I see you.

September 4, 2008 3:32 PM

Searching for something Bill Clinton once said, when he was on Oprah. Help me find this quote!

I remember Bill Clinton being on Oprah about 5 or 6 years ago. They were discussing African traditions, I think. Bill Clinton mentioned a tribe that acknowledges one another by using a phrase that translates to "I see you" rather than "hello" or something similar.

I can't find anything about the interview or this quote online. I'd love to know what Clinton said (as it had to do with acknowledging each other, and how important that is) and what the actual phrase is, too.

Am I crazy? Did I imagine this?

Thanks in advance for any help or insight!

posted by gursky to grab bag (6 comments total)

It's not Oprah, but googling (Bill Clinton "I see you") directs to this Harvard address as the first item. The anecdote is in the last paragraph.
posted by meerkatty at 3:45 PM on September 4, 2008

For whatever reason the page is no longer available on Oprah's site. If you refer to Google's cache you can find the original page here
posted by djpappas at 7:16 PM on September 4, 2008

thanks, meerkatty! at least i know i'm not crazy.
i want to find the word/phrase.

thank you, djpappas!
i'm going to see if i can get more info about the show and possibly find that word/phrase.
posted by gursky at 8:21 PM on September 4, 2008

Call up Oprah's show and request a transcript. Ok. Apparently the site is down...and they will be back up after a while to field your request.
posted by hal_c_on at 8:36 PM on September 4, 2008

Is it the Zulu word Sawubona?

http://anamericaninpretoria.blogspot.com/2008/04/sawubona.html
posted by Solon and Thanks at 11:17 PM on September 4, 2008

Solon and Thanks -- i am eternally grateful! that's great!

hal_c_on -- i think i will eventually request one, simply because i've been thinking of this interview quite a lot, and wouldn't mind to read it. thanks!
posted by gursky at 7:35 PM on September 5, 2008