Shuckin and Jivin

First, lets define it. Shuckin' and jivin' (or shucking and jiving) is an American slang term for the
behavior of joking and acting facetiously. The term can also refer to the speech and behavioral [1] mechanisms adopted in the presence of an authoritative figure. Shuckin' and jivin' usually involves [2] clever lies and impromptu storytelling, used to one-up an opponent or avoid punishment. Such behavior is believed to have originated in the era of slavery. My first understanding of the term, shucking and jiving, came from when I was a kid, growing up in Birmingham, Alabama in the 1970s, watching black and white tv shows and movies. There was a mammy, an obese, black, matriarchal woman,

who is ONLY found in the kitchen. She usually has a shuckin and jivin husband, or other adult black male

to fulfill that role.

This book further illustrates my point: : http://books.google.com/books?id=ExTS-

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Over the years, the meaning of the term has grown a little, to encapsulate The Minstrel Show, type of blackface entertainment. http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/jackson/minstrel/minstrel.html, and the Blaxploitation type of movies such as, Shaft, Foxxy Brown, Black Caesar, etc.

-Perfect Example The moral of the story: Shuck and Jive is steeped in negative racial overtones.

*ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION HERE* You asked if I considered Chris Mathews, Tim Russert, Jay Carney, and Andrew Cuomo to be racist because they used the term. In Chris Mathews case, no. He was not talking about someone of African American heritage, nor a group of people solely of AA heritage. Could Chris Mathews be a racist? Hell yes, he very well could be. Fuck him either way it goes. He doesnt affect my life in one way or the other, because I dont watch his show. As for the others using that term, read my thoughts on Chris Mathews. I dont understand why I have to acknowledge the racist remarks of others to point out the racist remarks of Sarah Palin. There are racists in both the Democratic and Republican party. I dont belong to, nor will I ever belong to, either. I know the history of the Democratic Party, and I currently see how the Republican Party conducts itself. Id rather have an Independent thought, than cow-tow to a herd mentality.

*MY QUESTION TO YOU* How has your life changed since President Obama took office?