Sandy GholstonWhether you use the word “nigger” or you use the term “boy” the meaning is generally the same (even though one of the aforementioned clearly holds far more negative power). Rush Limbaugh has been in the news frequently with his racial (some would say racist) attacks on President Obama. If not racist, Limbaugh clearly is using racial politics to turn the United States of America into his vision for the future … the Divided States of America (a nation that is divided along racial lines).
In his latest effort at racial antagonism, Limbaugh now has taken to referring to President Obama as “boy” which is a historical term used by whites to degrade black men (a usage that dates back to slavery days).
I realize that some historically ignorant people will think I am flying off the handle. To those people I say this: Check out the history.
From Media Matters for America:
Limbaugh calls Obama “this little boy, this little man-child president.” While discussing what he characterized as Obama’s “attacks” on Fox News and “ambush” of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Limbaugh said: “People are finally standing up to this little boy, this little man-child president, whose primary — I think his primary job, if you will, in life has been leisure.” [Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show, 10/27/09]
This is not an accidental use by Limbaugh. This is a far-right nut who has a long and dubious history of racial politics aimed at diminishing blacks in the eyes of his highly conservative audience. Is the word “boy” itself racist like the term “nigger” is considered to be? The answer is this: not necessarily. It all depends on the context and the user.
Here is another example from Media Matters of Limbaugh using the word “boy” to demean President Obama:
Limbaugh: “[T]he little boy president went out there and did something absolutely ignorant and stupid.” Referring to Senate Democrats’ plan to block funding for the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention center until a decision was made about where to put the detainees, Limbaugh stated: “I tell ya, this is cover for Obama, ’cause the little boy president went out there and did something absolutely ignorant and stupid, and he’s got to be covered for it now.” [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 5/20/09]
Again, this is no accident. This is an orchestrated effort by Rush Limbaugh to portray Barack Obama in a negative light by casting him as a black man using a term that, in this context, has racial overtones (negative racial overtones). Once again, Rush Limbaugh uses race to divide and, once again conservatives are silent as their leader further insults and degrades people of color.
Check out the Media Matters for America research on Rush Limbaugh’s rather dubious history of racially insensitive to racist remarks: http://mediamatters.org/research/200910160044
Tags: audience, Barack Obama, boy, conservative, historical, nigger, racist, Rush Limbaugh, white people
