Spring Break
MailCall
By: Torrey Ognoskie
Issue date: 6/8/09 Section: Opinion
Mr. McPhail accuses conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh of "old fashioned racism" for playing the "Barack the Magic Negro" song during his radio show. What Mr. McPhail fails to mention during this column is the fact that the song is a parody of an L.A. Times Opinion piece where the phrase "Obama the Magic Negro" actually originates.
It is very easy to paint a person like Mr. Limbaugh as a mean, bigoted, conservative bogeyman. It is more difficult to actually do a little homework and understand the context of one of his statements or parodies and what they are intended to do. In this case, the parody was meant to poke fun at an instance of racism on the left because many Americans are led to believe that racism is something that is unique to the right wing of politics.
I don't have a problem with anyone taking shots at Rush. He lays out his opinion for three hours a day and he should be subject to fair criticism from people that disagree with him. What he should not be subject to is being labeled a racist by anyone who is too lazy to go on his website and read a transcript or two. Mr. Limbaugh has been subject to numerous attacks over this parody, and he has explained the whole thing numerous times. This is an instance where the truth is easily accessible, but it was ignored because it did not suit an agenda. I look forward to better columns from The Battalion.
It is very easy to paint a person like Mr. Limbaugh as a mean, bigoted, conservative bogeyman. It is more difficult to actually do a little homework and understand the context of one of his statements or parodies and what they are intended to do. In this case, the parody was meant to poke fun at an instance of racism on the left because many Americans are led to believe that racism is something that is unique to the right wing of politics.
I don't have a problem with anyone taking shots at Rush. He lays out his opinion for three hours a day and he should be subject to fair criticism from people that disagree with him. What he should not be subject to is being labeled a racist by anyone who is too lazy to go on his website and read a transcript or two. Mr. Limbaugh has been subject to numerous attacks over this parody, and he has explained the whole thing numerous times. This is an instance where the truth is easily accessible, but it was ignored because it did not suit an agenda. I look forward to better columns from The Battalion.
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