It’s a good thing the LA Times is offering an English-to-Racist/Racist-to-English dictionary now. For those of us without an interpreter, it can become quite a confusing topic. According to the LA Times, this recent picture seen on conservative blogs is obviously racist (at least to those who have the dictionary for interpretation).
To the uninformed, this might appear to be a jab at an “elitist” attitude, but we’d be wrong, wouldn’t we? According to their interpretation, it is now a racial slur to compare someone of color to Marie Antoinette.
What becomes confusing is the fact that a few other first ladies have previously been compared to Marie Antoinette as well. Apparently, those doing the comparing at the time were unaware of the obvious racial undertones associated with this characterization. Ask Nancy Reagan or Hillary Clinton:
“Even her staunchest defenders concede that Nancy Reagan is more Marie Antoinette than Mother Theresa.”
“Hillary Clinton Proves Herself the Marie Antoinette of the Keystone State: Let Them Eat Cake.”
Perhaps more frightening, Paul Ryan does not even escape the comparison on this Wisconsin blog post. That kind of omits any forthcoming charge of sexism, doesn’t it? I guess Marie Antoinette is an equal opportunity slur.
To the average person, it might not immediately make sense that comparing Michelle Obama to Marie Antoinette would be any different than comparing Nancy or Hillary. Fortunately, we have the LA Times to help us crack that secret race code once again.
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