Thursday, May 14, 2009

Too Cool at School?

Mr. Obama? SHAKE, don't BUMP, you're the President of the United States.............(and is that as difficult as it looks?)

33 comments:

elmers brother said...

you know my son and I often tease my wife that this is a male bonding ritual...like the little head nod (no words have to be spoken)

when she tries to do the fist pump we just turn and laugh

I got no problem with the Obama fist pump

Z said...

Me, neither...kinda funky and cute, really. I draw a line at official events; I like our young men learning how to shake hands...that's my beef, not the bump!

elmers brother said...

well I never thought of Obama as a role model

GM Roper said...

Appearance over substance!

Z said...

good point, Elbro.

with this BUMP, there's a level of 'hip' that we don't need. The world isn't into HIP, they still have dignified statesmen, whether we like them or not....well, MORE dignified is probably better said ...Angela Merkel's been scandal free, Sarkozy's got a messed up personal life but he stands straight, shakes hands, etc.

I don't know how we can get America back......where character mattered, we didn't elect men with such questionable acquaintances/friends..we never approved of people with tax evasion problems for important seats in government.......I guess this BUMP thing just said so much to me.

You're right..no role model, that's for sure. Maybe that's a good thing; who'd want anybody modeling him?

elmers brother said...

I'm not trying to invadlidate your point. I understand it does seem more appropriate to use a handshake BUT these are college kids...they do the hand bump all the time.

elmers brother said...

invalidate

elmers brother said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
elmers brother said...

now if he was fist pumping the Pope or somethin'

Deborah on the Bayside said...

Juvenile. Reminds me of mothers that wore mini skirts in the '60's to say "Look, I'm cool too, I'm your friend."

So what if college kids bump. The president is an adult and authority figure/model at a ceremony that marks an important passage into adulthood.

Grow up sir, and save the cool antics for the company picnic.

elmers brother said...

are you kidding..men never grow up.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

I was fist-bumpin' my homies long before Obama gave his speech in 2002.

Oh, I still shake hands. I'd probably even shake Obama's hand if he happened to cross my path.

But my homies get the fist bump. Homies only.

Obama ain't my homie, ya dig?

Chuck said...

I can't get real excited either way, if I were forced to make a stand on it I would say the President of the US graduation should have a ittle more decorum.

Z said...

Chuck, that's all I'm saying.

Elbro, I know you weren't trying to invalidate...It's just that I just feel so strongly about decorum and dignity for occasions like a university graduation.
Our kids are such shlubs these days; nobody dresses nicely, nobody stands when a woman walks into a room, etc. etc....
Can't a PRESIDENT just shake a darned HAND?

Z said...

Deborah, I'm pretty much with you, too.

Let the president BUMP his friends/kids/wife/gardener/chef...NO problem.

That's all....suck it up, pal. You're president now (gag)

JINGOIST said...

This guy gets more distressing by the day. I didn't even know what a fist bumb was until a guy at Publix did that instead of shaking my hand. Am I the only one who misses a dignified President?

Morgan

Anonymous said...

he musn't appear to be older or less cool than the kids, Z.

After all, they're the ones who elected him (I'm assuming).


I think I'd stick my hand out if I were walking across that stage. I earned my degree, I think I would have earned a hand shake.

Mike said...

Yes, it looks like he's having to concentrate really hard to get it right...maybe [now fist-bump the graduate] didn't show up on the teleprompter.

Z said...

Jen, if HE were walking across the stage, I'd stick my FOOT out (heh)

MA....I'm glad somebody else noticed that. Look at his face; as if he's concentrating SO hard! odd!

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

I think Obama is grimacing like "this dude ain't my homie" and went with it despite decorum.

I know I'd probably do the same thing if some non-homie tried to fist bump me.

I'd be like "high five!" and "who's gay?" when the dork raised his arm.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

When co-President Bill Clinton visited one of my brother's aircraft carriers for a pointless photo op, just about every sailor that shook his hand slipped something into his hand - pennies, bolts, paperclips, boogers - he went home with a pocket full of discontent, hehehe.

Anonymous said...

Forget about the "bump" Think about the fact that he is allowed to even speak at this commencement.
A pro-life Catholic university invites the most passionate advocate for killing children this side of a Hittite priest, and the pro-life Catholic protesters are the villains in some of you people’s eyes.???
Only sick people that support this "man". We are not even sure if he is a legally elected President?
May you choke on the filth you have brought on yourselves

Anonymous said...

Is he that insecure and desperate to be the hip and cool guy.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqkMfToY9Pk

Always On Watch said...

A fist bump at Notre Dame.

This is too much!

BHO is a thug. How many gangs does he have membership in?

Z said...

It occurred to me this morning that obama might talk at Notre Dame about the fact that he was allowed to speak there although he's for killing babies late into the pregnancy....how big it was of them to have him there even if he disagrees with their philosophy. That it's important that all are allowed to express themselves.

Then I thought of Rush Limbaugh.

I.H.S. said...

I personally think too much is being made of this, and who's to say the graduate didn't offer the "pound" first, and the President was rolling with it?

Elmer's Brother, I agree and disagree with you at the same time. I never thought of him as my role model either, but role model I believe is a relative term. Some of everybody is somebody's role model. And, I agree with you that we men never grow up, ever. :)

Blessings.

Anonymous said...

Plato, "Republic"

By degrees the anarchy finds a way into private houses, and ends by getting among the animals and infecting them.

How do you mean?

I mean that the father grows accustomed to descend to the level of his sons and to fear them, and the son is on a level with his father, he having no respect or reverence for either of his parents; and this is his freedom, and the metic is equal with the citizen and the citizen with the metic, and the stranger is quite as good as either.

Yes, he said, that is the way.

And these are not the only evils, I said—there are several lesser ones: In such a state of society the master fears and flatters his scholars, and the scholars despise their masters and tutors; young and old are all alike; and the young man is on a level with the old, and is ready to compete with him in word or deed; and old men condescend to the young and are full of pleasantry and gaiety; they are loth to be thought morose and authoritative, and therefore they adopt the manners of the young.

Quite true, he said.

Z said...

I.H.S., I thought of that, too..that the guy might have done that first.
Imagine offering a BUMP instead of a handshake to the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!?
That's my whole point.

Sure, some of these little things are no big deal. Personally, I think they reflect something I'm not comfortable with, but I don't even recognize much of America anymore, so.........maybe I should just go with the flow!

I happened to disagree with those who chastised obama for shaking Chavez's hand. I felt that, IF Chavez offered his hand first, we can't have presidents dissing someone and ignoring them. Obviously, obama went WAY too far in the friendship grip and at their second encounter, but I wasn't against his having shaken hands, even if Chavez does think America's the GREAT SATAN.

psi bond said...

Was Plato writing about the United States?

Anonymous said...

Nope. He was writing about humanity.

psi bond said...

Nope. He was writing about humanity.Hope you don't think social science, the science of man in society, is an exact science. No one does. If you accept Plato's philosophical speculations as universally and inexorably true, humankind is doomed and long has been and is not worth any substantial investment.

psi bond said...

Before we rush to indict or condemn the president for this controversial fist bump, we should have a nonpartisan investigation into who initiated it. From the photo, my guess is it was the graduating student, who may have thought, mistakenly or not, it would be more memorable than a handshake. If he wasn’t a rightwinger gathering evidence, the photographer may have thought so, too.

Fox News host E.D. Hill called the same gesture between Barack and Michelle Obama on June 3, 2008 a "terrorist fist jab". So no expense should be spared to allow a truth commission to dig into this brewing scandal until it finds where the truth lies. For the Truth is priceless.