In this electronic image of a poster with head shots of U.S. Presidents, take a look at the “photo” that was selected for Obama. Let me help you. Check out the lower right-hand corner. The image was a joke sent out in an email by an aide in the Tennessee state legislature. I think you can assume that the aid was a GOP staff member–but don’t be fooled to think that there are no Democratic aides that would make a similar blunder.
This goes into the file labeled, “What in the world were they thinking?” I’m torn between assuming, on one hand, that the people who end up in this file are just a few knuckleheads AND that this is emblematic of the depth of racism in our society on the other. (People really do seem to make a lot of racist jokes…or so I’ve heard.)
Here’s another one for the file.
Shortly after the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a Boston police officer and member of the Massachusetts National Guard sent out an email–and to lots of people, I should add–in which he called Gates a “banana eating jungle monkey.” Ouch.
By the way, there is a sub-folder in this file that is titled “What the F are they thinking?” and this one probably goes there. The police office, Captain Justin Barrett (he’s not a twenty year old rookie), asserted that he felt remorse and was sorry for the email and that he is not racist because, afterall, he has friends from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. “It was a poor choice of words,” Barrett said. “I didn’t mean it in a racist way. I treat everyone with dignity and respect.”
Can I disentangle this just a bit. It seems to me that if I went to a KKK meeting and asked someone in a hood to define “negro,” they just might say something like, “Negro? Why yes, son, that would be a ‘banana eating jungle monkey’.” What else would they possibly say that would be acceptable to the racist hoards waiting to reclaim the country from the brown skinned barbarians?
Here’s another one for the WTF file:
Unfortunately, this guy only had the funds to pay an entry level, mail order public relations clean-up person and so he couldn’t come up with something more convincing than blaming it on supporters of Charles Darwin. That was a pathetic attempt to spin this slip and it went nowhere. My god, brother, have some respect for our intellect.
I find myself saying some pretty off-the-hook things at random moments and yet I never seem to slip into this level of racist banter. I guess since I don’t have the thoughts, the words never leave my lips. But I have to wonder if this how many of us think in our private moments. And then when these private moments get loose in the public domain, they spin about until we’re all dizzy with the feeling of impending dread of having to suffer another media circus.
Sometimes the “attack of the racists” goes a bit too far — like the condemnation of the poor schmuck who a few years back correctly and unwisely used “niggardly” in a meeting among colleagues. He got hammered pretty hard because his office mates didn’t know what the word meant. (Of course, he might have been baiting them because without the “dly” the word is pronounced just like the N-bomb.)
Other times, however, I suspect that people who engage in what is so obviously offensive and racist behavior clearly deserve what they get. “We don’t give a damn if it’s part of your cultural heritage; we don’t do that any more.” Sure there can be a very fine line between these two reactions, and I don’t want to be the judge of who crosses it. But sometimes enough if enough.
I am not quite sure where to start on the “What Are They Thinking?” Blog entry. To say I was a little taken by the blatant racism these images and remarks exemplified is an understatement. Let’s start one at a time. The first image, a very nice collection of past presidents’ photos becomes apart of a very unfunny racist joke. To put a black box and only eyes as a representative of the present President Obama crosses a controversial line in a large way. We all poke fun at people in politics and in the media, but I am left feeling guilty rather than entertained by this “joke.” Isn’t “the President is black” joke getting a little old? How far have we really come if the President is recognized more for his race than his actual politics? What was even more jaw-dropping was who created and spread this image around, a aide in the Tennessee state legislature. Really, how do you think that would not make news? Being governmentally employed I think that you are even more responsible for the way you conduct yourself. I don’t like when there are nasty and disrespectful comments made about anyone; even with President Bush, I felt that unnecessary comments were always passed and it showed a general lack of respect. There are certain policies under the new administration that I personally do not agree with, but I feel like it is important to still show respect for the President, which this image does not do at all.
At least once in your childhood, you have probably heard your mother say “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.” Well obviously a Boston police officer and some GOP activists didn’t heed these words wisely. While commenting on the Gates arrest and the negative publicity it brought, a Boston police officer claimed that Gates was a "banana eating jungle monkey." Saying that was a poor choice of words is in itself a poor choice of words. The negative image that this whole issue brought up was definitely not alleviated by this comment. This brings me to the question of why would you say something this offensive when you are a public figure? Similar to this was the comment made by the GOP activist about Michelle Obama being related to an escaped gorilla in North Carolina. Not only was this really a bit of a stretch, but it was also really unnecessary. I am not quite sure what sparked the nature of this comment, which leads me to believe that there was no specific reason for it. By saying this statement so out of the blue it makes the prejudice even more apparent and spiteful; I think that people need to really think long and hard of the meaning of their statements before they say them, if it feels wrong to you, then it probably is.
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Racism is like an incurable disease. It spreads from person to person, but there is nothing available to heal those affected by the disease. Racism will never cease to exist. The most we can do as a people is mitigate and subdue the blatant racism that exists to this day. Despite it being the 21st Century and nearly 50 years after the civil rights movement, ignorant people still can’t accept the fact that this world is composed of color. In my eyes, I see no color on the skins of the world population. I only see different ethnicities and various cultures. I learn to either accept them or maintain a neutral stance. I wouldn’t be as ignorant as the Tennessee legislator or Rusty DePass and disrespect the person or race. The Tennessee legislator and Rusty DePass are both racist and unpatriotic in my opinion. So what if Barack Obama is Kenyan and Michelle Obama is black. They are the leaders of this wonderful country I like to call the US of A. Mr. Obama is the President and his wife the first lady; these titles alone demand a certain amount of respect.
People that are racist are just plain stupid. The reason why people are racist are because they are either jealous of a person that is of a different race or the person of color did something to tick the racist person off. However, when the racist wants to speak his/her mind they immediately attack the person’s skin color not the issue that is bothering them. The reason for this is that the racist does not have the intelligence necessary to formulate a sensible and feasible argument against the person of color, so he takes the easy way out and attacks their skin color. Currently, there a quite a few people that disagree with President Obama’s policies. Some examples include the Tennessee legislator and Rusty DePass. As you have noticed they attacked the Obamas’ race. They didn’t develop some sort of sensible argument. Instead the merely began to poke fun at the Obamas’ race. Even if they were just trying to have some fun, there is a thin line when it comes to making jokes about the President especially if the joke has racial undertones. Obviously Rusty and the Tennessee guy were oblivious to this line and had no inhibition. Acts like these can ruin a politician’s career. A couple months ago, George Allen, a senator from Virginia was annoyed with the an Indian person who worked for the opposing candidate. At one of his speeches, the Indian guy was there listening to what he was talking about when the candidate called him out by saying, “This fellow here, over here with the yellow shirt, Macaca or whatever his name is, he's with my opponent,” Allen said. And later, “So welcome, let's give a welcome to Macaca here! Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia!" The video clip has been viewed 320,000 times.
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I was completely shocked when I first saw the head shot picture of all the presidents. I mean president Obama portrayed as two eyes in an otherwise completely blackened picture… What we’re they thinking!? It really doesn’t surprise me that this came from some politician in Tennessee. He probably figured his white friends would get a kick out of it huh? It’s amazing how absent minded some people can be. And sadly, it gets worse. Boston police’s Captain Justin Barrett calling Henry Louis Gates a “banana eating jungle monkey” is one of the most blatant cases of racism I have ever seen. Are you kidding me? Being from Boston, it makes me angry that members of our police force could act in such an unprofessional and downright racist manner. I really don’t care what excuses Justin Barrett wants to give because there is absolutely no way that “banana eating jungle monkey” could not be considered racist and offensive. Although I don’t really know how I feel about the entire situation with Mr. Gates (I’ve heard he’s quite the arrogant asshole) no one deserves to be treated with such disrespect and racism.
When I watched the video of GOP Activist Rusty Depass who commented that an escaped Gorilla was probably one of Michelle Obama’s relatives, I couldn’t help but laugh. Not at the joke, but rather because I really just could not believe Mr. Depass actually tried to blame his way out of it. Listen Rusty, you called our First Lady a Gorilla. There is no way you can say you didn’t, and there is no way you can talk your way out of it. It was racist and you deserve anything you get out of it. I mean what were you thinking?! He then tried to blame the comment on the fact that Michelle Obama one time spoke about evolution. Wow. This story is really incredible. I mean, at a time when we have just elected our first black president and our society is moving forward, people like Rusty Depass need to make dumb, racist comments and prove that racism is still prevalent. I think that’s the most sobering part of hearing any of these stories. We all love to believe that true racism is a thing of the past but the truth is it’s not. I mean, apparently phrases like banana eating jungle monkey exist right? So while I do believe our society is definitely moving forward and people are more accepting than they were in the past, there will always be a group of people who set us back. As State Radio says in their song Evolution, “The tie that binds us must be stronger than what our differences allow, see the good in a passing wave, that is evolution.”
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I find that poster to be complete outrageous. Yeah sometimes we all have a giggle at the expense of other races but you have to remember who you are and where you make the joke. Maybe if some teenage kid in computer class did this then it would be amusing. However,this was a GOP staff member. What was he thinking? Hello you're a professional. Therefore, you should act accordingly. When you're in a position where you're in the public eye there's just certain things you cannot do. It's just that simple. Even if this guy didn't make the picture he should have known better than that. He certainly should not have sent it to other people. Again people make jokes at the expense of other races all the time. We just need to watch that. What you might feel is a harmless joke others might take it to be extremely offensive.
The "banana eating jungle monkey" comment is just ridiculous! First of all how could you be so dumb to post this on a public website where anyone can see. Second of all what is wrong with the leaders of our nation today. Are the insane? or are we insane for putting them in these positions. It's completely absurb and unneccessary for him to make a comment like that. Him saying he has friends of all racial and ethnic backgrounds in no way makes up for what he said. If anything that makes it even worse. He should know not to say ignorant things of that nature especially since he's so ethnically diverse. This is not an example of someone making a "poor choice of words". Is that really his excuse? Then what exactly was he trying to say then. That's what I want to know. Lets hear it and get this whole thing cleared up.
Wow another ignorant GOP person. I just have no idea what these people were thinking. Newsflash, ifyou're in any way, shape, or form in the public eye you can't just say or do anything you want. There's always going to be someone there to ridicule your actions. In this case he absolutely deserves every negative comment he receives. He completely disrespected our first lady. He's a gron man who needs to grow up and show some respect. He insane to think he could say something like that and assume nobody would say anything about it. His comment was completely outrageous, disrespectful, and racist. It's so sad to see someone disrespect our first lady in such a manner. What's even more outrageous is how he tried to cover himself. The way he tried to make what he said okay was just ridiculous. He has a lot of growing up to do. Perhaps a lot of us has growing up to do. I'm sure everyone has snickered at a racist joke or even made one ourselves.
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Reviewing these stories was honestly unbelievable. I haven’t seen these newspaper articles around so it was sort of a shock for me. At the same time, it made me realize just how much racism is going on in America today and how much is being publicized. What stands out in my mind that went public really fast was the black man being arrested outside his own house for no reason and Obama’s response. This poor guy was arrested outside of his own home because he was perceived as a robber. He lives in a predominantly white area and even those he has been living there for a number of years, the police were called and he was arrested. Not questioned, not given a chance to say it was his home, or anything. Unfair, unjust, and absolutely racist.
It seems that ever since Obama became president, racism has been a top issue in America- not just within the public and surrounding areas, but also with politicians and important figures as well. It sets a bad example for everyone and makes it appear okay.
