We know the past, we know we did wrong. My bad.Michele Bachman, professional fool, on Michael Steele:
"Michael Steele! You be da man! You be da man,"This. Must. Stop.
I'm here to announce the formation of DOPE (Distinguished Officials for Proper Ebonics) whose sole mission will be to prevent such abominable phrases as "You be da man." We have sat quietly by, during the era "Oh no she din't" and "Women, be shopping." We have endured the apostasy of Stuart Scott. ("Holla at a player if you see him in the streets!"). We can no longer be silent. The war is on.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
yo! conservatives represent! conservatives don't be fronting!
/satire
The prayers of a grateful nation are with you, Ta-Nehisi.
Why so harsh, TNC? These people are doing their best.
Maybe instead of declaring war you should make it your mission to instruct. You could have daily ebonics lessons on this blog. Maybe you could arrange to provide special one-on-one tutoring for Michael Steele.
I wonder if this isn't elaborate performance art? A prank on the Republican party? It can't be real.
Michele Bachman is hilarious when she isn't being vile. Please continue letting her make a fool of herself.
Michael Steele is the gift that keeps on giving.
I'm waiting for Steele to bust out 'Funky Fresh' or 'Gettin Jiggy with it'. This is pretty horrible all around, though. Couldn't the Repubs have gotten J.C. Watts? He is at least someone I can disagree with, but still respect.
"Michael Steele! You be da man! You be da man,"
Oh dear. So that actually happened huh? I told myself since I first heard that quote that it just couldn't be real but here we are. Our discourse has become a clown show and not a very good one.
But it's just so cute!
It's like 6 year olds (with missing front teeth) doing their recitation for the Parents' Night program.
We should smile indulgently, give them a cookie, and then we hold adult discussions on the other side of the room while they run in circles to burn off the sugar shock.
May I suggest an award for particulary grievous offenses? The CAF (Corny As F***) Award for the use of the most stale and dated attempts at Ebonics. With Steele I wonder how can you be this corny and your sister was married to Mike Tyson? He is excruciating, it's a linguistic minstrelsy for the GOP. He lets them put on their rhetorical blackface by example, "You be da man!" Damn.
Peep,
It's a joke. I'm obviously not forming an organization.
I can see how this is teethknashingly annoying for you. I really can. The thing is that it also has more comic potential than anything I could imagine. So let them go on for a little bit longer before DOPE puts its foot down. At least long enough for them to break out the parachute pants.
Michael Steele's All-Star GOP Minstrel Show, coming soon to an urban-suburban setting near you. Fo shizzle!
Michelle Bachmann is clearly missing an important part of her brain than comprehends how words sound before you say them out loud. This is too easy.
Who would have guessed that Mitt Romney's Who Let the Dogs Out could roll into this? (I'm still putting it into catching up to modern communication strategies. "We shall embrace the twitter, we shall have a Facebook App, and we shall be da maaaan! Woof!")
Now the rational Republicans and conservatives know how you felt with Al Sharpton as your spokesperson.
At least long enough for them to break out the parachute pants.
And don't forget the matching Nike Vandals for each different pair of pants.
Soon they're going to start wearing their pants/pantsuits backwards like The Mack Daddy and The Daddy Mack of Kris Kross, the Mozarts of underage rapping.
"We shall embrace the twitter . . ."
Do you think these fools will ever realize that it's the message, not the technology used to spread the message, that has led to their downfall?
Sigh.
They're trying so hard. Mr. Steele needs to realize that if we're going to continue to have a 2-party system, it should play a respectable opposition role. It's like the Republicans aren't even trying. They're confused on how to agree/disagree with the President, Joe the Plumber, Santelli, and Rush Limbaugh are calling the shots, and the (black)leader of the party is acting like a white guy trying to talk hip. It's shameful, and it's not helpful to the debate. It was funny at first, but now's its getting ridiculous.
TNC It's a joke. I'm obviously not forming an organization.
But I'm obviously serious. Why can't you form an organization? Why can't you do something to help Michael Steele get the one-on-one tutoring he so desperately needs?
