Sunday, July 12, 2009

He Said She Said Blah Blah Blah


"A typical street whore." "A bunch of ghetto thugs." "Ghetto street trash." "Wonder when she will get her first abortion."

These are a small selection of some of the racially-charged comments posted to the conservative 'Free Republic' blog Thursday, aimed at U.S. President Barack Obama's 11-year-old daughter Malia after she was photographed wearing a t-shirt with a peace sign on the front.

The thread was accompanied by a photo of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that featured the caption, "To entertain her daughter, Michelle Obama loves to make monkey sounds."

Though this may sound like the sort of thing one might read on an Aryan Nation or white power website, they actually appeared on what is commonly considered one of the prime online locations for U.S. Conservative grassroots political discussion and organizing - and for a short time, the comments seemed to have the okay of site administrators.

Moderators of the blog left the comments - and commenters - in place until a complaint was lodged by a writer doing research on the conservative movement, almost a full day later.
Pic and full story here

OK, so the nuts and bolts of this story boil down to "The evil conservative forum is taking pot shots at one of Obama's kids, and they are saying some pretty cruel things. They didn't start self monitoring the situation until someone doing research on the conservative movement was offended."

This is news how? This whole incident is wrong on plenty of levels. First and foremost, involving children in our political discussions is wrong, period. End of story. Personally I find the shirt offensive in that Malia's parents, supposedly leaders of the free world, choose to let their daughter adorn herself with a symbol that offends about forty eight percent of us. Frankly, I expect to see the kids adorned in t-shirts with Che and sporting a beret. Because, considering the "progressive" (read socialist) thinking this president and his wife exhibit, those symbols are acceptable. Plus, they "won," and don't give a rat's ass what we think about it. Just as an example, look at how the Big O administration has treated our most staunch ally Great Britain. Words and symbols mean something, but not to this clueless bunch.

It doesn't mean the kids need to be raked over the coals, though.

But, you say, the left has NO problem doing the same thing. All true. The most obvious example is the children of Sarah Palin. The 'tards at Huffington Post, Daily Kos and the DU (but I repeat myself) can't let sniping at the kids even now. David Letterman, who just follows trends, couldn't resist. In his world, what he did was all right. When he found out his world wasn't his audiences' - he backed down. Andrew Sullivan can't let his deranged conspiracy theories go, either. Hello! Y'all "won!" WTF? This is all more than slightly reminiscent of the Romans salting the earth at Carthage. But this strategy is failing because people are noticing how boorish that behavior really is. Image is everything, baybee.

Neither side has any moral high ground. The Bush twins, Chelsea Clinton, hell, even Amy Carter have all suffered from this bs. It doesn't make repeating that strategy right. Two wrongs??? Anybody?? Bueller??

And btw, this whole article stinks. Is there any mention of similar liberal tactics? Some "random" (oh yeah, uh huh) writer just happened to find this researching the conservative movement. Just what did they expect to find at the Free Republic (home of the Freepers and the conservative counterpart to the DU or Daily Kos)? I'll just bet the result of that insightful and thought provoking heavy lifting would be completely unbiased and show both sides of this issue. Mmmmkay. Well, then again, not freaking likely. "They" got exactly what they were looking for - only looking at one side.

Just keep your blinders on, people. That way we are all so polarized we cannot even begin to approach solving anything. And, Oh, look! Something shiny! MJ is still dead! OMG!

H/T SondraK

4 comments:

Kathy B. said...

I rarely comment on political matters - so just keep in mind that this is not a political statement. I'm going to talk about the peace symbol purely from a fashion standpoint. It is a very fashionable symbol for clothing, jewelry, accessories - just about anything I pick up contains three crucial symbols: cross, peace symbol and the words love. I'm covered in these on most days. However, I honestly never thought about the peace symbol as offensive. For me, it signifies a laid-back attitude of "peace to you" - nothing about war or matters that cause un-peace.

Jeffro said...

Thanks for commenting, Kathy. You know your thoughts carry quite a bit of water with me.

Yes, I understand what the peace sign means to you. But, it's a powerful symbol. It certainly meant something in the sixties - it was far more than a fashion statement then. Symbols and words mean something, even if those using them think them declasse.

The iconic image of Che in his beret is stylish, but offensive to many, considering he was a murderous thug to the people he was supposedly "liberating." I expect someone sporting the Confederate flag in Harlem is going to find the reception a bit chilly, regardless of the wearer's intent or fashion sensibilities. The swastika is another symbol laden with baggage.

And here I go lecturing you. Ain't politics great...

Kathy B. said...

You make good points. I also believe your were a debater in high school:) Totally can see your point- especially with the examples you used. Honestly I never thought about this point of view. Always good to know. So how do you feel about the wishbone or the skull and crossbones:)

Jeffro said...

Aaarrrgghhh! Avast ye mateys, there'll be no salad served on board this ship without the proper dressing! I'll keelhaul yer sorry hides!

:)