I just can’t believe what Rusty Depass said about Michelle Obama. It’s disgraceful, disrespectful and just straight up rude. He really is a racist despite his “sincerest” apology to the public. He definitely meant what he said but in his opinion, it was unfortunate that it got out. As for the Henry Louis Gates, Jr. debacle, the racism is seen in extreme forms there as well. Calling someone a “banana eating jungle monkey” and then apologizing for it doesn’t make it right. Like I said before, they mean what they say, it just makes it worse that it is now seen by everyone in the U.S. My favorite part of this article is the “What in the world were they thinking?” category that this was placed in.
The portrait of all the U.S. presidents with President Obama on the bottom right corner with only eyes appearing is the top most disrespect to the president who is trying his best to get us out of this modern day depression we are in. If I was from Tennessee, I would be extremely embarrassed of what my own state legislature did to the state. That makes the entire state look bad regardless if it was only him.
What bothers me a lot about racism is everyone pointing the finger at someone else. I’ve been raised to treat everyone with respect and to not judge a book by its cover. I don’t like when people make excuses for their actions. Using the excuse that you have friends of many different races or that you don’t mean what you said isn’t valid. What comes out of your mouth are your own thoughts. You don’t announce it publicly just for jokes. That’s how problems like this in the world arise.
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These news stories have had a significant amount of play in the media, and I have heard about these tales. Although the stories are troubling and bring up scares of racism, I think that this is nothing new compared to previous years. Racism will never go away. That’s a fact. But racism does not become prominent unless there is a reason. I think, and it is possible that I am wrong, that these stories are only getting this significant media coverage because Barack Obama is our president. Being a minority, black or whatever race he is, if anyone knows, he put race back in the spotlight in such a way it hasn’t been since the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s.
Politicians, police officers, and community figures have been what some people call “racist” forever. The incidents regarding the politician calling Obama a gorilla, or the email calling Professor Gates a “banana eating jungle monkey” are inexcusable (Although isn’t it interesting that a National Guard member from Massachusetts, arguably the most liberal state in the union, sent this email?).
Regarding the police officer incident, the officer was following protocol, so for the professor to respond in such a irrational, irresponsible, and offensive manner was terrible. In a sense, he is a “reverse-racist” because he automatically assumed that a white police officer was arresting him because he was black. Anybody who is shouldering in a door, then becomes belligerent when approached by a cop, and refusing to show identification is going to be put in handcuffs, regardless of what race he or she is.
Before people stop calling people racist, and Sam is correct when the most offensive name anyone can call a white person is “racist”, they must step back and observe the facts. Was the politician who called Obama a gorilla inherently a racist? Probably not. Was his statement racist? Absolutely. Was the National Guard member who sent the email calling the professor a “banana eating jungle monkey” a racist? Again, probably not. Was the statement racist? Again, absolutely. Was what the police officer in Cambridge, Massachusetts racist? No. Was what he did racist? Absolutely not.
The media played out the police officer/professor incident to make it appear as if the police officer was the chief of the KKK, and the professor as Rosa Parks. It bothers me, a conservative white male, that anytime a white person interacts with a black or African American person in such a way that the minority is the “victim” or ends up on the losing end, the white guy is a racist.
In New York City, police officers are instructed to fire their weapons when a suspect is pointing a gun at them. When a white cop shoots a black man pointing a loaded gun at him, the cop is a racist. When a black cop shoots a black suspect in the same situation, the cop is a hero. When a black cop shoots a white suspect pointing a loaded weapon at him, again the cop is a hero.
WTF
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When I first saw this portrait, I couldn’t help but take a second look. I believe whoever saw this painting would just cover their mouths and would be speechless. Seeing just a black background with two big, bold eyes, that is simply ridiculous. I find this to be very offensive and intolerable. Barack Obama is our first African American President and people have to realize that he should be respected. This is supposed to be the beginning and first step to stop and resolve these racial issues that the nation has upheld for all these years. Yes, racial problems are inevitable and it just happens. But with this painting, people now are just taking this too far. Some might find this a joke but what if the script was flipped? What if, you were the only one of your race in the group, it would feel awkward and jokes would be made, I bet anyone would feel offended in some sort of way. In addition, these are adults from the Tennessee state legislature, do they have no shame? This is very immature and on top of that, not only the Republicans find this funny, Democrats isn’t defended Obama and this situation but laughing at this also. I guess some people just can’t face reality that our president is evidently, black. If many people have accepted that already why can’t others? I feel so strongly about this because some people are just “knuckle heads” and they don’t realize that Obama won majority of America’s votes not just because he’s black. America believed that he can get things right, to get everything straightened out, not because he’s a different race and we needed a “change”.
“What are you thinking?” was my reaction to the comment made to Michelle Obama. He had no right or reason to be saying those words. It can’t be a “mistake” because there’s no way; a person can say those words without it being a racial comment. I mean “banana eating jungle monkey” how can you even come up with such a phrase? Michelle is the First Lady and should be treated with respect; she has done so much and does not deserve to be called that.
I agree with Sam, enough is enough. I’m sick of seeing racism everywhere I go. I experienced it every day back at Philly simply because I grew up around majority African Americans. I ask myself and other people the same question almost every other day “Why do black people get offended when the N-bomb is used by a different race, but yet they can use the word among themselves.” In my opinion, that is very hypocritical. No one gives an honest answer because no one knows. So many people fought against segregation so that African Americans today can have an equal opportunity, so that the N word cannot just be thrown around with any and every sentence. All that hard work went to nothing.
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I have very mixed emotions to this post. I consider myself to be a very open and accepting person, but that in no way means that I don’t appreciate a racist joke. One of my favorite jokes of all time is “What do you tell a black jew?…Get in the back of the oven.” As someone who is Jewish myself, I hear anti-semitic jokes frequently, and they don’t bother me in the slightest. I simply consider it another area of language and society which can be twisted around to turn into a joke. If the joke is told for the specific purpose of insulting or bothering another person, or group, then I believe the joke to be inappropriate and in bad taste. I do believe, however, that in many cases a racist joke can be simply that, a joke. The situations given in the post may have been intended as jokes, however for a person of political importance, even just a police captain, to make a racist joke in a public forum, is just stupid. My reasoning for this is that while any of those jokes could easily have been made strictly for comedic entertainment, but when seen out of context there is no possible way to know. Not to mention that someone in politics always has enemies, and these enemies are always looking for something to use to make them look bad. How any of these people could be stupid enough to post something of this nature, particularly on Facebook, I have no idea. In the case of the police officer who sent the email, I can not find a single possible explanation for that beyond blatant racism. Then again he is a cop you can’t expect them to be overly intelligent. If they were, maybe they would have real jobs. However, the purpose of this response is not simply to discuss my contempt for the police department, it is to discuss my feelings on the general lack of intelligence among our government. In the case of the aide who sent out the picture where President Obama is represented as nothing more than a shadow with eyes, I wonder whether he honestly thought that nobody would find that offensive, or believed that nobody who would care would find out. The reality is that any intelligent person would realize that neither of those are even remotely possible options. This is the government of the United States of America we are talking about. You should know, YOU WORK FOR THEM. It is very hard to decide where to draw the line between comedy and racism, but the line has to be drawn somewhere, and something has to be done about the cases that are obviously not simple comedy.
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I found the photos of presidents very offensive when I myself am not even black. I am very well aware of those of people who are very surprised and not happy perhaps, about having the first black president. However, can their personal opinion stay personal as it is called, especially, an aide in the Tennessee state legislature? Not everybody was happy with past presidents, somebody was but others weren’t. And couldn’t Obama taken as who he is not what he is? This topic always bugs me out. I myself am what people call minority. It seems like nobody takes nobody as who they are but what they are, and what they are as in what color they are. I truly believe that the time has arrived which individuals should be taken as the characteristics of the individual not as their races. Maybe it’s little too early for some people, but I’ve been noticing the crossover between groups of different people such as music and fashion. I wouldn’t call myself being interested in politics and current issues, but I believe that being the President should never be judged by one’s skin color, Obama being black in this case. As a matter of fact and we already have discussed in the class, Obama himself is not even black or the word that people commonly use, African American. Even if he was, race is not the sum of individual; it’s only a fraction of oneself. And the gorilla comment should never be taken easily. It doesn’t matter how many good things the GOP activists have done or are doing currently. How could they say that was a joke? Their excuse made themselves look even more pathetic. They shouldn’t have said anything but apologized.
I may be a hypocrite but I believe that Microsoft’s advertisement directed at Polish consumer was different case. This case was viewed firmly by American perspective. It wasn’t the right thing to Just photoshop the black person out of the picture, but I believe that people in advertisements should vary depend on the location. Advertisement is meant to draw attentions of consumers as well as their needs. For example, let’s say one of those advertisements full of white people and an advertisement of Asian people were used in Asia. And they both were advertising the same product. I could be wrong but I believe that the advertisement with Asian people would sell more product than the one with white people. It is more about sympathy than the race or they both are in the same context. As it is mentioned on the blog, parts of Poland are mostly populated by white people. I believe this advertisement was Microsoft’s strategy to sell more product rather than racism. However, I still believe that just photoshoping the black person was wrong, they should’ve made the whole new advertisement.
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This blog was really interesting, because it shows just how much racism still exists in our world today. Yes, Obama is our first (half) black president, but there is no need to highlight this difference in a negative light. The photo of all the white presidents preceding Obama’s term portrays Obama as literally, the color black, and a pair of eyes. Diminishing someone down to the mere color of his or her skin is tasteless, ignorant, and immature. What makes it even worse is that it was sent out by an aid in the Tennessee state legislature! Someone who works for the government is distributing demeaning portrayals of our president out on the Internet! That is not right.
As for the case of the police officer Captain Justin Barrett’s comment about Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Sam makes a perfect point in asking, “What are they thinking?” A “banana-eating jungle monkey” is NOT synonymous for any person in any way, shape, or form, let alone a black person. Barrett clearly holds racist beliefs if he justifies his comment by saying he has friends from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. That doesn’t make sense AT ALL! That’s like someone using the N-word and defending their argument by saying he or she has black friends. “It was a poor choice of words…I didn’t mean it in a racist way. I treat everyone with dignity and respect.” Bullcrap! You can’t be dignified if you are calling people monkeys. AND he’s a police officer! What does that say about our country?
Long-time Republican Rusty Depass, a former state Senate candidate and former state election commission chairman had the audacity to comment on a gorilla that escaped from River Bank zoo, saying, “I’m sure it’s just one of Michelle’s ancestors – probably harmless.” He then tries to pin his reasoning on Michelle Obama’s previous comment about how we all descended from apes. That comment was never proven to have left Michelle’s mouth, so…fail on his part. He then tries to get away with saying it was just a joke, but clearly, comparing the First Lady to a gorilla is no laughing matter.
As for the man who got in trouble for saying “niggardly,” people just need to expand their vocabulary…and stop creating words that are made up of derogatory words. Our society has become so quick to jump to conclusions and “racist” labels, so people do not even know if their accusations are reasonable. I think everyone has a hint of racism in them, and racist thoughts may come to mind every once in a while, but having social cues and knowing when to voice them or not is crucial. I think a lot of people feel that they can make these racist comments when they are in a more safe and secure environment, but they must realize that a Facebook comment is still public domain, especially if you are a former state Senate candidate and former state election commission. Good thing he didn’t get elected.
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In regards to the picture with the presidents I think it was actually kind of funny. Being a person of color my first reaction wasn’t "omg my god this is so racists I can’t believe this". I thought of it as just being one of those political jokes they have about politics. I mean presidents have always been made fun of. For instance, former president bush was always made fun of for some of the "stupid" things he would say. President Obama on the other doesn’t really have much to make fun of so someone resorted to the one thing that made him most popular…..his skin color. Of course going after someone’s race isn’t the best idea or safest thing to do, however some of the best jokes are in fact racial ones.
