July 23, 2009

"The guy forgot his keys, jimmied his way to get into the house... if I was trying to jigger into..."

I've already written about what Obama said about racism, Skip Gates, and the "stupidity" of the police. You can find the context of the issue there, including the whole text of Obama's remarks. This post is solely about the words "jimmied" and "jigger," which appear like this:
What's been reported though is that the guy forgot his keys, jimmied his way to get into the house. There was a report called in to the police station that there might be a burglary taking place. So far, so good, right? I mean, if I was trying to jigger into -- well, I guess this is my house now, so...(LAUGHTER)... it probably wouldn't happen. But let's say my old house in Chicago. (LAUGHTER)

Here, I'd get shot. (LAUGHTER)
(Okay, one additional issue: What blithe disrespect for the Secret Service to say he'd get shot! Okay, one more: The President should not make jokes about getting shot.)

Now, jimmy is the right word for what Obama was talking about. Dictionary definition:
to force open with or as if with a jimmy
"Jimmied the door" would be more precise than "jimmied his way," but "jimmy" is the j-word for the job.

Here's the dictionary on "jigger" (used as a verb):
intransitive verb
: to jerk up and down

transitive verb
: to alter or rearrange especially by manipulating <jigger an election district>
Obama's use of the word is a little off. I think "jigger into" is unidiomatic in a way that makes it hard to figure out if it's supposed to have the transitive or the intransitive meaning. But maybe he's picturing jerking up and down or manipulating. Whatever. It's not particularly wrong, but it's interesting that he shifted from "jimmy" to "jigger." If a white person made that shift in the context of this story, people might suspect racism (because of the word it rhymes with).

But I don't think he was drawn to the word "jigger." I think he was trying to get away from the word "jimmy."

Whatever you do, don't make them think of Jimmy!

DSC02427

Yikes! Who's that staring at him from the portrait in the hallway?

80 comments:

Bissage said...

“Jimmy couldn’t jump at all before he got these. Jimmy was like you.”

Wince said...

Coincidently, on the theme of race and racism, wasn't Jigger Jim a Mark Twain character in Huckleberry Finn?

Scott said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mikeski said...

Nuts, Bissage beat me to it.

"Jimmy's gonna get you, Kramer! Hands off Jimmy! DON'T TOUCH
JIMMY!!"

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

"jigger" (used as a verb):

transitive verb
: to alter or rearrange especially by manipulating - jigger an election district.


Come on
Oh baby dont you wanna go
Come on
Oh baby dont you wanna go
Back to that same old place
Sweet home Chicago

Rialby said...

Reminds me of this from the Family Guy -

Jim: What did you just call me?
Huck Griffin: I thought that was your name.
Jim: That is our word. You have no right to use it.
Huck Griffin: Hey hey hey, I'm cool, I'm cool, no problem!
[pause]
Huck Griffin: So, could you pass me the oar, 'n-word Jim'?
Jim: Thank you.

Scott said...

This thread makes me snigger.

Synova said...

About the words jimmy and jigger?

Mostly I'm just remembering the times I boosted a four year old through an open window and then stood outside calling... "Go unlock the front door, honey! You can do it!"

Of course, all of our neighbors knew what we looked like and maybe ladies boosting toddlers through windows isn't the most common house-breaking method.

Even so I would not have been at all surprised if someone *had* called the cops and I wouldn't be upset (embarrassed maybe) at being asked to show ID or something.

Other than that... think of how people would act if the neighbors *didn't* call the cops and they got robbed.

Scott said...

...and titter!

former law student said...

Jimmy means to use a tool to gain entry, while here, jigger means to shake the door to gain entry.

Assuming no tool was used, jigger is more accurate.

Rich B said...

Hey Ann-

What do you think about Rush's accelerated audio clips for Obama et al? He's playing the clips associated with the comments referred to in this post.

ricpic said...

The jig is up!

Chase said...

From theI Can't Believe I'm the One Defending Obama Because I can Hold My Own in Arguments Against Him File:

Okay, one additional issue: What blithe disrespect for the Secret Service to say he'd get shot! Okay, one more: The President should not make jokes about getting shot.)

Poor joke, but c'mon, everyone got it.

