Talk:Barack the Magic Negro

This article was nominated for deletion on 7 April 2016. The result of the discussion was merge to Magic negro.

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A fact from Barack the Magic Negro appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 4 January 2009, and was viewed approximately 8,249 times (disclaimer) (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that "Barack the Magic Negro" is a controversial satirical song by Paul Shanklin which refers to Barack Obama as a magical Negro?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2009/January.

Wikipedia

Actual Creator

Anderson Cooper of [1] created the term "Barack the Magic Negro" instead of Rush Limbaugh or Paul Shanklin. This must be where Karen Finnley got her facts so very wrong. This is why the academic community rejects Wikipedia as a citation source for information. You fail to even do a simple google search. If you had you would have known this from the first five links. Talk about laziness.

--Spike (talk) 19:53, 24 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

This song...

Made a small edit to ensure that readers understand their is still controversy over the (supposed) drug references in the original Puff 66.117.233.202 (talk) 14:06, 4 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

...is a conservative satire about white Americans supporting a black man out of alleged "white guilt" rather than the possibility that he might actually be qualified for the job. On election night, liberal-leaning MSNBC reported exit polling that said 30 percent of whites who voted for Obama included race in their decision, so Rush Limbaugh supporters would say he's on to something - never mind the 70 percent for whom race was not a factor. It's not surprising that Limbaugh should embrace this song, because it fits right in with one of his typical mantras. It's the very same issue that got him canned from ESPN - his on-air claim that sportswriters supported Eagles QB Donovan McNabb because they "wanted him to succeed", due to white guilt. Following that, Jim Rome took Limbaugh to task, all but calling him an idiot. But that's what this song is about. Once the apoplectic liberal commentators calm down, and if they think it's worth their time, maybe they'll make that connection and it could be expanded upon in the article. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 18:16, 30 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Your comment expresses nothing but faux-conservative hatred far more disgusting than the song itself - and irrelevent to the article. TheCryingofLot49 (talk) 23:53, 3 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

This article from the L.A. Times explains quite clearly why context should always be considered when dealing with sensitive matters such as these. Indeed, as it states, the original (multi-racial) article author now regrets having written it in the first place. I'm horrified that anyone would consider this appropriate, especially for a political party. This has nothing to do with being liberal or conservative. --Chasingsol ^(talk) 05:25, 4 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

And I'm horrified Americans actually voted for this Marxist. Since when did using the term "Negro" need to be dealt with so "sensistively"? This article shows the white guilt mentality that has destroyed our culture. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mr2b (talk • contribs) 23:18, 21 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

WP:SYN in the lede

The lede paragraph currently contains lots of unsourced items strung together in a way that is currently not supported by any sources- a violation of our no original research policy. -- The Red Pen of Doom 19:50, 30 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The lead summarizes what's in the article body. Normally, references are not used in the lead. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 19:53, 30 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please read WP:LEDECITE. It is not at all clear where "for whom White American voters would vote in order to assuage white guilt. The word negro by itself was once a neutral term for people of Black African descent, and now is often considered an ethnic slur. " has been previously published. -- The Red Pen of Doom 20:03, 30 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I expect the sliding euphemisms of terms for black people are amply covered elsewhere. "Negro" is, at the very least, considered politically incorrect nowadays, although it was considered preferable in its day to obvious racial slurs. Limbaugh is one who talks about "white guilt", a point which the article body makes. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 20:09, 30 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The first sentence is an almost verbatim summary of the song's lyrics - "he makes guilty whites feel good // They'll vote for him, and not for me". That negro is now considered offensive is so patently obvious that no citation is required. As such, I've removed the specious tag. Raul654 (talk) 05:19, 31 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

What about United Negro College Fund?--Gen. Bedford ^{his Forest} 05:42, 31 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Key words - now considered. UNCF got its name when "Negro" was not considered offensive. Raul654 (talk) 15:50, 31 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Likewise with items like Negro League baseball and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People which are antiquated but set-in-stone terms and hence are "grandfathered in". Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 16:03, 31 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The lyrics of the song are not a reliable source for anything except that they are the lyrics of the song. And Wikipedia WP:V applies to all articles. And WP:SYN says that claims need to be placed in proper context by sources and not strung together wikipedia editors. -- The Red Pen of Doom 16:15, 31 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wrong. If the subject of the article is a book or film or other artistic work, it is unnecessary to cite a source in describing events or other details. It should be obvious to potential readers that the subject of the article is the source of the information. -Wikipedia:When_to_cite Raul654 (talk) 16:32, 31 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I dont believe that "The lyrics of the song are not a reliable source for anything except that they are the lyrics of the song." is anything other than a re-wording of what you have posted. The tying of an explanation of the history of the cultural significance of the word "Negro", however, is not a part of the lyrics and needs sourcing. -- The Red Pen of Doom 16:36, 31 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

"Negro" is, at best, considered old-fashioned, obsolete - like "Colored". Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 16:38, 31 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

But until you have a source tying those opinions to the topic of this article, your opinions are still original research. -- The Red Pen of Doom 16:46, 31 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The song itself knows what it's about. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 19:01, 31 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I've copied over the 3 refs from the negro article showing that hte word is offensive. That should put this idiotic request to bed. Raul654 (talk) 21:43, 31 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

He's a bigot trying to pass it off as "objective research". TheCryingofLot49 (talk) 23:54, 3 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Is Barack really a magic negro?

He made the debt bigger, made the deficit bigger, and made more taxes. But what fancy magic tricks are those? Every Democrat and Republican administration since 1929 has tried those tired old tricks. How is Barack a "magic negro" when he recycles the same old act? 38.104.59.114 (talk) 17:20, 8 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Chip Saltsman

This lengthy section about Saltsman and the CDs is UNDUE here. Interestingly Saltsman's article barely mentions it. The 2009 Republican National Committee chairmanship election has a section 1/2 the size of the one here--however it is written better than the section here. I'm going to be bold and merge this section and add a Main to the 2009 election. – Lionel ^(talk) 12:16, 4 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]