Next as far as for the Boston police officer that referred to Henry Louis Gates as a "banana eating jungle monkey" there’s not much he can say for that remark. There is obviously no other way to take what he said other than it being racist. Calling a black man something as in regards to them being a monkey of any kind can only be racist. I believe he only apologized and felt sorry because he got caught. He probably sent the email to his friends and colleagues as a joke and somebody saw it that he probably didn't intend to see it.
Similarly, racist can be the only reasoning in the report about Rusty DePass comparing Michelle Obama to a gorilla. He wrote the comment probably thinking that it was a joke between two people and didn't think he would get in trouble because of it. Maybe he didn't mean any harm by it, maybe he did, but if you are going to use a racial statement like that, especially towards the first lady, you should be prepared to deal with consequences.
Finally as far as the poor schmuck who used the word niggardly a few years back during one of his meetings is just a victim of people just being plan old stupid. Niggardly means someone who is petty or reluctant in giving or spending. It has nothing to do with any racial slang or meaning anything racist. From what I heard he used the word correctly, it’s just the mere fact that the way it sounds makes him look bad. Also for the fact that nobody knew exactly what the word meant.
All in all I agree professor Richards, if you’re going to engage in racial and offensive behavior you do clearly deserve what comes to you. However with that said some people on the other hand just need to open up and learn to take a joke before jumping to conclusions right away.
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What were they thinking well they thought they were being funny and at that moment didn’t consider the thoughts or feelings of others when they produced and made their racial slurs? Without thought they admitted to their hate or dislike for other humans beings; humans whom they consider to beneath them or to be persons of less value. They publicly displayed their true feelings and made a point to spread the word. How terrible and disappointing it is that such slurs, such feelings, such forms of hate could be brought up, made by, and sent out by high standing officials. These are men that are supposed to hold up to certain standards, be examples, and represent the great country known as America. These Americans are supposed to be those that hold true to the American principles and beliefs. How is it that these men of such a nature could defile themselves and their name especial on the bases of race? Humph, well let’s thank them for opening the eyes of those that were blind to the true beliefs of most governing officials. These men our creating opportunities for Americans to see just how flawed the American government really is. Who amongst these men really believes in equality when there are so many systems to keep people from being on the same level as one another? These are systems which they are trying to keep in place however, Obama poses a threat at ending these systems of oppression and people go crazy. They allow their true colors to show metaphorically speaking. People believed that we came such a long way and racism barely exists. Please! With out- burst like these people can stop ignoring the truth and fight the still current existing problem. And, yes, it’s a major problem when the first lady is being publicly attacked with racial slurs. Where is the respect?
Oh and let me not forget to get on the dude that tried to say he wasn’t racist because he has different friends of other ethnicities. Please! I hate when people try to say that. That is no type of excuse. Having a friend of a different nationality makes you an opportunist. That means you are someone willing to try new things. However, it does not erase any stereotypes, prejudgments, or feelings you may have towards that group. Yes, of course you can become enlightened over time and except some things to be true or false about that that group, but yet and still most beliefs you have towards other people of that same race other than your “so-called” friend will most likely remain. Therefore, the friend that is a different race doesn’t hold up in this court, honey! Such inferences like those above just make you a hypocrite. People sometimes think they can get anyway with anything. For example, you can make jokes about the president, but racist comments aren't considered jokes. You don’t jokingly demean the first lady. That is like calling Eleanor Roosevelt a feminazi.
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In an ideal world, the people who make the most decisions that affect the most people would be the most intelligent and caring for the individuals they make decisions for. Unfortunately, in these great United States of America, that is not the case. In the case of the particular “joke” mentioned in this blog post, I have to agree. What were they thinking? I mean really what were they thinking?
So, instead of showing our current President, Barack Obama’s face, you decide to have a black box with goofy eyes on it. That was quite a funny joke aide of the esteemed Tennessee state legislature member. Barack Obama is half-black, and in the e-mail you posted around the spot where his face should be is black. That’s very clever. Here’s a slightly different idea. Why not put a black box over the faces of presidents who did a terrible job as president. For instance, Andrew Johnson, our seventeenth President, was the only one who was so bad that he was thrown out of office early. How about the presidents who got us into wars or broke our constitutional rights? According to the genius in Tennessee, they shouldn’t be blacked out.
Why not black out the presidents who had extra-marital affairs. I know a President who owned slaves and more than probably had a child with one. The thing is, I can see Thomas Jefferson’s face on this poster, but I cannot see Barack Obama’s. People in Tennessee do the quirkiest things.
Sure, I’ve seen the other side of the coin. I’ve seen a white person make a perfectly innocent statement with no racial undertones that eventually turned into a bigger apology than Michael Vick gave to get back into the NFL. I’ve also heard people say completely idiotic things to and about black people and others of color. Although, I have never heard anyone call someone else a “banana eating jungle monkey”. That statement definitely gets filed away in the new category. For instance, I was at a friend’s house, and his roommate was flipping through the channels. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece was being interviewed on some channel. She was saying that we’ve come a long way as far as racial equality goes in the United States, but we still have much progress to make. To which, my friend’s roommate, a white Jew by the way, promptly switched channels calling her a black bitch then complaining that they already have a black president why are they asking for more. Statements like these are just irritating to me for many reasons. One, not all black people voted for Obama. Two, Obama doesn’t favor just black people. Three, that statement is completely ridiculous. There is still an equality gap in the U.S. between whites and other races, and statements like these just further the gap. I would like there to be a day where we can no longer comment on stories like these, but it doesn’t look like that will happen anytime soon.
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I’m not going to lie I do enjoy the occasional racial joke. I have heard a lot of them, especially Black jokes and Mexican jokes. I am half Mexican and I think many of these jokes are pretty funny, but a lot of them are blatantly racist and inappropriate which I don’t like. When a joke is made in good, innocent fun I understand and those are the jokes that I think are funny, but when someone makes a joke just to be rude then I do not like them. I think that the poster of the presidents is a joke that was made in bad taste. Personally I don’t like the joke. I would be a hypocrite if I said that public officials should not be made fun of because I criticized and made fun of George W. Bush all the time. Maybe I just feel sorry for Obama because he was put into a bad situation that was ultimately created by George Bush. He did eliminate a huge economic surplus we had before he got into office and created one of the biggest deficits in United States history. I just don’t understand how someone messes up everything the way he did. I do however believe that public officials should be held accountable for their actions and if they mess up really bad, like Bush did, then they deserve to be criticized and made fun of. I don’t think that Obama has done anything that is worth criticizing him about, yet. I understand if someone wants to joke about the job that someone is doing, but not to joke about their race. I guess it just goes to show that some people only see race when they look at other people. They don’t see Obama as just a president, but a black president. I understand that he is the first black president of the United States, but couldn’t he just be seen as a president without his race attached to it?
The comment that the police officer made about Henry Gates was extremely inappropriate and absolutely unnecessary. I can’t believe that someone would call anyone, especially a black man a “banana eating jungle monkey.” There is no context where calling someone that is appropriate. I don’t care if he was trying to make a “joke” because someone would have to be messed up in the head to think that that is funny. I also can’t believe that he tried to use the excuse that he has friends of many different races to play off the racist comment that he made. I also can’t believe that De Pass made the comment about Michelle Obama relating her to a gorilla. This is extremely inappropriate. Once again it’s a shame how people can only see things that are on the surface. His excuse to justify the comment he made was almost as bad as the police officer’s excuse. De Pass tried to justify his inappropriate comment with Darwin’s theory of evolution. I personally can’t believe that even in today’s diverse world racism is still a big problem.
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I really had no reaction, either good or bad, to this article. I’ve seen so many of these jokes that I’m unperturbed by them. The picture of all the presidents actually made me laugh a little. If that makes me a racist, then so be it. But come on. It’s obviously a joke. People joke about this stuff all the time and it doesn’t make big news. People make jokes about rednecks, Asians, little people, Europeans, schools and pretty much everything there is. If the President was Asian, there would be a problem with Asian jokes. Same goes for all the other things being made fun of. It just happens that our president is black and that just brings to light jokes that were once okay are not anymore. I think it sucks that we have to watch what we say, do, or even just find funny. We’re not allowed to really be people anymore. Just because we think something is funny, doesn’t mean we think its true or right. For example, I’m a blonde. I laugh at blonde jokes. Do I think they’re true? No, but I still find them funny. I’m not going to freak out at anyone for cracking a blonde joke or a joke about Germans because that just happens to be what I am. I do think its different when it comes to race but people have to loosen up a little. That poster was obviously meant to be funny. In comparison to all the stuffy white men in the rest of the picture, it draws humor. However, what the man in the video said was not a joke. I don’t feel like that was meant to be a joke. And to pass the blame on someone else is cowardly. He should have at least owned up to it. It might have been better if he had just totally embraced it; used what he said to downplay the situation. But to blame his “gorilla” comment on Darwinism? Darwin says that we were evolved from monkeys. A gorilla is not a monkey. We come from chimps, not Gorillas. Chimps and gorillas aren’t even in the same group. A gorilla is a great ape, not a monkey. It was a stretch for him to connect his comment with the supposed “false teachings” of Darwinism. He shouldn’t play off his stupid comment on an issue bigger than racism. It said that there was no record of Michelle Obama even making a statement like that. And why would she? Why would the president’s wife make comments about a very controversial subject so early in Mr. Obama’s presidency? Most people don’t really touch on the religion vs. evolution argument. It wouldn’t make sense for her to say something on it. I guess, for the most part in this day and age, people need to watch what they say. It sucks that our freedom of speech is being infringed upon but I think some people are stepping over the line.
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What are they thinking?!
Forty-three presidents photographed in their best attire and only Barrack Obama, our newest president is being singled out and made fun of. How could someone be this ignorant or just this racist? Didn't he go through the same process as every other President to get elected?
Didn't he work just as hard to get into office as any of the white presidents? Exactly, then why make fun of only him? Is it because he's black? What in the world were they thinking? This folder label seems to adequately reflect my thoughts on the matter. How could someone in such a high government position be so stupid as to go out of their way to make a poster that bashes the president of his own country. This man needs to have more respect for the ruler of the government that keeps him employed. We voted for him I don't think we need a reminder that he's black. The Tennessee state legislatures aide makes skin color a joke, but what does color have to do with anything? Does it make him less intelligent? Does it mean he makes bad decisions? Does this make him incapable of running a country? Of course not, if it did then why would we vote for him. This is usually behavior exhibited by immature people; I’d hope this aide in the Tennessee State legislature isn't this immature while at work. Not only is he being immature, but he's setting a bad example for everyone else, he's making it seem like it's alright to be racist and disrespect the president.
The statement made about Henry Gates Louis is also very distasteful. I'm not sure what was going through his head, emailing people, calling gates a "banana eating jungle monkey". First off why email everyone publicly humiliating this person, and secondly why use such terms when talking about anyone? Clearly this officer has something against people of color. To add to it, he goes on to justify his comment by claiming he's not racist because he has friends of many different ethnic backgrounds. How does this make any difference at all? Just because he has some friends of ethnic backgrounds doesn’t give him the right to put down anyone! This article is very similar to the video in which the SCGOP activist relates Michelle Obama to a gorilla from the zoo. Once again he goes on TV to apologize like he didn't intend for it to be disgraceful to her and it was all in good fun.
Here we are in the year 2009, about 144 years after slavery was abolished and still we can't get along. It's unfortunate that there are still people out there that believe they're superior to people of different ethnic backgrounds. They believe the color of their skin gives them the right to oppress or make fun of each other.
