Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Is This Tweet Racist?


91 comments:

edutcher said...

I thought it was just funny.

bagoh20 said...

That's just stupid.

Everyone knows you skin them first.

The whole twitterverse is an expression of people not knowing stuff and proving it concisely.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Why would this be considered racism?

Fried chicken? Is fried chicken somehow racist? I'm pretty sure that white people eat fried chicken. Yup. I checked. We eat it. With gravy, mashed potatoes and peas or corn. Am I allowed to enjoy watermelon?

Leland said...

Looks more like General Tso Chicken...

AllenS said...

That's how Obama likes his dogs. Breaded.

ndspinelli said...

NO!! But it is @ TOP I'm sure. Speaking of the sinking ship, she's down over 23% last quarter! Look for more LSL.

ndspinelli said...

Everyone loves fried chicken. It's a southern thing, not racial thing. Raylan and Boyd love it!

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

NO!! But it is @ TOP I'm sure.

That's why I'm asking because I think my detector has been set according to her nebulous recommendations.

I might need a race reset button.

edutcher said...

ndspinelli said...

NO!! But it is @ TOP I'm sure. Speaking of the sinking ship, she's down over 23% last quarter! Look for more LSL.

Leisure Suit Larry?

PS She was down 28% before. They really did shoot themselves.

Unknown said...

This explains everything. His chicken bit made me laugh out loud.

Aridog said...

Nothing is ever racist if said by anyone of darker skin that a bright white light bulb. Got it. No? Get it bitch.

I am so sick of all this shit.

Unknown said...

'You know who likes fried chicken? Everyone with taste buds.'

Unknown said...

It's that horrible metal grate they are standing on (and their delicious golden fur) that makes them look like fried chicken.

Mitch H. said...

I'm not hugely fond of fried chicken. It's messy, and I always feel like I'm missing out on some bit of meat hidden inside of some boney nook, or getting a mouth of gristle instead of meat. Call me Pajama Boy, but I prefer my chicken boneless and processed within an inch of its plucked afterlife.

ndspinelli said...

MitchH, I call you Lazy American Boy.

Synova said...

Awww....

I had a red poodle. His name was George.

ndspinelli said...

"The closer to the bone, the sweeter the meat." Or.

"She don't eat the meat but she sure like the bone." One of my favorite song lyrics.

Titus said...

I don't eat fried chicken.

Boneless, free range, organic, cage free, no additives with a side of rice and carrots.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Breaking: Harvard Black Mass (not race related) Cancelled.

Aridog said...

Titus sez ...

...organic... for his chicken. Must mean he likes his chicken to be nourished with shit. :)

I giggle every time I read or hear about "organic" food stuffs, as a hipster delight...man I lived where everything was "organic" and grown in pure shit. Not so delightful if you failed to wash it thoroughly, and then do it again.

edutcher said...

Lem said...

Breaking: Harvard Black Mass (not race related) Cancelled.

We have more power than we know.

Titus said...

BTW Lem, that was The Harvard Extension School-anyone can go there-even u.

Titus said...

I cum from a family of farmers. My parents ate all "organic" food. The chickens were running around in the driveway.

My mom had a fave chicken named Rose and they ate it for mother's day-that's harsh.

I just don't want to eat a chicken or any other animal that is stuffed in a pen, surrounded by shit, with a bunch of other animals.

I know the farms where I get my food-generally in fab Vermont.

I am all about farm to table.

Trooper York said...

You need to make up your own mind Lem without reference to Lesiure Suit Larry and his pet Bubbles They think Johnnie Walker Black is a racist drink

ricpic said...

Titus, you're too perfect. In fact you're a MAGNIFICENT 'MO!

Chip Ahoy said...

It is a low-quality optimized photograph reduced to miniature size. They're crawling over a grill. Of course it looks like chicken at first. Until it is possible to see the tiny bowl.

Chip S. said...

That's a bowl? I thought it was a watermelon rind.

#IsThatRacist?

Meade said...

edutcher said...
ndspinelli said...