So many issues of real substance to fight Obama on, and this is added to the pile?


Please.

Ralph L said...

The verb form of jiggery-pokery: underhanded manipulation or dealings : trickery. A common word among the political class.

Deirdre Mundy said...

Jimmies and Jiggers are also both names for those chocolate and rainbow-colored sprinkles you put on icecream...

(See the "Jimmy Cone" in Damascus, MD and the "Jigger Shop" in Mt. Gretna, PA)

Once again, the nation is facing a crisis, and all our President can think about is dessert!!

Roger J. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Scott said...

"So many issues of real substance to fight Obama on, and this is added to the pile?"

Obama's campaign and presidency has been a saga of style triumphing over substance. So nailing him on his style ought to be the most effective way of exposing his substance, or lack thereof.

Roger J. said...

I am familiar with jigging from a fishing context: raising and lowering your bait but raising your rod tip. A jig is usually the bait used while jigging.

The Drill SGT said...

jimmy = crowbar

jigger could be what Jigs do, and a Jig is a N-----

Anonymous said...

If Gates were the same ethnicity as the cops, would it be a Mick Jigger?

Ron said...

Yeah, no jokes about being shot! Like that'd happen to a President...oh...never mind!

Fred4Pres said...

What a about a jigger of whiskey?

And I like to jig for fish, hard work but it generally works to get the bite going again if it slacks off.

And pasty white people like to get drunk (drinking jiggers of Jameson) and do a jig.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Just as a side note, I'd like to share a personal experience I as a Cracker had with the police.

Back in my yout, I was at a local drinking establishment with soon to be Mrs. Hoosier and some friends. One of my friends left to walk his girlfriend to her car and when he came back, he tried to get past the bouncers who just happened to be police because he already paid his cover and showed ID. Like the dingbat he was, he argued and ended up being cuffed.

Being the good friend that I am I approached the cops and asked nicely if I could just take him home (I hadn't been drinking) and was told no and just go back inside or go home. I pressed the issue and said "Look, can't you cut him some slack?"

Next thing I know I am also pressed against the wall with my hands cuffed. Mrs. Hoosier was very upset but not as upset as I was when the uniformed cops came to take me away.

Did I mention my dad was a cop? Well because God has a sense of humor it just so happened that the police man who came to haul our ass to jail was my dad. Thus as was said to Sotomayer, I had some 'splainin to do'.

Needless to say neither of us went to jail. I was allowed to take my buddy home and dad told me in the future just don't argue with a cop.

So Professor Asshole and President Asshole, get over yourselves.

Deana said...

Ann -

You are the only person I've seen comment on the disrespect President Obama showed toward his own Secret Service.

I could not believe what he said last night. How could this man, who knows the extraordinary lengths that the Secret Service goes to in order to protect not only his life but the life of his family, have made such a statement?

But I haven't heard anyone else say that.

It made me feel for his staff.

Jim said...

Chase -

"Poor joke, but c'mon, everyone got it."

Here's my problem with the "joke":

It's of a piece with a standard joke that's in the repertoire of many black comedians: that a white man will get a slap on the wrist while a black man would get hung/shot/beaten for a similar act.

If it was Chris Rock making the joke about the LAPD, then, yeah, it's potentially funny because there's at least some basis for racially disparate treatment at their hands.

But Obama was "joking" about the Secret Service, and there has never, ever been a history of anything but the highest level of professional integrity from them.

A "post-racial" president has no place making racial jokes. And he surely has no place doing so at the expense of the guys who have volunteered to take a bullet for him.

Obama pulled the mask away last night for everyone to see. He couldn't help himself but condemn the police when he had to have known that Gates was the one who started in with the belligerent racism from the get-go. It was public knowledge long before he stepped to the podium last night, so it wasn't just racist, it was dishonest to boot.

I believe he's post-racial the same way I believe the water started receding on January 20th. You mean you didn't notice all the extra land mass that the US has added in the last 6 months. There's practically a land bridge to Cuba. How could you not know?

Synova said...

"You are the only person I've seen comment on the disrespect President Obama showed toward his own Secret Service."

It's only disrespectful if it was a "because I'm black" joke.

