*Wowser! Wowser!
If you missed her MSNBC show Saturday morning (09-01-12) , Melissa Harris Perry went nuclear and rightfully so, one could argue.
She couldn’t take it anymore when a guest asserted that the “big thing” missing in the President’s “you didn’t build that speech” was an emphasis on taking risks, raising her voice and slamming down on her desk as she gave an impassioned rebuttal insisting that, no, the real risk is in being poor in America.
“What is riskier than living poor in America?” Harris-Perry demanded. “Seriously! What in the world is riskier than being a poor person in America? I live in a neighborhood where people are shot on my street corner. I live in a neighborhood where people have to figure out how to get their kid into school because maybe it will be a good school and maybe it won’t. I am sick of the idea that being wealthy is risky. No. There is a huge safety net that whenever you fail will catch you and catch you and catch you. Being poor is what is risky. We have to create a safety net for poor people. And when we won’t, because they happen to look different from us, it is the pervasive ugliness.”
Watch:
Props to her for keeping it real. MSNBC may have thought that having an educated black woman who grew up in the hood would produce the same effect as the muzzled negroe mentality that we see on CNN.
She is half white and did not grow up in the hood. She moved to the hood to study it for college.
She is a Black woman. What’s half-white? Sorry, America doesn’t treat you any different because your momma or daddy is white. You can thank the good ole’ one drop rule for that. that.
“I’ve never thought of myself as biracial,” Harris-Perry says. “I’m black.”
Of course she’s going to claim to be black! All of the benefits of coming from a white family with all of the affirmative action of a black person.
IMO?, one should NEVVA have to/feel they should apologize, for “being human”, & “having a human response” to the Right’s …BS! And speaking the truth?, is unfortunately a rarity, & something that should be done waaaaay more often!! Without a “”counter to the lies”?, the “lies” become “believed to BE” the…truth. So again, “speaking the truth”, ain’t NUTHing to …..”be sorry for”, & something that should be SHOVED DOWN THE THROATS of the Right & other stupid bigots, in this country!! Beleeeeeeedat!!
Well wether its true or not..that she didn’t grow up in the hood and only moved there to study ,she ssaid in the neighborhood she lives in now people are getting shot on the corner..she never said anything about growing up there..so your point is?
She can afford to live anywhere, and chose to live in the hood so that she can speak about them like she knows. She did not invite any hood residents on her tv show to speak for themselves.
You are assuming why she moved to New Orleans. How do you know why she moved there?
This lady Melissa Harry Perry was right no matter how you slice and dice this. If you are low income or flat out poor you have to dodge many things just to survive and it gets tiring so many just give up. I’ll challenge anyone on what she just said as it was %1000 percent correct. Those who have been without know the truth of her statements.
@roughcutdiamond -
Unless you know Ms. Melissa Harris-Perry personally, you don’t know what the hell you are talking about at all. What does being half-white have to do with her comment? She said “poor” folks, nothing about race. Poor is poor, period. And she grew up in a poor, single-headed household for your information. And clearly you have never visited or lived in New Orleans. You don’t have to live in whatever you call the “hood” to witness what Perry was talking about. You are also wrong again, her husband is a political figure in New Orleans and she moved there when they married. The bottom line is your comment was pointless and stupid.
Black people are so desparate for anyone to jump on their bandwagon, even if they don’t share the same personal experience; Obama anyone? Melissa was not raised by a single mother. Her parents were married and worked at colleges; one as a dean the other as a professor. Living in a poor neighborhood that you did not grow up in, does not give you street cred. I know that I have neither lived in or visited New Orleans and would not dare claim to speak for the people’s suffering there like she did.
The sheer ignorance and self-hate of this comment, and other you have made on this thread, are appalling. Your posts alone point to the fact that you are attacking this woman without knowing anything near the facts, have not viewed her program and know nothing about her, and that you yourself hold views that are negative of the Black community, and do not understand that, although racism is still alive and very much real, the an even more pressing concern is what Mrs. Harris-Perry was speaking of…she never mentioned anything about race, she was speaking of economics and access to opportunities that are not available to the poor, regardless of color or race. It cuts across those lines. So the bandwagon that you refer to is exists only in your own foggy head. The bandwagon that too many people such as yourself is on is one of ignorance and lack of proper education, both formal and in life and understanding issues. That is a bandwagon I hope you get off of soon. Try tuning into Mrs. Harris-Perry’s program on a regular basis. That would be a start to enriching your mind.