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I feel like politics was literally just created to cause controversy. It just goes to show you how immature and ridiculous even grown adults can be. As for this aide who created this montage of presidents, we now have a black president. It’s time to embrace it and get used to it because after all he is leading the country you live in. Shouldn’t you have a little respect for him? There is a reason he won, and a reason he was inducted so it’s time little aide to accept his skin color and move on. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and is very well allowed to voice it, however this is blatant disrespect.
In regards to the Boston Police Officer, he obviously has no idea what the words dignity and respect mean considering he has none for those who may be different from him and he compromised his dignity when he sent out that e-mail. It baffles me as to how people think they can get away with calling others by such hurtful and condescending names. Maybe white people need to get a taste of their own medicine—there has never been an anti-white movement in the US. I mean think about it, the biggest genocide to have ever occurred targeted Jews. After the Holocaust, as a whole, we swore it would never happen again. But it did and it is, it’s just not as big of a deal because we are indirectly allowing the oppression to happen.
If Captain Barrett has friends that are of “all racial and ethnic backgrounds”, how do you think the Black ones feel now that they too are banana eating jungle monkeys. I mean hey, my friends would LOVE if I made a crack at their race publicly…not.
Criticism and racism are two completely different things. If there was a group of people practicing a morally unacceptable ritual and being condemned for it, that would be criticism. If there is a group of people criticizing another ethnic group or race for no reason, because they are fearful of those different from them, then that would be closer to racism. By all means have your own opinions, but respect the feelings and beliefs of others when you voice them. For most people, they ignore racism when they see it if it doesn’t pertain to them. I mean we’re all a little racist, we’ve all laughed at a black joke or a crack at the overwhelming number of Oriental students on campus. In reality, we need to be mindful of other people’s feelings… and like Sam made reference to the “entry-level” PR guy, I think it make sense to be respectful. Chances are you’re not going to do a good job of covering it up anyway.
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In this post Sam chronicles numerous incidences where blatantly racist “jokes” and comments were described and left up for discussion. The first one was the picture of the presidents and the picture of just Barack’s eyes where he should have been. There was a video posted of where a Senator from South Carolina called Michele Obama’s relative’s gorillas and yet another one where someone during a staff meeting called someone’s actions “niggardly”.
It has been apparent within the first six months that Barack and Michelle Obama have become target for jokes and comments that other presidents and their wives didn’t have to go through. No one would ever have the guts to make jokes or Photoshop pictures like the ones that have popped up about Bush. This picture was supposed to be a momentous and commemorative picture that people can look back on and see many years of history at one time. But with this version it has been tainted forever. It by no means is funny, it doesn’t make any sense since Barack is half white, and is light skinned. I’m not against joking and having at good time as long as they are in good, intelligent taste. This was a failure on intellectually, mentally, and politically. I hope that aide is searching for a new job. If not, this brings about the topic of personal responsibility, which is my problem with the next comment.
The comment Senator Rusty Depasse made about Michelle Obama’s ancestors being Gorillas literally made me nauseous. How racist, and completely insensitive can someone be? What infuriates me the most is his “apology”. I put apology in quotes because I highly doubt the validity and sincerity of it since he said that he was “Sorry if he offended anybody.” No where did I hear that he was sorry about what he said or of the implications that it implied. He was merely sorry that it hurt any one and that he got caught. Nearly three-fourths of all apologies of things that come under scrutiny are real, heart-felt, or sincere. Another thing I’ve noticed is that there is a gap the size of the Grand Canyon between the older generation politicians and then new thought political crowds. The older people use this gap as an excuse to continue making these remarks blaming the old school for their remarks not their mindset. Senator Depasse took it one step further and blamed the victim by providing unsubstantiated excuse that Michelle herself referred to her distance relatives as monkies. People should and must change with the times and understand that what was ok for the majority in the pass is not okay in today’s world. And as for the GOP candidate, do we really want our next president to be someone who blames the victims when something goes wrong? Do we want to have a staff managers calling someone’s action niggardly. These are the leaders we have chosen and elected to be the leaders of today.
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Honestly, what are they thinking? Coming from a mainly white neighborhood, I am sorry to say that I am no stranger to such racist-like banter. There is, however, a difference between a high school teenager speaking those words and a publicized professional spouting out racial slurs. I was raised in a way that your opinions, thoughts, and judgments should be kept to yourself or at least in the household. When reading this post, I thought back to an idea that was thrown out in class one day. Is racism only as real as the effect that it has on another person? I mean, it is completely immoral to consciously attack someone based on the way that they look. I look at it this way; I feel that there are no race related words that can honestly offend me. They are words to me. I’m pretty sure that while I was going through my awkward chubby middle school days, I was called much worse than a relative of a gorilla, and I didn’t have a publicity group to jump down the throats of my numerous attackers. I grew the skin, and it is tough. In regards to the first case in the posting, that embarrassingly stupid excuse for political humor is nothing more than that, humor. It’s the material that is found on stupid, dumb joke websites. Playing the devil’s advocate, what if our current president was albino? What if he was the whitest man that ever existed, and instead of the picture that is currently replacing Obama’s spot, what if there was a picture of the new albino president? But instead of a real picture, there was a picture of a ghost, and that caricature was somehow traced back to a black author? Our society is full of double standards, and I am not ever supporting racism, but what can be considered racism. Is a joke about color racism, or is it just a joke? In the second case, however, calling a respected professor a “banana eating jungle monkey” is just a sign of ignorance. I further believe that racist remarks directly stem from the insight and overall intelligence level of the speaker. Was Gates a “banana eating jungle monkey?” My guess is no, and even if he does have most of his DNA in common with some species of banana eating jungle monkeys…the truth is that us white people have the same DNA in common as well. You see where a thorough education and an open mind gets you? So before you jump to the racist card, explore other avenues first. Educate yourself, and then form your opinions. Remember that what you think is funny may not be universally funny.
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The level of stupidity and ignorance shown by these people is absolutely shocking. Did they not think that offensive remarks and pictures such as these would not draw any attention or that if it did a simple apology would suffice? I am all for joking around and poking fun at my own race if it is all in good fun. I mean, you only live once and can’t take yourself that seriously if you’re going to enjoy it. But these remarks were not made in good fun; instead they were quite the opposite. They were harmful and disparaging; at least that it is what it seems like on the surface. Maybe Mr. DePass and Cpt. Barrett are indeed telling the truth when they say they are not racist, but that is not an excuse for the comments they made – in a public forum no less.
Maybe it is just me, but it seems like politicians and others holding public office are getting out of hand with some of the remarks they are making. Maybe somebody needs to explain to them that just because you make a racist comment of Facebook is not a justification for saying it. What may also be more shocking than the racist comments themselves, is the fact that public perception for these individuals is paramount. What makes somebody risk their livelihood just to go out of the way to call Michelle Obama or Henry Louis Gates, Jr. a “banana eating jungle monkey?” We may never know the answer, but we as citizens should take a stand against these intolerant comments. We control their destiny as voters, so in the end it is up to the common citizen to show that this is not acceptable behavior by voting them out of office or forcing them to resign. I’d imagine that politicians these days may have some more important business to attend to instead of forwarding emails with the 44th U.S. President “missing.”
The sad fact of the matter is that there will never be a shortage of people who refuse to stop making inflammatory comments such as these. It is just reality that there are always going to be groups of people who believe they are better than other people just because the tone of the skin or the shape of their facial features is different then what they are familiar with. Like Dr. Richard’s said, humans are 99.9 percent identical at the genetic level, so it is hard for me to picture why racism should even exist today. Maybe as punishment, or reform, for these people who feel like they have to come out and say idiotic things, they should be required to take a class on race relations, just to see how hateful comments like their own negatively effect others.
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As a “white” person, I am absolutely appalled at what I read in this blog entry. I don’t see myself as being a racist, and although racist thoughts may pass through my head from time to time, I have the wherewithal to curb the thoughts and not let anything inappropriate slip out. Unfortunately, as shown in this article, and basically wherever you look this year, other White people can’t do the same thing. This gives a bad image to all White people, even those who are by no means racist. It seems like now matter where you are, Massachusetts, South Carolina, or anywhere else in the United States, someone is making a racist comment.
It may seem to some that since Barack Obama has become our President, racist comments have increased. This is false; these comments have always been made, it is only since he became President that the comments have become the object of media attention again. The fact that “leaders” and people who are looked up to in the community, such as police officers and politicians, are the people making such racist remarks. These are not people who I would want my kids to look up to, especially because not only are they racist, but they lack integrity. To refer to a Black person as a “Banana eating jungle monkey” and then state after your apology that you didn’t mean it in a racist way is absolutely ridiculous, just keep digging that grave Captain Barrett! The only way for that not to be a racist comment would be if you actually were talking about a Monkey eating a banana.
It is unfortunate to see the level ignorance and hate between races and cultures that still exists in the United States today. The only way I really see this problem getting any better is if it starts with the leadership and public figures. We have made great strides towards this by electing a non white president, but without backing from his colleagues he can only do so much. Change begins with the youth of our country and the youth of our country look up to figures in the media, be them politicians or celebrities. Comments like those of Rusty Depass and Captain Barrett, and posters such as the one picturing Obama as a black square with eyes are telling the youth that it is okay to be racist.
We have come so far as a country that it is embarrassing to see that not as much has changed as we believed. Racism is still an issue and until we can figure out a way to find common ground between races and leaders who can set an example, racism will continue to be an issue in this country.
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As messed up and racist these people are, its not surprising to see articles like this. Racist and stupid comments are made from famous and high up government officials all the time. Yes, no one is perfect but if you’re someone that high up and important in the United States, at least think before you speak. Thinking before you speak is something you learn in grade school. “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” That’s a simple rule to follow if you have moral values. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that everyone has racist or mean thoughts that go through their heads immediately sometimes, it’s just an instinct that you automatically think. When you are walking down the street and notice a person in general, skin color and ethnicity is obviously the first thing you think of. Looks are the first thing you notice. It boggles my mind sometimes how stupid people really can be to SAY IT OUT LOUD. I saw a news article the other day about a member of Congress who thought he was off the microphone but forgot that he still was being recorded. He was having a conversation with the Congressman next to him talking about how he’s into “spanking” and is having an affair with another married woman. He goes on to talk about her panties all while this is still being recorded. Obviously embarrassed, he resigned. I’m sure his wife was humiliated. IDIOT. Sometimes I really wonder what our world is coming to. As sad as it is, I believe that racism will never be eliminated in the United States. We are all different from each other and like our own “kind”. It is just a natural instinct to flock with people who look and at like us. Racist comments are racist comments. Its unexplainable why people feel its necessary to make horrible slurs about people such as the examples in the article. Maybe its just because we know we’re not supposed to say things like that, that we do it. But for someone involved in the state or government, or high end official, its just not excusable. It’s also pathetic when they apologize because they only do it because they know they have to. If people find out you say it, it’s a give-in that you’re screwed and have to make up some BS. If you said it, you meant it. And whatever it was that you said, those racial slurs are going through your head when you have communication or talk about people of another race. My feelings about racism are that it is a never- ending problem in our country. But I do believe that if the important people that are supposed to be setting examples, as such the people in the videos were to stop and act mature, it would make a difference and be a whole lot easier for other people to stop also.
