Samuel L. Jackson Weighs in on Representative Rashida Tlaib's Use of "Motherf---er"
Few people have more experience and expertise with the word 'motherf---er' than blockbuster film [...]
Few people have more experience and expertise with the word "motherf---er" than blockbuster film star Samuel L. Jackson.
Between his work on Quentin Tarantino films and in R-rated action movies like Snakes on a Plane, Jackson is known not just for the number of times he has used the word, but for the breadth of different contexts in which he has managed to make it feel like the most appropriate word to use.
It should surprise no one, then, that he has weighed in on its controversial use by Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.
"I just wanna wholeheartedly endorse your use of & clarity of purpose when declaring your Motherf---ing goal last week," Jackson tweeted yesterday. "Calling that Muthafukkah a Motherf---er is not an issue, calling that Muthaffuqah President Is!"
If you missed it, Rep. Tlaib, the recent-elected Congresswoman from Michigan's 13th district, kicked off the new, Democratically-controlled session of the House of Representatives with a new controversy last week. Meeting with political allies after hours, Tlaib scandalized the conservative press by referring to U.S. President Donald Trump as "the motherf---er" and calling for his impeachment.
Tlaib's controversial statement was likely seized upon in part because while it is easy to go after her presentation on social media, the Congresswoman was also one of the co-authors of an op-ed in the Detroit Free Press that suggested it was time to begin impeachment proceedings against the President.
"We already have overwhelming evidence that the president has committed impeachable offenses, including, just to name a few: obstructing justice; violating the emoluments clause; abusing the pardon power; directing or seeking to direct law enforcement to prosecute political adversaries for improper purposes; advocating illegal violence and undermining equal protection of the laws; ordering the cruel and unconstitutional imprisonment of children and their families at the southern border; and conspiring to illegally influence the 2016 election through a series of hush money payments," the op-ed claimed.
President Trump's frequent attacks on his political opponents, the news media, and other American institutions have created a controversy around the idea of "civility." Typically, American politicians and the establishment media have resisted ad hominem attacks against opponents, opting instead to criticize policy, or at worst make innuendo. Trump has changed all of that -- but while he seems able to get away with it since being anti-establishment is his "brand," others such as Tlaib generate much more controversy by wading into similar waters.
The response, in many cases, has been to claim that if the President can get away with it, so can others. Firebrand New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defended Tlaib by pointing out the double standard on Twitter.
Regardless of what you think about Tlaib or Trump, it is difficult to argue that Jackson, who as of this time in 2017 had said "motherf---er" at least 171 times across 29 movies, fails to grasp the nuances of the word.
