their appearance.....

Posters like Judgmental share the same mindset of people like Erin they have no problem seeking the validation of white folks to prove their self worth...She is like to coward co-worker in the cube who says nothing while gay jokes, racial jokes are tolerated as long as a Black person is not mentioned in the joke....

MLK was correct of course the indignity of one impacts all......

Joan's logic for Salon's publication of this trash is much more depraved of course..

She does not deserve to make any $$$ on her trash and sleaze attack on the mother of 2 yong children...

The first comment has little to do with defined black butts, but exactly what makes Sarah Palin a "sex pot!" The best that I can muster to her describe her physically is this side of "pixie cute."

I think the article was more tongue in cheek rather than the author truly deriving self esteem from the fact that someone with a bigg butt would now reside in the White House. But, then again, maybe the lady did need to have all parts of her "blackness embraced?"

I don't know about other black women but I have had my hair straightened for so long that I wouldn't recognize myself if I decided to sport the Afro that became popular in the 70's or the dread locks of today.

Is there a day in my future where all people will be accepted by society for just being themselves? I am black by race, but my style and self-identity has evolved because of exposure to a whole lot of other cultures. Simply because other people, black or white, believe that my hair should be kinky or that I should wear Dasheki's may not be the me that I am.

If you will look at my previous letter to the one you are responding to, you will see that I agree with you that Joan Walsh should not have published the Kaplan article. My last letter (which I meant to be humorous) was written to ridicule the notion that only black women with big butts are entitled to have an opinion here. I am opposed to objectifying people as body parts. I am especially opposed to objectifying people in political life as body parts. However, if we all get to have opinions on other people's bodies, then we are ALL entitled to comment.

Frankly, I think it is quite silly to always be reducing every argument to black and white. There are nuances.

Moreover, I don't actually think Michelle Obama has a very big ass. As a woman who sews, I can tell you that she could fit into a standard pattern with very little alteration except for the length of her legs and arms.

This article has been silly and shameful:

1. It's premise is dubious.

2. It is sexist.

3. It is racist.

4. Michelle Obama is not a rock star or celebrity but merely a woman who happens to be married to a man who has been elected President of the United States. I wish her well, but I really don't want to think about her ass.

who are held in contempt because of their hair and buttocks??

When do we start caring about those who are wounded by collatral damage of racism, sexism and the marketing of Black contempt by liberal white publications iike Salon>>

I hope my daughter does not run into this article in her circles..I know as a parent I cannot control all the hate that comes her way but I will keep hope alive

I did read your post and I agree with your sentiments about Joan, yet your suggestion that I am oversensitive is the words I hear to often from whites in denial and seeking to deflect...

For the record I will remain hyper focus on every manner and incarnation of racism in my country as a Black person some a posture has allowed me and other Blacks to survive, navigate and develop in a culture which has a long history of contempt for my very essence from my dna to the buttocks of my Black woman,,

There was so much folderol over this blog, I was almost afraid to read it. Having done so, all I can say is: I like it and I get it.

A long time ago I worked with an elderly African-American woman who loved classic movies. Her favorites were flicks like Palm Beach Story and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I remember feeling embarrassed by the fact that at that time in Hollywood--even until 20 years ago or so--African-Americans were not only under-represented in film, they were often cast in a disparaging way. Here was a woman who was raised watching movies full of people who didn't look anything like her and I often wondered how that must have felt.

I don't think equality has been anywhere near reached, but we're getting closer, I think, and I enjoy seeing commercials, movies and television with casts that look more the way America really looks.

Ms. Kaplan, I appreciate what you have to say and it makes me happy to know we are finally addressing these historic imbalances. Heaven knows it's been a long time coming. We white people have tried so hard to keep control over everything. If there are white people starting to feel afraid of losing their identity, imagine what it has been like for people of color for over two centuries in this country.

I think we SHOULD talk about this and celebrate a new era. An era of inclusion. An era where everyone is represented.

Unlike you I am a Black person n this country and I do find a number of issues are as simple as Black and White..I do not find anything funny about the pathologies of racism..I do to a degree wish I could have the luxury you have a a white person and not be overly sensitive about race but we are not in the same place and that is find with me..

Your voice matters and of course mine as well when the issue of racism in introduced into my orbit..

Once I had a candid conversation with my jewish neighbor he was upset about an essay I wrote where in invoked the word holocaust to defined the history of Blacks and American Indians here in America..

I told him I had the right to define evil in any manner I thought was appropriate so again On the issue of me being oversensitive..NOT...