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I am not really sure what to say about this poster. At first, I am not going to lie, I chuckled a little but then when I took the time to look at it, I was confused; it is just rude. Why would someone take the time to make a poster like this? It is insulting, not only to President Obama but also to our country. The reason someone is elected president is because people want to believe in the individual who is campaigning to be the leader of our country. By mocking our president, you are somewhat mocking the country for choosing this individual. Since I do not know the background of the poster and the individual that made it, I do not want to point a finger and say that they are racist. Of course at first look it seems very racist but no one can judge that person.
Throughout history, every president that we have had in the United States has been made fun of; not only by people that live in America, but also from people all over the world. Bill Clinton had an affair while he was in office and you still see spoofs of his press conferences everywhere. George W. Bush was made fun of every day while he was in office. Even though it is rude to say, but President Obama is our first black president, and I am not saying that that gives people the right to make fun of him, but it does cause some people to make remarks about it. It does not mean that they do not like him, did not vote for him or are racists, it is just a comment that they chose to make. I can say that I have received emails from people that where taking “comic” stabs at President Obama and never sent them out, because I think they are stupid; but then again I also received them about George W. Bush while he was in office as well. I think those types of emails are for people with nothing better to do but then send out emails that put other people down. How would they feel if I made an email about them and sent it to everyone I know? And that fact that an aide in the Tennessee state legislature made it and sent it out, over email, where anyone could get a hold of it, is in very poor judgment. Sometimes I wonder if people really think. Did they not think that it would be brought to media attention for other people to see?
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“What were they thinking?” was exactly what was going through my mind when I read this entry. I do not understand how people can do or say some of the things that they do. How can people say such blatantly offensive things or make such obviously offensive mistakes such as these and not think there will be any consequences? First of all, the photo is completely ridiculous. I am not sure how someone could miss that. Second of all, that is extremely offensive. It was probably meant to be a joke, but really is just kind of uncalled for.
This entry was just full of ridiculous racist behaviors. I could not even believe it how the list kept going and going, on and on. The fact a Boston police officer and member of the Massachusetts National Guard called Henry Louis Gates, Jr. a “banana-eating jungle monkey” is again, completely ridiculous. He can claim not to be racist all he wants; but no matter how you look at the matter, the comment was extremely offensive and the man should know better than to be so distasteful. Another very distasteful comment was made by Rusty DePass via Facebook. His comment referring to the First Lady was extremely rude and very surprising. I seriously cannot understand why anyone would make a comment like that, lead alone publicly over the internet. His comment was made in response to a gorilla that had recently escaped from a zoo. He said, “It’s probably just one of Michelle’s ancestors-probably harmless.” I was completely shocked by this statement. DePass says that he said it in response to something Michelle Obama had recently said about everyone being descendent from apes. If this is true, then the comment is basically harmless. However, if no one knows what he is referring to, Depass should probably learn to keep his mouth shut so no one can be offended by his comments.
I do agree with the fact that a lot of the time, people are not actually racist when they make a remake that is taken that way. I’m sure people don’t even mean it that way or realize they are saying something that would be considered racist a good portion of the time. I guess nowadays it’s something you always have to be conscious of. Along with that idea, there are also people that claim not to be racist, but their comments are blatantly offensive. Whether someone meant to be racist or not, it is never okay to be that rude intentionally. For the most part, people just really need to be aware of what they’re saying and of what they’re putting out there, especially people in the public eye. It is never good to be acting racist in the first place, but if you know people are paying attention to you then it’s a really good idea to just keep your mouth shut.
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“What were they thinking?” is honestly a question I ask myself every day. I see/hear/read so many different news stories, where I am just completely baffled to why people do the things they do and say the things they say. It is fine to have your opinions and thoughts, racist as they may be, but you don’t need to display it to the public. Especially if you are going to make a rude comment about the First Lady. I mean, really? That’s just stupid. Seriously, what was DePass thinking? There are obviously going to be some pretty big repercussions when you compare Michelle Obama to a gorilla. And then DePass basically says that he is sorry for the comment, although we must be the stupid ones if we didn’t realize it was a joke. Oh, okay… our fault. People in a position of political power are always going to be scrutinized for everything they say, so I feel as if they need to be able to always stand behind whatever it is they say. But that is never the case. Officer Barrett got caught saying something completely out of line, and straight up racist, yet when trying to save face, he says that he treats everyone with respect and dignity? Yeah, okay. Somehow I don’t think the “banana eating jungle monkey” feels as if he was treated with respect or dignity. People really need to stop making all these rude, racist comments and try to pass them off as jokes. I feel like when a grown adult claims, “I was just kidding!!” they sound like a 7 year old who just got in trouble. Take responsibility for your stupidity, man up, and apologize.
I must say that while I find the term, “banana eating jungle monkey”, completely racist, I didn’t really see the issue with the Presidents’ head shot email. Think about this… SNL has for years made fun of our countries political leaders. It doesn’t matter if they are white, black, male or female. They are going to make fun of the President, First Lady, Vice President, and the list goes on. Whenever George W. Bush was portrayed, they would make him seem like he was an incompetent idiot. Same deal with the sketches involving Bill Clinton, Sarah Palin etc. But I feel as if the public took it for what it was – a joke. There is no question that email was definitely poking fun at the fact that Obama is half-black, but… this isn’t breaking news. With all of our previous white presidents, their skin color has never been a cause for jokes, but that certainly doesn’t mean that there were no jokes at their expense. There is always going to be someone who doesn’t like the President, or someone who is going to say a derogatory statement. That’s just the way it is.
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As long as humans exist on this earth, so will extremely ignorant people. This Boston police officer is the type of person you can not even use when accessing the average human. As Dr. Richards said towards the bottom of his blog “I find myself saying some pretty off-the-hook things at random moments and yet I never seem to slip into this level of racist banter”. I could not agree more with that statement. Whether we will admit it or not, we all make racist comments or at least think racist thoughts. I know I do, but I don’t truly mean it. The thing that separates me and someone such as the Boston police officer, is I know my boundaries. The most ridiculous part of this whole story is that the officer showed no signs of remorse after the incident. When interviewed afterwards "It was a poor choice of words," ,"I didn't mean it in a racist way. I treat everyone with dignity and respect." You didn’t mean it in a racist way? Is this guy serious? I would like to know the way in which he meant it that he was not racist. In fact, this may be one of the most racists slangs I have ever heard.
The Tennessee state legislature aide is just as ignorant as the Boston police officer. The picture he sent out of all the presidents which has our president Barack Obama as only eyes is inappropriate. This was most likely sent as a joke but nonetheless it should not be allowed. One of the main ideas of Dr. Samuels’ blog is, what were they thinking? That could not make more sense in this situation. As a member of the state legislature you must be professional and jokes like this truly are not funny.
As Barack Obama slowly works his way in to the role as the United States’ first African American President, there are many barriers he will need to break. The hardest thing he will need to do is to gain approval from everyone. This will never happen. Ignorant acts such as the one of the Tennessee state legislature are unavoidable. Some people need to grow up and realize that we are all equal, whether you think so or not.
I agree with my fellow bloggers, who say they cant belive that these type of acts still go on in this day and age. It is 2009 and you would think people would get over racism at this point but I don’t know if we will ever be over it. Some people are always going to hate others for no reason that’s just the way some people are
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Before Barack Obama was elected as president, it seemed like much of the country, including myself, thought that racism was a much smaller issue than it really was because our country really had not faced racism on a national scale. However, now that the face of our nation is a man who is half black, racism has become much more apparent than it was before, at least to me. Now, racist remarks are much more apparent since a majority of them are towards the President, whom with everyone is familiar. The fact that the most important political figure in the United States is half black stirs up unsettled racism in many people in the country.
Unfortunately, many people in authoritative positions have not been helping the country move to a less racist place. It is truly sad and upsetting when people, who have power and are in the public eye, not only make off-hand racist comments but also immortalize them into written documents. The fact that these comments are showing up online, through e-mails or blogs, including Facebook, is extremely upsetting. These people that post things online have plenty of time and opportunity to think about the fact that what they are posting or sending is completely inappropriate. It is different than an off-hand comment because the people that immortalize their words have as much time to think about them before others can read them or be exposed to them. Because of that, there is absolutely no excuse which could excuse the fact that these ridiculous comments were made or e-mail sent.
Another large issue, which is common in all of these occurrences, is the fact that all of the people who made these comments were of people in power AND part of the government which runs this country. The fact that these people make very stupid mistakes in making public statements or declarations of their racist thoughts only retards our country from getting closer to conquering racism. For people who are easily impressionable by people of authority, they are going to think that it is okay and acceptable to make these awful remarks when in fact it is certainly not. I do not want children thinking that this behavior is okay. I do not want my little cousins to grow up thinking that these racist comments are okay and that comments like that are just a standard part of American society. Slang terms and comments, like comparing people of color to monkeys (which apparently is a common comparison) should not be considered acceptable at all. Even the apologies from these people who made these comments have come with excuses, which to me says that they feel they are not responsible for their remarks and will probably make them again. Yeah, I know sometimes people misspeak and words come out that can be construed as bad even when they were not intended that way. However, these occurrences have been very deliberate, and there were many opportunities for the perpetrators to have stopped the spread of their racist thoughts all together. Unfortunately, they did not have the sense for that which only instills in people that racism is still an issue that is very deep rooted in our society, even today with a President that is half black.
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Once again, a totally dumbass move on the part of staff in our government. Why would an aide to someone in a state legislature decide to send out an email like this, which is obviously a very hard bash at our President and an obvious racist act. This is one of those things where the person should have been quickly removed from whatever position they held and whoever forwarded this to other government-held positions. This is a sign of total lack of respect for the person who holds the highest seat in our country, and to have an aide for a state legislature go and disrespect him like this is very low class. Any poster put together of all the U.S. Presidents should be a very respectful object and I can not recall one other time where I have seen one of these where there is a blatant stab at one of the presidents on there, and then to go and disgrace it by doing that to Obama? Total lack of respect. Then on top of that, we have one of Boston’s finest and a man who serves our country putting together an email calling a Harvard Professor a banana eating jungle monkey? Once again what idiots. I can only imagine that both of these guys are in not only a area with a lot of people of race but in a profession with a lot of people of race, and then they go and totally punch them in the face with a comment like that. I totally agree that this would fall under the category of what a Ku Klux Klan member would describe a Negro. What are people thinking!? Both these men are going to be around different races all the time, this is something that if they pissed off the right person, they would get their ass kicked. Then, we have the Republican Party activist who decided it would be fine to say Michelle Obama is related to gorillas. What the hell are people thinking when they decide to slander the people who are at the head of this country with these racists comments? He says it is a joke; well of course he is going to say that, what else would he say? He doesn’t want an entire race of people reigning down on him, he might want to watch his back everywhere he goes because he put a bull’s-eye on it. Every democratic activists who blogs or is in the mainstream media will be ripping this guy apart. People need to start using their heads more before they just decide to knock out an email and send it around to everyone they know or post a comment on their facebook, twitter, myspace, etc. because it will come around and they will have to back up what they say when they slander an entire race or culture.
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I realize that some of these racial jokes can be offending to black people but I don’t really think it is as bad as everyone thinks. I think the electronic photograph of all the presidents is just a harmless joke that a Tennessee man thought would make his friends laugh. Even if he is a racist, I don’t really think this picture does much harm to the black society. I understand to many African Americans that it can be offending, but who honestly cares. If there were a picture of all black people and one white guy getting made fun of, I wouldn’t even think about complaining. People these days need to chill out about this whole black and white thing. If America were so racist, Obama wouldn’t even have won the primary for the democrats. Maybe I’m the one who needs to start getting serious about this race thing, but I don’t think there is anything out there that would offend my white race or my ethnicity. Black people seem to be a little sensitive sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with being sensitive, but I just think that they need to lighten up. One thing I would like to hear is what Obama would say about this picture. To be honest I don’t really think he would be too upset, because he seems like a cool layed back guy.
