Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul & Mary): "My Response to the Mean-Spirited "Barack the Magic Negro"

[Faygo Kid]

Great article by Peter Yarrow, co-author of "Puff the Magic Dragon."

Rush Limbaugh continues to show he's the king of all scum each and every day. Coulter, Hannity, Rove - ultimately, none measures up to the pilodinal cyst that is Rush Limbaugh.

Anyway, this was good:

The sending of a Christmas greeting by Chip Saltsman to the members of the Republican National Committee that includes a recording of the so-called parody, "Barack the Magic Negro" is not only offensive, it is shocking and saddening in the extreme. It flies in the face of America's deeply held hope for a new era in which common ground and mutual respect characterize the exchanges between our national leaders.

I and my co-writer of "Puff," Lenny Lipton, have been eagerly awaiting an end to the mean-spiritedness, outright disrespect and bigotry that was commonplace prior to this last presidential election. What might have been wearily accepted as "the way it was" in the campaign, is now unacceptable. Obama is not a candidate. He is the President-Elect, and this song insults the office of the Presidency, the people who voted for him, as well as those who did not -- and taking a children's song and twisting it in such vulgar, mean-spirited way, is a slur to our entire country and our common agreement to move beyond racism.

It is almost unimaginable to me that Chip Saltzman who sent the CD, would seriously be considered for the top post of the Republican National Committee. Puff, himself, if asked, would certainly agree.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-yarrow/my-response-to-the-mean-s_b_153808.html

[liberalmuse]

1. I'm so glad to read this.

I think more and more people are seeing just how vile some Republicans can be.

[hlthe2b]

3. Oh, Peter Yarrow is very aware... much like Pete Seeger...

Yarrow has had many decades of activism.

[jkshaw]

2. Good! I've always loved Yarrow's and Lipton's

song, and it to my children.

[hlthe2b]

4. I loved it as a child.... damned Limbaugh for desparaging it

in this way...

[Clio the Leo]

5. Ha ha! Love it!!!

It's a pity they cant sue.

Sometimes the 1st Amendment is NOT superfun.

[Kalyke]

12. Why can't they sue?

Vanilla Ice got sued for "sampling" the Queen and David Bowie song, "Under Pressure."

Isn't this basically the same thing?

[camera obscura]

17. Satire... think Falwell vs Hustler

[Cha]

6. Thanks for speaking out, Peter Yarrow and

thanks for posting this, faygokid. I read it on Huff post.

This showcases the repukes who push this as fucking idiots.

[Swamp Rat]

7. "Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C. lives in D.C...."

Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
‘Cause he’s not authentic like me.
Yeah, the guy from the L.A. paper
Said he makes guilty whites feel good
They’ll vote for him, and not for me
‘Cause he’s not from the hood.

See, real black men, like Snoop Dog,
Or me, or Farrakhan
Have talked the talk, and walked the walk.
Not come in late and won!

Oh, Barack the Magic Negro, lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
‘Cause he’s black, but not authentically.
Oh, Barack the Magic Negro, lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
‘Cause he’s black, but not authentically.

Some say Barack’s “articulate”
And bright and new and “clean.”
The media sure loves this guy,
A white interloper’s dream!
But, when you vote for president,
Watch out, and don’t be fooled!
Don’t vote the Magic Negro in –
‘Cause —

’Cause I won’t have nothing after all these years of sacrifice
And I won’t get justice. This is about justice. This isn’t about me, it’s about justice.
It’s about buffet. I don’t have no buffet and there won’t be any church contributions,
And there’ll be no cash in the collection plate.
There ain’t gonna be no cash money, no walkin’ around money, no phoning money.
Now, Barack going to come in here and ........

— by some racist white dude named Paul Shanklin
email: [e-mail]
http://www.paulshanklin.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Shanklin

[ddeclue]

13. Did we actually need to see all the lyrics to this POS racist ...words fail me...

:argh:

[Swamp Rat]

15. Yes, so folks might write Paul Shanklin to tell him what they think.

[yardwork]

24. Yes, so that we know exactly what is being done.

[Hekate]

22. Wonderful album cover, Swampy...

Thanks for posting the words too--it saves me the aggravation of looking them up myself.

Yeesh what creeps.

Hekate

[Love Bug]

8. It may be unimaginable to you, dear Peter, but not to us

This is just one more example of the mean-spiritedness of the Republican party and doesn't surprise us at all. It's too bad it's a parody or you could sue their sorry asses.

[MrsBrady]

9. I would like to see some legal action on Yarrow's part

regarding the licensing of the music.

[tanyev]

10. Yeah, public statements are nice, but whup-ass lawsuits get things done.

[mikelgb]

20. Parody is protected speech, as a Weird Al fan...

ill defend it to my dying day

but this song is atrocious

I remember when I first heard it way back when, sad to see it getting play again

[MrsBrady]

21. not the lyric, the music

even Weird has to get permission to use the music

[mikelgb]

23. nope, he gets permission by principal, not by law

trust me I know these things

[MrsBrady]

25. the music has to be licensed

[ddeclue]

11. Oh NO... NOT another post about smoking....

:)

[Undercurrent]

14. I think this is

a stoke of luck for Democrats. The people running the Republican party are exposed for the stupid assholes they are. Their hopes of ever attracting minority voters went up in smoke. hehe

[Joe Bacon]

16. Little Anthony is going to put Rush in the Cornfield!

I can just hear Little Anthony saying, "RUSH, YOU'RE A BAD MAN. A REAL BAD MAN!"

[FloridaJudy]

26. And it's a GOOD thing! eom

[jillan]

18. Excellent!

[Duppers]

19. way to go, Peter

my friend.