The, abhorrent comments directed at former First Lady Michelle Obama by a UFC fighter a few weeks ago, were not only offensive and inappropriate, but they were also part of a troubling pattern that Black women in America have endured for generations. UFC President Dana White denounced the juvenile comments as “nonsense.” The incident exposes larger and disturbing reasons why some individuals feel that it is permissible to publicly insult one of the most admired and accomplished women in the world.

The comments made by Hokit were not simply about politics. They reflected a long-standing pattern in which upscale accomplished Black women are targeted, ridiculed, and denounced as less feminine, less refined, or less worthy of respect than their White counterparts. From elected officials and businesswomen to educators and community activists, Black women have routinely endured vile attacks that expand well beyond policy disagreements and often land in the category of personal degradation and denigration.

What is particularly disturbing is that such an offensive comment was made in a notably public setting. Regardless of whether you concur or disagree with Michelle Obama politically is not the issue. All human beings should be afforded a basic degree of dignity and respect. The level of civil discourse in society has plummeted in our current political climate, and retrograde situations such as this further contribute to the destruction of such a standard.

Politically motivated conspiracy theories about Ms. Obama started during her husband’s presidency and have repeatedly been debunked. Online, transphobic bullies continue to post photos of the former first lady that are sinisterly distorted to make her features appear more masculine. She has been referred to as “Big Mike.” Others claim that former President Obama is gay, and that their children, Malia and Sasha Obama, now 27 and 25, were conceived by surrogate parents. The nonsense is par for the course in the frequently mentally challenged and debased right-wing blogosphere.

Equally outrageous is that almost a decade after leaving the White House, both Barack and Michelle Obama (and occasionally their daughters Malia and Sasha) continue to face enormous hostility and resentment from their political detractors. Both reactions are mainstays in conservative political conversations. Indeed, from the moment her husband became a serious contender for the Democratic nomination in 2008, Michelle Obama has been a perennial figure in the media spotlight. With this level of exposure came a significant amount of controversy. Unlike previous first ladies such as Rosalyn Carter, Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson, Pat Nixon and others, Mrs. Obama evokes avid passions among her supporters and detractors alike. There appears to be no middle ground. Her proponents see her as intelligent, classy, elegant, no-nonsense, charismatic, and socially conscious. Her opponents denounce her as arrogant, aloof, unpatriotic, racially bigoted, and anti-American.

For her critics, the already intense level of suspicion toward both Obamas reached a fever pitch in the 2008 presidential campaign when the then future first lady stated that for the first time in her adult life she was really proud of America. Although many reasonable people totally understood what she meant (even another former first lady Laura Bush, in a later interview the same year, stated she understood what she (Obama) meant and detected not one hint of unpatriotic rhetoric in her comments On the contrary, the political right, including Cindy McCain, wasted no time in perversely exploiting a sincere statement, misconstruing it to imply that Mrs. Obama was an anti-American who harbored Black nationalist sentiments.

Such indignities continued during her tenure as first lady, and even today the Republican right has frequently made Mrs. Obama the target of vicious assaults. She has been accused of hating Whites and using the term “whitey” on tape. Terms such as “baby mama,” “angry Black woman,” “jezebel,” “Black Lady Macbeth,” “Ms. Grievance,” “bitch” (in many cases preceded by the word Black), “uppity,” and other derogatory and disrespectful labels have been used to malign her. Truth be told, on more than a few far-right wing websites, the rhetoric used to describe both her and her husband is often so inflammatory and intolerant that some website moderators suspend activity until they can get things under control. I will not repeat such incendiary rhetoric here.

Not content to take the “proud of my nation” quote grossly out of context, the anti-Michelle crowd posted copies of her Princeton undergraduate thesis on anti-Obama websites to demonstrate that she was obsessed with being Black, attacked her University of Chicago administrative job as a “diversity position,” spread false rumors that she only wanted Black and other non-whites at campaign rallies, and claimed that she was on tape yelling anti-American statements and other such nonsense. A couple of talk show hosts referred to Michelle Obama by invoking the term “lynching party.” YES INDEED! THINGS HAVE BEEN UGLY! For the record, the supposedly “whitey” tapes never surfaced. That is because they never existed. For the hosts’ jingoistic, wild-eyed, racist, sexist, and xenophobic right-winged supporters, just the thought of such recordings was enough to whip them into spasms of anti-Michelle Obama frenzy. Clearly, the nation’s first Black first lady - glamorous, accomplished, and unapologetic - still lives, rent-free, in the minds of Trump and his MAGA supporters.

Some people argue that there have been other first ladies like Hillary Clinton and Nancy Reagan who have undergone critical and hostile scrutiny. Although true, neither Mrs. Clinton nor Mrs. Reagan were subjected to acerbic racial overtones. They were criticized for certain excesses, but never were the attacks, especially in the case of Nancy Reagan, so racially charged or personal. Race has undoubtedly been a factor in such treatment. However, like many strong, radiant, and viable Black women before her, Mrs. Obama has managed to admirably shrug off such criticism and resentment and focus on the goals that are important to her. In essence, while her critics have continually gone low, Ms. Obama has perennially taken the high road.

Despite pockets of naysayers, the reality is that Michele Obama has numerous admirers across the political spectrum. Many individuals see her diverse, flexible, and sincere personality as refreshing. The truth is that many her most strident, bigoted critics, who would rather have seen the Obamas cooking and cleaning in the White House rather than residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as they did for eight years, have been unable to successfully demonize either of them. Michelle Obama will remain true to herself and to her constituencies. She is indeed one classy, resilient, and intelligent former first lady.