I have a question. It’s one I think I know the answer to already, but I’m still reckless enough to “go there” anyway. See, there’s this author whom I like and respect who tweeted something earlier today that, after giving it some thought, I decided was (among other things) insensitive. Another word that came to mind for his tweet was “offensive,” but I didn’t want to overreact. That’s partly why I’d like to solicit some opinions from others out here in Social Media Land. The tweet came from the bestselling author Eric Metaxas, whose biography on Bonhoeffer was an undeniably impressive literary achievement albeit controversial for many. Anyway, though I enjoy his writing, I’ve determined that he and I probably don’t reside in the same vicinity on the ideological spectrum — he being outspokenly conservative and me striving to remain as politically independent as possible. In any event, earlier today I spotted this in my string of Twitter updates:
Can someone explain this supremely creepy photo to me?Maya Angelou looks like Satchmo in a dress. fb.me/1iBdejhvp
— Eric Metaxas (@ericmetaxas) January 8, 2013
You’ll need to click on the link to view said photo, but I’ll quickly describe it here as a weird photoshopped image of the poet Maya Angelou cradling an adoring Barack Obama’s head. I agree with Metaxas that it’s creepy. However, it doesn’t take much searching on Google to discover that the image was a manipulation of a shot from this 2011 event where President Obama honored Ms. Angelou with the U.S. Medal of Freedom. The “creepy” image was clearly created by someone who is not a fan of either President Obama or Ms. Angelou — for instance, it was used in this person’s blog post. You can expect this type of political silliness from ideologues from both sides of the political spectrum. But the thing that bothers me most is Metaxas’ observation at the end: “Maya Angelou looks like Satchmo in a dress.” What does that mean?
Maya Angelou is now 84 years old. I will go ahead and confess my admiration for the woman as an artist and a tireless voice for freedom. But even if I didn’t care for her, I would hope I wouldn’t nonchalantly suggest that she looks like a man. To me, when I see Maya Angelou, I see a woman who looks like mothers and aunts and grandmothers and great-grandmothers that I’ve known both from my family and the families of others. Hers is the appearance of a woman of grace, experience, and hard-earned wisdom. It never occurred to me to compare her to someone of the opposite gender. So, yes, I guess I’m offended. And a little confused.
I believe I spoke to Mr. Metaxas once or twice when I worked at Christianity Today a decade ago. I think he’s a talented writer with a great sense of humor. As a wannabe historian, I admire his ability to write massive works of biographical history. I’ve been inspired by his deep expressions of faith. What I don’t understand is whether he meant the Maya Angelou crack as a mischievous political jab (given Ms. Angelou’s fondness for President Obama), or whether he meant it as something more hurtful. In my preference for avoiding controversy whenever possible, I’m going to assume it’s the former option. But somebody please tell me if I’m over — or under — reacting to a tweet that just doesn’t feel right.
Reconciliation Blog 
I’d just like to add that it was not my intention to pick a fight with Mr. Metaxas — far from it. I’m actually a fan of his. I just felt compelled to respond to his tweet, and Twitter didn’t allow the room I needed.
Ed, your sensitivity and restraint are admirable. And I agree with your sentiments regarding Ms. Angelou’s grace and hard won wisdom. I’m going to go with “insensitive comment” and hope it was not intended to be more malicious.
Thanks, Chad.
Ed, I know Eric pretty well and think he is a good guy, although no one’s perfect. Why don’t you ask him directly? I’m sure he’d be willing to engage you and apologize if he thought it necessary.
Since I started this last night, there are comments that indicate Eric just wasn’t thinking. I’ve thought about what I still want to say.
Whether Eric meant it to be facetious or biting, if, as you say, he leans heavily towards being faith-inspiring, did he not learn from the Book from which his faith originates to be sensitive enough to its admonition to think more highly of others than himself?
We know that it’s not what we do, that gets us into a sticky mire most of the time; but the things that we say. I wonder would it have been different if he were sitting across from her and said as glibly as he so recklessly wrote, that bit of humor?
I’m almost afraid to know what his response would be, given we live in a post modern world where disrespecting, dishonoring, and damaging others is increasingly the norm. And the even scarier thing is that most do it with no remorse. Life has gotten so hard that people are no longer listening to that little stabilizer inside us all called a conscience. It screams at us to listen to the voice of restraint, and some snarl back, “Get lost.”
I can only hope that years of living with the insensitivity of man, has anesthetized Dr. Angelou with a thick covering and the freeing knowledge that her own and many others perception is that there are layers of beauty in her that the world will never see. But we see.
Eric, live the life…that truly inspires faith. It’s hard, I’ve been on both sides giving and receiving words that are non-productive. It is hard. But our faith says we must. Sometimes it’s best not to say everything we think is funny. Sometimes it’s best to laugh to ourselves only. We never know what will be that final thing that puts another person over. If you did not mean to be offensive say it.
Thanks for your thoughtful feedback, Wanda.
You are welcome.
I appreciate the very thoughtful and caring tone of this…you successfully avoided ‘outrage mode’! But I think you’re right to be concerned about the tweet. It is at least unkind. I wonder how much of that is simply due to the medium. It can be very tempting and easy to say unintentionally cutting things on the web. My friend Sharon Hodde Miller wrote a wise post for CT on ‘Taming the Twitter Tongue’: http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2011/august/taming-twitter-tongue.html
Thanks for your comment, Rachel, as well as for the CT link. A very good reminder.