…a local Jordanian newspaper dared to wonder…
Honestly, it’s too embarrassing to even translate.
On The Day Before Obama Became President
…a local Jordanian newspaper dared to wonder…
Honestly, it’s too embarrassing to even translate.
was there a pun intended here? lol
Wow.
Please translate, or I will lie awake at night wondering.
I don’t know why but it just sound wayyyyyyy more racist in Arabic than it would sound in English! I wish i had the full articel to read.
Anyway, this has been said over and over in American media too with it’s racist denotations as well as connotations.
What racist and stupid headline..
Okay, I have to say it DOES sound a lot more racist in Arabic for some reason. Beyond that though, it’s just badly phrased too.
I dont know why youre too embarrased to translate that..as secratea said..its been said ALLL OVER the American media. It was implicitly as well as explicitly said and was always an issue throughout the pre-election. Its simply an American reality. Just yesterday the Washington Post printed an article about a black butler whose worked under 8 presidents and said
“In its long history, the White house- just note the name- has had a complex and vexing relationship with black Americans.” I think this is precisely what the Arabic newspapers headline was trying to portray: the existing racial tensions in America, and to me is in no way a reflection of the racism of those who printed it.
The original White House was built in 1792 by black slaves and European immigrants. Fitting that a black man would eventually call it home.
I have to agree with Mariam, its not like its a secret. In reality, this is the underlying question for people all around the world and not just in the US. I’ve heard Al Jazeera say that, just phrased a teeny bit differently. I’m actually glad that a Jordanian newspaper is honest enough to state what society is wondering.
i dont see whats wrong with it .. obama is black no? o_0
I think the reason behind this headline was not to state that he is a black American / african American, the way this headline was presented makes me see it like using the N word but in arabic, thats why it really sounds way too racist than what was posted in the Washington Post .. which is a shame.
Dont fire back at me! am not comparing “al-sabeel” with the Washington Post.. it (al-sabeel) can hardly be compared even with “shihan” (which is another less than level-3 yellow newspaper in Jordan).
I do not think this is embarrassing, what so ever! It is all over the media, and if not the media, it is in every street, said out loud! So translate away! Or, let me say it for you, Obama, The Black, has become the MASTER of the White House. Go Obama!
I don’t see the problem is this? What’s so embarrassing about it? It has been said over and over again in English.
I agree that it does sound worse in Arabic than it does in English. But nothing to be embarrassed about.
its nice that you are sensitive to it
I don’t think its racist. “Black”. Especially when we say it in Jordan. A large group of arabs are dark skinned.
Chill people and enjoy the change!
Maybe they meant asouud (as in Lions in Arabic!!) seriously Journalisim in Jordan has hit the lowest levels in years! Al Ghad papers is one of those I mean.
but Arabs are racist and it is how we speak.
I don’t think this meant to be a racist remark but rather a way to show the irony of a “black” person be in charge of the the “white” house!!
The English translation of this title is: “Would the black Obama be in cahrge of the white house?”
The Arabic translation is: “Would Obama “the black” be the master of the “white” House?”
You should notice the brackets between the words “Black” and “White” in the headline to understand the exact meaning of the author.
Thanks
I am not sure why most readers missed the point of this headline!! I am guessing either because they are not native Arabic speakers or because this newspaper belongs to a popular Islamic Party!!
Any native Arabic reader with some common sense will immediately notice the comparison between the “black” referring to slavery, minority,…etc and the “white House” referring to the most powerful institution in America or white America.
You guys need to chill out before you jump the gun!!
nothing racist there, US media uses “African American”, European media all the time uses “Black” sometimes (all the french newspapers and british do so), so ya nothing bad about saying will “Black” Obama win “White” House, although i think its a lame style of journalism but not expected given this is a C-class local newspaper….
whity: Bigots and hypocrites are the bastard sons of mankind.
GFY
LOL, well the NY Times is just one example that I can think of that was A LOT more racist than this paper.At least the paper wasn’t surprised that an African American can be intelligent and eloquent.
Or wait, if one is an adamant supporter of a racist regime such as Israel, would one be racist?
whity: Internet trolls usually sit under Bridges to Nowhere, so I am not surprised by your ingnorance. Whether you like it or not, Barack will reside in the White House.
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/president/
Looks like in the U.S. your opinion is in the outhouse…and you were outnumbered by more than 8,000,000.
I have to admit, the varying interpretations between “this is racist” and “this is normal” are pretty interesting to read, so I have to thank everyone here for engaging in that discussion.
(on a side note: whity’s comments have disappeared as their illicit use of racist terms violated this blog’s commenting policy)
I guess it could be considered racist simply by including the terms “black” and “white”. Then again, it depends on how thick your skin is and what your tolerance level is when it comes to such expressions. But where things could get particularly sticky is in the interpretation of the word “sayid”. If you want to interpret that as becoming “in charge”, that would be a bit more benign. But if you interpret it as “master”, it adds another context to the statement by referring back to the ignominious era of slavery in the United States.
Isn’t it clear that they’re “quoting” the terms ?
if u really think about it , it hasnt been that long since their emancipation ! so racism is still strong in the united states ,come to think of it, racism is strong everywhere, no matter how civilized some people seem to be in their behaviors i bet in their own houses they reek of racism and haterd ! it’s a long time coming for the african americans who have sufferd immensely at the hands of their “white masters” it has been built step by step with the sweat tears and blood of slaves for the first african american to reach the last step ..the oval office .. so i think the first resolution should be is changing the color of the white house into Beige and im not joking about it, since beige is the color of most people ,beige is between brown ,white,yellow and black..
and no matter what those bigotted and fanatics mumble, at the end of the day Obama “the black!” is their president whether they like it or not .. let’s hope he wont end up like John Kennedy because this would mean the beginning of the end for the united states since civil war would erupt between blacks and whites as a result .