Did Michelle Obama heckler use coded racial words? Or not?
The fallout from Michelle Obama鈥檚 heckling incident continued Thursday, as some defenders of the first lady charge that the heckler used coded racial language, and in general spoke from a perspective of 鈥渨hite privilege.鈥�
These folks point to a comment protester Ellen Sturtz made after she interrupted the first lady during a fundraiser and challenged President Obama to fulfill a campaign promise and sign an order banning federal contractors from discriminating against gays and lesbians.
Rather than speak over Ms. Sturtz, Mrs. Obama left the podium and confronted the heckler in person, saying she鈥檇 leave if the heckling didn鈥檛 stop.
鈥淪he came right down in my face. I was taken aback,鈥� said Sturtz after the incident.
What, did Sturtz think the first lady was just going to let the interruption go on, or hand her the mike?
Sturtz鈥檚 description of the encounter was a 鈥渂reathtaking bit of projection and entitlement that also tiptoed dangerously close to the 鈥榓ngry black woman鈥� stereotype that Mrs. Obama has been dogged by for years,鈥� writes Anna Holmes, founding editor of the feminist blog 鈥淛ezebel,鈥� in a Time Magazine .
Over at 鈥淢ediaite,鈥� columnist Tommy Christopher that Sturtz and her supporters have taken lots of heat for 鈥渢heir perceived sense that interrupting Michelle Obama is not only something they鈥檙e entitled to do, but that Mrs. Obama somehow should have welcomed. The source of that sense of entitlement, the theory goes, is white privilege.鈥�
And at 鈥淏lack Enterprise,鈥� columnist writes that 鈥淚n 2014, that tired prevalent notion that any time a black woman speaks up 鈥� and it鈥檚 not to coddle, coo or sweet talk 鈥� she鈥檚 鈥榓ngry鈥� or 鈥榓ggressive鈥� is getting old.鈥�
Ouch. We鈥檒l echo Mr. Christopher here and say that it鈥檚 also possible that Ellen Sturtz was simply an inept protester. She picked one of the most popular women in the world to interrupt. Also, a woman who鈥檚 been viciously attacked by extremist critics in racial terms in the past, and who supports gay rights generally.
Did GetEQUAL consider that might not end well?
鈥淲e value the first lady鈥檚 leadership and invite her to lead the charge within the Democratic Party to end employment discrimination,鈥� said the group in a following the incident.
And might some of the charges of implicit racism be something of an overreaction?
Sturtz might have been taken aback by the first lady鈥檚 aggressive criticism because President Obama, like many experienced public speakers, takes a more relaxed approach with hecklers. He often plays along lest he be seen as overbearing, while waiting for security to arrive. That鈥檚 the technique the president used with Code Pink activist Medea Benjamin when she interrupted his speech at the National Defense University on May 23.
鈥淟ike it or not, Michelle Obama鈥檚 reaction to Sturtz was a Michelle moment, not a stereotypical black woman鈥檚 touchiness or a South Side time-out,鈥� writes contributing editor at 鈥淭he Root,鈥� a blog of African-American culture.
