Obama and his supporters are just pure emotion.....
March 4, 2008 6:18 PM   Subscribe

Derrick Ashong A camera-wielding interviewer collars Mr Ashong in the street and starts to pepper him with questions. The interviewer assumes that his victim's casual appearance—he is wearing a baseball hat, a shell necklace and is chewing gum—betokens an equally casual approach to politics. “Do you have any specifics?” he demands aggressively. “What are their policies?” Mr Ashong delivers a series of carefully argued replies that could form the basis of an editorial in a serious newspaper. Emotional responses count too.
posted by caddis (26 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
I can has hope fur Merica?
posted by parallax7d at 6:34 PM on March 4, 2008


Interviewer: pwned.
posted by hincandenza at 6:34 PM on March 4, 2008


He's obviously a very smart guy and makes a lot of very relevant points. Wish we could raise people like that in the USA.
posted by darksasami at 6:35 PM on March 4, 2008


I love Americans. Sometimes.
posted by anthill at 6:36 PM on March 4, 2008


In all due respect to the interviewer, he did post the interview in which he got pwned. props all around.
posted by caddis at 6:37 PM on March 4, 2008 [2 favorites]


hincandenza beat me to it.

"I was saying this back in the '80s..." Christ, what an asshole. Derrick Ashong is well spoken, but I could hardly care less what he has to say. I don't even pay attention to the campaign and I have election fatigue. I couldn't make it through more than a minute of the second video. The only reason the first one was watchable was because yeah, the dude got pwned.

In contrast, Mr Obama sounds the themes that most appeal to independents—frustration with America's broken politics; hope of finding pragmatic solutions by reaching across the partisan divide.

Like George W. Bush, that uniter-not-divider? He sure fixed things up good.
posted by mrgrimm at 6:44 PM on March 4, 2008


Those crazy cultist Obama people with their articulate nuanced grasp of the issues! Who needs 'em! Amirite!
posted by tkchrist at 6:44 PM on March 4, 2008


I can has hope fur Merica?

No -- no, I don't think you can. You see, as he explains in the second video, Mr. Ashong was born in South Africa, then grew up in Saudi Arabia and became a US citizen sometime after 2000.

My first thought on watching the video was "Oh, we're going to laugh at the black guy who can talk smart." Then I felt a little glimmer of hope listening to him talk. Then it went away when I found out he was a recent immigrant -- while I have great respect for him, I was really hoping to have some respect for a product of the United States.

Why does the US have to suck so much?
posted by darksasami at 6:46 PM on March 4, 2008


I don't get it. Someone please explain it to me.
posted by Brian B. at 7:06 PM on March 4, 2008


Fuck Obama. I wanna vote for young Mr. Ashong.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 7:13 PM on March 4, 2008 [2 favorites]


Why is the interviewer such a fucking aggressive interrupt-y asshole?
posted by Optimus Chyme at 7:15 PM on March 4, 2008


No -- no, I don't think you can.

Of course we can have hope for America, and Derrick Ashong is as good a reason as I've seen. People who come here cognizant of the power and opportunity inherent in the founding principles of the US, who join legally and in spirit while exercising their certain unalienable rights are an excellent hope for a troubled nation.
posted by carsonb at 7:15 PM on March 4, 2008


I wanna vote for young Mr. Ashong.

According to this he's a Harvard graduate. So I guess they just accidentally interviewed a Harvard grad in an embarrassingly aggressive style to stretch a point about all Obama supporters. I get it now.
posted by Brian B. at 7:24 PM on March 4, 2008


Wow, how unexpected that an asshole reporter interviews and has an impromptu debate with Derrick Ashong, Hollywood actor, public speaker and activist. We defintely need help in this country if so many people are willing to accept this thinly veiled promotional video for Mr. Ashong as an impromptu interview.
posted by Pastabagel at 7:25 PM on March 4, 2008 [2 favorites]


Why does the US have to suck so much?

20.8 million barrels per day.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:28 PM on March 4, 2008


That wikipedia article was created on Feb 27, three weeks after the Youtube video was added - and it looks like it was written by Ashong himself.
posted by ofthestrait at 7:31 PM on March 4, 2008


Wow, how unexpected that an asshole reporter interviews and has an impromptu debate with Derrick Ashong, Hollywood actor, public speaker and activist. We defintely need help in this country if so many people are willing to accept this thinly veiled promotional video for Mr. Ashong as an impromptu interview.

I'm not saying you're necessarily wrong but...

Role in Amistad. OK, good for him, he obviously likes to perform. He's had a fair amount of success so far... more than most. Hip Hop artist, OK, he's a multi-talented performer who is possibly interested in having a more direct form of expression in his music than his acting. His words versus other people's words. OK, well that makes sense.

Now, let's assume that we can actually believe that he cares passionately about politics for the reasons he has claimed. OK? OK. So if he is a performer by nature, and has cultivated his ability to express his thoughts through the lyrics in his hip hop endeavors, and is well educated, is it unreasonable to believe that when he's asked questions about his political beliefs and readiness to get behind Obama, that he'd be able to articulately answer? Hmm, no that doesn't seem like such a stretch...

