when i heard that a second in command al-qaeda leader ayman al-zawahiri called president-elect obama some sort of racial slur, i assumed it was the "n" word and i forgot all about it. i figured they were going after him because he isn't muslim. but then i read an article about it online from a foreign country and did a serious double take. "house negro"? that was specific enough of a reference to pique my interest. how did he know anything about house negroes -- something that is so intrinsically african-american -- and why would he say that about obama? there are those who enjoy throwing that remark around about any black person that's accomplished anything, that's verbally adept, that enjoys reading books or having a glass of port after dinner -- in other words, anyone that doesn't fit into the black status quo, whatever that is. and whatever that is can change with every african that you ask.
yikes! in his speech, he said that about condi rice and colin powell, too. it seems that the members of al qaeda read malcolm x's work and don't lump all black people together -- a tidbit that surprised the kids at fox news, probably because they didn't know anything about any of it. there's plenty of time to read books if you don't watch tv. they probably know more about american history than most americans do -- and if they're throwing around phrases like "house negro," they certainly know more about american history than americans know of their history.
unfortunately, we can't know what al-qaeda has said specifically regarding president-elect obama because no american news agency or cable news network will simply play the tape without talking over it or censoring it. so i will.
please note -- at the very end of his speech, al-zawahiri plays something most americans have probably never seen: a portion of malcolm x's "house negro/field negro" speech, to explain what was said initially and augment his perspective.
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