How long do you think it takes before Steele drops one of these in an interview on FOX?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZJ7TrqwdZo
I thought "You da man" had died the death of every piece of urban slang, which is to say it curled up on the tongues of PGA announcers and fans. But apparently in the mouths of the GOP it has a new lease on life.
I'm just looking forward to 2012, when Sarah Palin describes Bristol as "tight," and doesn't understand why the Internet exploded.
How could you not include the most unfortunate Ebonics episode in the history of broadcasting-
Mitt Romney "Who let the dogs out? Who? Who? Who?"
I'll contribute to the cause if you promise to work on getting Oprah's audience to stop yelling "You go girl".
Not just "you da man," but "you be da man." That is too perfect.
Thank God for Bachman. If not for her my representative would be the biggest fool in congress.
I can't tell you how embarrassing it is to be from Minnesota and have that moronic harpy representing one-eighth of our state. True, it's the White Trash part of the state (my Congressperson, Betty McCollum, is pretty cool although a bit bland), but still--just further proof that Minnesota isn't as liberal as its reputation. I doubt Bachmann could get elected from Massachusetts or Maryland.
And to think...late night comedians were worried about being able to find jokes in the Obama era.
Way to step it up Mike Steezie my neezie. supply-siiiidddeee!!!!!!!!!
Ta-Nehisi, I'm shocked that Billy Dee Williams has remained silent about Michael Steele's performance so far at the RNC. How much longer do we need to wait for an official statement?
I've lived in the DC area for the last 10 years and got to see Michael Steele's lack of ability up close and personal. I was incredulous when the GOP picked him to head up the RNC.
But even I didn't expect so much awesomeness so soon.
Because you haven't even mentioned this post from your fellow Atlantican Andrew Sullivan:
Offending two ethnic groups in one sentence! That's man's work there. I salute you, Michael Steele! Long may you reign over the GOP!
P.S. I (heart) my Nike Vandals.
I be feelin u, dawg, for shizzle.
Can't say that I'm mad at Bachmann for taking it there, as much as I am at Steele for playing up the whole hip-hop role from the jump. He broke one of the cardinal rules with that.
on another note: I'm always amused, and slightly intrigued, by the fact that folks from outside of the hip-hop circle, always go for with the early 90's, gutter east coast persona when they attempt to be hip-hop. that deserves to be studied. lol.
@Pesto
I'm with you about the Billy Dee silence.
Where is our spokesman Coates?
Cuz her lyrics is played like eight-ball jackets.
I'll join. How much for membership, man?
Maybe black people should just start peppering their conversations with 1930's Jimmy Cagney gangster dialect, just to screw with us.
In the era of reality competition tv shows, how about a TopEbonics for the Star Politicians spoken word slam competition. One of those food competition shows is called "Chopped," but this one could be called "Fool." There are a world of possibilities in this, but I'll leave the rest to your imaginations.
One of the primary functions of D.O.P.E. should be to teach them how to properly ebonicize the word "be". Only an idiot or an out of his element white script writer would've ever said "You be da man"
In Ebonics, as any linguist would tell you, "Be" is only used to describe continual action ,Eg, "You be late every day", "You be screaming too much" or "I don't hang out anymore,I be chilling at the crib"
Too many of my White coworkers get that simple rule wrong.
TNC, you should petition the Atlantic for a monthly language column dedicated to answering readers' questions about proper ebonics. You could be the next William Safire.
Dear TNC,
Despite my earnest entreaties, my Congresswoman insists on saying "you be da man" to indicate that someone is the man. She insists that she is using the idiom correctly, but I tell her that "you be da man" is in the second person infinitive translating to "you are being the man." She says I'm not the man. Please settle this dispute for us once and for all.--Signed, Mixed Up in Minnesota
Man, the GOP is starting to sound like Crack Stuntman dropping science about safety and spring break.
"KIDZ! Don't play with 2 many knives!"
War on Stu Scott?!?! You realize that Ray Ray, Pookie, an n'em will now be coming for you. I have your back TNC. Stu, Michael, and anyone who follows their ebonics banner into battle should no longer be tolerated.