Otherwise, certainly, trying to break into the White House will get you shot.

Jeff with one 'f' said...

The J, the i, the m
the m, the y, the j, the i...
Its Jimmy!!!

former law student said...

if I was trying to jigger into -- well, I guess this is my house now, so...(LAUGHTER)... it probably wouldn't happen. But let's say my old house in Chicago. (LAUGHTER)

Here, I'd get shot. (LAUGHTER)

I don't read disrespect to the Secret Service here. As I interpret Obama's hypothetical, a black man who didn't belong, who was caught breaking into the White House, would quickly be held at gun point by the Secret Service. Continuing to attempt to force the door may well lead to his catching a bullet.

Secret Service were quick to respond during the Clinton administration when a man hopped the front fence. They provide a rapid, armed response.

Robert Cook said...

"...dad told me in the future just don't argue with a cop."

Sadly, anyone with much sense should know this. I say sadly, because, frankly, who the fuck are cops that we can't argue with them without expecting them to abuse their authority? Cops are, ahem, "public servants," and if citizens who have not broken the law wish to disagree or argue with them, we have that right.

I've known some cops who were fine people, but I see many who are just bullies with badges, disturbed and insecure little power junkies who see any behavior other than abject obedience to them as resistance to their authority, which they consider a criminal offense, warranting tasing, cuffing and/or arrest.

Such officers are a disgrace to their betters, police and non-police alike.

Jim said...

fls -

"I don't read disrespect to the Secret Service here. As I interpret Obama's hypothetical, a black man who didn't belong, who was caught breaking into the White House, would quickly be held at gun point by the Secret Service."

He didn't say "held at gun point" which would be a professional response - no matter what the color of his skin. He said "shot" as if his protecters were trigger-happy racists. Even you felt it necessary to point out that you realize Obama was talking about specifically about a black man versus just any intruder. It was a racist joke at the Secret Service's expense. Period.

That's "post-racial" for you. That's "class" for you.

Cedarford said...

I suppose we could thank Obama for making a good, colorful word, "jiggering" respectable to use.

I do note the Cheney-like influence of Biden on the President.

"I don't know the facts in this case, but let me run my big mouth off and make some gut-instinct judgements."

Hoosier Daddy said...

It made me feel for his staff.


Deana, you might want to re-phrase that. I mean we all know the effect Obama has on the female population but I mean some peoples might take that the wrong way.

Just sayin ;-)

Hoosier Daddy said...

Sadly, anyone with much sense should know this. I say sadly, because, frankly, who the fuck are cops that we can't argue with them without expecting them to abuse their authority?

Well yes you have a point. Then my dad also provided me the cop perspective which is you deal with assholes every day and everyone has a asshole breaking point. That night I was the one broke that particular point. As far as he was concerned, I was just another bar patron who was going to start shit. So yeah I could see his point, I didn't like it but I could.

I considered being a cop by my old man talked me out of it and after listening to some stories I'm glad I did. At some point listening to poeple threaten to come after you and kill you and your cunt wife or spit in your face or shit all over the back of your car which you get the pleasure of cleaning would kinda get to you at some point.

Gates wasn't arguing with the cop, he was being an abusive fuckhead which is par for the course with people like him. Maybe walk a mile in a blue uniform and perhaps your perspective would change.

Anyway the point of my story is that even crackers like me get rolled so Gates and Obama should just stfu already. As Dr. Phil says, "It ain't all about yooooooooooooou!"

Synova said...

"As I interpret Obama's hypothetical, a black man who didn't belong, who was caught breaking into the White House, would quickly be held at gun point by the Secret Service."

As others pointed out... he said "shot" and I've no doubt he meant shot. It's probably odd for him to know that his protectors really *can* shoot first and ask questions later. For those of us familiar with the "deadly force authorized" signs on the fences and gates and buildings we have worked in, it likely isn't so strange as it is to "civilians". Stopping an intruder *without* deadly force is entirely optional.

That aside... you did it too...

Your interpretation is that he was making a remark about the likely response to a *black* man. To imply that the Secret Service would behave differently and respond differently on account of the race of the intruder *is* highly disrespectful to their professionalism and their selves.

I don't know that he was.

