Moments ago, ABC News published their coverage of today’s White House Summit on Working Families. During the event Michelle Obama used a racial slur. This slipped past the writer and editors at ABC, who made no reference to her usage of the word:
[F]irst lady Michelle Obama admitted to a few of her own struggles as a working mother while making the case for flexible workplace policies for families.
“The first thing I tried to do, which was a mistake, was that I tried the part-time thing … I realized I was getting gypped on that front,” she told ABC’s Robin Roberts at the event, which aimed to bring attention to strengthening the nation’s workforce by addressing various workplace difficulties. “What happened was I got a part-time salary but worked full time.”
Of course, the term “gypped” is a slur referencing the supposed criminal behavior of Romani, or “gypsies,” though it is often still used colloquially by people who are unaware of the term’s history and connotation. For comparison, imagine Michelle had claimed she was getting “Jewed down,” or had referred to an “Indian giver.” “Gypped” bears the same strand of malevolent history and intention, though the term is still more commonplace.
Considering Michelle Obama implored Americans to ban the term “bossy,” and to the myriad non-liberals who didn’t get a pass for their respective “binders full of women,” or who were pilloried for hunting in the vicinity of a racist rock, she has dug her own hole here, and deserves what she metes out.
UPDATE: ABCNews published at least two articles on the racist rock that had absolutely nothing to do with Rick Perry. Their radar is much less sensitive when the content is Michelle Obama’s actual words.
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