But I'm still uneasy about one basic point. Can white people giggle at Steele or should we be biting our tongues?
I've given a lot of thought to Stuart Scott and what he means in a larger sense. In my experience, the only people who really like Stuart Scott are people who have no contact with black people. Stuart Scott is their friendly black friend. It's how they imagine cool black people talking. I think it's also how Stuart Scott imagines cool black people talking. I can barely watch him, and all the black people I know feel the same way. Am I wrong here? Am I devoting too much thought to Sportscenter anchors?
@ Stacy: I think your Stu Scott point reveals a lot about Steele. Just as Stu wants to be the viewer's bbff (Black Best Friend Forever), Steele wants to be the Republican Party's black friend. Its brilliant. He's making them hip. They'll take these sayings back to their friends and be the coolest kids on this side of the pillow.
Does anyone watch the Office? Darryl often gives Michael Scott "black people phrases" to give him cred. Things like "pippety poppety, give me the zoppety" and "dinkin' flicka" and my favorite "goin' mach five." I think someone has pulled a Darryl on both Steele and Bachman.
Sara,
I agree. I just can't figure out if Stu Scott knows that he comes off like that. Does he think he's hip, or does he do it because he knows there is a certain segment of viewers who eat that shit up? I'm afraid he really thinks he's cool. I love watching the athletes when he interviews him to see if they're looking at him like he's a complete poseur.
Lord have mercy. What Stacy said. Even a white girl living in Iowa knows it's either "You be trippin'," or "You da man," but never, "You be da man" (or "You be trippin', da man"). The tragic, forced attempts at hipness - nay, RELEVANCE - just grates on the ears.
And SteveH, I hear you, sir, as that fool represents the district in which I live, too. But he will never, ever, ever be "my Representative."
That's great if the GOP wants to take a little responsibility for driving our country off a cliff and helping a dozen of my friends lose their jobs, but what's crazy about Steele, and the all the rest of them, is that they refuse to learn from their own mistakes. They "aplogize" and then go on to promoting the exact same policies that made everything go wrong in the first place!
I LOVED Stu when he was doing SC. I mean of course his slang was off, but that was the schtick. I never got the impression that he would talk that way if he weren't on air.
I mean if he were just talking in straight up gen Y approved slang it wouldn't be funny, it would just be, odd. Sort of like Ben Stiller going "shot me a holler dun". The whole thing is just funny.
Now when Steele and MB do it's funny, but in a whole different way. Sort of like they really have no idea how dumb they sound.
It's like watching Randy Jackson on American Idol. "Dat was da bomb! Dawg! Dat was da bomb, right dere!" It's so out of date it's ridiculous. Except it must work somehow. American Idol keeps raking in the cash.
Keep an eye on Michael Steele and Michelle Bachman. They might have found the magic words to tap into the American Idol demographic. There's gold in them thar hills.
Wishing to avoid looking like these fools is why I never say anything that sounds remotly of the street when speaking to an audience that is composed of people of collor or any one younger than me. For me it is "Good afternnon" instead of "Wuz up dog" because I would rather sound like a pompus ass than a wannabe cool fool.
Green,
Are you saying that you think Stuart Scott is being ironic? He's intentionally using out of date slang because it's funny? You are giving him far to much credit. The dude is an absolute clown.
Stacy-
I completely agree, Stu is an enigma that has ruined many a SportsCenter viewing for me.
Who the hell says "Boo-yah"
Who the hell has ever said it!
Will I lose all credibility if I admit I like Stuart Scott and his SportsCenter slang? Full confession: I'm a 52-y-o southern Black woman who was raised in a farming county & I attended the same university as Stuart. So, urban cool ain't in my genes! I always thought Scott's slang usage was cool but apparently I am in the minority on that. What a surprise! I always knew Randy Jackson was lame and Michael Steele's wannabe-hip talk is as smooth as uncooked grits. But I thought Stuart was cool.
T-NC, your blog is a daily must-read for me. I've learned so much about you hip-hoppers! :-)
I've been laughing so hard at these incidents of abuse of the English language, I hope they pay you no mind, Coates. This has been hilarious.
