Mongrels? Nope.

[AZhitman]

I'm not gonna even comment on BO's "mongrels" statement, because it's non-news. Hell, let the man say SOMETHING outta whack once in a while... Jeez.

But wait.

How did we miss THIS one?

Obama noted "there's still a reptilian side of our brain" that leads people to not trust others "if somebody sounds different or looks different."

Really? OK, so on the surface, that doesn't sound too outta whack. But didn't he say he was a Christian? And, without getting too much into the religion topic, doesn't his insinuation that somehow we're descended from reptiles fly in the face of Creation? And if so, how does he reconcile the two?

This "mongrel" thinks he's got some 'splainin' to do.

[IBCoupe]

I'm not gonna even comment on BO's "mongrels" statement, because it's non-news. Hell, let the man say SOMETHING outta whack once in a while... Jeez.

But wait.

How did we miss THIS one?

Obama noted "there's still a reptilian side of our brain" that leads people to not trust others "if somebody sounds different or looks different."

Really? OK, so on the surface, that doesn't sound too outta whack. But didn't he say he was a Christian? And, without getting too much into the religion topic, doesn't his insinuation that somehow we're descended from reptiles fly in the face of Creation? And if so, how does he reconcile the two?

This "mongrel" thinks he's got some 'splainin' to do.

You're silly.

rep·til·i·an /rɛpˈtɪliən, -ˈtɪlyən/ [rep-til-ee-uhn, -til-yuhn] –adjective
1. belonging or pertaining to the Reptilia.
2. groveling, debased, or despicable; contemptible.
3. mean; treacherous; harmful.

As I wrote (sarcastically) in another thread: eloquence is for elitists!

[heliochrome85]

ever since we decided to all vote bbq back in 2000, eloquence has had no place in modern american politics. both palin and Mccain both championed their "plain-speak"

[wingFeather]

Can Obama get any dumber?

[stebo0728]

<---- *Raises hand* OOO!! OOO!! ME!! ME!! I WANNA BE MONGREL TOO!!

[AZhitman]

I brought this up in all light-heartedness. I think the "furor" over his "mongrel" comment is silly. Loved his speech where he responded to those asking why he made a distinction between the experiences of Black parents... "Well, Michele and I are Black parents, so, yeah..."

Yep, I'm silly. And FAR from eloquent. But it did make me want to ask him how he can reconcile that statement with his contention that he's a Christian, that's all.

[stebo0728]

HAHA - I understand IB's intentions. He is trying to say that Prezbo didnt mean those remarks in the sense that he supported evolution, but the other definition of reptilian, and I gotta say if Prezbo DID intend that as evolutionary remarks, then he is really jacked up because evolution theory gives us primate roots not reptilian. I tend to think in this case he was just being inflamatory not doctrinal.

[AZhitman]

I don't even think he was being inflammatory, I just think he was using "lay-speak", which is fine...

I seriously doubt he was using it in the sense of definitions 2 or 3. I mean, that's a stretch, even for a smart fellow.

[wingFeather]

I knew there was a reason Harvard was more expensive! My lower tier Universities never taught me about reptilian-human brain parts. To think I wasted my undergrad years studying only some of the human brain...

[IBCoupe]

You guys really haven't ever heard "reptilian" used to be synonymous with "base?" Erm... "base" as synonymous with "lowest of the low," not as in "all your... are belong to us."

I can't tell if you're joking.

[AZhitman]

Nope. And I'm not ashamed to say it.

I pride myself on having a fairly strong grasp of the English language. While I may be relatively dense in some subject matter (math, for example), I'd put my reading, vocabulary and comprehension skills up against most anyone's.

I'm not saying it's not an accurate definition... I'm saying it's highly unlikely that PrezBO used it with that obscure definition in mind. If he was THAT astute, he wouldn't have said "reptilian SIDE of our brains"... he'd have said "component", since even in microevolution, changes occur on BOTH sides of the brain, not just one exclusively.

I think he may have meant to say, "some pre-evolutionary component" of our brain... as in, some leftover evolutionary feature that causes us to fear that which is different (which would have made total sense). Still, wouldn't reconcile very well with a Creationist viewpoint, but at least it would have been more accurate.

[IBCoupe]

But the word's use is literary, not anatomical. He's not saying we have an entire side of our brain that's got scales and a flippy tongue. He's saying that we've got an ugly side (not "lobe;" think more along the lines of Jekyll & Hyde) of our brain that isn't enlightened. I can get that because of the rest of the words he used in that sentence.

If one definition makes sense and the other does not, usually it's best to assume that the person meant the definition that made sense. President Obama's a fairly well-educated person, and it seems to me that you have to try really hard to infer the zoological definition of "reptilian" in that context.