Maybe he just meant that *any* person trying to break into *this* house would be shot.

Maybe it really was just an expression of this uncomfortable level of protection he and his family now live with, that they are surrounded by people constantly on guard and constantly mentally prepared to kill other people. The fact that I'm not particularly bothered with armed guards and what-all doesn't mean that I don't recognize that a whole lot of people are freaked out by it at some level.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on it for that reason.

It still may have been an... unfortunate joke, however.

Synova said...

I mean, seriously... the 24 hour a day armed guards on the widow-walk are not there to *intercept* intruders. They are there to shoot them.

Robert Cook said...

"Anyway the point of my story is that even crackers like me get rolled so Gates and Obama should just stfu already. As Dr. Phil says, 'It ain't all about yooooooooooooou!'"

Yes, your point was clear, but if I were to become abusive to assholes I have to deal with in my job, I would be reprimanded and probably fired...as is true for most of us. Just because cops deal with abusive assholes every day--which I understand--does not give them leave to abuse their authority and cuff or arrest those who are argumentative with them.

And while I agree that even "crackers" like you or me are not immune to being abused by jerk cops, no one can deny that blacks in our society have always been and continue to be subjected to much more of this kind of treatment, often with no provocation. Black citizens get tired of dealing with abusive assholes, too, particularly abusive assholes with guns, clubs, tasers, and the might of the law at their disposal. One can't rightly consider them to be overly sensitive on such issues.

garage mahal said...

Freedom to wingers (ironically the worlds largest victim group themselves) means the "freedom" to beat, club, taser, plunger, and spank anyone that isn't part of their victim group.

Jim said...

garage -

"Freedom to wingers (ironically the worlds largest victim group themselves) means the "freedom" to beat, club, taser, plunger, and spank anyone that isn't part of their victim group."

Because both Obama and Gates, and of course yourself, were beaten, clubbed, tasered, plunger-ed, and spanked in Cambridge that day.

If you'd like some Kleenex for your personal pity party, just let me know. I'll stop by the store after I pick up my brass knuckles, nightclub, taser, plunger and paddle board.

Ass.

Synova said...

"One can't rightly consider them to be overly sensitive on such issues."

So... it then does not matter if a cop was guilty or not, was acting in a racist way or even just being a jerk, because OTHER cops have been racists and jerks? That NO MATTER HOW polite or appropriate the behavior of the police officer involved he is STILL GUILTY dammit?

traditionalguy said...

Theoretically, the police officer takes you in under arrest. The judge and jury gives you your rights. Any theory of the police officer being required to do justice and recognise the rights you claim to have to loudly cuss out and disturb the peace of that police officer is an unwise theory. A wise latino knows better than this White man with 10% african racial features riding his grievance horse all the way to the bank.

garage mahal said...

Because both Obama and Gates, and of course yourself, were beaten, clubbed, tasered, plunger-ed, and spanked in Cambridge that day.
.

I wasn't, but whenever someone has been, you can predict like the sun rising which side you'll fall on. Even with video evidence. You always talk freedom but are never willing to go to the mat for it. Unless as I said, that person is part of your victim group.

Synova said...

And no one can see how this sort of bombastic over-reaction utterly destroys the argument that blacks are mistreated and discriminated against?

Heck, Gates couldn't even find a *real* racist to abuse him, so he had to invent one.

How is anyone supposed to take real racism seriously when there are so many examples like this, or people we've known who can not seem to conceive of the idea that the white people around them are being treated exactly the same way by cops or sales clerks or anyone else?

I was in basic training with a girl who decided that she was being picked on for being black... somehow... as if every last one of us weren't being singled out for abuse!

There is no answer for it. You can't *tell* someone that no one *else* managed to use a hair relaxer during basic training if they don't already realize that NO ONE had time to so much as menstruate. Anyone that into blaming everything on racism is not EVER going to see or weigh other explanations.

As useless as it is, I can't see any purpose to excusing it.

Synova said...

You know, garage... Gates wasn't abused by the cop.

Someone sees you break into your house and the cops show up and you're GLAD that they came, that if someone had been robbing you that they'd have bothered to show up.

It's not as though many of us haven't locked ourselves out of the house on occasion or wondered if, when we were walking through the shrubbery to see if any windows are unlocked, if someone would call the police.