Although I think the “attack of the racist” goes to far, sometimes racists need to cool it down themselves. The comment that Officer Barrett said about Gates being a “banana eating jungle monkey” may have gone a little bit too far. I personally don’t think anyone should get truly offended by it, but I can see why some people would. I think that he knew that this would offend a lot of people, but I’m not too sure that he knew it would get out to the public. To be honest I don’t even see why people are so racist. Sure they have different skin and different cultures, but why do we have to be so negative towards each other. We are all the same species. If only everyone realized that we all eat sleep and breathe the same way we would avoid situations such as these.
Now on to this “gorilla” comment. This guy was wrong and I think that he knows it. I don’t mind if people go after the president and say things about him, but going after the first lady is just ruthless. She didn’t do anything to deserve this at all. His excuse was pretty funny I thought actually, but still he should have never said it because of the political correctness of out society today. I think if a person is truly sorry for what they did or said, they should receive a second chance and be forgiven. If it continues then the hell with them.
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Barack Obama had it coming… There are some many "unracist" people that choose to make jokes about the fact that we have a black president just because, not that they are racist or that they dislike our president Barack Obama. I feel that people make these stupid jokes and racial comments just to cause controversy. It is all ridiculous in my opinion. I really just do not understand why people cannot just get over the fact that we have a black president. How about we think about the more important things about our president. Why not consider the qualities that Barack Obama posseses and his character rather than his skin color, or race for that matter. But, more importantly, I feel that Barack Obama knew what was coming, he knew that these racial jokes and comments were coming for him, I think he prepared himself to be strong enough though.
Yes I said he had it coming, and everyone knows that he did, BUT, it does not make it okay. This world honestly needs to move past all of this. Why does skin color matter? Why does race matter? Why does your cultural background matter? These questions should not allow issues to arise! I really just do not understand why we cannot just move past these things. I am confused beyond belief. I think a lot about issues such as these, and simply wish that we, as the human population, never even thought about these arguments.
I honestly could go on forever about this subject, but I honestly feel that we will never move past all of this. As much as we may try, people always find ways to make more racial comments. But, I need to say again that I do not really believe that most of the "so-called" racial jokes/ comments are actually meant to be racial, they are just to cause controversy and make issues for the hell of it! I feel like I could really go on and on, and talk myself in circles because it all comes down to me feeling the same way in the end.
My final statement can simply state how I feel, but no one can ever understand how I really feel about this situation. It is entirely too difficult to express feelings completely when discussing issues such as racism, and cultural differences. But when it really comes down to it we all, EVERYONE in this human population, need to stop worrying about the little stupid issues that cause so much drama in this world! I am sick and tired of people complaining so much!!! I simply feel that we sit around and constantly think about how we can cause new issues at hand, instead of worrying about things that matter most in this world! Peace. Love and Happiness!
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Early yesterday when I was on the blog searching for a journal topic I stumbled across the post entitled “What Are They Thinking?” I was immediately drawn to it and after quickly scanning over it I knew that I had to use it for my journal. I chose it because I think it brings up a valid point that isn’t often really discussed the way that it should be in our society today, racism. When most of us talk about racism we just think of the KKK or the civil rights movement back in the sixties. The fact is though that racism is much deeper than this, is still very prevalent in our society, and quite frankly most of us are guilty of it often times without even meaning any harm. As for the presidential picture the racism couldn’t be more evident. It’s sad that such a great accomplishment as becoming the first black president in the history of the United States has to be met with such blatant and crude racism as to reduce our black president to a set of cartoon eyes. I also agree with Sam’s point that although the act was committed by a member of the GOP party it very easily could have been done by a democratic worker as well which is very upsetting. What this tells us is that both sides of our political spectrum can be guilty of racism and not just the opposing political party. We need to rest assured in the fact that we a lucky enough to live in a country where we are able to choose our leaders and that when we do choose one instead of resorting to racism we should welcome the choice with open arms. As for the other point about Mr. Gates arrest I couldn’t believe the police officers response less. How in the world could he not know that calling a black man a “banana eating jungle monkey” would be considered racist. It has been long known that because black people are dark skinned they are often compared to monkeys. Instead of trying to talk around it he should have confronted it head on and just admitted he made a mistake and that the comments were racist and not just a “poor choice of words” as he described it. I was also quite disappointed to see the video clip in which another GOP worker was guilty of such blatant racism. Comparing Michelle Obama to an escaped zoo animal is hideous behavior and should result in severe consequences. People need to be held accountable for their actions especially when it comes to racism. By issuing swift and harsh penalties we can show people that this type of behavior is unacceptable and as Sam puts it “we don’t do that anymore”.
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The jokes illustrated in one of the recent blog posts are rather disturbing. Not because of the content of the jokes, but the fact that many people in prominent leadership positions feel that these jokes are acceptable to tell in a public forum. Don’t get me wrong these jokes are not good told in private but few people haven’t not uttered something that could have been taken as racist during their private lives. Its just unbelievable the audacity of people in power when they feel that they can be blatantly racist and not pay some sort of consequence. I’m sure some racial jokes are fired back and forth between the different races working at a police station but the officer on the Gates case really stepped over the line and where they might be a little room for racial jokes in the line of duty for police officers these joke should not exist in the highest offices of our country, and politicians should be held to a higher standard. As far as the activist on the you tube clip, I feel that the guy is just a harmless idiot that made a really stupid and racist joke but has no real power and can clearly just be brushed aside. However, if I was a candidate and this guy wanted to help me in my campaign I would turn down his services and I feel that most politicians might find this guy to be radioactive at the moment and he certainly deserves to pay the price not for making such a comment but for making a comment like that public. Once again I’m sure everyone on the planet has made a racist statement at one time another, these people highlighted were just stupid enough to make a racist comment in a public forum. People such as politicians and others that live in the public eye need to realize that they are constantly being held to higher standards. But as the blog stated often the attack on people that didn’t even mean to be racist sometimes goes too far, like the guy that said “niggardly” Situations like this could be avoided if people just used proper judgment I feel that adults can determine if a comment is truly racist and mean spirited or just in jest or taken out of context. I agree that cultural heritage is no excuse to be racist, if this was the case then white supremacists could claim that the Third Reich was a part of their culture so they should be able to replicate it. Some think that these comments are small and trivial things that should just brushed under the rug, but comments like these lead to a climate where certain people are dehumanized and this can lead to awful things such as genocide.
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The jokes illustrated in one of the recent blog posts are rather disturbing. Not because of the content of the jokes, but the fact that many people in prominent leadership positions feel that these jokes are acceptable to tell in a public forum. Don’t get me wrong these jokes are not good told in private but few people haven’t not uttered something that could have been taken as racist during their private lives. Its just unbelievable the audacity of people in power when they feel that they can be blatantly racist and not pay some sort of consequence. I’m sure some racial jokes are fired back and forth between the different races working at a police station but the officer on the Gates case really stepped over the line and where they might be a little room for racial jokes in the line of duty for police officers these joke should not exist in the highest offices of our country, and politicians should be held to a higher standard. As far as the activist on the you tube clip, I feel that the guy is just a harmless idiot that made a really stupid and racist joke but has no real power and can clearly just be brushed aside. However, if I was a candidate and this guy wanted to help me in my campaign I would turn down his services and I feel that most politicians might find this guy to be radioactive at the moment and he certainly deserves to pay the price not for making such a comment but for making a comment like that public. Once again I’m sure everyone on the planet has made a racist statement at one time another, these people highlighted were just stupid enough to make a racist comment in a public forum. People such as politicians and others that live in the public eye need to realize that they are constantly being held to higher standards. But as the blog stated often the attack on people that didn’t even mean to be racist sometimes goes too far, like the guy that said “niggardly” Situations like this could be avoided if people just used proper judgment I feel that adults can determine if a comment is truly racist and mean spirited or just in jest or taken out of context. I agree that cultural heritage is no excuse to be racist, if this was the case then white supremacists could claim that the Third Reich was a part of their culture so they should be able to replicate it. Some think that these comments are small and trivial things that should just brushed under the rug, but comments like these lead to a climate where certain people are dehumanized and this can lead to awful things such as genocide.
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When it comes to "attack of the racists" I agree with the statement that these “attacks” have gone too far. From less serious incidences such as radio and television personality who are paid to flaunt their philistine ideals, to the much more serious occurrences like the beatings of unarmed black men by white police officers, the amount of racial out-casting in our society is appalling.
In April of 2007, while discussing a Rutgers women’s basketball game, Don Imus-a very popular radio show host-referred to the predominately black team as a bunch of “nappy-headed hoes.” And this was definitely not the fist time Imus has so calmly said racial slurs on his show. Rush Limbaugh is another hot-headed radio host who prides himself on making negative racial comments. While on national television as a commentator for pro-football on the station ESPN, Limbaugh took his racial attack too far after stating how black coaches and quarterbacks, such as Donovan McNabb, are given too much credit just because they are black. Limbaugh eventually left his job at ESPN, yet still repeatedly targets black men and women on his radio show. Granted every person living in the United States has the right to freedom of speech, and has every right to speak what is on their mind, it is just mind-boggling to me how people like Imus and Limbaugh have so much negative things to say about other racial groups (specifically blacks.)
Verbal racial attacks are definitely a serious problem in the society we live in, however; once these attacks become physical just because of the color of ones skin, these problems are on an entirely different level. In March of 2009, two white police officers were charged with multiple accounts of “official misconduct” and one count each of mob action, battery, and aggravated battery after their squad car video tape revealed the unnecessary brutal beating of a black man. The beatings occurred after a short car chase involving the victim Bryce Scott and the convicted officers was ended. All of the officers involved were white and were using an extraordinary amount of force for a man who was not resisting. A taser gun was administered three times, all of which were when the victim was already surrendered on the ground, as well as kicking and stomping on the victim more than twenty times. This is one of the very many attacks that, unfortunately, involve police, the very people who should be protecting us. It is all too often that I open a newspaper and find at least one article that pertains to a racially motivated violent act.
Racial attacks, whether verbal or physical, can never be justified. The fact that most of the people living in the United States are accustomed to racial attacks is extremely disheartening and nauseating. As a country, the United States needs to come to the realization that racial profiling is a disease that needs to be stopped immediately.
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The issue of racism in America is such a complex one that a 450 word journal entry doesn’t come close to doing it justice. However, I think there needs to be made a few distinctions between racism and discrimination, and especially as it applies to the “photo” of Barack Obama in the email that has circulated.
First, I feel that jokes about racism can be made without a malicious spirit. When I’m with a group of friends, I’ll make jokes about any stereotype from black to Asian to Jewish, not because I don’t, but rather because I do have friends of all these races. As a jew, I don’t mind when anyone makes a Jewish joke. In fact, the hardest I’ve ever laughed at a joke might be at the old one that goes “What’s the difference between a jew and a pizza? A pizza doesn’t scream when you put it in the oven.” It’s a horrible joke, but to poke fun at the agents of intolerance who perpetrated such atrocities as the Holocaust comes with it an implicit rejection of their views. Just because someone makes that joke doesn’t mean they hate Jews. I’d argue that people who make these jokes are less likely to be racist, in fact, because they see race as something so laughable as to joke about it. You don’t see religious zealots making “a priest and a rabbi walk into a bar” jokes, but rather, it’s those who have no particular agenda who can make a joke out of such things.