Heh. I've only ever heard it from two sources: White college-age girls from a few years back and Stu Scott.
Atlanapril,
That's funny. I always thought my Dad like Stuart Scott because my Dad is about as white as they come. Maybe he likes him because he's 52 as well! Maybe it's actually a generational thing. I also think your UNC pride has something to do with it...
TNC, thanks for calling out Stuart.
I never felt like I could, because he's a Carolina man, and as Duke grad, it would just be seen as sour grapes. So I needed you to do it. Not cuz...umm... you're black and all that ;) Really!
I dunno...in the early 90's Stu was the sh@t. Everybody I knew liked him on Sports Center. Back then, he wasn't just copying outdated slang, but creating his own sports oriented slanguage--hence boo-yah. Like all slang, the boo-yah thing was funny at first...it just got played out.
Stacy,
I'm not saying Stu's being ironic, I'm saying he being funny. And I'm pretty sure Stu recognizes that at least some people think his little interjections are funny.
I mean if, I don't know, NAS or somebody was on SC talking like he would in the street it wouldn't be funny it would just be, odd. Like what's the deal with this?
I mean you have to be pretty far off the reservation to not recognize that you've never heard anybody but yourself say "Boo-Yah".
Maybe it only matches a certain dry sense of humor, like my own. I remember once being on a internship in the midwest and this old white dude said "howdy" to me. That may have been one of the funniest things I heard the whole summer? I was like who says howdy? This aint bonanza. And then I immediately incorporated it into my vocab. Still cracks me up every time I say it, years later. Eh, maybe I'm just a nerd.
On a side note the misuse to the verb "be" in the way MB used it, always, always used to grate me on "the Wire." It was so annoying because they were obviously trying to emulate with some sort of accuracy common slang and it was just sowrong. It was like doesnt anybody on the set hear how dumb that sounds?
Yo My Presidents! Don't let 'em know but we ain't even saying the N word anymore:
http://tinyurl.com/bah4sm
Green,
I've read that the producers and writers of The Wire took that aspect of the show very seriously. It sounded like a lot the actors had a really hard time getting the Baltimore dialect down(with the exception of Snoop, of course). I figure TNC is probably as qualified as anyone here to chime in on it, but I don't think he'd give us a bone with a kickass Wire thread.
I second the idea that Stu Scott is doing schtick, even if it is played out.
And you can't be dissing the Wire's dialogue without evidence. Link violation!
Oh, I'm fully aware that it is a schtick. I don't think that he tells his wife that the meatloaf is "cooler than the other side of the pillow." But I'm also fully aware that Stuart Scott thinks that he sounds cool and legit. Whatever that means.
I've been trying to think of what a Dem equivalent of this would be: maybe if the Dems had made a Gabby Hayes impersonator the head of the DNC so that they could appeal to working class Southerners and Appalachians.
"CNN anchor: We've got the new Chairman of the DNC with us now. Mr. Chairman, what is your position on the collapse of Wall Street?
DNC Chairman: Goldurn, fricken-fracken, bankers! Dang-flab 'em!"
Green -
In West Texas people really do say, "Howdy." Also, "Howdy, ma'am." Had it happen to me in a couple of smaller towns and when visiting friends out there.
The men also stand up when a lady walks into the room. I was also called "little lady," which isn't exactly an accurate way to describe me. Heh. Speech habit, I guess.
I love me some "Howdy". It always seems out of place elsewhere, but in rural Texas, especially the western part, it seems kind of right.
Perhaps that's true with a lot of slang. It seems really goofy out of its proper home. Which is part of the reason someone like Michelle Bachman couldn't pull off even the most current hip-hop slang. It's not her linguistic 'home'.
==
Um, pesto, that was awesome.
Bachman continues to amaze for all the wrong reasons. At least she didn't call Steele "her homie" or "her boy."
re: Stewart Scott, I think that he's become a caricature of himself or rather of his shtick that originally led to his 90's popularity. Kinda like Dick Vital. But, since I liked him in his early SC days and am a Tarheel, I could be wrong.
