Sometimes a cigar is only a cig .... ahh, what the hell, it's penises all the way

by von

Look, I can be sensitive -- perhaps oversensitive -- when it comes to race.  I can also be stunningly obtuse.  Still, at the risk of being obtuse here, I don't get Professor Althouse's take on Bobby Jindal's prime-time meltdown.  Indeed, though the following bit of Alhousia may be inspired, it's more likely completely insane:

3. Comparing Jindal to Kenneth of "30 Rock" is not a nice indicator of Americans' ability to see beyond skin color. Quite the opposite! Instinctively repainting him white is — I would say — presumptively racial. To strip away his racial identity — to stereotype him as an especially white white man — is a powerful racial move. This is not nice at all. I would really like to know what makes white people so sure they are being nice about racial things. This confidence in niceness is misplaced, yet very very common....

What the hell?  Could it be that comparing Jindal to Kenneth of "30 Rock" is neither colorblind nor "presumptively racial"?   Yes, Jindal and Kenneth are of different races.  Good eyes.  But that's not remotely relevant to any issue here.  We're not casting Othello.  There are no larger backstories or themes for this joke.  Race is present; it's always present.  But that doesn't mean that every joke or comparison involving folks of different races must either be colorblind or presumptively racial.  Whatever "power[]" this move against Jindal has, that power has nothing to do with Jindal's or Kenneth's race.

There may also be something of a generational thing here.  (I'm Gen-X; I'll peg Althouse as late boomer or Jones.)  A lot of Althouse's discussion seems lost in a kind of critical studies exercise that now seems quaint and/or focuses on the Indian-as-nerd-stereotype.  If critical studies had a moment of relevance outside of academia, that moment is slipping.  And Indian-as-nerd is definitely a stereotype, but it isn't the first racial stereotype that leaps to my mind vis-a-vis Indians.  Maybe I just hang around a different group of folks from the subcontinent -- hey, it's a big place! -- but my initial stereotypes were of the I-A-P (Indian American Princess), stoners, and the Patels (hotel owners).  And none of these stereotypes have ever come to mind when I think about Jindal.  He doesn't even strike me as a nerd.  Student council president, maybe, but not nerd.

Yeah, that doesn't exactly make me the paradigm of post-racialism.  I'm trying.  But the "nerd" stereotype was a distant fourth for me .... undoubtedly contributing to yet another episode of "What the heck is Ann Althouse thinking?"

p.s.  Yes, I know Althouse engages in what she sometimes calls blogging as performance art.  ("Look at me!  I'm provocative!")  Don't know if she's doing that here and don't care.  To be an interesting provocateur, she has to accept that her provocations will be taken at face value.

p.p.s.  I'd say that it's the eager-student-council-president aspects of Kenneth that really resonate with Jindal, rather than any nerd qua nerd.

Comments

[gwangung]

My first response was "What do you mean, WE, white woman?"

My second response was irritation verging on anger. A white woman lecturing Asians and other non-white folks on how to approach Asians. How condescending. How ignorant. And much of her phrasing indicates that she thinks her audience is white--which is a tad racist itself.

[Catsy]

Wow. That's profoundly idiotic even for Althouse.

The comparison between Jindal and Kenneth was, from top to bottom, 100% about the dopey Mr. Rogers speaking cadence that made him sound like he was talking to a classroom full of toddlers rather than millions of adults.

That's it. People said Jindal sounded like Kenneth because he frakking sounded like Kenneth. I don't even watch 30 Rock, and I saw that immediately.

Tools.

[Eric Martin]

Agree 100% Von.

[cleek]

Quite the opposite! Instinctively repainting him white is — I would say — presumptively racial. To strip away his racial identity — to stereotype him as an especially white white man — is a powerful racial move.

that sounds, to me, like the absolute worst kind of academic hyper-PC nonsense that conservatives regularly mock liberals over.

the joke is over his voice, not his skin color. anyone could've made the joke not knowing anything about Jindal at all, having simply heard him speak in a 15 second sound bite on the radio.

Althouse is a frakkin loon.

