"You Lie" - The Truth

Dear Friends,
Much has been said about South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson's outburst of "You Lie!" during President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, September 9, 2009. Representative Wilson apologized to the President, yet people have been calling for more apologies and other reparations.

As I have thought the issue over, perhaps Wilson has been misrepresented and misunderstood. Maybe he didn't really say "You Lie!" to the President. Perhaps he said, or at least meant, something else. Here are some possibilities of what might actually have happened.

1. Representative Wilson often brings his dog into the House chambers with him. Normally his dog lies calmly at his feet. However, something stirred up Wilson's dog, and the dog jumped up and began to run around. Not wanting his dog to cause any trouble, Wilson called out to his dog and said, "you, lie!"

2. Representative Wilson has a dear friend named Hugh Lai. It's been many years since the two men have seen each other. On Wednesday night, as Wilson looked around the House chambers, he noticed his friend sitting in the balcony. Wilson was so excited about seeing his long lost friend that he he forgot about congressional decorum and cried out "Hugh Lai!"

3. Being from South Carolina, Representative Wilson is known to occasionally speak in the old antebellum slave dialect. During the President's speech, Wilson overheard a comment that somebody told a lie. Responding in slave dialect, Wilson asked "who lie?"

4. The President was looking especially pale and tired on Wednesday night. Representative Wilson was concerned about the President's health, and called out: "Go lie down!" However, Wilson was chewing a piece of gum at the time, and his words came out garbled. Thus, many people misheard Wilson and thought he said "you lie".

I'm sure there's more possibilities, and if you have any other ideas, feel free to post them!

Peace and Harmony,
Clayton