Complaints About the Republican Party IV

[Loren]

It's because of where it comes from. There is a definite feeling around those who want to call Obama "Barry" that they're doing it to make him sound more stereotypically black.

I'm still not buying the notion that the name 'Barry' is stereotypically black.

For one thing, I've always been under the impression that a big reason he went by 'Barry' in his younger years was to sound LESS African.

Also, "stereotypically black"? Barry Manilow, Barry Gibb, and Barry Bostwick would disagree. And if we want to include fictional Barrys, Barry Lyndon and (lest we forget) Barry Allen would too.

Heck, who's the most famous *political* Barry besides Obama? Barry Goldwater.

Those alone are double the number of famous black Barrys named earlier. (And I, for one, have never even heard of Barry Sanders.)

[Loren]

do a google search. the birthers have come at it from every angle. one of the angles dealt with him calling himself Barry in college. they take it to mean that he was hiding his illegitimacy.

They also like to argue that (for some insane reason) Obama had his first name legally changed from Barack to Barry. And that he never legally changed it back. Making his name a lie, and his election under that name illegitimate.

[Nick Soapdish]

do a google search. the birthers have come at it from every angle. one of the angles dealt with him calling himself Barry in college. they take it to mean that he was hiding his illegitimacy.

Virtually all birthers refer to Obama as Barry. However, it doesn't logically follow that everybody that refers to Obama as Barry is a birther.

[Nick Soapdish]

I'm still not buying the notion that the name 'Barry' is stereotypically black.

For one thing, I've always been under the impression that a big reason he went by 'Barry' in his younger years was to sound LESS African.

Also, "stereotypically black"? Barry Manilow, Barry Gibb, and Barry Bostwick would disagree. And if we want to include fictional Barrys, Barry Lyndon and (lest we forget) Barry Allen would too.

Heck, who's the most famous *political* Barry besides Obama? Barry Goldwater.

Those alone are double the number of famous black Barrys named earlier. (And I, for one, have never even heard of Barry Sanders.)

And don't forget this Barry.




Barry Sanders was probably the second best known football player (after Joe Montana) for a couple years. If he'd stuck around for one more year, he probably would've had the NFL rushing record (until Emmit Smith broke it). A few years and he'd have it for a long time.

[Monty_Cristo]

Virtually all birthers refer to Obama as Barry. However, it doesn't logically follow that everybody that refers to Obama as Barry is a birther.

i know. i said as much earlier. i was responding entirely to one poster.

[Monty_Cristo]

I'm still not buying the notion that the name 'Barry' is stereotypically black.

he took the name to not sound overly-african or foreign. he later ditched the name to assert his adulthood.

The two men didn't discuss questions of identity much, Moore says, but the struggles were always there, just beneath the surface. There were moments when they'd poke fun at each other, and snippets of private truth would emerge. On one occasion, Moore and Obama were hanging out in a dorm—early on in their friendship—when the subject of names came up. "What kind of name is Barry Obama—for a brother?" Moore asked with a grin. "Actually, my name's Barack Obama," he replied. "That's a very strong name," Moore told him. Obama responded that he didn't want to have to explain his name. "Barry" was just a way of simplifying things—a small compromise to smooth the way in society.

." It was when he got to New York that, as he recalls it, he began to ask people to call him Barack: "It was not some assertion of my African roots … not a racial assertion. It was much more of an assertion that I was coming of age. An assertion of being comfortable with the fact that I was different and that I didn't need to try to fit in in a certain way."

^taken from an interview dealing w/ his autobiography.

[Cavemold]

Because you wrongly assumed he still had election chances?

Can't go below zero in probabilities.

...... He's the only real option out thier besides Obama.........,

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

it's like i said. it depends on who is calling him Barry and how it's being said.

So there's nothing inherently racist about calling him Barry?

my initial response in this thread was to inferno. the latter has given me enough evidence to doubt his intentions in the matter. i wasn't really even trying to make a big deal about it. but the guy has posted a lot of pro-birther stuff. you should know. you responded to him in the other thread.

Oh yeah.
Is he actually racist?
I figured he's just really right-wing, and so goes with the flow on Birther stuff, much like people do with Bush orchestrating 9/11, or Clinton killing his press secretary.

do a google search. the birthers have come at it from every angle. one of the angles dealt with him calling himself Barry in college. they take his changing it back to Barrack as a sign of him embracing his non-american-ness.

Googling 'Barry Obama' brings me an article from dailybeast.com about him deciding to use Barack instead of Barry in college. Then his wikipedia page, and then the site 'Slick Barry', which is an anti-Obama site that doesn't seem racially motivated at all.
The video link shown seems to be a birther video, and there's one from infowars - but all it says is that 'Barry Soetoro' topped Google trends one day.
There's not an overwhelming number of racist sites popping up.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

he took the name to not sound overly-african or foreign.

His father went by 'Barry'.
Couldn't that have played into it?
(Both taking Barry as a name, and then choosing to go by Barack)

[dupersuper]

some called President Bush 'that retarded satanic rapist monster'

That's hardly fair: I know of no evidence that he's a satanist or rapist.

The Daily Show isn't a perfect example of this, but it's illustrative. The show has, on several occasions, depicted John McCain as a hyperactive Muppet.

Are you thinking of Steele? He's the only Daily Show muppet that comes to mind...

Virtually all birthers refer to Obama as Barry. However, it doesn't logically follow that everybody that refers to Obama as Barry is a birther.

Very true, but it does follow they, for some odd reason, are willing to risk being lumped in with that company and spending the next few pages defending themselves rather than just type "Obama".

[inferno]

Congressman Paul COMPLAINS in this interview that the REPUBLICAN House leadership took away some of his subcommittee's jurisdiction, hindering his efforts to audit the Federal Reserve.

[the4thpip]

...... He's the only real option out there besides Obama.........,

What about Gary Johnson?

Cain has always been as likely to win the presidency as Paula Abdul.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

Making his name a lie, and his election under that name illegitimate.

I bet they partied the night someone came up with hat idea - I bet they had been getting scared they were going to have face up to the fact they were wrong, and find something productive to do with their lives.

[Kid Omega]

I'm still not buying the notion that the name 'Barry' is stereotypically black.

I'm not either. For all the reasons you mention.

This is one of the stupidest tangents I've ever seen a political thread split off into.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

This is one of the stupidest tangents I've ever seen a political thread split off into.

No, it was awesome.

I'm just saddened it got deleted because I'd put an awesome joke in that line about Barry Crocker, and I don't think any other Australians got to see it.