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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbySeptember 20th, 2007
Grasping desperately at the last few seconds of her 15 minutes of fame, Ex-Idol Mandisa gave yet another interview, this time to Melissa Riddle of Baptist Press, explaining how her display on America’s most popular vehicle for self-aggrandizement was all for Jesus and to let people know “know what Christianity looks like.”
And, of course, she had to tell yet again how she was misunderstood by The Gays:
“This song,” she said as the crowd cheered, “goes out to everybody who wants to be free. Your addiction, lifestyle and situation may be big, but God is bigger.”
“I really was talking about my life, my addiction to food, my lifestyle,” Mandisa said of that night. “You know how people say you shouldn’t diet but have a lifestyle change? That was what I was talking about, but people partnered that with my admiration for Beth Moore and Exodus Ministries. The ill-conceived conclusion was that I didn’t like gay people.”
So really, now, The Gays should be so sorry for misunderstanding poor little Mandisa. After all, how could anyone mistake her admiration for Exodus as being the basis for her “lifestyle” comment. I’m guessing it’s because they’ve already seen what her brand of Christianity looks like.
UPDATE
Alan Chambers on his blogsite said the following:
Timothy, your choice of post titles is way over the top as far as stereotypes of the African American community go. Or is Mandisa “black with an asterisk” and thus okay to sterotype simply because she believes what the Bible says about homosexuality?
I think you owe her and the black community an apology.
That may well be a valid criticism.
I certainly didn’t intend to make a racial comment, but it was inconsiderate of me not to note the possible racial connection. I tend to use the phrase, “I love me my oatmeal cookies (or whatever)”, and never really thought about its origins. Perhaps the phrase does have some racist history of which I’m unaware… in retrospect it does sound as though it could and perhaps I should drop it from my vocabulary.
So to anyone offended by the phrase, I apologize.
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Jonathan
September 26th, 2007
Timothy:
I for one would be very interested to see if actual African Americans found the title to your post offensive. As I mentioned on Alan’s blog, my partner, who is African American, couldn’t figure out what the racist aspect was suppose to be. I think I’m pretty sensitive when it comes to racial issues, and I didn’t see it. Being a transplant from the South, it is certainly lingo I’m use to hearing. I just assumed it was a southern thing.
Kudos to you though for taking the high road and making an apology to those who might have been offended.
j.
Jim Burroway
September 26th, 2007
For what it’s worth, I’ve always said “I loves me my grandma’s apple pie.” Not as regular speech, but just as an enthusiastic expression. (My grandma was borderline diabetic and she learned to make the most awesome apple pie using no sugar whatsoever. Alzheimer’s meant that she hasn’t made a pie in more than a dozen years. She finally “went Home” last January, and I surely do miss her. And I miss me my grandma’s apple pie. But I digress.)
I grew up in Appalachia, so you’d have to hear me switch that accent back on when I say it. I can’t say that’s where I picked it up though. (the expression that is. I definitely got my fondness for grandma’s apple pie there!)
But I’d have to say that I can understand if someone took the expression the wrong way. I really had never thought of it, and would be interested in how others (particularly African-Americans) experience phrases like this.
grantdale
September 26th, 2007
Must have been a slow week for Chambers — not having to field many Q’s about the Thomas Project I guess… (“gone down like a lead balloon” has it Alan?)
We thought Timothy was surreptitiously calling her a hick using that title (along with use of ‘The Gays’ etc). Arguably gratuitous in it’s own right, but not racist.
I know we’re a long way a away, and it’s not our culture — but Jim’s Appalachia background comment is basically what we thought Tim was implying. The turn of language one would expect to hear from some ig’rant, left-school-at-13, tent-revival preacher in a bad plaid jacket, slip-on shoes and big hair (and, yes, probably white). Those delightful characters from “Deliverance”. Etc.
In other words, the type of people from whom Mandisa got her attitudes and , urgh, “information”.
But if it can indeed be implied to be a racialist comment — then the clarification and the apology is completely in order. Far be it for us to accuse Chambers of simply manufacturing outrage…
Who the hell is Mandisa anyway?
grantdale
September 26th, 2007
always comes to you after the post…
eg: “Fixin’ to move to WordPress”
(That was Warren Throckmorton btw.)
mandisa
December 6th, 2007
my name is mandisa to I am in marion ohio right back .
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