NO!! But it is @ TOP I'm sure. Speaking of the sinking ship, she's down over 23% last quarter! Look for more LSL.

Leisure Suit Larry?

PS She was down 28% before. They really did shoot themselves.

May 13, 2014 at 4:08 PM

---------------------------------------

Thanks for your kind concern, ed and nd, but really we're doing fine.

Before we got together, her blog's visits were below half a million and page views were well below a million. Now, visits are consistently above 600,000 and page views are consistently above a million.

Managing the comment section has become a breeze since last year when Lem set up this blog and the moderation function was repaired and, while the quantity of comments has dropped, the quality - interestingness, humor, intelligence, reduced bigotry, less gay-hate, decreased shoutiness - has greatly increased.

Thanks again for all your concern.

ndspinelli said...

I'm sorry fellow commenters. But, it is interesting how TOP is viewed as "before LSL" and "since LSL." Is "post LSL" approaching? "Pride comes before the fall."

Meade said...

"I'm sorry fellow commenters. But,"

Always believe a man who begins sentences, "sorry, but."

edutcher said...

Actually, it began with, "I'm".

Meade said...

And never doubt the accuracy of someone who begins his sentences with "actually"

edutcher said...

The statement was accurate, was it not?

Meade said...

Actually, it was!

Dust Bunny Queen said...

So..... ;-) Let us jump into the Wayback Machine and remember how open and free TOP was at one time. The salon where people could discuss, argue, interact. A time before the comment Nazi arrived. A time before the hostess began insulting and berating the participants. When the experience was free-formed instead of being controlled. What ever happened to the hippie chick with the creamy center.

What happened? Who knows? Who cares.

chickelit said...

Why are you fussing so pedantically, Meade?

chickelit said...

What happened? Who knows? Who cares.

What difference at this point does it make?

edutcher said...

Dust Bunny Queen said...

What happened? Who knows? Who cares.

If you didn't care, you wouldn't ask the question.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

I think we all agree that they took a good thing and screwed it up.

ndspinelli said...

ARM, There is one nay. Otherwise unanimous.

Meade said...

Screwed it up for who? Average daily page views have stayed well over 30,000. I realize if we could somehow accommodate the free form needs of Queen Dust Bunny and the rest of you here, we could add another, what, 30?

The only bitching about the Althouse blog I see anymore is over here at This Place (TP). The other tens of thousands of daily readers seem to like it the way it is now - you know... screwed up.

Sorry, but...

Chip S. said...

we could add another, what, 30?

Actually, the 23% drop in your traffic suggests that you could literally add anothe 10,000 or so w/ DBQ & Co. in tow. Hell, Chip Ahoy's probably worth 10K all by himself.

Personally, I'm glad you're happy w/ your traffic numbers. Frankly, they're quite impressive, and will remain so even if you lose another 23%.

Sorry, but I think ARM was referring to something else that's missing besides eyeballs.

IMHO. YMMV. NTTAWWT.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Meade, your point is simply that the blog is now better for you. It is not better for the commenters, particularly since the implementation of moderation, which kills dialog. I understand the dialogs are/were often stupid, but dialog is good if you wish to understand where your fellow citizens are coming from. Mary, for instance, was apparently not a fan of the blog. Aside from Mary, I thought everyone else participated with some minimally acceptable level of good faith.

One of the complaints of yours and Anne's was that there were too many racist/sexist/homophobic commentators but it is notable that since the purge there are virtually no liberals left on the site. Even Inga has largely packed it in. Garage is the sole reliable keeper of the now flickering flame of liberalism. The site is overrun with stereotypical white Republican males rehashing what they heard on FOX or Rush the previous day. As a salon to discuss the issues of the day it has definitely taken a step backwards.

Trooper York said...

Captain Edward James Smith: Tosh my good man that is simply a little ice. Nothing to fret about. Now please go down to the deck and rearrange the chairs.
1st Officer Murdoch: Aye, aye Captain. Just a little ice.
Captain Edward James Smith: Oh and one more thing 1st Officer. Please refrain from referring to the crewman who are shoveling coal into the boilers as the "Black Gang." I am afraid that would appear racist and we can't have that now can we. Be a good chap and inform the rest of the crew.
(Titanic, 1997)

The Dude said...