Furthermore, in comedy, the only people who are allowed to poke fun at the cultural and society institutions of race are those who are minorities. You’d never see Jerry Seinfeld talk about the two kinds of black people, but for Chris Rock, it’s perfectly acceptable. That’s part of the political correctness that is hampering our ability to even discuss these issues out in the open such as we do in the class and in our discussion groups.
Hell, if you had the mass media watching our class, they’d probably call Sam a racist just by some of the jokes he makes. But with Dr. Richards, we know that’s it not made maliciously, whereas with these other personalities, we assume bad faith.
The mere fact that something is a joke doesn’t mean it’s not malicious. For instance, the Obama painting was probably made all in good fun, and wasn’t sent out by a Klansman, but there’s also the people who use a joke like that to fuel their own sick beliefs. However, we can’t assume that it is such.
I feel like the word niggardly, which I’ve tried to use in its proper context just to annoy the politically correct among us, is a perfect example of sensitivity taken too far. However, I believe that just about everything is sensitivity taken too far. I’m of the personal belief that nothing is in and of itself offensive, but that people themselves choose to be easily offended, and that those such people are more detrimental to our society than those who do the offending. Sure, there are some who preach hatred and intolerance, but those are far outweighed by the well-meaning and misconstrued. For instance, my grandparents would draw the ire of many an activist, because they use the word “colored” to describe black people. However, their best friends are black, and they employed a large percentage of blacks when they owned their business. In fact, whenever my grandma hears something racist said against the black community, she’ll say “I don’t get it, the coloreds were some of the hardest workers we ever had.” Obviously, she isn’t a racist just because she uses such terms. I think there needs to be a more tight definition of racism, preferably one that includes discrimination as a basis. What harm came of Obama’s “painting?” Far less than the media devoted to covering the “scandal.”
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This just all plays back to hypocrisy. I can guarantee you that the same people saying that the comment made about Michelle Obama was blatantly racist and wrong have all made “jokes” like this before. I am guilty of it as well. In groups that we feel comfortable in, we will make racist and stereotypical jokes. It is very common. I’m not saying it’s right, but it just happens. Today is September 11, and I have heard jokes about terrorists still. Because Rusty DePass is a public icon, the media chose to make a big deal out of what he said, but the fact of the matter is that he’s not the first person to have said something like that about Michelle Obama or a person of any other race for that matter. Again, I don’t think his comment is right, but I would be a hypocrite and a liar if I said that I have never made a joke like that. White people make jokes about people of other races. Black people make jokes about people of other races. People of other races make fun of people of other races. That’s just how it is. The harsh reality of it is that this probably will not stop any time soon. Comments like these have increased ever since Obama came into the picture. Just look at the photo shopped pictures of him that have come out. Obama is the man, and no picture or comment will change that. President Obama is our first black president. Some of the people in the US won’t be able to accept that. After slaves were given rights, they weren’t treated as equals automatically, sadly, but most of America have finally grown to treat blacks as they should be treated: like normal human beings. There are so many issues that this can relate to. Take for example people’s views on gay marriage. I am completely fine with it, but I have still made a joke about a homosexual. Does that mean I look down upon gays? Not at all. Let Rusty DePass make his jokes about Michelle Obama. He’s the one that will look bad and be called out. Just remember this though: we all have a little bit of Rusty DePass in us. We can all say that he is wrong for what he did, but he is just one of the unlucky ones that got caught. We are all humans, so at the end of the day, we are just putting each other down. We’re all also being hypocritical. The question is not, “What were they thinking?” It’s more like, “What were we thinking?” After all, we elected Obama to be the president, so in a perfect world, we shouldn’t have any complaints or racist comments and jokes.
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“The more things change the more they stay the same” this entire blog completely proves everything that is said in this quote. Although the slavery of African Americans no longer exists in this country it seems that every time there is a black person doing something positive with themselves there is always someone right behind them ready to criticize them.
Where do I begin. . .a few months ago when I first saw the picture of the presidents I was completely outraged! I truly do not know what is worse the fact that some sad person actually took the time out of their day to think of and actually create something so disgusting or the fact that people actually spent minutes of their day forwarding such an offensive email. It makes me sad that in 2009 when this country has its first non-white president in the 233 years of its existence all of the “racists” have seemed to begin showing their faces. Everyone is entitled to “not like” President Obama if they choose but this is very disrespectful. It’s bad enough this man is taking on one of the toughest jobs in the world (I say this is a tough job because the minute that President Obama makes a mistake the world will be there to criticize him), trying to be a good father and husband, and now he has to deal with the ignorant comments and emails being sent around about him. . .seriously give this man a break! It is people like this that tried to make President Obama appear to have ties with the Taliban, and those that yell out “You lie!” in the middle of a presidential address that truly make this man’s job much harder than it needs to be.
"Banana eating jungle monkey" I do not think there is any other possible way to yell out “I’M A BIG EFFIN RACIST” there is no way to justify the monkey comment.
As far as the man calling Michelle Obama’s ancestors gorillas or whatever it was that he said. Many people may say and believe that racism is dying down and things are getting better but a statement such as the one made about the First Lady’s ancestors is just proof that it is still alive and not going away anytime soon. Comments like the ones mentioned in this blog can really turn people off to entering the political world because in my opinion this is these people’s way of deterring black people away from trying to achieve the most that they can in life and it’s truly sad.
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I think you completely hit the nail on the head when you wrote that “I guess since I don't have the thoughts, the words never leave my lips. But I have to wonder if this how many of us think in our private moments.” I think there are a lot of varying levels of racism all around, but these news stories take it to a whole new ballpark to me. I don’t think the thought would ever occur to me to make that picture or the comment about Michelle’s ancestors…these things must come from people who really struggle with deep seated hatred or fear. After seeing them I can clearly figure out why it is offensive, but it takes a completely different mindset to actually have those ideas in the first place. That’s my opinion at least, because I don’t naturally have thoughts or opinions such as those; you can tell that they’re not just trying to be offensive for the humor. I’m not a big fan of political correctness for the most part…like you said in class, people choose to be offended by something. Sometimes I find myself saying some offensive things but strictly because I can see the humor in it. I cannot see the humor in any of these things on your blog post; they are just downright sad.
I definitely think the election of President Barack Obama brought to light how much racism still actually exists in this country today. Many of the quiet or “in denial” racists finally lost all control when they were faced with the prospect of having the leader of their country be another race. I guess this is how images like the one with all of the U.S. Presidents’ head shots come to exist; somewhere, some terrified racist was really truly sitting there thinking of how funny it is that President Obama doesn’t fit in among the past leaders. How hilarious is it that all of these men are white and he isn’t. But really, I find that more sad than funny. This reminds me of the story I heard before the election; I can’t remember the exact details, but I believe somewhere in Texas at some sort of convention, they were handing out stickers that said “If Obama is elected, will we have to call it the Black House?” THIS is the racism that scares me because first of all, they think it is funny, and second of all, they were actually sitting around thinking of these things. Who CARES? I guess I just don’t get it. But such a huge majority of it comes from how you are raised. I’m not saying that it’s an excuse or that you can’t change, but I feel that’s the only way to get those thoughts ingrained in your mind. If you raised a kid from birth to treat all people with respect, these thoughts would not be in the back of their head, and would not become public when they felt threatened. They just wouldn’t exist. It’s a hard cycle to break though…to get every single child from here on raised in a home free of any racist/judgmental thoughts? It’s passed down from generation to generation. This is why so many years later, people are still spitting out ridiculous comments such as these. It’s just really sad.
To be honest, I'm glad they come out and make such obviously offensive remarks, so I know who they are and I can avoid them. These people sometimes scare me less because at least I can identify them; the people that really terrify me are the quiet racists who look over their shoulder first to see if anyone's around and then say, "I'm not racist but…"….
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I don't know what these people are more stupid for: being ignorant racists or getting caught. I think the fact that they were caught is a testament to their intellectual levels. Like, if you insist on being a racist idiot, especially in some kind of position of authority like these men, don't send out a mass e-mail or make a post on Facebook! And the fact that they are people of authority, makes it all worse, because these are men we are supposed to trust and rely on, but are obviously morons that are far from qualified to have any kind of power.
Last year during the election there were a lot of racist comments being made. There was one video I remember watching, of a man at a McCain rally holding a stuffed Curious George toy, slurring some white-supremacist crap about how it was his Obama doll. How clever. The thing is, I thought a lot of such comments were just for the sake of the democrat vs. republican debate. I figured after a president was elected people would just accept the country's decision and cool it. This is obviously not the case.
A huge part of my understanding of racism came from my freshman year roommate. She was from the south and would explain to me the position of many of the people she knew. She would make comments while we were watching election coverage about how she has friends who want to assassinate Obama if he gets elected. HUH? She would continually say, “Someone is going to assassinate him, I know it.” She herself wasn't saying that she hoped someone would shoot our future president, but she was saying it from a perspective I had never encountered before. This wasn't a news story, this was a first hand account, and I was shocked and disturbed to find more than just a handful of crazies, existed like this.
The fact that our President and his family are still on the receiving end of these comments is unfortunate. Presidents in the past have been criticized for their actions-like Clinton and Monica Lewinski and G.W. for the War on terror and his regular ridiculous statements. I don't think President Obama should be spared of such, but this isn't criticism, it's racism. Race has nothing to do with the way he will run our country, so there should be no issue.
The thing is, we like to say “we've come a long way,” but this is a weak justification. If we've come so far why has it taken this long to elect a black president? Why did legal segregation end more than one hundred years after slavery? Why are racist comments like these still flying around?
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When I looked at this picture and saw the “picture” of Obama, I cracked a smile because I remember these jokes from high school. While they are racial and mean, they do stir up a smile. I also remember the joke of the black man that needs to smile in the dark so you can see him. But when the gorilla comment was made about Michelle Obama, I took offense to it. Not because of the gorilla comment, more of the fact that the media always rips on Michelle. Whenever you see her in the news, you always see her commenting on outfits or hairstyles that are too black for a first lady. But here’s a newsflash, SHE IS BLACK. People are always criticizing her for her black heritage but that is who she is. People are saying that Obama is getting it bad with all the comments made about him. His wife is way worse off than he is. People always judge the first lady more than the president to see how they handle under pressure. The first lady has to keep her husband/president in line but if people are already ripping on Obama, the Michelle will automatically look bad. She doesn’t even get to do things before she gets to actually prove herself or do something wrong and screw stuff up. The Obama’s not only have a lot on their plate from all of Americas problems, but they have to also deal with the fact that they are black. Even if Obama does well for America, people will still judge him as the first black president and he probably won’t get the credentials that he deserves.
As for the gorilla comments, I think that they are some most irrelevant comments I have ever heard in my life. When people called gates a monkey or Michelle Obama a gorilla, who cares? It is one of those comments that are like “You’re a butthead” or “A doo doo face”. These are names that I was called in kindergarten. These names have like no offensive purposes. They are simply just names that don’t really have any effect. I can’t see how people take offense to them. For one, monkeys have it made. They swing in trees all day and eat and scratch their butt. This is basically what Gates does because he has so much money that he can do whatever he wants to do and still make money. He has so much money floating around due to Microsoft and all of the legal rights. So if I was Bill and someone called me a monkey, I would reply with “Yah, the richest monkey you have ever seen.” As for Michelle, I could just say that a gorilla is one of the strongest animals in the jungle and is a huge powerhouse. Gorillas are practically kings of the jungle. This is what Michelle is. She and her husband rule the U.S.A. so they are technically kind of the jungle. People shouldn’t take offense to these “compliments”.
