During a July 30th 2008 interview on Glenn Beck's radio show, country singer Toby Keith gave his thoughts on how he thinks the Black community views Barack Obama. Below is a transcript of that portion of the interview. You can also listen to it in the You Tube player below. For those who want to read the complete transcript, where Keith discusses a variety of other topics, click here.TOBY: The racial issues just never ever seem to change. We can't get past them. And so I really don't know what the answer is.
GLENN: Wait a minute. Hang on a second. Haven't we gotten past it. Isn't Barack Obama possibly the next president of the United States and you don't see people, you know, saying, oh, he's black. I don't know any of those people. I'm sure they exist, but I don't know those people. Don't you think that shows that, I mean, look at the great distance we've come in just the last 20 years.
TOBY: Okay, but, also, I think that the black people would say, he don't talk, act, or carry himself as a black person.
GLENN: What does that even mean?
TOBY: I don't know what that means, I'm saying that's what I think that they would say. Even though the the black society would pull for him, I still think that they think in the back of their mind that the only reason that he is in is because he talks, acts and carries himself as a Caucasian.
Toby Keith, thank you for setting this wayward brother straight. All this time, I thought the primary reasons that Obama is the Democratic candidate for the President of the U.S. is because of his intelligence and leadership qualities. This weekend when I see some of the Blacks I know who support Obama, I'll be sure to share your incisive commentary with them.
Toby or should I say TAFKAK (The Artist Formerly Known As Kunta), until you actually talk to Black people and find out why they think Barack Obama is in the position to possibly be the next U.S. President, don't guess at what you "think" we would say. It shouldn't be too hard for you to get a feel of what we think now that I think about it. Considering that you have a Black fanbase that rivals Lil' Wayne's, I'm sure that quite a few of us attend your concerts. Just set up a backstage meeting after one of your shows and find out what's really on our minds. If that doesn't work out, call up Charlie Pride and/or Cowboy Troy to get their take on Sen. Obama's Presidential candidacy.
Thanks to Thembi (who writes the blog What Would Thembi Do?) for writing about the Toby Keith interview. You can read her thoughts on the matter by clicking on the title of her blog in the previous sentence.
13 comments:
WTF!!!! How in the hell is this guy going to speak for the entire Black community??? He's not ever Black himself. How dare this bastard profess to know what I am thinking. "The Machine" was right, "If you can't think on your feet, keep your mouth shut" or as my girl Miley Stewart would say "Dumb Country Singer SAY WHAT! Now I have witnessed some idiocy in my time, but this dude is taking the cake. What he says has no logic whatsoever. Carries himself like a Caucasian??? I'm Done...I AM DONE!
I was actually listening to Glenn Beck the day Toby Keith was on. I was flabbergasted when he started to talk about this.
How can he speak for an entire community that he is so far removed from, and not a part of to begin with? omg!
what a dumbass
Ignorance, pure and simple. It floors me that in this day and age anyone would assume that "all blacks think or do this" or "all whites think or do that". Thats just insane.
My opinion is that it's people like Toby who can't let anyone get past racial differences because they are always spouting off stupid things like this.
freakin hillbillies
"think that the black people would say, he don't talk, act, or carry himself as a black person."
he don't talk? don't? well, all I can say here is consider the source.
Presuming to think for anyone else is not bright - presuming to think for someone who's shoes you have not walked in nor can you ever walk in is dangerous.
His comments are a perpetuation of a cultural stereotype clothed in "I'm not prejudiced, I'm just a good ole boy"
BTW, I just sent you the CD with the TV themes on it (via priority mail) - I hope I sent it to the right address!!! Finally, I got it to the post office, lol.
P.S. Where's your Thursday Thirteen?
open mouth, insert whole leg. What an idiot!
What a moron.
I wonder just exactly what life experience Toby is drawing his opinions from. That whole life of being surrounded by white rednecks has given him insight into the black community?
The kicker is, he probably won't understand the criticism hurled his way.
Bryan....."freakin hillbillies"?!?! I dare say as a proud hillbilly, Toby Keith does not speak for me. Perhaps freakin Toby Keith or just a singular "freakin hillbilly" would have been the better comment? Just wondering. All Tennesseans are not ignorant or prejudiced.
pjazzypar...love the Miley Stewart quote, very appropriate.
Pjazzy: I came this close to using that same quote by "The Machine" in this post. It's funny how so many quotes from "Glengarry Glen Ross" can apply to other situations. The "If you can't think on your feet, keep your mouth shut" quote certainly applies to TAFKAK. Glenn Beck even gave him an out, but he chose instead to dig himself even deeper.
By the way, I noticed you are quoting Miley Stewart too. When people say things you can't believe, "(fill in the blank) say what?" is a good one to use.
Jessica: I'm surprised that this story hasn't gotten more coverage. If Toby would have said, "the Blacks I've talked to told me that Obama don't talk, act, or carry himself as a black person", it would've been different. Instead, he chose to wear his ignorance like a badge of honor.
Thriving Holly: Like someone once said, "It's better to remain silent and let the world think you are a fool than to open up your mouth and remove all doubt".
The Rock Chick: The funny thing is, Toby was actually on to something when he said that the racial issues just never seem to change. Although things have gotten better, it's obvious we have a way to go. When he used a sweeping generalization to categorize Blacks, he lost me.
Bryan: The Clampetts might take exception to that.
Pop Art Diva: Agreed. Thanks for letting me know about the CD. I got a notice from the post office so I have to go down this week to pick it up. As I mentioned in my email, I didn't do a T13 last week due to lack of inspiration... however, I have a good one planned for this week.
Janet: I wouldn't be surprised if Toby suffers from Athlete's Tongue.
Jay: I don't know if Glenn Beck was so taken aback at Toby's comments, but the perfect follow-up question would have been to ask Toby what makes him think that Blacks feel that way.
X. Dell: Toby is probably the type who can hear, but doesn't listen.
Meju: Way to show your TN pride... seriously.
what an idiot.
she
www.shebecameabutterfly.net
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