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• Tuesday, November 18, 2008 12:52 PM

  First Lady Got Back? How About "Journalist Got No Brain?"

  Is this a joke? A Black woman in the White House (finally) and the only connection you can make is about her butt?

  Well, of course the post-civil rights era was insignificant. It produced you!

  I won't waste much time or space regaling you with disciplinary hand slaps, that was your mama's job. I just need to point out to your readers that YOU and this article are the result of not enough Black parents teaching their children what it is to be a strong, Black female in modern society. So, oftentimes we have to choose: either its the asexual battle ax persona or the low-rent whore. You sound like you still cannot commit to being an (obviously) intelligent and thoughtful person; you need to make a stereotype of yourself, dragging Michelle Obama with you, because that's what the White man has told you is acceptable. Take the following quote of yours:

  "So anxious and indignant were we about Michelle getting attacked for saying anything about America that conservatives could turn into mud, we hardly looked south of her neck. I noted her business suits and the fact she hardly ever wore pants (unlike Hillary). As I gradually relaxed, as Michelle strode onto more stages and people started focusing on her clothes and presence instead of her patriotism, it dawned on me -- good God, she has a butt!"

  So sorry you couldn't keep up, but I hardly looked south of Obama's neck during the campaign because I was actually listening to the issues! Now, just as I was beginning to celebrate the idea that a presidential campaign and first term may actually be about resolving those dire issues, which we so desperately need them to be, we have YOU to thank for bringing everything back to our hair and the shape of our bodies. Can a sista catch a damned break??

  Don't think I don't understand what salon.com's mission is. I know we can't be serious all the time. Michelle Obama is a beautiful woman. She does wear some very nice dresses. But dwelling on a subject like this -- long enough to write 1000-plus words -- no matter how cute you think it is, is counter-intuitive to our collective goal as a people: not just Black folks, but the American people.

  Therefore, you're absolutely right about one thing: the jig is up.

  Time for you to go put something in your brain and stop watching hip hop videos and fantasizing that you can be the prefect cross between a scholarly sister and a video vixen. Get a clue. And then get a solid, well-formed opinion.

  Kellie Murphy

  Staff Writer

  Philadelphia Weekly

  —Kellie Murphy Read Kellie Murphy's other letters
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