Down 23%? I'll drink to that. You know they are.

Leland said...

Hey did you see Annie spending time at Glenn's place. It didn't really go so well for her. While the other guest left with thanks to the commenters, she actually remarked that she was taking her ball and going home with a few parting raspberries to commenters. Good thing she works at a school, because their yard seems about her style.

Known Unknown said...

Boneless, free range, organic, cage free, no additives with a side of rice and carrots.

So gay.

Meade said...

AReasonableMan said...
"Meade, your point is simply that the blog is now better for you."

No, my point is that the Althouse blog is now better than 1 year ago for the combination of 1. comment moderation and 2. Lem's spinoff blog (TP) where commenters who prefer a chat room style dialogue form are free to chat away.

Someone else was trying to make a point about traffic numbers dropping by some percentage but didn't say percentage of what. I was simply pointing out the bigger picture of correlation over the last 5 years for anyone who cares to see it.

Aridog said...

Yawn .... ZZZzzzz...

MamaM said...

...for anyone who cares to see it..

Which takes the thread back to dogs who look like chicken.

I dare say the bigger picture has been apparent to most of the Spinoff's commenters for better than a year without any simple pointing from the Moderator of the Motherblog needed for correlation.

Meade said...

"Which takes the thread back to dogs who look like chicken."

and the question of racism.

Trooper York said...

Dennis Franz: Hey Jim is that David Caruso hanging around the set?
James McDaniel: Yeah I think that is him hiding behind that plant and muttering to himself. Let's go over and say hello.
(the two actors walk over to the side of the set where a disheveled David Caruso is hiding behind a plant. He seems dirty. Like he had been working on his lawn)
Jim McDaniel: Dave brother whaz up? Why do you keep hanging around the set. You got fired buddy. You ain't part of the show anymore.
David Caruso: Oh I know Jim. I am doing really great. I have a lot of offers. They want me to take Sam Malone's place on "Cheers" and I am up for this role as a secret agent who saves the world in a day. Or something. I am doing really really great.
Dennis Franz: Then why the fuck are you always hanging around here. If everything is so great in your new life why aren't over there enjoying it and leaving us alone. We have a new star. This Puerto Rican guy is doing a great job. He is much more generous actor. He doesn't mock his fellow actors or think his shit doesn't stink. Nobody misses you loser. Go get a life.
Jim McDaniel: That's a little harsh Dennis. Cut the poor guy a break. He is in a bad situation. I hear his wife is a nasty bitter hag who tortures him because he messed up his career.
David Caruso: Hey I don't need you guys. I am doing great. I have this new move. Look I take off my sunglasses and look intently at the camera. It's gold I tell you.
Jim McDaniel: Yeah that's great. Look I think you should leave the set and go find a job buddy. Okey Dokey?
(the two actors walk back to the camera)
Jim McDaniel: That's some sad shit right there. Didn't he ever hear of Adam Cartwright?
Dennis Franz: Of course he didn't. That's the point. Fuck him. Let's start the show.
(Red Storm Rising, The David Caruso Story, E True Hollywood Stories)

Meade said...

Ooh. Someone woke up cranky.

Is it because his mighty Yankees can't seem to beat the mediocre Mets (after getting swept in lowly Milwaukee?

Ouch.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

What happened? Who knows? Who cares.

If you didn't care, you wouldn't ask the question.

Those were rhetorical questions.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

If your little censorship paradise is so great, lawnbitch, why the need to come over here?

Traffic numbers don't lie.

Enjoy sponging off the wealth of an old woman.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

One of the reasons that I admire Glenn Reynolds is that his wife is an accomplished and intelligent person in her own right, with education and publishing success. He has chosen an equal as his partner.

Althouse's housepet mows lawns. Oh, and has a blog about dogs that nobody sees.

