Bārûk Obama
June 10, 2008 at 8:38 am 8 comments
I’ve neither liked nor disliked Barack Obama. Never had a reason to! Got enough problems of my own!! That doesn’t mean I didn’t find Ethiopians’ fascination with his campaign amusing, and Alemneh AbOre-Aff Wasse’s reference to him as “Yegna sew beWhite House” (our man in the White House) downright embarrassing. But what’s new right?!
This morning, however, after a friend suggested I take a look at it; I found something I never thought I’d find on an American presidential election candidate. A gut! And a criticism against the State of Israel that impressed the sister more than how fabulous Hillary Clinton looked last Sunday.
I am well aware he’d be giving all kinds of retaliating interviews, denials & counter denials to undo this ill-advised would-have-had-him-cheered-if-it wasn’t-in-the-land-of-the-free-and-home-of-the-brave r…ight! step. Especially after Hamas’ leader Ahmed Yousef bared his keffiyeh for him (a grave mistake on Yousef’s side! Get with the program bro!!). However, the fact that the man dared say it is more than enough for me to know there maybe more to him than meets the ear & that he may have kissed his chance of chilling at Camp David goodbye.
You can check out the article at World Net Daily.com. It’s entitled “Obama: Israel is a ‘constant sore'”. A title that reminds the sister of another observation, from the [hebrew] bible this time!
“And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” (Zecharia 12:3)
As I was saying to Nigist (the friend mentioned above), “the fool” may have been onto something when he said “There is no God” but the Bible is true as dammit!
And let all the people say “Amen!!”
Mazel Tov!
Entry filed under: Latest Posts.
My e-Shoe Box 
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Chereka | June 11, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Hmm, I am not sure I’d take that as a criticism of Israel policiy by Obama. First, consider the source. WorldNet is not exactly an objective source in presenting the facts. It is waaaaay to the right and this article is a prefect example. They took 2 words ‘constant sore’ and used it out of context. I think he was talking about the region in general, not Israel itself. You need only listen to Obama’s speech at AIPAC last week to see where he stands on the Israel-Palestinian issue. It may very well be posturing to the Jewish commuinty for the votes, but he made it clear that he would be a great friend to Israel.
On the other issue thou, I am not sure why you find it ‘downright embarassing’ to hope that someone like us (assuming you are Ethiopian) will take the WH. Any problems with that?
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abesheet | June 12, 2008 at 5:43 am
The way you and I see it, Chereka, doesn’t matter as much as how it is seen by those who matter. And Obamas statment on Israel was taken as a criticism so much that he has to give all sorts of affirmative-actions to fix it (google is filled with them). Didn’t know WorldNet was right winged. Would be more careful in the future :).
Alemneh Wasse’s Ethiopian title for obama: “Yegna sew beWhite House” doesn’t mean “someone like us”. It means, “our man in White House”. That’s what made me, literally, sick that morning. It’s stupid, ignorant and embarassing! But thanks for visiting. Hope to see more of you around here :).
Tsedey:
So sorry to be the bearer of bad news but “I love you Hotel” is one of those buildings I came too late on hearing the demolition of. Keep them in our heart, that’s all we can do.
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abyssinia | June 12, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Completely fabricated! Obviously Republicans are looking all sorts of reasons to demote Obama, make him look bad in the eyes of the Jews [coz Jews pretty much run the country/North America].
Nonetheless Obama did not say Israel is a constant sore. He said the Israeli-Palestine conflict was a constant sore, not just Israel per se. Of course Republicans wouldn’t play the same card for the Palestinians coz they know the damage is less to nothing.
That been said, we can have a debate about whether my view, your view or Chereka’s matters or not. The truth is there are thousands of Ethiopian-Americans who have voiced their support for Obama and worked very hard so that they can translate their support to votes. God bless them!
“OUR MAN IN WHITE HOUSE” is commonly used in US politics. So I am not sure why you find it embarrassing when Alemneh Wasse used it be’Amarigna…not knowing the whole story gin, it’s hard to say if he is referring Obama as “someone like us”. But, I have seen quite a few articles use this title for Obama presidential campaign, one way or another. It could just be THAT in Alemneh’s case too…btw, Obama is like “us” an African-American.
Sorry sis!