[Jay C]

Really - So Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal delivers a (generally perceived as) weak and lame response to a (generally perceived as) strong address by President Obama, and Prof. Althouse wastes bandwidth commenting neither on the weak and lame content of Gov. Jindal's speech, nor its poor delivery: but instead nattering on about supposed "racial" slights? From comparisons of Jindal to some dorky TV character?

It's a good thing the GOP didn't get Katherine Harris to deliver their rebuttal: Althouse would have blown a gasket obsessing on breasts...

What Catsy said (the "profoundly idiotic" bit!)

[Persia]

Notice that Althouse doesn't seem to have any problem with Michael Steele's characterization of Jindal as "Slumdog." Ewww.

[Eric Martin]

Notice that Althouse doesn't seem to have any problem with Michael Steele's characterization of Jindal as "Slumdog." Ewww.

No that's post-racial.

[Hob]

I don't think what Althouse does is either a critical studies exercise or performance art. She just likes to make up whatever s*** she can think of to cast aspersions on real or imaginary liberals she doesn't like. The bizarre theoretical framework on display in that "powerful racial move" bit is just what she threw together out of half-remembered phrases in a desperate attempt to connect point A (some Democrats made fun of Jindal) with her never-changing point B (all Democrats are wimps/sluts/jerks/fools, except me).

[Carleton Wu]

I've been puzzling over this, and I think I've got it figured out.
Instinctively repainting him white is — I would say — presumptively racial.

Yet comparing him solely to other South Asians (or Asians, or non-Caucasians, etc) would also be presumptively racial. So, Liberals. Are. Not. Allowed. To. Make. Comparisons. Got it.

Nerdiness, done right, is endearing. We might even call it cool. Orr suggests that white people warm up to the black nerd — Obama as Urkel

Urkel. Is. Cool. Got it. At least, Bobby Orr thinks so.

"Cool" is a cop-out word. It's a word to make racism cute and safe.

Thinking Dr.Dre is cool Makes.Me.A.Racist. Got it.

[So, thinking Urkel is cool is fine, but thinking Dre is cool is racist? Or is it just that Im a liberal, so anything I think makes me a racist, but Ann is free to think whatever she'd like?]

Liberals believe they are the good people with the good beliefs, the good hearts. Especially about race. How could it be otherwise? They are so nice and so good-hearted. And Bobby Jindal is not a liberal. He's a conservative. That's not good. That's bad. Bad, bad Bobby Jindal.

Liberals are evil because They. Dont. Agree. With. Minorities. Who. Disagree. With. Liberalism. Got it.

Summary:Liberals only voted for Obama because his is "cool" (ie black) and are therefore racists. Libs are double-racists when they refuse to vote for Booby "Urkel-Cool" Jindal because he is also a minority, and since libs give their votes to minorities unquestioningly then to deny Jindal the liberal vote based on his views is racist.

[Eric Martin]

So, thinking Urkel is cool is fine, but thinking Dre is cool is racist? Or is it just that Im a liberal, so anything I think makes me a racist, but Ann is free to think whatever she'd like?

The latter.

[ThatLeftTurnInABQ]

Really I could care less about the whole Kenneth The Page flap. The "volcano monitoring" bit of throwaway stupidity in Gov. Jindal's speech was the part that mattered por moi. Speaking of which:

Volcano monitors of the world unite!

[Catsy]

TLT, that is some incredibly high-quality snark, there.

Everyone needs to link through right now.

[Dave S.]

To be an interesting provocateur, she has to accept that her provocations will be taken at face value.

True, but in addition to the "Haha you're in my vortex" shtick Althouse often tries to have it both ways by redefining the "face value" of her provocations, accusing those who question her of poor reading comprehension. I freely admit to avoiding her site as much as possible, but I have never seen anything approaching an interesting, respectful exchange of opposing ideas and viewpoints with her.

[ThatLeftTurnInABQ]

Thanks Catsy!

If you haven't seen them yet, check out the Google sponsored ads on their FAQ page, underneath the search box. LMAO.

[john b]

and here i just thought his voice was identical to the kenneth character on 30 rock. how racist of me.

[AIMAI]

Oh, yes, TLTA deserves all praise. Everyone must click through and read that link.

