Gov Christie calls African American man "Boy" during town hall meeting

[AgingAmerican]

BlueJersey.com reported Friday that during a town hall meeting at a church this week in Paterson, NJ, Governor Chris Christie let a racial slur slip when he called an African-American man a “boy,” a term closely related to the more severe “N” word. Christie has, in the past, touted a morally clean public image and has been quoted as saying “language matters; language is a window into attitude.”

Racist asshole

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Despite the dramatic bells in the video (not needed given the context)..

...I'll rec because, although lacking in general context, I'm pretty sure why Christie used that word.

[sulphurdunn]

3. Why?

[Cooley Hurd]

4. Because there's clearly an underlying racism in his response to a constituent...

[sulphurdunn]

12. It makes sense to me.

[fascisthunter]

31. but veee must all acept zee implicationz

totally bs takedown... and I don't even like the man. Try harder OP.

[Cooley Hurd]

44. I've never called anyone "boy". Not even young males.

...and Christie didn't use it as an exclamation (like "oh boy&quot .

[still_one]

2. There is no way Christie meant it with that conotation

It was most likely meant in the form I hear you man or such

There are a lot of things to dislike Christie for, but he isn't a racist

Listen to the cpac garbage, or what is happening in Michigan, that's racism

[Cooley Hurd]

5. I use "dude" and "man" quite liberally...

...but I NEVER have called anyone "boy". Never. Ever. And, I grew up only a few hundred miles from where Chistie grew up (and am roughly the same age).

[Scuba]

40. +1,000

[AgingAmerican]

6. I don't buy into the "Christie is a good guy" hype

He is a prick. He plays the nice guy because he has to if he wants to have any chance at all at becoming president.

[Angry Dragon]

8. Christy has no chance to be president ......

[AgingAmerican]

21. True, but

tell him that.

[still_one]

23. I agree he is a prick, I just do not think he is a racist prick. Just my view. McCain voted

Against a day honoring Martin Luther King, I absolutely believe McCain has racist feelings. In other words for me anyway, I need to see more than what Christie said before I would say he is a racist

[marble falls]

13. I gotta agree with you. I don't think he said "I hear you, boy. I hear you!".....

I heard, "I hear you! Boy, I hear you!." The guy was repeating himself at least three times, and Christy was letting him know he'd been heard and to allow Christy to finih. I would hae liked to hear a minute prior and a minute after, too.

Its bad enough to have racist Teapublicans talking their crap without miscalling this event.

I find him prickly and sometimes a bully but have seen no racism from him yet. I am willing to be educated about this if I'm wrong.

[sangsaran]

18. His prosody

doesn't support the idea of "boy" being used as an interjection.

"Exclamation of surprise, pleasure or longing."

[femmocrat]

20. After listening several times, I disagree...

I heard, "I hear ya' boy.

Not, "Boy, I hear ya'." There was no pause for a comma.

[dixiegrrrrl]

25. Have to agree with you. I listened to it several times.

And I have heard "boy" used in various contexts down here.

No missing the connotation in what he said.

[Honeycombe8]

34. It's I hear ya' boy I hear ya. No pause in the whole thing.

Could it be like, "Allrightalready I hear ya!" Could be. I'd have to hear more of the meeting to judge. Want to give everyone the same fair judgment that I would want.

[840high]

29. Agree.

[Cracklin Charlie]

24. I don't know how Christie meant the word.

But it sounded a lot like the old school (Southern, even), racist usage of the word, to me.

Racism comes in many forms.

[xtraxritical]

28. I heard it more like "gee, I hear ya", sort of like "boy oh boy". I think it's a stretch to make it

out as a racial slur.

[marble falls]

36. Agree. Especially since the whole line is not there. I think more of the clip would be ...

helpful. Think of Breitbart's character assassination of Shirley Shirrod, who was then frog marched out office over 'racist' comments made out of edited footage.

[mike dub]

43. Also agree

Sounded similar to usage of a very clipped, quick retort: 'boy oh boy'. Christie was on a tear.
And yes as a native Southerner, I understand "boy"'s racial usage/context.

[brush]

38. He meant it

And you have to be delusional to believe anything else if you watched the clip. Christie was angry that a black guy of all people had the nerve to actually yell out and interrupt him. There's no mistaking that. I hope Hillary's people save this clip until 2016 because it will become quite useful during the presidential campaign.

On second thought, I'm sure there will be some republicans who will usethis clip against Christie during the primaries if he runs, and as far as any goodwill towards African Americans that was generated by his praise of President Obama's response after Hurricane Sandy, he can forget about that now, and any possible votes too.

