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Post by szaleniec on Dec 10, 2009 23:00:40 GMT -5
I'm in this position of suspecting a wingnut dog whistle but not actually being able to hear it. Apparently, Barack Obama used to answer to "Barry" in his youth. Is it just the wingnuts' lame idea of a joke, or is there some deeper reason behind why they seem to think referring to him as such is some kind of epic burn?
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Post by Mira on Dec 10, 2009 23:03:01 GMT -5
Er, yeah, I know that he has gone by 'Barry" at some points. I had no idea anyone ever used it still, nevertheless insultingly.
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Post by dasfuchs on Dec 11, 2009 0:03:36 GMT -5
anything to attempt a dig at him. Like the kid named Kaleb on King of the Hill that bullied Hank all the time
"White shirt, white shirt, how'd you get your shirt so white, white shirt"
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Post by Undecided on Dec 11, 2009 1:02:48 GMT -5
We do say Teddy Roosevelt, don't we? Maybe we'll all call him Barry Obama in the future, whether out of warmth or revilement. Or maybe he'll just be Barack. Who knows?
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Post by szaleniec on Dec 11, 2009 1:18:18 GMT -5
We do say Teddy Roosevelt, don't we? Maybe we'll all call him Barry Obama in the future, whether out of warmth or revilement. Or maybe he'll just be Barack. Who knows? Indeed.  It just caught my interest because (unlike most things wingnuts say) it didn't seem like an insult, which is what alerted me to the possibility of a hidden meaning. I mean, if I ever ran for office and my detractors started calling me Bob, which I went by at school and uni but rarely do these days, I'd wonder what point they were trying to make. |
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Post by Maryland Bear on Dec 11, 2009 7:42:09 GMT -5
Like a lot of people, he used a diminutive of his name when he was young, and used a more formal version as an adult. How many people went by "Bobby" when they were young, but started using "Bob" or "Robert" as adults? That's especially true if you went into an educated profession, like Obama and the law. (I took it one further -- I went by a diminutive of my middle name until college, and then started using my full first name.)
Some of the raving wing nuts try to imply he changed his name to hide something, but that's even on the crazy side in birther territory.
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Post by kristine on Dec 11, 2009 9:47:13 GMT -5
George Bush 2 was called 'W' as a kind of insult too. It's nothing new.
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Post by warriorofgod on Dec 11, 2009 9:53:49 GMT -5
The problem is that this name change is at the core of the "birther"movement. They think it is solid evidence that Obama is not a US citizen.
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Post by Maryland Bear on Dec 11, 2009 9:56:25 GMT -5
George Bush 2 was called 'W' as a kind of insult too. It's nothing new. I thought that was more just a long-time nickname than an insult. At most, it was making fun on his Texas accent by pronouncing it "Dubya". It was occasionally made into an insult by pronouncing it "Dumbya", but I don't think "Dubya" was usually intended as an insult. And if it was, it was among the mildest directed at him, compared to "Chimpie" or, worse, "Herr Chimpenfuhrer." |
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Post by sithyeti on Dec 11, 2009 13:23:21 GMT -5
George Bush 2 was called 'W' as a kind of insult too. It's nothing new. That is more to have a clear line of who you are talking about. Before W, George Bush refers to his father. So to separate them the father stays Bush and the son W. |
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Post by MaybeNever on Dec 11, 2009 13:31:30 GMT -5
Teddy Roosevelt apparently hated to be called Teddy. So it might have been a legitimate attempt at a dig, if only because it was known he disliked the name.
As far as "Barry" goes, it seems risky to me to delve into fundie psychology. Who can plumb the unfathomable three inch depths there?
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Post by Maryland Bear on Dec 11, 2009 14:20:56 GMT -5
George Bush 2 was called 'W' as a kind of insult too. It's nothing new. That is more to have a clear line of who you are talking about. Before W, George Bush refers to his father. So to separate them the father stays Bush and the son W. I prefer my own terminology: "Bush the Elder" and "Bush the Lesser". |
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Post by Paradox on Dec 11, 2009 16:06:30 GMT -5
That is more to have a clear line of who you are talking about. Before W, George Bush refers to his father. So to separate them the father stays Bush and the son W. That's what I've always used. I prefer my own terminology: "Bush the Elder" and "Bush the Lesser". |
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Post by mistermuncher on Dec 11, 2009 16:19:58 GMT -5
My dear older brother is called Barry, thence it is no insult. Birthers, as ever, can kiss my hairy ass.
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Post by szaleniec on Dec 11, 2009 16:26:36 GMT -5
The problem is that this name change is at the core of the "birther"movement. They think it is solid evidence that Obama is not a US citizen. There is a critical point at which a conspiracy theory becomes such that everyone involved has to be too stupid to actually execute the conspiracy. This one crosses the threshold with the assertion that Obama's master plan for fooling everyone involved changing his first name to a similar name. Is the birther movement still helmed by an immigrant? Because I never tire of pointing out and mocking that irony. |
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It just caught my interest because (unlike most things wingnuts say) it didn't seem like an insult, which is what alerted me to the possibility of a hidden meaning. I mean, if I ever ran for office and my detractors started calling me Bob, which I went by at school and uni but rarely do these days, I'd wonder what point they were trying to make.
