tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post1730139559096887129..comments2024-03-29T11:29:58.276+09:00Comments on BigHominid's Hairy Chasms: postal scrotum: on merit, race, etc.Kevin Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-58159953633153486452007-02-04T01:02:00.000+09:002007-02-04T01:02:00.000+09:00Hah! Comments! You've opened the floodgates!
...Hah! Comments! You've opened the floodgates! <br /><br />Some people are more articulate than others, and it seems perfectly reasonable to acknowledge that, and we do, by saying they're articulate. After some thought, I think it's interesting that I don't know that I've ever seen it done as a face-to-face compliment, and I don't know that it would be taken by anyone as a compliment if said directly to them. However, one could say, about something someone just said, "That was very articulate", and that would be a compliment. And we do say, about a third party, "He (or she) is very articulate" as a compliment. Given that Obama is particularly articulate, even (especially?) for a politician--says interesting things in a clear way that often makes one see things in a slightly new slant--it's plausible to me that Biden may have only meant that. <br /><br /><br />The historical context is there, and definitely makes things more difficult in some ways. Why should one be able to call Cuomo articulate (as many have done), but not Obama? Is it more racist to ignore the history and say it, or bow to the history and carefully eschew paying that particular compliment to any black person? I ask in a spirit of open inquiry.<br /><br />And the "clean"? Maybe he meant "clean for a politician"--meaning because he's relatively new to the national scene, he doesn't have as much political baggage as more experienced politicians such as, say--Biden. I'm not saying that's what he did mean, mind you--who knows?--just that there are non-pejorative interpretations possible.<br /><br />We all say things awkwardly at times, and maybe--maybe--that's all that was going on with Biden. Which would mean Biden was not being very articulate at the time. Given the choice between being considered racist, and being considered somewhat inarticulate, presumably he'd choose the latter. Given the option, which the conservative press is unlikely to give him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com