Left attacks Ron DeSantis: ‘monkey this up’ is racist, no word on ‘Monkey bars’ or a ‘barrel of monkeys’
Merriam-Webster states that the phrase “monkey with” means “to handle or play with (something) in a careless way” and webster-dictionary.org defines “monkey up” as “To hack together hardware for a particular task, especially a one-shot job.”
Despite the general acceptable terms, it’s now racist.
Ron DeSantis
Congressman Ron DeSantis, the morning after winning Florida’s Republican gubernatorial primary, told Fox News that voters shouldn’t “monkey this up” by electing his opponent, Andrew Gillum, who is African-American.
“The last thing we need to do is monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state,” DeSantis said in an interview this morning with anchor Sandra Smith.
Actor Don Cheadle led the way with outrage, tweeting “no, no, no … i’m sure he just, uh … i mean, who doesn’t say “monkey this up” when they’re … he was trying to be respectful and not say “fkkk this up” that’s why he paused and “mess this up” doesn’t quite pack the same, uh, punch as, uh … hmmm …”
The Avengers star bantered with those responding, later adding “at the very least, it shows extreme insensitivity and a level of tone deafness that leans fully into a very destructive narrative …”
538 Editor Nate Silver points out that the more common phrase is “monkey around”: “Monkey this up” is not a remotely common idiom. Only 17K Google hits, most of which refer to DeSantis’s comments today. By contrast, “monkey around” gets more than 7 million hits.”
It’s fair to say that difference would not make a difference and we’d still be hearing outrage.
Former RNC Chair Michael Steele says he doesn’t give DeSantis the benefit of the doubt on his “monkey” comment toward Andrew Gillum: “It’s how white folks talk about black men who are successful.”
“Openly racist rhetoric from elected officials and candidates brings me back decades to covering the civil rights movement,” Dan Rather tweeted. “It’s shocking – a potent reminder of our troubled time. But I believe most Americans will reject hate, eager to embrace a more inclusive and just future.”
Actress Kristy Swanson a humorous tweet to the mix: “You can no longer say… Let’s not throw a Monkey Wrench into it. Monkey bars. Monkey on your back. Monkeying around. Monkey business. Monkey See, Monkey Do. My sweet little Monkey. Don’t Monkey it up. Monkey’s Uncle. More fun than a barrel of Monkey’s. ALL OFF LIMITS!!!”
Swanson also pointed out that it wasn’t racist when Obama used the phrase, see clip below: “Obama In 2008 Warns: Politicians ‘Monkeyed Around With Elections’; 9-3-2008 https://youtu.be/n-3_l5iWTP0 via @YouTube …yer welcome”
