Black + doesn't speak ghetto = "articulate" [View All]

[Maddy McCall]

I've stayed out of the "articulate" battle for a couple of days. But I'm seeing so many denials about Biden's comment, that I thought I'd chime in.

(What's one more thread on this topic, riiiight?)

Anyone with any awareness of race relations knows that, many times, when the word "articulate" is used by a white person to describe a black person, it's usually applied with some astonishment. Examples with translations:

"Tamika's presentation was really good. She's so articulate."
Translation: That black girl can talk like a white woman. I was surprised.

"Carl's speech demonstrated that he's very articulate."
Translation: Unlike most black men who speak ghetto ebonics, Carl can talk in English. He doesn't sound "black" at all. I was really surprised!

Now, in context: We have Biden, who already has a record for dishing race-baced insults, who says that Obama is "clean" and "articulate."

Clean. What's that supposed to mean? That he doesn't have prison tats and grillz? That he actually wears tailored suits instead of low-slung gangsta pants. That he's amazingly a black man who's not involved in scandal?

Articulate. Glory beez honey chiles dat boy cuhn speaks likes a whut man!

Maybe referring to Biden as an overt racist isn't right (I'll half-heartedly concede that point, but only half-heartedly) , but he does have a history of putting his lower distal appendage in his pie hole.

And he did such with Obama.

I think that his remarks about Obama reveal a lot about the stereotypes he harbors about black people. Obama doesn't fit his stereotypes; thus, "clean" and "articulate."