In the category of satire - not!

A friend of mine sent me a link to an article from on online magazine reporting on an ineffective attempt at satire in a Long Island newspaper. The author of the article in The Independent, Rick Murphy, is apparently the newspapers co-publisher, co-owner, and Editor-In-Chief. In the column he poses as "Yo Mama Bin Barack" who seeks the presidency and displays stereotypical black ineloquence ("we won't denigrate or sophisticate but emulate and populate") and stereotypical black male aggression ("if [Clinton] gets too close, one of my New York advisors has advised me to, 'Bitch slap that ho.'"). The editor of the online newspaper, a black women's webzine, wrote to the editor of The Independent asking for an explanation and received an apology.

I am happy to report that I find this shocking. Not surprising, especially given what I've been told about Long Island, but shocking nonetheless. It will be a sad day when we stop being shocked by crap like this.

Murphy's column is clearly a poor, distasteful and bigoted attempt at satire. However, I would argue that the target of this bigotry wasn't solely Barack Obama. Obama is only the frame in which the author paints a more pernicious contempt of highly educated African Americans who seek social mobility and political power.

Murphy really begins by targeting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by denigrating his PhD in Theology. Granted, as a doctoral candidate, I'm a little bit sensitive to anything that smacks of anti-intellectualism. But the disparagement of the title "Doctor" continues throughout the piece. Given that the highest degree that Obama has obtained is a law degree, it is clear that Obama is not the exclusive target of this "satire". Murphy ends the column by denigrating the title Reverend. Given that Obama has no training in religious leadership and has not publicized holding any leadership positions in his own church, who is Murphy satirizing?

Education and religious leadership have historically been the two most reliable ways to move up the social and economic ladder in the black community, the latter being one in which the white (male) majority cannot control. In total, the column is not just a poor attempt to demean Obama or even Dr. King. It is hostile to all African Americans who have achieved or even seek any kind of social mobility by using the authority that comes through the attainment of advanced degrees or the authority that derives from religious leadership.

Which leaves open the question, when is it ever acceptable for a Black person, or any other non-white, to seek high political office? What combinations of qualities would the white man who wrote this drivel accept in a Black, Asian, or Latino candidate? Are there any? As my friend noted to me in an email this morning, perhaps there are none, at least for people like this. People like Rick Murphy will use the talents and credentials that enable some to disable others. You can even see it in his apology letter where he addresses the editor of the webzine by her first name when she addressed him by a more formal salutation. Apparently, she is not even good enough to be called "Ms.". Despite all of the progress that is seemingly being made, sometimes it seems little as changed.