John Kerry and Malcolm X

[Field Of Dreams]

At tonight's Kerry rally a man in the audience said he thought it was unfair that the public thinks a Northeasterner like John Kerry can't relate with the whole country, so to help Kerry "illustrate" he can, the guy asked Kerry to respond to the X on his cap.

Kerry said, "The roman numeral 10?" Someone had to explain the Malcolm X reference to Kerry. It was pretty awkward.

Wonder if this was a plant in the audience?

[Colin Ex]

1. Ow.

That's pretty bad form.

Additional context (such as the identity of the dude) would be a little helpful, probably.

-C

[robbedvoter]

2. This Northeasterner knew that - in NYC we see plenty of "10"s

I guess not all Northeasteners are created equal...

[beaconess]

3. Malcolm X grew up in Boston

Sounds like the guy was probably trying to help Kerry out by getting him to point out that Malcolm X was a Northeasterner. Unfortunately, it seems that Kerry missed it.

While it would have been nice if Kerry had understood that baseball caps with X on them refer to Malcolm X (in fact, they started off as promotional tools for Spike Lee's film), but it's not a big deal that he didn't. Unfortunately, some might try to spin that to suggest that he is out of touch.

[robbedvoter]

5. I bet it was another Boston...

The point was very well made

[DSkinner3]

9. It does show a disconnect!

Malcolm X was from Boston, MA. Is Kerry so out of the loop that he doesn't know symbolism regarding Malcolm X? Kerry will of course get a free ride from the press on this, as he is the new "annointed one."

Anyone have contact info for Spike Lee?

[Bolo Boffin]

44. Allow this Clark supporter to get you back in line.

I personally don't give a rat's *ss that Kerry didn't recognize that an X on a hat is a modern reference to Malcolm X.

Kerry knows who Malcolm X is. Kerry probably met the man. This attempt to ankle Kerry is ludicrous. He'll get a "free ride" from the press on this because it's stupid.

Why don't you find a worthwhile subject to attack, like, oh, I don't know, George W. Bush? Or Ashcroft? Sheesh.

[beaconess]

53. I wonder if ANY of the candidates other than Sharpton would have known

what the X meant?

[HereSince1628]

30. Malcom X grew up where?

http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/malcolmx.htm


Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz )
(1925-1965)
Black Nationalist

Malcolm X was one of the most fiery and controversial people of the 20th century.

Born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925, Malcolm was the son of a Baptist minister, who was an avid supporter of Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association. While living in Omaha, the family was often harassed — at one point the family's house was set afire. In 1929 the family moved to Lansing, Michigan. While in Michigan, Malcolm's father was killed; his body severed in two by a streetcar and his head smashed. In his autobiography, written with Alex Haley, Malcolm asserted that his father may have been killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan. His mother, stricken by the death of her husband and the demands of providing for the family, was committed to a mental institution.

Leaving school after the eighth grade, Malcolm made his way to New York, working for a time as a waiter at Smalls Paradise in Harlem. Malcolm began selling and using drugs, turned to burglary, and, in 1946, was sentenced to a ten-year prison term on burglary charges.

[beaconess]

38. He moved to Boston from Michigan after his father was killed

[HereSince1628]

48. The Michigan boyhood home is a national historic site.

Maybe after age 13-14 he went to Boston, I wouldn't challenge that

[KittyWampus]

4. Has Kerry Renounced Hollings Slur On Jesse J. Yet?

wonder how his comment will play down in SC?

[tishaLA]

6. We don't talk about that

or about the comments Hollings made about a "chinaman".

However, Sen. Kerry is free to kvetch about Michael Moore's comments being "over the top"

[THUNDER HANDS]

7. who the hell is still wearing Malcom X hats?

That movie and hat fad was around when I was in junior high. Jeez, people still wear those?

[KittyWampus]

11. Yes, And Spike Lee Even Made A Movie About Him

life in the real world.

[Kahuna]

16. Snarf!

}(

They were all the rage 14 years ago.

