Hey Michael Steele Don't Forget the Watermelon

Republican National Chair Michael Steele sure has a way of ingratiating himself with black voters. The shoot from the lip Steele with a wry smile and a chuckle told a questioner that he'll get more black folk into the GOP by ladling out scoops of potato salad and, every black's favorite, fried chicken, to them.

Of course, if a white male RNC chair had insulted blacks with the most demeaning of racial stereotypes he'd be run out of Dodge on a rail. But Steele can get away with the culinary insult because a) He's black, b) He's widely considered an amusing cartoon figure within and without the GOP, and c) He's got as about as much relevance to black folk (that's black voters) as George Wallace in his worst segregationist days.

But there are two intriguing questions in Steele's shuck and jive quip. One is since Steele is black and one of the dwindling (not that there's much to dwindle to) number of blacks in the GOP, did the GOP bribe Steele with a bucket of fried chicken to get him into the party, and did he lick the grease from his fingers? The other even more compelling question is did Steele polish off his fried chicken gorge by slurping away at a big slice of watermelon? Do you have an answer to that Mike?

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His weekly radio show, "The Hutchinson Report" can be heard on weekly in Los Angeles on KTYM Radio 1460 AM and nationally on blogtalkradio.com

Comments

[ponteeman]

steel is their little pet. they prolly say to him good boy.

[dieselis]

The man was joking. Joking in very poor taste. Perhaps holding the party line and letting us know just how unwanted blacks are. The GOP for all practical purposes is comatose politically. However, its the far far left on its insistance upon having their way. This more likely than not will revive them. They are banking on it. The far left think they own the Democratic party. They don't, people closer to the center with some left views and a belief in true liberality make up the bulk of it. If the party was to sure this up in its platform there's another 10-20% of the electorate to be had.

[Maxiesid]

You see, there you go, when you live outside the mainstream you miss some of the information that is out there. I must have missed the return to the dark ages, and here I am still living in an age of enlightenment where people are known by their actions, instead of by their physical characteristics. I am white and I really like fried chicken. When they have fried chicken at the local church picnic, and they ALWAYS have fried chicken, it is always all gone, eaten by all the white people there. I work with a very diverse group of people and I have never noticed that any of them eat a certain type of food exclusively. (although we all like Chinese food about once a week) OMG.. black people eat chinese, white people eat tacos, hispanics eat french food... where will it all end? With people realizing that stereotypes are used by the uninformed, uneducated and undeveloped members of society to try to keep people compartmentalized according to their differences? Why is it impossible for some members of our society to celebrate different cultures, enjoy the differences, and quit trying to make everyone in the country be the same!

[GeneQueen]

HILARIOUS! I couldn't have said it better. Thanks for having the guts to say this. However, I would take it a step further ... Michael Steele is about as in touch with black folks as Al Sharpton. Each one thinks he's more important and relevant than he really is, and each one is a joke. As a black woman, I've always felt uncomfortable when the media portrays ANYONE as a "spokesperson" for the black community. Yeah, like we have one mind, one common experience, one goal, etc.

[BobLablah]

No one has ever been able to explain to me why it's bad to point out a stereotype if it's true. Different cultures are different. Why is it bad to say so? There's actually a book titled "Why do black people like fried chicken and other questions you've wondered but didn't dare ask" written by Nashieqa Washington Maybe if we embraced our stereotypes and explained them to each other our relationships would be better because we'd be talking instead of scared to death to say anything for fear of being called a racist.

[t9chi]

Wait a minute. White people don't like fried chicken? I see as many of them at KFC as any other group. And they're not ordering the grilled chicken either.

[BobLablah]

You are 100% correct and it's perfectly fine for you to say so. So why is it bad to say black people like fried chicken?

[LaPoesie]

sterotypes are negative. why should i embrace them? im black, does that mean i should go back in time, get pregnant at 16, drop out of high school, and live off of the government for the rest of my life? cause thats a sterotype of young black (latina) women. should my brother drop out of college and start selling crack? should my father have knocked my mother up and walked out on her instead of being a great father to us all of our lives? cause those are all stereotypes of black people...

when people make that black people/fried chicken connection the way Michael Steele (and other racists) did its not a good thing. Its derogatory. Its demeaning. its an insult
Black people don't only eat fried chicken...SURPRISE!
Im black and I don't eat fried chicken (& meat in general) at all so if Michael Steele is going to try to recruit me to the GOP by attempting to bribe me with fried chicken then thats a fail on his part.