Bender R said...

The implication was that the Secret Service and/or D.C. police are murderous racists.

I have no doubt that he did not explicitly mean that with his "I'd get shot" remark, but there are plenty of people in the D.C. area and elsewhere who believe exactly that - that the police are murderous racists - including Obama's past associates. And while I have no doubt that Obama did not mean that on this occasion, it would not surprise me if he has thought that in the past.

Obama has a habit of using "humor" and off-hand remarks as part of passive-aggressive behavior. Last night, it was cops being stupid murderous racists and doctors being greedy and willing to inflict unnecessary surgery to make a couple extra bucks. Previously, it was some joke at the expense of people in the Special Olympics.

It is part of a pattern. After a while, you have to wonder if he really does believe these things. Either way, he is a small, contemptuous man.

holdfast said...

Robert Cook - I am a pretty pro-law enforcement guy, but I know what you mean. There have been times when a cop has "asked" me to do something (move along, basically) when I would have been well within my legal rights to refuse, and it crossed my mind to do so - it's annoying when you know you aren't doing anything wrong and the cop is being a jerk. Then I thought how the cop had probably been dealing with obnoxious drunks all evening, and decided that it simply wasn't worth the hassle.

Gates, however, isn't just "some guy" he is an old race-hustler who is most likely loving the attention he's been getting. I don't think he committed a "crime" or at least nothing more than maybe a very slim disorderly conduct, but I am pretty sure he was pushing the cop's buttons.

Robert Cook said...

"So... it then does not matter if a cop was guilty or not, was acting in a racist way or even just being a jerk, because OTHER cops have been racists and jerks? That NO MATTER HOW polite or appropriate the behavior of the police officer involved he is STILL GUILTY dammit?"

Well, I don't know how polite or impolite the officer might have been, but he arrested a black man who was in his own home, merely for being argumentative and "tumultuous." Given the history of abusive treatment blacks have recieved and continue to receive from the authorities in our country, very often unprovoked, I merely say that Mr. Gates and Mr. Obama are not being "overly senstive" to consider the incident to have occured due to Mr. Gates' color. Even if his skin color had nothing to with it, and none of us can ever know the truth of this, reasonable people can understand why Mr. Gates and Mr. Obama would consider it to be so.

Caroline said...

"...dad told me in the future just don't argue with a cop."

My dad also made to sure to tell his kids never to argue with a cop. Why? Because they have clubs and guns, and most of the time they are running on a short fuse.

Even the dopiest among us kids got the point.

hombre said...

fls wrote: "Jimmy means to use a tool to gain entry, while here, jigger means to shake the door to gain entry. Assuming no tool was used, jigger is more accurate."

Never mind that nobody on the planet has ever used "jigger" this way as long as fls can doggedly and mindlessly defend The One.

Moreover, "jigger," as in "to jerk up and down," was obviously on Obama's mind as that is what he had been trying to do to us during the press conference.

Bender R said...

Even if his skin color had nothing to with it, and none of us can ever know the truth of this, reasonable people can understand why Mr. Gates and Mr. Obama would consider it to be so.

Reasonable people act reasonably. Acting reasonably necessarily means acting with knowledge of the truth, not emotion or suspicion.

A reasonable person does not shoot his mouth off about things he knows nothing about, including the fact that that racist cop himself knows a great deal about racial profiling, since he teaches the course!

Joe said...

Never mind that nobody on the planet has ever used "jigger" this way

I heard this use as a kid growing up in upstate New York in the 60s and 70s.

Bender R said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joe said...

Interesting; Jigger was slang for a door circa 1872. It was also slang for an illegal still and a word to describe the bridge on the table in billiards. It's also a small town in Louisiana.

Bender R said...

Part of the problem is relying upon the MSM's slanted and sensationalized reporting.

Based on that, and based upon a case here in the D.C. area where the cops burst in a guy's home and shot his dog, only to find that they guy was totally innocent (not to mention the mayor), I had assumed the worst of this officer. I figured he was some power-hungry thug -- someone who would fit in well with the Obama Administration.

The more I hear and read, the more reasonable he sounds.