[LiberalBushFan]

8. Ouch, ouch

If Dean missed that queue, it'd blow up like the Book of Job gaffe. But to a Northeasterner this should have been more obvious than where the Book of Job is. Kerry's lucky they're on his side for now. (And those of you who saw my posts about the Book of Job thing know I wasn't nice at all to Dean about it.)

[Cat M.]

10. Amazing

Did Kerry even mention that Malcolm X lived for a time in Boston, and later founded mosques there after he converted to Islam?

I wonder if Kerry even knows. Definitely out of touch with the African American community. I wonder what Spike Lee would say.

[roryslife]

12. Im sure Sharpton will point out the Gaffe in SC

Sharpton is sure to call him on it like he called Dean on his record on minorities in Vermont

[beaconess]

15. Perhaps not

since Kerry has not been posturing and lecturing about race or claiming that he's better than everyone else on race. Not knowing that X on a baseball cap refers to Malcolm X is very different than having a poor record on diversity.

[IndianaGreen]

19. The Kerry people put up Sharpton to do the question on Blacks in cabinet

Sharpton has no research staff of any sort. We also know of how Kerry got Gephardt to do his dirty business for him in Iowa, so why not Sharpton? I don't hear Sharpton asking about how many Blacks served in Shaheen's cabinet, perhaps because she is backing Kerry.

[beaconess]

28. That's a pretty strong accusation - got a link?

What proof do you have that the Kerry people put him up to it?

Moreover, the info that Sharpton used wasn't any big secret and not difficult to find. He simply cited to a report by the Center for Women in Government.

But even if he was put up to it, do you quarrel with his facts?

[IndianaGreen]

33. How many African-Americans Shaheen had in the cabinet?

But she is with Kerry, isn't she?

[beaconess]

36. Since she's not running for president and claiming to be better than

all of the other candidates on race, that's really irrelevant to this discussion.

Are you going to provide a link for your previous accusation?

[IndianaGreen]

41. It is highly relevant

in fact, I would like to go down the list of Kerry's supporters and endorsers and see what sort of record they have on minorities (Hello, Senator Hollings!).

[beaconess]

43. No - what's relevant is that you made an accusation that you won't back up

in an attempt to smear Sen. Kerry. You can change the subject all you want or try to point fingers elsewhere, but it won't change the facts.

[IndianaGreen]

51. No one can smear the master smearer!

which is what Kerry has been since his 1996 reelection campaign.

[beaconess]

52. You're just full of unsubstantiated personal attacks, aren't you?

[bigtree]

22. I didn't know

and I've been black (birth certificate says Negro) all of my life.

[markm]

13. Out of touch

This reminds me of Bush Sr.'s comment about checkout scanners. I hate 'gotcha' moments like this, but it does point out that Kerry is out of touch with the real world. I think this will play very badly in the south.

[cindyw]

14. anyone who watched it would have seen that he gave the most amazing

answer about Malcolm X. My husband said what is that a mac OS X hat?

Out of touch my foot.

[DSkinner3]

17. You missed the point!

Kerry is suposedly going to be able to connect with voters in the south. He had no idea who the symbol represented. Speaks volumes that he doesn't recognize a fellow Mass. resident who was a huge part of the civil rights movement. Just because your husband was ignorant to the meaning doesn't mean the voting public are.

[beaconess]

29. He didn't indicate he didn't know who Malcolm X was

he just didn't know that a big "X" on a baseball cap referred to him.

[Bolo Boffin]

49. So he didn't recognize a movie marketing campaign, Big Deal.

Do you think you can dissect one of our best candidates for President with this blunt little tool?

[paulk]

18. There are many millions of Americans

who don't have a clue as to what that "X" represented.

And Kerry's answer was pretty good.

[Cat M.]

21. Sure there are

but they aren't from one of Malcolm X's home state and they aren't running for president.

A man in Kerry's position and from Mass. should darn well know what the X stands for and should have a much better response about Malcolm X than he did.