Sad.

The Dude said...

#BanBossy!

Meade said...

"One of the reasons that I admire Glenn Reynolds"

is because he linked to my

"blog about dogs that nobody sees."

President-Mom-Jeans said...

It's his form of affirmative action, like your mealticket does with the virulently racist Crack.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

I'm sure that he considers your accomplishments in the field of canine photography to be on par with that of Dr. Helen.

I bet your traffic numbers will be exceeding his any day now.

Be sure to read the fine print on that pre-nup, sport, you never know when the gravy train will come to a halt.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

President-Mom-Jeans, always bringing some class to the table. You, Meade and Crack are all Republican voters - can't you all just get along?

Meade said...

Also, AReasonableMan, you said, "It is not better for the commenters, particularly since the implementation of moderation, which kills dialog."

Odd then that many of the commenter here at TP have continued to post comments (under moderation) at Althouse. Here's a partial list:

AReasonableMan
Jim Dolan (Trooper York)
chickenlittle
(Fred4Pres)ident-Mom-Jeans
Dust Bunny Queen
Chip S
ndspinelli
Lem
Pogo
rhhardin
Mitch H.

For all your many page views I say THANKS!

Chip S. said...

Wrong again.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

Classy is my middle name.

I considered it extremely on topic to bring up the rash faced emcee on a thread about how racist dogs that resemble fried chicken.

I don't give a flying fuck what you think Unreasonable Bitch, if Lem doesn't like me responding to lawn troll, that would be another matter.

I do think it is classy to prepare LSL for a post sponging existence. I'm not the one who made him sign a prenuptial agreement.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Meade, for someone running a public forum you are remarkably resistant to feedback. My view, that the product has been degraded, is legitimate user feedback. I am not the only one with this view. Ignore the feedback, as you no doubt will, but why antagonize?

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

What I don't like about Mom-Jeans line of attack on Meade, aside from its mean-spiritedness, is that it is classist shit. Much of the current problems with the country can be traced back to this kind of classist shit. Everyone has to kiss the rings of the Harvard educated and the billionaires, while putting up with a constant drumbeat of disparagement of regular working people. I find this kind of thinking disgusting in a supposed republic.

Meade said...

Chip S. said...
"Wrong again."

I stand corrected. Chip S. has not continued to post comments at Althouse.

Meade said...

AReasonableMan said...
"Meade, for someone running a public forum you are remarkably resistant to feedback. My view, that the product has been degraded, is legitimate user feedback. I am not the only one with this view. Ignore the feedback, as you no doubt will, but why antagonize?"

Your feedback has not been ignored. And your viewpoint is appreciated and noted. What you don't see is the overwhelming feedback we've received that is contrary to your view.

Also, I don't think I antagonize as much as I reply to already existing hostility. The so-called "purge" of last year really flushed out individuals who have harbored - and sometimes hid - their hostility to Ann Althouse all along. The antagonism you should be calling into question is theirs - as I see you just did with Mom-Jeans. In their bitterness and bile, as I'm sure you are aware, you will often find (besides classism) racism, sexism, xenophobia, and gay hate, etc.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

Yes Meade, everyone who doesn't unconditionally love your precious unearned retirement provider is guilty of badthink. Every ism in the book.

But wait, I seem to remember the lawnbitch going after Palladian here. Denounce yourself Meade, how dare you be "hostile" to a member of a protected class?

What? It's okay for you to be hostile? Soaking in that Madison hypocrisy eh?

Go fuck yourself with one of your lawn implements.

If I'm wrong about Althouse making you sign a prenuptial agreement, let's hear it. I suspect there will be more silence and attempts to cry "isms."




ndspinelli said...

Trooper, You have nailed it. But, he's way too stupid to understand. Every comment here shows just how lonely it is over there. I asked previously whether it's more pathetic or sad. I've decided, it's pathetic. Just like Caruso.

ndspinelli said...

President, She always wanted the control she has in her classroom. Be careful what you wish for because now she's got it. And, isn't it funny that they pander to Crack and he's nowhere to ne found. They better give another shout out.