Zinjanthropus wrote:
You see, folks, this is why I read this blog every single day. It's totally educational. Although I used to be fluent in Jive, its day is long gone, and my Ebonics is just barely elementary. It's hard for us white folks trying to be fly. ("fly." Was that right? Is there such a thing as an English/Ebonics dictionary? Anybody?)
Foulness:
They did it alot, misuse "be". I think I've seen it discussed on some blog or another. Maybe not this one. I'll find you a clip link later this evening- I did a quick perusal, but I can't burn my whole day surfing youtube!
Peep for the win.
Remedial deapan humor detection classes for TNC
Right -- in these cases "be" is really less of an actual verb and more of a continuous aspect marker for verbs. The attenuation of verbs into markers is a well-known aspect of linguistic development; most Arabic dialects have verbal prefixes that serve as aspect markers that developed in precisely this way, though the source verbs are conjectural and in some cases not known.
Quite frankly, this idea of throwing "be" into sentences in the hope that it'll sound "authentic" is like listening to a Frenchman who has decided to prefix every English word with "H" in an attempt to get the pronunciation right.
"slum love" (As an Indian, I am sure I would be offended if I knew what it meant)?
Steele's talking "hip-hop" because that exactly how America's first black president got elected!
These are their ideas to be a big tent party? "Slum love" to the brown guy and "be da man" to the black guy?
Pesto said:"I've been trying to think of what a Dem equivalent of this would be: maybe if the Dems had made a Gabby Hayes impersonator the head of the DNC so that they could appeal to working class Southerners and Appalachians.
"CNN anchor: We've got the new Chairman of the DNC with us now. Mr. Chairman, what is your position on the collapse of Wall Street?
DNC Chairman: Goldurn, fricken-fracken, bankers! Dang-flab 'em!""
==
hub cap said: "Um, pesto, that was awesome."
===
===
Um, not really. Gabby Hayes is definitely western hick, not eastern. West Texas, Oklahoma or Cali Dust Bowl transplant. Definitely not Southern Appalachian. And for progressive Southern Appalachians everywhere, we understand how hard it is to generalize country folk for the exercise of belittlement, but you'ens ought to try a little harder next time, because you look about as foolish from my front porch as Steele does from some other's.
>"Steele's talking "hip-hop" because that exactly how America's first black president got elected!" - desidiva
I think that's absolutely and TOTALLY wrong. In fact, it helped him that he DIDN'T do that.
tWB -- I'm tempted to say that "be" in this contruction indicates a sort of frequentative aspect, though I think linguists might say that I'd be using the term imprecisely.
Pesto, you be misusing grammatical terms, dog! Fo' shizzle!
Jeff in Ohio,
Yeah, I was kinda trying to miss on the Gabby Hayes target -- sorta the way that Steele and Bachman are targeting a "hip-hop" demo that sorta only exists in their heads. But maybe I was twisting it too much to dig at how stupid the Steele crap has been.
TRoyal,
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure she was joking with that line.
When is the madness going to stop? That's what I want to know.
I for one, welcome Michael Steele. Look; with the Bush Administration out of office and the economy to horrifying to even acknowledge, I'm hard up for good comedy these days.
Please Ta-Nehisi, don't take this away from me! I have so little...
The funny thing about Michelle Bachman saying stupid crap like that is that it just makes her seem even whiter. Just what the Republican party needs! More wiggas! Ali G in 2012!
TNC, you don't understand, Michelle Bachman's problem isn't murdering Ebonics, it's improperly fusing it with Minnesotan. After all, she represents Lake Wobegon*. Her next sentence was,
"Aight, shure, y'all betcha."
*: Or, rather, the actual place of Garrison Keillor's childhood, which is in Anoka County.
"back in the day"
"old school"
You know, I looked though every definition og "old school" in the Urban Dictionary, and not one of them got it right in terms of how that phrase originated among blacks. The "old school" was the formerly segregated black school.
"You see, folks, this is why I read this blog every single day. It's totally educational."
I don't know, it must be a little depressing for Professor Coates to have to start his lesson plan with "Ebonics: Chapter One".