What is an officer to do when he receives a report of a breaking and entering in progress, and he encounters someone in the home? Does he simply take the person's word for it that he is the owner/resident or is it permissible to ask for ID?

What if he takes the guy's word for it, or is willing to accept unreliable (easily forged) ID, and leaves, only to learn later that the guy was actually a rapist/murderer and the real owners/residents were tied up in a back room?

The more I hear about this case, the more it appears that the cop was being reasonable in asking for ID and this unknown/unidentified person he was encountering (who was probably the owner/resident, but it was not absolutely certain) was making the situation worse by his hostile behavior.

And then when he continued his abusive behavior outside the home and on the porch, then the facts changed. A good argument could still be made that, being outside the house, but on his porch, he was not in a public area, but his conduct itself was such that it probably fell within the definition of disorderly or disturbing the peace.

Leon said...

Chris Dodd...resign NOW

Zachary Sire said...

Let's see...hmmm...we're now up to, what is it, 3 posts (?) about the stupid cop, the stupid professor, and what Obama said about them at the health care press conference last night?

This country is in crisis and instead of offering anything on the serious issue that Obama went into great detail on last night, we've got multiple posts on an issue that has nothing to do with anything important whatsoever, namely, health care.

Nice.

Porkov said...

It is obvious from the description of the event that Dr. Gates has no desire that his home and possessions be protected. Anyone who needs anything that he has probably needs it more than he does, and is welcome to it. Under the circumstances, how could anyone accuse Dr. Gates of being niggardly?

Jim said...

garage -

"I wasn't, but whenever someone has been, you can predict like the sun rising which side you'll fall on. "

WOW. This is such a staggering display of stupidity and ignorance it's difficult to know where to begin.

I'll just say this: you've made it pretty obvious on which side you always fall, but you can't point to a single piece of evidence which shows you have the ability to tell where I'll fall.

I'll give you a hint though: I'm all for civil liberties and freedom from government tyranny, so my inclination is usually to side with the guy being hassled by cops.

However, if you act like a prick to someone who was trying to protect your property and you start screaming racist crap and insulting someone's mother, then if you get a pair of cuffs slapped on you for acting like an ass then I'm not going to feel terribly bad for you. It's a karma thing, not an authority thing.

It's evidently a lesson you could stand to learn yourself since you managed to "profile" me out of your own ignorance. So don't expect me to feel badly if you wind up on the wrong side of stereotype one day. Like I said, it's a karma thing and you're not exactly doing yourself any favors in that department.

James Bohn said...

Ann:

You mention that it was inappropriate for Obama to joke that he would be killed given that the Secret Service was there. I also felt that was inappropriate.

I recall that at the 2004 Democratic Convention, one of the musical performers did a song that had some reference to killing politicians. I really thought that was inappropriate. If any of your commenters remembers the particulars, plaese post or e-mail.

MayBee said...

Barack Obama has come a long way in a short time.

Now he would be shot breaking into the White House.
Two and a half years ago, he could have been shot going to a gas station.

Jim said...

ZPS -

"This country is in crisis and instead of offering anything on the serious issue that Obama went into great detail on last night, we've got multiple posts on an issue that has nothing to do with anything important whatsoever, namely, health care. "

Which just goes to show you:

1) What a moronic rookie Obama is that he even opened his trap on the subject. He should have sidestepped the question since it is far out of the president's responsibilities and inevitably going to detract from the message he was trying to convey.

2) Just how badly Obama performed in his press conference. From slamming doctors, to claiming that removing profit motive from companies would provide them with incentives to the world's lamest Matrix analogy; he was awful. Pure Grade A Awful. Even his sycophants on MSNBC couldn't cover for him. That's how bad he was.

3) Point me to one "detail" Obama went into last night. He filibustered every question with standard boilerplate, was rambling and incoherent. He never actually answered a single question he was asked.

bbbeard said...

I think it is more polite to use the term "jegro"....

BBB

hombre said...

"I heard this use [of jigger] as a kid growing up in upstate New York in the 60s and 70s."

I stand corrected. Nobody on the planet outside of New York has used it this way.

