
So, the second debate is done and over with. The dust has settled and now the people must evaluate the battle of words.
The first debate brought to light the issue of respect between the two candidates. The second one set off alarms. How big a deal was McCain’s “That One” comment?
See the clip then read the response.
We have often talked about how race and gender are major issues in this election. Most people say they are over racism and sexism, but that is not the case. When McCain addressed Obama as “That One”, that showed a double layer of disrespect.
My mother would kill me if I ever referred to her as “she”, “her”, “that person” or anything outside of her official title of “mommy” while she was present when I was growing up….actually she would do the same thing now and I am close to midlife crisis age. As I gained a few more years under my belt and encountered people with other titles such as Mister, Judge, and Officer I learned it was a sign of respect due to the accomplishments they hold. I learned how disrespectful it is to address a married woman as “Miss” and not “Misses”. These are fundamentals that any adult with and ounce of class learns. The way you address people is an indication of how you treat them. That covers the first layer.
Now for the second layer. Race. Yes, I have to address how that part of the debate made people of color feel. Calling Obama “That One” is a half a step away from calling him “boy”. I can easily point out how segregation was legal in many parts of the country while McCain was growing up, thus having it embedded in his self-consciousness.. but I will not…ok maybe I did hint at it, but I will not post dates and arguments to support that. I WILL, however, point out that we will not let that slip of the tongue go by unnoticed.
My favorite twitter update of the night was this..
BlogXilla McCain Finally looks a black man in the eyes it’s not Obama. Then Assumes the Black guy never heard of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
I can understand the non-use of formalities to show that he is one of the “people”, but if the people are upset about his addressing of Obama as “That One” it shows that he is out of touch.
Besides, if you want to call someone out on respect like McCain has in this ad, maybe he needs to learn some before he can cast the first stone.
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