As for Althouse--don't blame her maunderings on any form of theoretical or analytic framework. Her whole shtick is built around absolute ignorance of anything outside of the echoing chamber that is her own head and her own experience. The processes, such as they are, don't go history/fact/data > analysis > critical thought > statement of conclusion they go

image/incident > how does this make liberals feel? > how disgusted am I with liberals today? > how can I use this image/incident to impeach liberals or liberalism > whatever I am is rubber/whatever they are is glue > oh, yeah, liberals are even worse! > conclusion.

Another way of putting it is that Althouse misheard "critical thinking" to mean "be critical of thinking" and never looked back.

aimai

[Gary Farber]

"Yes, Jindal and Kenneth are of different races."

This is not true. Only 19th century racial theory would make it true.

[ThatLeftTurnInABQ]

Everyone must click through and read that link.

Quick disclaimer - I didn't create that site. In my dreams I'm only half that good.

[antrumf]

"Really I could care less..."

This doesn't mean what you think it means, TLTIA.

[russell]

"Cool" is a cop-out word.

I am well and truly screwed.

If they take away "right on" I'll be incapable of speech.

[JanieM]

Between the volcanomonitor site and AIMAI and then Russell, I'm getting a bellyache laughing.

[Ugh]

If they take away "right on" I'll be incapable of speech.

There's always groovy.

[Mike Schilling]

If I wanted to manufacture political capital, I'd point out that both Kenneth and Jindal have strong regional accents, so the comparison amounts to coastal elites insisting that people from the flyover states are stupid.

But I don't, so instead I'll go watch some Arrested Development on Hulu.

[rea]

Jindal--not white? Why, he ws no more not white than Sheriff Harry Lee!

[Catsy]

In all earnest, I could not stop belly laughing when I first saw Jindal's rebuttal speech. I missed the whole shebang the night before and made the mistake of catching up on video in the morning. I woke people up with my laughter.

The moment he started talking, I started laughing.

I don't think the majority of Republicans in DC have any notion of just how truly awful he came across.

[agum]

If I were going to go off on a rant about the deracination of Piyush Jindal...

I would probably start by noting that he named himself "Bobby" after the character from the Brady Bunch, the whitest family on 70s TV.

So who's "stereotyp[ing] him as an especially white white man"? Oh yeah, he is.

There's too much institutional inertia in the blogosphere. Blogosphere 0.5 brands like Instapundit, Althouse and (sad to say, because he's funny sometimes) Atrios really need to sink to the level of their blogging competence.

[Gary Farber]

"Blogosphere 0.5 brands like Instapundit, Althouse and (sad to say, because he's funny sometimes) Atrios really need to sink to the level of their blogging competence."

Like me!

(Now I feel old, given that I was blogging years before Atrios....)

[Adam]

I don't think what Althouse does is either a critical studies exercise or performance art.

Agreed. She does this sort of thing all the time and just doesn't know any better. It's not part of some grand plan.

This is just a common way for profoundly insensitive people to retroactively justify the stupid things they say. Ann Althouse is constitutionally incapable of admitting fault, so instead she claims, "oh, it was all an act to get you riled up and you fell for it." It's a really transparent schtick.

[ed]

I know Althouse engages in what she sometimes calls blogging as performance art.

She's also a fuckin idiot. So there's that.

[Anthony Damiani]

I take offense to her comments as a nerd.

[Adam]

Alternatively, if Althouse is engaging in "performance art," then to what possible end? Demonstrating that writing inflammatory things on the Internet makes people angry? How insightful.

Or is it cool or funny to make crass, hurtful comments about women's breasts or to accuse random people of double-reverse-racism solely because they're liberals? Is the performance intended as self-parody?

[Jay C]

Is the performance intended as self-parody?

Probably not "intentionally" - that's the sad part.

[wonkie]

To me, her commenters are weirder thatn she is. She has this strange cult following of people who hang on her every word.

Or that was the case the few times I read her, back when she put out that video of herself getting drunk.

[Jon H]

True nerds know what volcano monitoring is.

[Cal Gal]

I've got a volcano I'd like you to monitor, TLT.

[Luke the Intrepid]

I'm not certain but I believe she is intimating that he has a nice dye job going.