Inspired by TheThink
How many times will we see the word “articulate” scribbled in reference to Barack Obama over the course of the next year?
Why do I keep finding news articles about Barack Obama that conspicuously mention how “articulate” he is? Reality check: ‘Barry’ Obama attended Columbia University, Harvard Law School, and was the first ever black American to be elected president of the Harvard Law Review. His educational biography is impressive, to say the least, and when he stormed into the national spotlight at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (part 1, part 2), we should have taken note of how “articulate” Obama was with the English language (his native language, by the way) and moved on. Instead, writers, taking adjectives from the same play book and arranging them just slightly differently, are harping on how well Barack Obama can speak about as much as they harp on how well George W. Bush mangles the English language (which, incidentally, is also his native tongue).
I ask, how many times will we see the word “articulate” scribbled in reference to every other candidate over the course of the next year?
Many years ago I had the distinct pleasure of having the ship's purser of a freighter that I was working on ask me where did I learn to speak English so well. Without batting an eye I answered, "In America." We were sailing on an American-owned ship that was registered in the United States and everyone in the crew was an American. I thought to myself at the time: Where does this fool think I learned to speak English?
Telling a black person that he or she speaks well or is articulate is supposed to be a compliment.