Meade said...

"And, isn't it funny that they pander to Crack and he's nowhere to ne found."

Crack was here
just this morning. About 2 hours before Fred4PresidentMomJeans spewed his classy bile.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

Was it hostility and bile when Althouse made you sign that pre-nup?

Your silence speaks volumes.

Admit it, the reason she made you sign it is the massive disparity in wealth between you and your sugar momma, and that she wanted to protect those assets when she gets bored of your brand of "gardening."

Truth hurts, doesn't it Meade?

Meade said...

We never made or signed a pre-nup. You seem to be obsessed with something that doesn't exist. Why?

President-Mom-Jeans said...

Sure you didn't lawn bitch, sure you didn't.

Althouse is a bitch and a shrew, but not stupid.

Leland said...

I agree Trooper nailed it.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

Looks like you are really enjoying the petty amount of control you have over at your meal tickets blog. Probably like your sugar momma in her class, except attempted commenters are not paying exorbitant taxpayer subsidized tuition for the privilege of submitting to petty tyranny.

It's probably a good thing that the only power you ever have in life is moderating someone else's blog, as well as life and death power over blades of grass and tree limbs.

Aridog said...

The TOP Toad can't help his pathological lying...

He was wrong about Chip S = he was lying. Do tell!

Then he mutters....

The so-called "purge" of last year really flushed out individuals who have harbored - and sometimes hid - their hostility to Ann Althouse all along.

Freudian slip? Or just lying again? Both?

Leland said...

What do you all think? Should I publish it? Delete it? Or Mark it as spam?

Interesting dilemma you think you have there. I'd say publish it since otherwise it looks like you are just libeling Shouting Thomas. Besides, if you don't publish it, your trolling attempt for pageviews won't work, as there will be nothing for anyone to see.

I'm failing to see the scenario that leads to "Delete it".

TrooperYork said...

(The NYPD Blue cast was filming exteriors in front of a park on the Lower East Side. Dennis Fanz and Jimmy Smits were standing in front of the coffee urn when they notice a hunched over figure in dirt smeared raincoat furtively trying to photograph dogs. Not the cute girls walking the dogs. The actual dogs. In fact he kept aiming his camera at their genitalia. So they immediately knew who it was)
Dennis Franz: Caruso you pervert. What the fuck are you doing trying to photograph that puppy’s ball sack?
David Caruso: What? Errrr I am just taking photo’s. It’s my new hobby. I have a blog where I post cute doggie photos and people comment and send me emails.
Jimmy Smits: Who is your friend Denny?
Dennis Franz: He ain’t my friend. He is somebody that I used to know. Now he is just a perv who photo’s doggie junk. Why the hell are you doing that you moron? I heard you were living off of some old bat that you married. Aren’t you a houseboy or something?
David Caruso: Well sort of. But it is time to trade up. I have been corresponding with this woman who has a blog about saving animals. We are really hitting it off. If I can play my cards right you looking at the next Mr. Betty White!
(Red Storm Rising, The David Caruso Story, E True Hollywood Stories)

Chip S. said...

Meade said…

The so-called "purge" of last year really flushed out individuals who have harbored - and sometimes hid - their hostility to Ann Althouse all along.

I have no way to know who this comment refers to, but in the context of this thread it seems like it might be referring to me. If not, then Meade (and everyone else) can disregard the rest of this comment.

I do not know Ann Althouse, except whatever aspects of herself she reveals on her blog, or elsewhere on the internet. So it would be strange for me to harbor hostility (or adoration, or any other emotion) toward her as a person. However, I have had opinions about her blog. As I have written at least once--and, I think, more than that--there, I thought it was a remarkable and rare thing: a place that valued free speech and vigorous debate, all in the pursuit of truth. I couldn't offer any higher praise for any blog. Furthermore, I thought it reflected quite well on Althouse that she could attract so many excellent commenters.

It turned out that she didn't enjoy her comments section nearly as much as I did. Well, fine; obviously, it's her blog and she'd be crazy to work so hard at something that made her unhappy.

