» September 24, 2008

“I’m Gonna Just Do Me”

Filed under: Culture/Politics, Culture/Race Relations
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In a very short, some-what funny yet poignant YouTube video, Pastor Jamal Bryant delivers a sharp critique of the Republican National Convention as well as an overall observation of the political climate, public racial perceptions and that most unique of American neuroses, anti-intellectualism, especially when intellectualism takes the form of an educated Blackamerican. I don’t know about you, but by the end, I was ready to roll in the isles myself! Hat tip to Zain.

8 Responses to ““I’m Gonna Just Do Me””

  1. Yusuf Smith Says:
    September 25th, 2008 at 12:27 am

    As-Salaamu ‘alaikum,

    It didn’t look to me like he was trying to be funny.

  2. Margari Aziza Says:
    September 25th, 2008 at 1:39 am

    What about two-steppin down the aisles? Raise the roof down the aisles? We can send that Sufi Breakdancer over to the church and he can represent on that interfaith tip.

    http://thirdresurrection.blogspot.com/2008/08/sufi-breakdancing.html

  3. Marc Says:
    September 25th, 2008 at 8:36 am

    some-what funny yet poignant YouTube video

    I guess you didn’t get that part, huh? Funny also has many other subtle meanings other than pure folly or jest. And poignant also means nothing to you either, I suppose.

    I presume by your short statement,

    It didn’t look to me like he was trying to be funny.

    that you were some how incensed by my reaction. Additionally, simply because he was not making an effort, does not mean that I cannot find the video tickling in some sense without taking it seriously. Secondly, you also don’t know what it was that I found funny! This seems to be unnecessarily stoic and grandstanding.

  4. Marc Says:
    September 25th, 2008 at 8:42 am

    Wow. Sufi break dancing. I have a number of things to say about that video but for now, I’ll keep them to myself, lest I offend someone [pro'lly cuz I might have also found it funny...]

  5. ummzaid Says:
    September 27th, 2008 at 1:52 pm

    The video is no longer available… :\

  6. Marc Says:
    September 27th, 2008 at 2:18 pm

    I have reposted the video. Should work for you now. Hopefully they won’t take it down as I really do find his words poingnant.

  7. kameelah Says:
    September 28th, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    Salaams,

    This was really refreshing to watch and I especially enjoyed his commentary at the very end about the recent fervor of Palin support even in light of Obama’s qualifications. I think those last 30 seconds sum up my cumulative feelings about Palin and the idiocy associated with her fan base. Bryant is succinct and there is no reliance on diatribe to make his points clear. I found the clip funny in the sense that it is so abundantly evident that Palin is unqualified and for lack of a better phrase, just a mess. It is funny that truth can he hurled at someone, served on a silver platter, spoon fed, etc. and folks still wont disabuse themselves of the erroneous belief that this woman has the capacity to lead anything.

    Another disturbing thing I happened to stumble upon is that while she was mayor of Wasilla she supported a policy that billed sexual assault victims for rape kits and forensic exams. Check the story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/opinion/26fri4.html?_r=2&em=&oref=login&pagewanted=print

    Apparently, she wasn’t aware of the practice (selective memory yet again), however, as the NYTimes article astutely yet parenthetically notes, “She does seem to have paid heed to every other detail of town life, including what books were on the library’s shelves.”

    I will not wax on the obvious, but anti-intellectualism only seems like a euphemism for a larger contraction of American intellectual and moral capacity at this point.

    Thanks for posting the video.

  8. Marc Says:
    September 28th, 2008 at 4:12 pm

    Kameelah,

    that is harsh indeed. It simply continues to reinforce my belief that this presidential team is just bad news for us. And this is coming from a hard-line political cynic…

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