This was very predictable. Some on the right have been trying to paint President Obama with the Black Stereotype brush. Remember Glenn Beck and others have stated that Obama has a deep seeded hatred of white people. There have been several racial cartoons depicting our president as a monkey or worse. So, the fact that Obama invited rapper Common to the White House is another opportunity for the Right to go nuts about rap music… except this rapper delivers a positive message.
From Media Matters:
Tonight, MSNBC’s Cenk Uygur reported on the freak-out by the right-wing media, including Fox News, about the White House’s invitation to rapper Common for a poetry event.
Uygur noted that Fox’s attacks are hypocritical in light of the fact that the network had sung a much different tune about Common roughly half-a-year ago.
“It’s funny how quickly Fox forgets things,” Uygur said. “As Media Matters points out, just in October, Fox interviewed Common, praising him as a ‘very positive’ and ‘conscious rapper.’ ”
The interview between reporter Jason Robinson and Common that was posted on FoxNews.com can be seen here.
Update:
It was clear that they had no clue who Common was. They didn’t even look at him. You can tell he’s different from Snoop Dogg just on sight alone. But that would be too much effort.
So is Conservative criticism mainly old fuddy duddy anger over rap or are there anyparticular lyrics or statements that Common has made?
Common is like the button-down rapper.
Jon Stewart has the low down. I have posted it. The whole thing is crazy.
MSNBC and Stewart seem to have totally missed the criticism about Common, his support of a couple convicted cop killers, most notably, former Black Panther, Joanne Chesimard (now Assata Shakur) who gunned down a New Jersey state trooper and later escaped from prison.
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/NJ-State-Police-Outraged-Over-Rapper-Invited-to-White-House-121596869.html
Stewart is occasionally good at picking up these straw men but he missed the boat on this one. O’Reilly responds to Stewart’s poorly aimed attack.
http://nation.foxnews.com/common/2011/05/12/o-reilly-sets-jon-stewart-straight-after-feeble-attack-fox-news
I don’t think that the controversy will get much traction and it has died out pretty quickly. I would have liked to heard more of Common’s thoughts about Chesimard.
Anyway, Common is just another marcher in the parade of leftist fellow travelers (Ayers, Wright, Van Jones, etc).surrounding the Obamas. If the controvesy does grow, I’m sure the White House will plead ignorance and throw Common under the bus.
TCB –
I don’t think that you can place Common in the same category as any of those other guys. Common was pointed to by Fox News as a good and positive rapper (http://video.foxnews.com/v/4380489/the-hot-zone-common/). Are you saying that they missed the boat earlier or are they wrong now?
Have you read this guy’s lyrics (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/common/a+song+for+assata_20032909.html)? Have you listened to this song? I don’t think that it is clear that Ms. Shakur shot anyone that night. It is clear that in 1973 there were some very radical black elements and she was one. But did she kill a cop because that is the question? I don’t think that’s even close to being clear. Should Common be sent to Russia for writing a song that says that she is innocent? I don’t think so. Does he say that gunning down a cop is a good thing? No.
Finally, lumping Bill Ayers, Rev. Wright, a decorated military man, and Ven Jones in the same sentence is wrong. You know it is wrong yet you did it. Common is simply a rapper. Nothing more and nothing less. He is an updated version of Young MC in my opinion.
my 2 cents.
1. I think that Fox got it right both times. They have noted both the positive and negative aspects of Common’s art.
2. Thanks for the link. Read “A Song for Assata.” Strikes me as propaganda for Assata rather than a serious examination of events. I know the events seem unclear in the song. The New Jersey state trooper seems to have a clear recollection:
The female [Assata] then proceeded to take the service weapon from the injured Trooper Forrester’s. She pointed it at the wounded Trooper and shot him twice in the head, execution style.
http://www.njlawman.com/feature%20pieces/joanne%20chesimard.htm
I wish the White House and Stewart had your courage to defend Assata. Still, I don’t buy Assata as the beautiful victim that Common portrays. She is not behind bars but on a beach in Cuba after a violent break out from prison.
3. I fail to see what’s wrong with my grouping. Ayers, Wright, Jones and apparently Common are united by their ideas and distancing from Obama. Wright is Common’s preacher and has performed with him. Do you believe that mentioning these men with Common degrades them or Common?