Is a new ad posted to Twitter by Kamala Harris an epic 51 seconds of shade in response to the recent nasty diss of Harris by Republican columnist Peggy Noonan?
The Harris-supporting Twitterati seemed to think so, because as soon as the tweet dropped, it was being forwarded to Peggy Noonan, who, in a Wall Street Journal column, described Harris as “giddy,” “insubstantial,” and “frivolous.” I reported on those slurs from Noonan earlier this week. The ad, which has no voice-over, has a Black drum line soundtrack. In her “critique” of Harris, Noonan also seemed to have a problem with drum lines, which are part of a long Historically Black College and University (HBCU) tradition. You be the judge.
Here’s the tweet.
I dare you to try to sit still listening to that beat.
Responses to the ad included comments specifically aimed at Noonan.
“Has anyone done a wellness check on Peggy Noonan?”
“Love it I see @Peggynoonannyc has gone silent—maybe the sight of diverse people joyously voting still pisses her off”
“Hey! Drums! Dancing! Fun! Excitement! Voting! Kamala! Better close your eyes, @Peggynoonannyc!”
”@Peggynoonannyc You wrote a hateful column full of misogyny & racism about a woman you could never hope 2 understand.@KamalaHarris is brilliant, kind, thoughtful & joyous in the face of people like you. She’s qualified to be PRESIDENT one day. #SheDances #BlackJoy”
I threw in my two cents, as did Black Kos Editor Chitown Kev.
The fallout from Noonan’s pontificatin’ rolled in immediately after it was published last week.
WaPo’s Jonathan Capehart weighed in Thursday.
Upon hearing what Noonan said about Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, a friend texted me, saying of Noonan, “She slipped the surly bonds of human decency.” Noonan’s offense was a column complaining about Harris not acting in a manner the conservative columnist deemed acceptable. “She’s dancing with drum lines and beginning rallies with ‘Wassup, Florida!’ She’s throwing her head back and laughing a loud laugh, especially when nobody said anything funny,” opined Noonan. “She’s the younger candidate going for the younger vote, and she’s going for a Happy Warrior vibe, but she’s coming across as insubstantial, frivolous. When she started to dance in the rain onstage, in Jacksonville, Fla., to Mary J. Blige’s ‘Work That,’ it was embarrassing.”
No, what is embarrassing is a veteran political columnist who turns into a dance critic by ignoring what Harris actually said on the stump. And so what if she danced? As for Harris’s laughter, pity Noonan didn’t bother to zero in on what was said that led Harris to laugh in the first place. Sometimes a laugh is nervous energy. Sometimes it is in response to an asinine question. Sometimes it is the reaction to an inane assertion too ridiculous to be taken seriously.
Harris must be a vexing conundrum for Noonan. After spending generations at the center of America’s political and cultural life, White Americans like Noonan can’t seem to deal with someone like Harris, who is an avatar of the emerging majority-minority America more resolutely stepping into the spotlight and into leadership.
The drum lines that Noonan disparaged are nothing new for Harris, who graduated from HBCU Howard University—clearly a part of campaign territory.
If you haven’t voted yet, dance your way down to the polls, all to the sound of joy.
We got this!
Source: Daily Kos
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