But why would he be at a debate showing support for Obama? Hmm, I'm guessing you can watch the two youtube videos that we're posted again and get a decent idea. But why would he be an activist? Hmm, I'm guessing you can watch the two youtube videos that we're posted again and get a decent idea. Are we following? OK.

Nah, but seriously though, it's just a promo. That's really all it could possibly be!
posted by defenestration at 7:38 PM on March 4, 2008


I thought the initial aggression was more a cross of deliberate interview technique for 'trying to find out if it is worth talking to this guy' combined with 'shouting over all this noise'. He was pretty rapid fire, but that is a spectacularly good way of seeing if the person you are speaking to is an idiot or not very quickly. If you are trying to get an interview from the crowd, and only have so long to do it, trying to fluster people on camera is an effective way of reducing wasted time, I imagine.

Once he worked out the guy was worth listening to, I thought he changed his style accordingly and they had a pretty equal in-depth chat (although tedium precluded me watching all of it). So being as that makes this a perfectly normal interview/video, this is just another Obama related election awareness raising post of no particular merit, does it not? being as the 'controversy' seems pretty much shoe-horned in.

/snores


You people drag this crap out for WAY too long. It's just the election of a politician.
posted by Brockles at 7:42 PM on March 4, 2008 [1 favorite]


Wow, how unexpected that an asshole reporter interviews and has an impromptu debate with Derrick Ashong, Hollywood actor, public speaker and activist. We defintely need help in this country if so many people are willing to accept this thinly veiled promotional video for Mr. Ashong as an impromptu interview.

I dont think thats what this is. He wasnt as sure-footed and articulate as I would expect were that the case.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 8:11 PM on March 4, 2008



Nah, but seriously though, it's just a promo. That's really all it could possibly be!
posted by defenestration at 10:38 PM on March 4


It could be everything you say. I'm not at all suggesting he isn't sincere, or that he isn't intelligent. I'm suggesting that it's possible that this video isn't an accident. He's represented by the Lavin Agency a large U.S. and Canadian speakers bureau. In other words, he speaks publicly for a living. So why are we surprised that someone who speaks publicly for a living would speak intelligently about a candidate he supports?

Perhaps I'm reacting to some of the comments here lamenting that no native-born American could be so intelligent or articulate which, as a native born American, is a bit insulting. Do you really think there are supporters for McCain or Clinton who aren't as articulate, or even more articulate?
posted by Pastabagel at 8:16 PM on March 4, 2008


It's just the election of a politician.

Tell that to the 600,000 civilians who've died in Iraq.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 8:24 PM on March 4, 2008 [1 favorite]


As I listen to HRC hammer on her "ready on day one" line, I'm incredibly depressed by the voters in Ohio. Thank you so much for this video. I don't think I could take this without it.
posted by tarheelcoxn at 8:26 PM on March 4, 2008


You know what? After further consideration, and after noticing that most of the Americans-are-idiots comments came from one person, I'm going to grant that the video is what it purports to be. I still suspect that once the video showed up on youtube, his agency was quick to fire off press releases to any and every news outlet and that perhaps that's how the Economist picked up on it, but maybe not. In any case, there's nothing wrong with honest self-promotion, and kudos to this guy pursuing what he's passionate about. So I'm dialling back the paranoia and suspicion, just a little.
posted by Pastabagel at 8:38 PM on March 4, 2008 [1 favorite]


When it comes to politics and the media, there's no such thing as too much suspicion. I certainly wouldn't be shocked if this were less than spontaneous.
posted by Pyry at 9:14 PM on March 4, 2008


Tell that to the 600,000 civilians who've died in Iraq.

So you elected the wrong one. It happens. Sadly, the massive lethargic system you have prevents you getting rid of the idiot. In the UK, for instance, the Prime Minister is head of the party that is in charge - we elect the party, it's not about the person at all - so if he did something like that, they'd turf him out and replace him with someone with better leadership without having to wait for the end of term. Here, you're stuck with him regardless, as there is very little in the way of viable recourse due to the system. It's too much of a 'big deal' to throw him out, and the system is considered sacred.

It's still just a politician. It doesn't help the sanity or reliability of that politician that the majority of the culture and people in the US wants to put the president on some sort of untouchable pedestal (until recent years) and treat them like some sort of god/royalty, in charge of some mythical, untouchable land that is far above any other country and deserves to be top dog*. The problems arise when they believe the shit that people preach about someone who just got more votes (again, until recent years!). If the idiot in charge actually realised he was just a politician, he may actually get his head out of his arse.

*I'm pretty much precluding anyone here - as I don't see it so much here - but I see that attitude in mainstream media, films, in the people I meet every time I go to the States. It's like brainwashing, but it's just a country, and just a population. The people in power could take a spoonful of that reality and stop behaving like they're something special and actually do the american populace a service and far superior job. Not to mention also to the people of places like Iraq...
posted by Brockles at 5:17 AM on March 5, 2008


In the UK, for instance, the Prime Minister is head of the party that is in charge - we elect the party, it's not about the person at all - so if he did something like that, they'd turf him out and replace him with someone with better leadership without having to wait for the end of term.

You have got to be kidding
posted by criticalbill at 9:32 AM on March 6, 2008


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