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KNIGHT | June 14, 2008 at 8:52 pm
… I for one will admit never liked politics and probably never will. but thats Pre Obama… Abeseet, at first i was just like you i couldn’t really understand what this whole Obama fuss was all about… and i looked at him just like any other politician. maybe slightly younger the usual… cause God knows half of the politicians in the US are reaching their century mark… if you ask me, what makes Obama different than the many we have seen so far, is he is one politician who doesn’t speak politics… he doesn’t address just potential voters but he addresses the people…. as everyday passes my respect and admiration for this guy doubles… Obama is more than just a name now, he has become a movement for change and a new beginning… i live in a State where 90 percent are white. the last time he came out here to speak, i took the time to look at the crowed which was in tens of thousands…. and i was really amazed by what i witnessed. folks ranging from ages 10-80 with amazing energy screaming the name Obama from left and right… the excitement on people’s face and the joy he clearly brings into these people’s lives is priceless… and he was able to accomplish that with his deep message…. he might not have the experience like most of these old farts. but he is the face of Hope and unity… that my friend has helped him win the hearts of many and will continue to win him many more…. and you know what, he is one of us… And i can understand why reporters from Ethiopia will be excited about the whole Obama fever as much as the next guy…. because they are witnessing history in the making… once he makes his way to the white house, which i believe he will…. thats what i will call one giant step for man kind…
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sistu | June 18, 2008 at 5:39 am
abesheet,
i wasn’t going to comment on this since everybody is bound to have an opinion on it/him. gin, of course, i just couldn’t resist at the end of the day/week.
To start with, i didn’t take great offense to alemneh wasse (or alem nehwasE), although technically i agree that does make alem something of a ‘maferia’. but you just can’t shake off the gut feeling of him indeed being yegna sew beWhite house, because he sort of is, isn’t he? Now, not everybody should say that, of course. Nigerians, for eg, yegnan yahil layamribachew yichilal if they were to say that and kenyans can say the same thing about us too.
since i don’t really care about his Israel-related views, i will skip that but a while back u had another post, i think, asking abt what made this man special kinda question. my ans is that he is konjo biTE. For me, thats the biggest explanation. As you know, abesheet, the world offers all sorts of rewards for being melkegna and i think his just happens to be the presidency (or something v close). Actually let me share with you something else i have been thinking about in relation to his looks: the level of his qey-ness.
I really thought that was instrumental to his iowa win. Everybody has been talking about how iowa with its diFin nech-ness would vote for a tikur and my take was that he wasn’t exactly tikur back then what with the cold weather bringing out his paler side and all. I really think that was significant. Ena these days, you see him getting visibly tekorkor seel and i am quite beside myself whenever i see him tsehay-leTsehay iyetentoletole. I don’t know how to get the message to him that he needs to keep up his lighter looks if he wishes to maintain ine’iowan in his future election. maybe they should even rethink the scheduling of their election to cater to the needs of yegna sewotch beEverywhere to whom the summer months are not kind. give them time to bring out their true colors to the election table. thats not exactly crazy because the longer the sun stayed out and the darker he got, the more he lost and vice versa. anyways, thats just my fickle thought on the matter.
now, while his Israeli policy might determine his yegebeya-waga with some, i hardly think that would be the case with you. i could be wrong ofcourse. but the thing that u, abesheet, might find interesting about him is his tsine-tsihuf chilota. surely that would make him yanchee sew beWhite house. have you read his books? i hope so. look to my next post to some of my favorite quotes from his 1 book.
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abesheet | June 18, 2008 at 6:02 am
Lol. Sistu. I just couldn’t stop laughing. Yeah, the beautiful ones survive, however rotten cards life dealt them. Which is why i sometimes can’t understand all this ‘ugly justification’ i hear on the radio (yewust wubet, ezene libuna, wezeterfe). We all know who we would jump in to save if there was a homely girl and a pretty girl abroad. Why not admit it, and call it a day? It certainly makes life easier for all, especially the homely girl (trust me I know, been there, done that!). Anywho, thanks for clearing that old confusion up. Yeah, I’ve seen how the Democratic election nominee can be quite the looker (and is younger than Hillary, who is looking 50 & radiant nowadays). Perhaps he should stay in the shade more ;). His wife, i have reservations on. Still, one man’s peach can be another woman’s whatever! Esun ketemechew…
About his book, my husband (a huge fan of Obama too, not because of his good looks but because hubby has been pissed off with the whites on his father’s side ever since he was 12) offered to send it to me. I said, “No, i’d rather you send me Jon Stewart’s “America: the book” and even he is a Jew so there you have me!”. But I look forward to the quotes because you are a delight to read.
Glad to have you back, btw. Beselam new?
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sistu | June 18, 2008 at 9:07 am
toot is his grandmother, gramps is his grandfather, lolo is his stepfather.