[DainBramaged]

7. HOLY SHIT

[Cooley Hurd]

10. Time to get the chainsaw out...

[ZombieHorde]

9. Hmmm.... nt

[Spitfire of ATJ]

11. This is the 21st century?

[ELI BOY 1950]

14. NOT A Racist

i live in nj...Christie is a bully. An asshole. But not a racist/bigot.
i will never vote for him...unemployment is a point and a half above the average...he ran on not
cutting pensions...he did. He ran on cutting property taxes , he didn't ...he cut teachers , social
workers , and every social program known to man...
he is not a bigot...he is not mark rubio...if he was he would be at CPAC
trust me on this one

[Buzz Clik]

30. Agreed.

It's easy to hang "racist" on someone for an unfortunate remark, but it's seldom clear.

[Blanks]

15. I've done it before.

In some circles it is just like saying 'man'.

Obviously it doesn't go over as 'harmless' in a group of African Americans, but not always meant to be a racial slur.

I don't think he was trying to be offensive. Just reckless.

[oldhippydude]

19. me too

wasn't even a Freudian slip... very embarrassing... I'm no lover of Christie or any conservative.. from the intonation. I would class it as whoops. rather than anything more serious.

[Blanks]

49. I was living in an inner city neighborhood...

And the kid next door (I say he was a kid, but he was about 20) was talking to me and I used 'boy' in a sentence.

He repeated it loudly a couple if times. I'm just a small town boy (pacific northwest). I was never around any African Americans and it was just how we talked.

I accidentally offended a few folks in the army too; they didn't seem to hold it against me for long.

There isn't any sense in beating up Christie about it anyway. He's as high as he's gonna go. If we best up on him about it; it might make him more popular with his base. Why should he benefit from something that was probably an accident.

[matt819]

16. Selective editing, I think

Let that play out, and I would suspect that he said, I hear you. Boy do I hear you.

Look, there's enough to dislike about most Republicans. No need to play these games.

[michigandem58]

17. For the "not a racist" labelers above

I don't think anyone is entitled to such a blanket amnesty. Racism is like evil. It exists in everyone, but to a different extent in each person. It's pretty clear to me from the cadence at which he said it he was referring to the speaker as "boy" and that's clearly racist.

[Honeycombe8]

35. If it were you, wouldn't you want people to at least see/hear more of the meeting...

before judging? I would. That's a grave accusation. People should be given full opportunity for the whole context and intonation of speaking voices at a meeting before judgment.

Has he ever used the word before? Did anyone else use the word at that meeting? Two important things I'd want to know. Boy do I want to know those things before judging.

[barbtries]

42. exactly,.

it was a racist insult at the moment he said it. christie may not spend his days wallowing in hatred of the other, but his inner racist came out in that statement. i think he should acknowledge and apologize for it.
my opinion: the most insidious racism is that which is denied. i quit saying "i'm not a racist" the day the simi valley jury returned.

[timdog44]

46. Nail on the head.

If it had been an oriental or hispanic man saying these things to Christie, the word "boy" would not have been used. It was an angry response to someone who put him on the spot. And so it was racist at the moment he said it. He may not use the term that way, hardly ever, but "in the heat" sometimes things come out that you would not "normally" say in public, but do think them.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

22. I agree with not liking the editing.

Let's here the whole exchange. That kind of editing is too close to Andrew Breitbart tactics.

[Grassy Knoll]

26. Exactly, Just like the " You Didn't Build That" Crap.....

Cons used over and over against Obama when he was referring to
roads and bridges getting to your business.

[Babel_17]

27. My friends and I referred to ourselves as "the boys"

Round the boys up for a card game. All the boys are down at the bar.

IIRC, it's also the way lots of gangsters referred to their group. Edward G. Robinson, I think, used that term at least once in one of his gangster films.

Christie might have picked up the term.

The alternative is that he picked up the habit of addressing black men as "boy".

Color me doubtful.

[IrishAyes]

33. Christie

... hasn't got an innocent bone in his body. Wise up before he sells you a bridge.

[IrishAyes]

32. Well, I hope

... those bells were a death knell for his chances in '16.

Don't imagine he'd ever call President Obama that, at least not to his face.

[Shankapotomus]

37. No excuse

I recall hecklers still getting a "Sir." I'm not saying it was conscious but the standard way to address even your antagonist for a public figure is "Sir" or "Mam" or "Miss" or "Young man", as the case may be.

Barney Frank still used a civil title toward his antagonist in this exchange:

[KansDem]

48. Contrast that with Condi Rice's condescending use of "dear" in an exchange with a college student...

(4'02&quot

She's...Condi-scending!

[Indepatriot]

39. Christie is an Assh*le, no doubt about it, but I heard "I hear ya, boy I hear ya.

I don't think it was meant as a slur at all. Just my take, but by all means smear away..... seems a bit much though, he'll never get the GOP nod, so It seems like wasted effort.

[Babel_17]

47. Huh, I think you are right after listening to this

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/15/chris-christie-boy_n_2885338.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

[jerseyjack]

41. Christie is a piece of shit....

but I don't get racism from this sentence.

[Joey Liberal]

45. Christie is just another racist republican

Maybe its his way of showing the CPAC crowd that he's still on of them..........