[bigtree]

24. I woulda thought fraternity first

:shrug:

[beaconess]

32. I don't agree at all

Lots of people don't know what it is. I just mentioned this to a friend who is an old school civil rights lawyer and he had no idea what it was.

[mikehiggins]

42. LOL If he is a civil rights lawyer and doesn't know what the X

stood for, I don't think I'd be asking him for legal advice any time soon.

If this was about some kid supporting Kerry who spent most of his life playing video games in the basement of his mother's house it'd be understandeable.

For someone with Kerry's record it is rediculous.

[beaconess]

45. I guess he was too busy fighting for your rights to keep up with the lingo

and symbols of popular culture.

Why would you think that everyone in the country knows that X is the logo for a film about Malcolm X? Now, if the cap read "MALCOLM X" that would be one thing. But even Spike Lee hasn't cornered the market on the letter X.

I'm not a Kerry supporter, but I think this slam on him is ridiculous.

[ACPS65]

20. I thought it was an "X-Files" cap.

nt

[IndianaGreen]

23. Anyone has a picture?

The X-Files cap has the "X" in green in a very distinct shape.

Anyhoo, if Kerry referred to that X as the Roman numeral 10, then he is showing that he is even more disconnected.

[bigtree]

26. Yeh, but it looked like a light -skinned man was wearing it, 50ish

:shrug:

[snyttri]

25. Kerry succeeded in distancing himself from any "over the top"

statements Malcolm X might have made.

[tishaLA]

31. Very, very good post.

We wouldn't want Sen. Kerry near any over the top comments, would we? I mean, the press would certainly get upset about this happening at a John Kerry rally, right? I wonder whether he has distanced himself from these over the top comments.

When Hollings was getting underway on the jobs theme he said that half of the furniture in the United States (or some such stat) was now made in China. At just that moment a startling, crashing pop! came out of one of the loudspeakers. Not missing a beat, Hollings said that there must be some “chinamen” over there who didn’t like that.

A few minutes later he was talking about “ole Suskind’s book” and how, as reported in Ron Suskind’s book about Paul O’Neil, the president had blanched at the idea of giving yet another tax cut to the rich, only to have Dick Cheney pipe in to steady his course.

In Hollings' retelling ...

“‘Haven’t we already given the rich a tax cut?’ the president said. And then ole’ Cheney said, ‘No, we want more.' He’s the Jesse Jackson of the Republican Party! He wants it all!’”

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_01_25.html#002486

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tishaLA]

37. I think it's an ironic statement about Kerry

castigating the evil Michael Moore for his "over the top" comments about chimpy

[wheresthemind]

27. This is crazy...

I had NO idea! I even saw the movie...

Like a previous poster mentioned I woulda thought "Mac OS X"...

This is the worst bashing thread I have ever seen.

[Carolina]

34. I agree

it was terribly awkward for more than a few seconds. Kerry may have been thrown because the questioner was white but rather than say something initially about "the Roman numeral 10 ..." he should have deferred to the guy and asked what symbolism he was referring to.

It was a gotcha, cringe moment and Kerry had a deer in the headlights look, but did recover somewhat his talk about Malcolm X. I found it painful to watch, however, because he seemed to be trying too hard.

[Maddy McCall]

39. Ouch!

[TheWebHead]

40. doesn't pass the smell test to me

It's pretty odd to me that of all the questions someone would ask a presidential candidate, a middle-aged white guy from New Hampshire would be passionate enough about Malcolm X enough to use that topic as his question. He doesn't mention the name of Malcolm X in his question either, feeding into the likelihood of the stumbled response... It seemed almost like a way to undermine a competing Democrat in the primaries, or even some hipper disciples of Rove in the RNC (who would even know themselves about X) to lower Kerry's support in November.

[beaconess]

47. And given some of the responses in this thread, it obviously worked

[WarNoMore]

46. Wow, guess I'm another "disconnected" Northeasterner too.

I've read all James Baldwin's books, love Spike Lee's works, have interracial relationships within my family, but never knew that. Guess you do learn something new everyday.

[beaconess]

50. And now that you know what the X means, you are truly on board

:-)