I mean, the proper use of the word "be" in this context was thoroughly covered by Kid N' Play in their movie "Class Act". And that was over 15 years ago! Now Kid N' Play themselves are cheesy enough to get mocked in a damned car insurance commercial.
So where the hell did Bachman pick up any notion of the slang "you da man" but in a incorrect version, as to end up saying "you be da man". She had to learn it from someone. This would lead one to believe that there is a whole under-current of Republicans, butchering ebonics, that we have yet to hear from.
Considering this and how Steele screwed up with both his pronouns in his "my bad" comment and his misuse of the term "bling", Mitt Romney actually appears to have more street cred that anyone in the GOP. It's a scary thought but at least he used "bling" in the right context and the Baha Men are only about a decade out of fashion.
All I can say is that I'm from Appalachia, and I'm one of the whitest white boys I know, and even I know it's "You da man." The GOP has no hope...but we knew that already.
Yo what up? I be wantin' to say that you article was crack-a-lackin', but what it is fo sho is Cracka-bashin'. Word. Check it. These Crackas jus' tryin' to feel yo groove das' all.
Sho-nuff, Michele Bachman be trippin' all the live long day but she be a bad example of Crackerosity. She sho' is fine do. I'd be likin' to throw grudge-freakin' down on her just 'cause a her stupididity.
Ta-Nehisi, I sho wish you'd quit trippin' on folks skin color and whatnot. You da one be lookin' like a damn fool, jus as much as da res!
Assalaamu alaikum,
Cracka-ass-cracka Jet
"Sho-nuff, Michele Bachman be trippin' all the live long day.."- correct, if you mean that she usually trips. Her name is "Michelle Bachmann". Mayne.
"...but she be a bad example of Crackerosity."- incorrect. Drop the "be".
As I put on the earlier thread...
I understand that the GOP will be shifting its approach over the next few years from group to group to prove how hip they are. Next up? "All your votes are belong to us."
This is a facebook group with 2 mil members in the making LOL!
So, you have eight years in power in the country, during which you preside over a string of disasters, ending up with the global financial system in ruins. You then lose to an amazingly talented black politican who kicks your ass royally on fundraising, makes much better use of all kinds of new media than you do, and consistently sounds like a calm, smart adult while you're sounding like surly teenagers or befuddled old men.
Which lesson do you take from this?
a. You need to get some better ideas, or better leadership, or something, so the next time you get into power, you don't wreck the country?
b. You need to get some new leadership into your party that can raise funds and use new media with something at least close to the competence of Obama and his team?
c. You need to put a black guy into a visible position of power and have him try to talk ghetto, while the rest of your party continues along its previous path?
I think this is just the cargo cult mentality. The Repubs don't have any idea how to put sensible, competent leadership together or organize a principled and intelligent opposition to the Democrats. But since a black guy won the election, they can find a black guy to put in a prominent position, and they can get an Indian guy (who looks pretty black to most of their voters) to be in a prominent position, too.
My sentiments exactly Albatross. imo, Michael Steele and Bobby Jindal are cut from the same cloth, both on display for the same transparent reason. Albeit with different motivations.
Michael Steele survived in America long enough to have evolved into a unique creature, he's now an opportunist. Whereas Jindal seems to be a believer in the idealogical hype; more like Colin Powell before he woke up.
Damnit to hell.
Conservatives speaking AAVE is possibly the only thing more grating than the suburban kids from the north trying to speak AAVE in my Linguistics classes while discussing AAVE way back when. The misuse of "be" was always the worst.
i refer everyone to lisa green's african american english. contrary to popular stereotype, ebonics is indeed a legitimate langauge, complete with its own syntax. in other words, if one can identify a 'bad' or 'wrong' ebonics, then by inductive reasoning, we understand there's a 'correct' ebononics. later for all these 'bamas speaking their gutter gumbo of angles/frank/celtic/jutes/latin called english trying to thumb their nose at a marvelous consequence of various african cultures colliding with backward, semi-civilized barabarians (in the roman imagination) and producing the most admired (and clumsily emulated) tongue on the planet as i type.