Virtually each and every American has the same odd of succeeding (welll they were much better odds before obama was elected).
The roll of OUR government is to provide an opportunity for all Americans the opportunity to succeed. Some people are content to never try. Some people try and fail. Some people succeed.
When people succeed they currently pay a disproportionatly high tax rate.
The “Risk” Melissa talks about is one that is managed by Police, not the federal government. It ALSO is a result of failed economic policies and social engineering.
Rodney – your comment is completely and totally wrong – and your belief – and the belief of the “right” in such a simplistic view of reality – is at the very heart of the problem.
“Virtually every American has the same odds of succeeding” is ridiculously untrue. Every American may have the opportunity to work for a living – but the odds of succeeding are very much stacked against many if not most of us. In the past, getting a good education and striving for a good job would certainly have at least guaranteed that you could raise a family and probably own a home. Growing up dirt poor on a farm in South Georgia (as my parents did) could be overcome by joining the military and getting the GI bill to go to college (as my Father did). Possibly being incredibly creative or very self motivated could rescue someone from a life of poverty – and all those things are still possible today. But… succeeding in corporate America has become incredibly difficult – and here is why.
Greed and unchecked disdain for “the worker” reign in most corporations. I know this well as I have worked with and for many of them as a consultant. Power begets power – and hangers on and insiders are quickly hired by corporate heads to all enjoy the IPO riches of hostile takeovers and buyouts (Bain Capital anyone) – while line level workers are continually asked (or threatened) to do more work for less pay. The very wealthy have rigged the system against us – and you are a fool to vote one of them into the office of President.
Let me say this – though I am sure it will not change your mind about me. I am NOT an enemy of success. I applaud anyone that starts their own business, works ridiculous hours and invests their heart and soul into making something from nothing. I would gladly patronize a local business over a large chain and I believe that buying within my community is extremely important. I am not talking about those people. I am talking about people who have made their fortune by “gaming” the system, by playing on their connections or by pure deceit (Goldman Sachs, Duetschabank, Barclays, BP Oil). These are not organizations that add value to the economy and these are not organizations that respect you, me or their employees. To continue to give them a break and continue to preach the lie that they are the “job creators” and the people in New Orleans are the “problem” will only continue to give them free reign to shrink your piece of the pie to barely a nibble.
Ladies & Gentlemen?, we have yet “ANOTHER”….mole. Peep!…just WTF do “non” Blacks get off even “thinking” they are in a position to say OR know why “We”
Do what we do!?? Just another reflection of the fkn arrogance & IGnorance of a racist, disrespecting ….:bigot. Beleeeeeedat!
@roughcutdiamond.
Maybe you should try watching her show instead of dismissing her because of her light skin. There is always a black person in her round table discussion and she is always interviewing black politicians and professionals. She may not routinely have guests that are “hood” enough for you, but seems to me that having the politicians representing these resident would be just as good, if not better.
I don’t know what more you want from her, but I can’t see her representing anymore without putting her job in jeopardy. She may even be sanctioned not for going off at that white woman, but for saying that we fail to create a safety net for people because they look different from us. She’s not speaking in codes by using the word poor, but referring to color, and we all know what color that is. Sorry, but you won’t be finding another talk show host on TV representing any more than that.
I guess you missed the tribute to Barbara Jordan she had on Sunday.
Well, don’t forget to tune in next weekend. Never know what you may be missing.
As host of the show, it is her job to remain fair and impartial. That is why she issued the apology. She is a Black American woman the child of a Black American father. Just as Joseph and Mary were born of the House of David, she too is born of the house of her father.
It matters what anyone else thinks, she knows and says she is a Black woman.
Beware of the tubob, they speak with the tongue of a a snake, they are devils and can never be trusted nor believed.
Last of the Frozen Chosin and one of the Chosin Few
I like Perry. One of the few hosts (Chris Hayes, Ezra, etc) that I actually like.
But her “nuclear” performance was so off base I questioned her sanity. There was nothing the woman said which warranted Perry’s nuclear assault. She became unhinged and they weren’t even discussing the poor. So she manufactured this outrage IMO.
Why don’t you lose a house and then come back about manufacturing outrage?
Hunh? What exactly does losing a house have to do w/anything?
Did you even watch the live segment?