On grandparental mating:
“Toot’s family was respectable. her father held a steady job all through the depression… her mother had taught normal school… the family kept their house spotless and ordered Great Books through the mail; they read the bible but generally shunned the tent revival circuit… My grandfather’s station was more troublesome. Nobody was sure why… Somehow Gramps had turned out a bit wild…Whatever the reason, Gramps’s reputation was apparently well deserved. By the age of fifteen, he’d been thrown out of high school for punching the principal in the nose… The first time Toot brought Gramps over to her house to meet the family, her father took one look at my grandfather’s black, slicked back hair and his perpetual wise-guy grin and offered his unvarnished assessment. ‘he looks like a wop.’ My grandmother didn’t care. to her, a [baltina] major fresh out of high school and tired of respectability, my grandfather must have cut a dashing figure.”
[doesnt it just make u wish u could write like that about your grandparents, even when u have never had the pleasure of meeting either grandfather. While we are at it, don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me]
On Parental mating:
“…all this marked them [the grandparents] as vaguely liberal; And so, when my mother came home one day and mentioned a friend she had met at the University of Hawaii, an African student named Barack, their first impulse was to invite him over for dinner. The poor kid’s probably lonely, Gramps would have thought, so far away from home. Better take a look at him, Toot would have said to herself. When my father arrived at the door, I imagine Gramps asking my father if he can sing, not understanding the mortified look on my mother’s face. Gramps is too busy to notice my mother reach out and squeeze the smooth sinewy hand beside hers. Toot notices, but she’s polite enough to bite her lip and offer dessert; her instincts warn her against making a scene.”
[ay Toot, she is v lovable. don’t you wish ur grandmother was cool like mine, ale Obama]
On parental hatiyat [my favorite kind of hatiyat]
“My mother made few friends at her new school. She was teased mercilessly for her name, Stanley Ann (one of Gramps’s less judicious ideas-he had wanted a son). Stanley Steamer, they had called her, Stan the Man.”
On beggars:
“at first i watched my mother give away her money to anyone who stopped at our door or stretched out an arm as we passed the streets. Later, when it became clear that the tide of pain was endless, she gave more selectively, learning to calibrate the levels of misery. Lolo thought her moral calculations endearing but silly, and whenever he caught me following her example with the few coins in my possession, he would raise his eyebrows and take me aside. “how much money do u have?” he would ask. I’d empty my pocket. “thirty rupiah.” “how many beggars are there on the street?” I tried to imagine the number that had come by the house in the last week. “you see?”, he said, once it was clear i’d lost count. “better to save your money and make sure you dont end up on teh street yourself.”
more on Parental Hatiyat:
“Hi there,” Gramps said to a boy. “this here’s barry. Im barry’s grandfather. you can call me Gramps…. Barry’s new.” “me too”, Frederick {the boy} said and the 2 of them launched into a lively conversation. I sat, embarrassed, until the doors finally opened and we went to our classroom…. Miss hefty took attendance. when she read my full name, i head titters break across the room. frederick leaned over to me. “i thought your name was barry.” “ur grandfather tells me ur father is from kenya” said ms hefty. “i used to live in kenya… do u know what tribe your father is from?” her question brought on more giggles, and i remained speechless for a moment. when i finally said ‘luo’ a sandy haired boy behind me repeated the word in a loud hoot, like the sound of a monkey. the children could no longer contain themselves and it took a stern reprimand from ms hefty before the class would settle down and we could mercifully move to the next person on the list.
[…few months/years later…]
“”by the way, i forgot to tell you that miss hefty has invited your father to come to school on Thursday. She wants him to speak to the class” [said his mother] I couldn’t imagine worse news. I spent that night and all of the next day trying to suppress thoughts of the inevitable: the faces of my classmates when they heard about mud huts, all my lies exposed [he had explained to a group of boys his father was a prince one day over lunch and news had traveled quickly], the painful jokes afterward. Each time i remembered, my body squirmed as if it had received a jolt to the nerves…”
enama, hope i didn’t spoil it for people who will read it one day…. i encourage the reading of the book by all… esp to find out the outcome of that school trip by his father. for here tho, just wanted to share what might make him something of a yegna sew. and rest assured that this is only geTs 60 so there is plenty more to be read there. i like the book because it was written purely by him and the thought of someone who knows AND writes about beggars holding any position in any mengist tsifet bet, let alone in BEte-mengist, is somewhat cute libel injee. Maletim, in a country where some may never have met a beggar in their whole lives, the thought of having a president who is beggar-knowing (with the full the dynamics of beggary…calibratable levels of misery and all..akale sinkul? with kids? old?) might be a lil ironic… indene-indene
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yetela | December 12, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Amen to that!!….ever thought what would happen if ‘umbama’ announced to paint the white house black..with the help of his very ‘konjo’ wife of caurse…