoch admitting they sold the war, the terrorist fist jab incident and then this nonsense, they’ve once again proved me wrong.
Jeff Fecke at Shakesville had a suggestion for Fox, in case they're afraid that more Americans haven't noticed that the Obamas are black.
Tomorrow, I assume Fox will put up a graphic, "Obama downs a 40 of malt liquor, and shoots cop in drive-by." Or perhaps they can just post a picture of the Obama family with the legend, "Negroes." Only, you know, the other N-word, just in case you didn't get the point...
Oh by the way, remember the Hillary nutcracker? Fecke has a photograph of an Obama sock doll. Have a look and boggle over the degree of projection that must have gone into the making of it.
Echidne is prepared to administer condign punishment.
So what do we have here? The anticipated mix of racism and sexism. The hint that Michelle and Barack are not legally married, that theirs is not a "real" family.
Joan Walsh of the Salon expects that Fox News will apologize. I expect nothing from them, to be quite honest, but if they are allowed not to apologize I will make a spell that gives everybody piles.
Pamela Leavy at The Democratic Daily agrees with Joan Levy that those Hillary-supporters (I am one of them) who opposed media sexism as applied against Hillary must fight back equally passoniately against racism as applied against Barack.
Walsh points out that “those of us who’ve spoken out about the sexism faced by Hillary Clinton have to be vigilant about the vicious personal attacks we know await Michelle Obama.”
She’s right because it won’t stop unless we continue to speak out, because truly the personal attacks aren’t limited in politics to one candidate or another. Think back to Al Gore in ‘00 and Kerry in ‘04 (and since).
And I’m with Joan Walsh on this one 100%:
I also can’t help hoping that Obama supporters who denied Clinton faced sexism, but who are now outraged by the treatment of Michelle Obama, will have new insight into the dynamics of American media and politics, and new compassion for Clinton. Call me a crazy optimist: I’m expecting Fox to apologize, too!
Michelle Malkin was hoping during the same segment for a 'backlash' against Michelle Obama. But Fox's often overt racism ---come on: terrorist fist bops? --- can be relied on to create a backlash against Fox. Yeah, keep those racist slurs coming!
The Malkin, by the way, responds with her trademark defiance/manic bravado. Being unable to distinguish a hawk from a hand-saw, she is naturally unable to tell the difference between Michelle Obama's joking deconstruction of the stereotype --- if that's even what it was --- by applying it to her very un-baby-mama-like self and Fox's application of it to her as a way of creating anti-Barack 'solidarity' among its target audience. Sister Toldjah has the same problem.
UPDATED:
Since Salon's Alex Koppelman caught Fox News characterizing Michelle Obama as "Obama's Baby Mama," there's been an uproar over use of such an offensive term.
"A producer on the program exercised poor judgment in using this chyron during the segment," said Fox's Senior Vice President of Programming Bill Shine, in a statement to Politico. (Huff Post)
Memeorandum has much more here.
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