(Actually, I Googled "jigger the door" and the term has been used. So I really do stand corrected. My apology, fls, but I stand behind the "doggedly" and "mindlessly" bit.)

Charlie said...

I about gagged on my linguine couple nights ago when one of the gentlemen at the table of three couples just behind me inquired with casual wonderment, "Would any of you have thought Obama would make it this long?"

NotClauswitz said...

You pour a *jigger* into a glass (or a shaker) - or more, depending on how you like your drink. It's a measurment.

Jason (the commenter) said...

The President should not make jokes about getting shot.

Remember when Huckabee got into trouble for making a joke about Obama getting shot? Everyone thought he had made a complete ass of himself. Well look who's telling that sort of joke now!

Anonymous said...

The correct word is 'jegro'...not 'jigger'

Freeman Hunt said...

I like the use of "jimmied" followed by "jigger." Very visual, indicates just the sort of movement you would make if trying to get into your door.

smitty1e said...

Sympathy for the POTUS.
He's spent so much time in front of a camera, trying to sell his policy, his lips are positively jaggered!
ba-dump bump.

Anonymous said...

Harvard Skip has now clarified his complaint: Crowley prejudged him based on race, when he should have been prejudging him based on class!

What I would not want is to be presumed to be guilty. That's what the deal was. It didn't matter how I was dressed. It didn't matter how I talked. It didn't matter how I comported myself. That man was convinced that I was guilty.

Anonymous said...

How long before we see Red Sox players doing fundraisers for the Jigger Fund?

Doug Allen said...

"Such officers are a disgrace to their betters.."

'betters'? Jeez. What are cops in your world? [insert pejorative]

Will Cate said...

Slightly off-topic, but didn't Joe Biden's tax returns show that gave almost nothing to charity? So... could we say he's niggardly?

Mark said...

Let's see...hmmm...we're now up to, what is it, 3 posts (?) about the stupid cop, the stupid professor, and what Obama said about them at the health care press conference last night?

From James Pethokoukis at Reuters:

So was the president successful in getting out his message? Here’s one bad sign: The top morning news shows led not with healthcare but with Obama’s slam against police officers that arrested his friend and college professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. With Congress stymied and public interest waning, a muddled message means a lost opportunity for Obama and healthcare reform.

So if we just take as a given that the fuzzy mess of who did what to whom in Cambridge is of minuscule importance to Obama's success or failure in the White House, then going off half-cocked when the issue came up (and somebody should damned well have anticipated that it would come up) is a fine example of how readily our Commander in Chief will shoot himself in the foot whenever he see's a chance at a cheap shot.

When the tingles wear off, Mr. Obama will be in for a rough ride.

AmPowerBlog said...

"If a white person made that shift in the context of this story, people might suspect racism (because of the word it rhymes with)."

You think?

When I was a kid, folks used to watch "Soul Train," and they'd say, hey, check out "Jigaboo Choo-Choo."

Obama's no "post-racial" president...

Ralph L said...

No one's mentioned that this supposedly skilled writer doesn't know when to use the subjunctive: "If I were trying to jigger...."

Anonymous said...

I sort of thought that the "white half" of the President was a bit racially insensitive using any word that contains "jig"

JAL said...

Let's cut to the chase.

This guy is in a job way over what his pay grade should be.

And I'm not talking about the cop.

bearbee said...

Ethnic slurs per Wiki:

Jigaboo, jiggabo, jijjiboo, zigabo, jig, jigg, jiggy, jigga
(U.S. & UK) a black person (JB) with stereotypical black features (dark skin, wide nose, etc.).[9] Used to refer to mannerisms that resemble dancing
.

Wasn't there a song "Lets get jiggy"?

Unknown said...

Did this post have a point? Was the objective to have readers play some sort of name game--jigger, jigger, bo bigger, banana fana fo figger, fe fi fo figger. Jigger. Or, more likely, was it a not so subtle piece of racist tripe designed to have readers run through the alphabet looking for words that rhyme with jigger. Let's see, jigger, kigger, ligger, migger... You should be ashamed of yourself, Althouse.

Anonymous said...

I missed this post earlier because the electrical outlet in which my computer is plugged was malfunctioning. Thankfully, I was able to jimmy-rig the thing and now all seems to be well again.