Nevertheless, I will always be grateful for the forum that she provided--and, I thought, cultivated. A wide range of views, well articulated, could usually be found there.The blog helped me hone my own views, and allowed me to learn much from many impressively knowledgeable people.

I don't comment there anymore for two reasons, neither of which involves "hostility". One is that I'm simply not interested in declamatory commenting, either as a consumer or a producer. But that's the style that is cultivated by a system of moderation. To be clear, I'm not lobbying for that to be changed; it's clear that the previous system was causing the blog owners a great deal of distress. It's just not something that appeals to me.

The other reason I don't comment there is that I've read what Meade had to say here about the worthlessness (or worse) of the vast majority of the old Althouse commenters (all but two, IIRC). I may not be all that quick on the uptake, but I certainly am able to take a hint that's that unsubtle.

I only bothered to correct Meade's error @ 12:30 b/c he seemed to be implying some sort of hypocrisy on my part. Not that I am able to see anything I've said here that would've made me a hypocrite for commenting there, but it seemed to be some kind of big deal. Anyway, his forthrightness in admitting his mistake was good-faith commenting IMO. So I'm gonna let all this go.

Synova said...

I've posted at least twice to TOP. And "page viewed" at least 5 times.

I feel insulted and ignored to have not made "the list". (not)

The inability to have a conversation makes it boring. Sorry, but it's true. "Declamatory commenting"... yes, that's it. Other than that, I don't think about it.

Other than... I agree with every word that Chip just wrote.

That and... How the Fark did a post about fried chicken puppies end up going here?

Aridog said...

What Chip S said and what Synova said, both I agree with completely. I am not near as kind as Chip or Synova, so I'll just leave it at that.

Synova said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Synova said...

I was thinking about this... not that I think fried chicken puppies is racist at all, but sort of at a tangent... why allow angry people to post angry things? Why allow rants and bad words and "racist" or even racist angry words?

And I was thinking about how we're supposed to understand... to UNDERSTAND when some people are angry... and give them a pass on account of they're angry. And maybe there is something to that. But lots of people are angry.

Most of the time when someone posts something that is angry I think... oh, that's angry... and pretty much disregard whatever is said because it's said in anger.

But who am I to sit in judgement that someone isn't *entitled* to their anger? Why is one person entitled to anger and entitled to expressing it and some other person not entitled to his or her anger?

Reminds me a bit of a comment someplace or other about Holder being so insulted by being held in contempt... that NO ONE was treated like he was treated. So someone pointed out others that had been similarly held in contempt. So some liberal had her some libsplaining to do... you see, Holder and Obama are *proud* men, and *proud* men can't be expected to just sit and take insults like that. What she meant, of course, was that Holder and Obama are *black* men. (And the reason libs accuse conservatives of using "code" is revealed.) So *black* men can't be expected to simply accept insult. They're entitled to their anger.

It's all bull sh*t.

Those who speak in anger are often purposely insulting, but they also frequently say things that are True. And that goes for anyone, really. Being mad doesn't *make* a person right, but being mad doesn't *make* them wrong, either.

We get our pear clutching, fainting couch out and try to shut people down on the basis if we've decided that they aren't allowed to be angry.

Disallowing people's honest feeligns, if there is a basis for them or not, is disallowing ideas and disallowing people *themselves*. It's more dehumanizing than the bad language is dehumanizing. I'm not impressed by the impulse.

chickelit said...

"Angry" rhymes with "hungry" and there aren't too many other words that do.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Leland said...
Interesting dilemma you think you have there. I'd say publish it since otherwise it looks like you are just libeling Shouting Thomas.


To be fair that sounded like a typical ST post.

Meade said...

I marked it spam.

Aridog said...

Yawn.....ZZZzzzzz......

chickelit said...

@Chip S and Synova: Those were both thoughfull comments.

Leland said...

To be fair that sounded like a typical ST post.

You would only know if ST posts were allowed to be posted, which was really my point.

I do accept your point.