Tea Party Republican sent offensive Obama email

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Sure it needs to be kicked- starting with the people that very specifically use such images with a very obvious racial tone against a black man whereas others that use monkey imagery to depict the stupidity of a white man. Both have their context and both have their specific intended effect.

In this case they depicted his parents as apes. His mother is white how is that racial?

[Zero Sum 305]

In this case they depicted his parents as apes. His mother is white how is that racial?

Try thinking of the stupidity of the people that depicted his parents in that way.

[fozzie 41]

Good lord! Really? How can people be so blind to the racial conotations? Context really is lost on some people.

The fact that it is a 'family portrait' is irrelevant because the intended target is Obama himself, not his parents.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Good lord! Really? How can people be so blind to the racial conotations? Context really is lost on some people.

The fact that it is a 'family portrait' is irrelevant because the intended target is Obama himself, not his parents.

I think, in general, this an overreaction. I'm not particularly a conservative or republican and generally I like Obama.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Everyone knows that falling trees in desolate forests don't make any noise.

[Zero Sum 305]

I know, or at least I think I know what Sousuke is trying to accomplish in wanting all involved to move on towards a post-racial America. This is something that the racist elephant in the room is not doing and won't do, although we that are not of that ilk should be comforted that every year here on out there will be less and less of these imbeciles in the human race.

[fozzie 41]

I think people not only object to the racial connotations but also to the way it gets defended. Sometimes its just better to say "ooops, I f****ed up. Sorry"

[Zero Sum 305]

We should not be afraid of trying to identify those people for what they are.

[The Dude 206]

No in fact to say its ok to portray a white man as a monkey but not a black man is a double standard that everyone, especially the media, needs to kick.

Since when did monkeys and apes equal the racial profile of a man?

I'm saying that it is a different message sent if you portray a white man as a monkey than if you portray a black one in the same manner. Do you really not know the historical connotation of portraying a black man as a monkey? It's an insult either way, but one has racist overtones.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

I'm saying that it is a different message sent if you portray a white man as a monkey than if you portray a black one in the same manner. Do you really not know the historical connotation of portraying a black man as a monkey? It's an insult either way, but one has racist overtones.

I guess zero is right. As weird as this may sound, I just wish we lived in a society where a black man can be called a monkey without racial reference.

[The Dude 206]

I guess zero is right. As weird as this may sound, I just wish we lived in a society where a black man can be called a monkey without racial reference.

I wish I had a flying unicorn, but I live in the real world. It would be nice to have transcended racism as a society, but that is a dream.

[Vi-Jay 218]

I guess zero is right. As weird as this may sound, I just wish we lived in a society where a black man can be called a monkey without racial reference.

Aww, turn that frown upside down!

Whoever said wishes never come true? Some do! Yes they do, if you only believe.

So, here's what you do...

Hit the street walking. Maybe hum a tune to keep your mood up. How 'bout that Paul and Michael diddy, "Ebony and Ivory"?

Perfect!

Anyway, while you're walking and singing, try to spot the darkest skinned fellow you have ever seen.

Oh, but not some skinny little man. Find the darkest skinned all American beef, double quarter pounder with cheese, man.

Walk right up to him, singing loudly, and say "heeeyyy, MONKEY, wazzup?"

and Please, Please Please!!! Have someone come with you and bring a Digi-cam, to capture the moment.

Then hurry and up it here!

[eekee 182]

I think the swastika has permanent negative connotations tied to it, but apes and monkeys? I think it takes a racist point of view to make the conclusion that it reflects Obama's ethnicity.

I'm not in anyway saying you or anyone else is racist...i'm just trying to look at this with an open mind. I think if I was trying to insult Obama's race in this situation, I would not have made his mother an ape but rather a human.

Swastikas are an ancient Sanskrit symbol, used in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism... but like you said, it is hard to disassociate it from the Nazi connotations now. The Nazis took this symbol, rotated it a bit, and undid thousands of years of positive association with that particular symbol by using it as a symbol for the systematic death of millions.

The intended meaning behind a symbol is what is important. You cannot say, "Oh, well this doesn't mean sense because Obama's mother is white, so the intention of the person is negated." There is a huge difference between saying that a WASP from Connecticut looks like a chimp and that a man with a father from Kenya is a chimp, and it stems from hundreds of years of colonial history that is so deep in our culture that most are not even conscious of it. You cannot make a post-racial society happen overnight. It has to evolve, and the way it DOES evolve is when people stop accepting and making excuses for things like equating a man of black African descent with a chimpanzee. If and when this loses all meaning, then it will be OK to call both a stupid white man and a stupid black man a chimp. But as to whether that will eiver happen is questionable.

Edited April 19, 2011 by eekee