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Racism has always been a major problem in our nation, causing us to overlook what’s really important. People are generally afraid of change and act out showing their true colors without any regard to their appearance or the consequences. I assumed having a black president would be more than most people could handle, but I did not realize to what extent it would stir this nation up. It seems as if inappropriate and ignorant comments are being stated at an ever growing rate. What seems even more offensive than the racist comments are the pathetic attempts to cover them up. Most of us can look past racist comments because they usually come off as too coarse to have had any intelligent thought behind them. I.E. “a banana eating jungle monkey”. If that’s not offensive enough, the officer used an excuse that he is not racist because he has friends of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. I’ve heard the “well I have black friends so it’s cool” card pulled one too many times. No, as a matter of fact it’s not cool. Going up to a podium and reading your pre-written excuse of what you said and how you’ll never do it again does not make up for the complete and total lack of respect. A complete and total lack of respect that I may add should be held to highest caliber for police officers above all. The GOP activist who referred to Michelle Obama as the “guerilla who escaped river bank zoo” took his cowardly excuses to an even more offensive level. First and foremost this disgusting comment was about the first lady! This is a woman whom has more power and elegance than nearly any woman on earth. Secondly the excuse this activist chose to use yet again seems more offensive than the comment itself. Relating her to a guerilla because she is a believer of evolution seems to only be a pathetic way out of being called a racist. I would have more respect for anyone who can own up to a racist comment. To use excuses and squirm your way out of trouble by saying anything only further proves your thoughts did not have any intelligent backing. If people like this were to legitimately back their statements, and take on the firing squad from the media I feel we would hear a lot less racial remarks. The sheer embarrassment that can come with it would be enough for most of us to learn to think before we speak. Hopefully then racial slurs and derogative remarks will become a thing of the past. These people need to learn how not to be afraid of change and embrace the potential benefits of it.
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I laughed as hard as I could when I saw this interesting picture. I must confess that is kind of funny, but at the same time it is an insulting image against president Obama. Something disrespectful like this should be punished. People sometimes do stupid things to make the rest laugh, but they do not think about the consequences or they do not know who they might be hurting. I think it should be a law that prohibits racism jokes. Perhaps that way, the “Ingenuous” people who created and published this racism joke in the internet get what they deserve. I certainly know that racism exist in United States, I assume that every single person has a little bit of racism in their heart and most of the people do not want to admit it, may be, because they do not want to be called racist. In my case, I tend to judge people by their skin color when I do not know them; I think is because of the stereotypes that are invented by other people that do not belong to the same culture. For instance, one time, I went to work and my manager had recently hired a black guy, his name was Jackson. I do not know why but when I saw him, quickly one thing popped to my mind. I said to myself, “He looks like a lazy person, I bet, he will not even make it to following week.” Life gives you surprises. After, six months working with him, I realized that I was completely wrong about him. I had a lot of misconceptions. “You should never judge a book by its cover,” is what my mom tried to teach me, but I still committing the same mistake.
Calling Michelle Obama a Gorilla is a national offense, says this observer. That guy went to High School, and then to college, earned so many degrees and studied a lot, did something very primitive. He should be called Gorilla for his animal behavior; he obviously made a poor word choice. I guess he wasted his time trying to educate himself, because does not even respect a woman. Sometimes I think that people who are honest, respectful, humble, and have a set of qualities and values, are really intelligent no matter if they never went to a High School. It does not help a person to learn various theories if they do not apply it. To be well educated means to accept and respect the difference between us, not to study a book and pass tests.
His reasons does not convince me, obviously, he did not measure the consequences of his comment. I think he said what he said because that is what he really thinks about her in a funny way.
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I don’t think there is anyway to deny that people, whether on purpose or not, make comments that are inherently racist. At least to me, it seems that the main reason that this happens it that people really don’t mean what they say, or at least don’t mean it to be racist. Because of the way certain people have grown up, it doesn’t cross their mind that what they are saying can be hurtful to whoever is being commented on in the “joke”. Because of what people here from the media and comedians and such, they believe that it is okay for them to say it themselves. The real problem is that people just do not think about what they are saying when it happens. It is easy to not have this problem when people have time to think about what they are going to say. The time that most of these incidents seems to happen is when people are talking and not thinking about what is coming out of their mouths. It has seeped into their brains in some way, whether from friends, family members, or forms of media, and they do not know that is even there, even if the person is not a so called “racist.” Because of this, it is hard to figure out whether people actually believe what they say, or if they are just that ignorant that they do not realize what they are saying is really that wrong. To me, it is the latter. I just feel that people are so unaware of their surroundings sometimes that they feel that they can say whatever they want without saying something stupid. To be perfectly honest, it is human nature to say something out of anger or to be funny, and for some reason, some people turn to saying things that simply should not be said. Everyone wants to be funny, or to fit in, and sometimes that can turn to saying things that they don’t necessarily mean. Personally, I would like to believe that people really don’t mean it when they say things that could be considered racist. But, there is always the reality that what they are saying is rooted deep down in them, and that those type of feelings that they have just hadn’t come out in the past. The real shame is that some people actually do believe some of the things that they say when they are racist, and there is no reason for anyone to think that way. From what we have talked about in class, no person is that different from one another, and stupid differences like the color of ones skin or where they come from should not make a difference, and definitely does not affect the kind of person that they are.
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In the response to the “What are they thinking?” blog, I agree with Dr. Richards in how these officials acted in disrespect by being so bluntly racist. It is really amazing how racist upper officials can be and in the public eyes of the media. First off, being racist just shows how ignorant and uneducated you are by judging an entire race on a few people. All races are simply made up of human beings who deserve the same respect. It does not matter if you are white, black, red, blue, or purple, all colors share people in the same social economic educated divisions of classes. Every race shares their smart respectable people while also having some delinquent hooligans who cause trouble. People must be judged simply individually on their character and not their race. When people simply only base their views strictly on race, it just shows how close minded and shelter they are.
This is why it is amazing how people who are supposed to be in higher respected positions can show their racist side. People like the GOP activist and the Tennessee State legislative that openly show their idiotic racist side are so foolish and unwise to place them in a public ridicule by acting so unprofessional and uneducated. To hold important positions like these, these people should be setting examples to the rest of society, not appearing as trash. It is really sad when we find that racism still exists within our legislators because it just prolongs our society from evolving into the next smarter sophisticated class of human beings. It is racism like that that gives some races a bad name by keeping these races in a negative view. Seriously, Obama took office to the most powerful country in the world, and there is still speculation of if he can do a good job because of his race. We will never grow as a people if we still have racist views keeping us in the uneducated stupid class. If it wasn’t for racist white folk verbally attacking the black man, then our society would be more open to letting the black race advance, rather then hindering them.
Having these people who the blog references make lame excuses on why they slipped up and said those racist terms only proves that they are racists. Having the GOP activist claim he is sorry but, he was only quoting what Michelle said completely overhauls what he previously said. If you were obviously sorry about your comment, they leave it at that instead of making a poor excuse that you know is going to be research to be verified. He was just digging himself a deeper hole with that follow up nonsense.
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All of these men define the word ignorant, in my opinion. Stories like these make me incredibly upset, and makes me question how any person who is not black can ever make a statement saying that the world is equal, and oh, but our president is black, and that means everything is okay…yeah right. Poor Obama, he’s not even fully black and they still can’t cut the man some slack.
Anyways, referring to what these ignorant, racist, and yes they are racist, men have said/ e-mailed and shared publicly, how dumb could they be? The first issue, regarding the joke of having Obama’s picture amongst the other presidents, just be black with white circles representing eyes is horrible. I don’t watch the news too often, but I definitely should have heard about this somehow. And the simple fact that I didn’t upsets me even more. This should have been as public as possible and it should have been everywhere!
Now, as for the “banana eating jungle monkey” comment, wow. I must admit, pretty impressive. Seems like he felt strongly about this. I mean, most negative descriptions are only two words, but he really went into depth with this, so congrats to Mr. Barrett. Unfortunately, he could not put as much thought into his reasoning as to why he said it, simply because people as ignorant as him never have much reasoning or logic behind anything they say. Indeed, it was a poor choice of words. I feel that the comment he made should have gotten his job completely taken away from him. Everyone pretty much knows he is a racist. But no, as discussed in class, you can’t ever really call a white person a racist. How hurtful! Give me a break. The guy is a racist, and he’s probably putting away any black person in sight in jail. Why? Because he can. I’m so tired of these people who have jobs that give them some sort of power, just getting away with anything, well, unless it has to do with having an affair with someone. What about being racist?! These people’s jobs permit them to treat others equally and apparently these men are not doing so, so they need to be stripped of their position. But they won’t be, most likely because they have their white brothers defending them, who also have power.
Moving on to the idiot who pretty much compared Michelle Obama a gorilla, gee thanks. My first question is, “why would he post that on Facebook”? Anyways, this one really upsets me, but it could be just because there’s a video showing who he is and that makes me instantly think bad things towards him. I really don’t know what this world is coming to. But hopefully, too many old white men haven’t passed on their ignorance to their children, so then the world could be a better place, what everyone strives for =]
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After reading the entry, “What Are They Thinking”, I was not surprised with the racist depictions by several individuals. The image sent out by a Tennessee state legislature, which depicted President Obama as a solid black photo with a pair of eyes, was disrespectful; however, it is something we are accustomed to, and now find clever and funny. Also the comments of a Boston police officer did not surprise me; however, how can we trust such a juvenile and idiotic individual to protect and serve our community? Lastly, the inappropriate comment made by Rusty Depass about our First Lady, Michelle Obama’s family members, is unacceptable. After over fifty-years have passed since the Civil Rights Movement, these actions reinforce my beliefs that our country still struggles with issues of racism.
The portrait of the headshots of the U.S. Presidents was a perfect example of cheap humor. The image reminded me of examples used in comedy TV shows such as The Daily Show and Saturday Night Live. Eventhough, the portait is disrespectful, we now enjoy clever examples of cheap humor. Comedians decide to use race because we have now learned to accept stereotypes and believe them to be true. After showing the image to my black friend, he began to laugh, and it was clear that he did not find any issues. If an individual from the race does not find it an issue, then we allow other individuals to continue the banter of racial stereotypes.
Although, we take examples of race in comedic banter lightly; however, racial comments or slurs are unacceptable. All of us have had our mishaps, which may lead to a slip of an inapproriate comment. However, publicly spoken and posted comments, which allow an individual to think before their actions are unacceptable. I believe that our country faces a bigger issue, when the people who are supposed to protect and serve our nation are responsible for racial comments. How can trust that these individuals are administering equality for our citizens if they do not believe in equality.
Finally, the last issue of Rusty Depass, a candidate for the Senate in South Carolina was the clearest example of our racial problems in this country. Rusty Depass was supposed to exemplify character and class, as our political leader; however, he illustrated his immaturity and lack of class. I agreed with Mayor Coble that the comments were unacceptable. Coble also declared that he does not want those comments tarnishing his city.
Our country will continue to face problems of racism, when our well educated and wealty members of society continue to be the root of our racial problems. We have been through major battles with racism; however, these examples clearly illustrate that we are not finished the fight.
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What were they actually thinking? I mean i honestly get extremely tired of these racial remarks in attempt to degrade the blacks in society. To begin with, i believe that what they did with obama's picture is horrible for a person to do. He is the president of the united states and if certain people in society have a problem with being the first Black president in the United States then I believe that they should go live in another country. The least people can do is show Barack obama the respect that he rightfully deserves as the President of the United States. So I feel that the picture of Barack obama should be the same as every other presidents' picture was before him because nonetheless, we did elect him. I mean if you are really going to degrade Barack Obama, you should take a step back and look at what you are really doing. We did elect him so in a way that is kind of an oxy moron to me. Who knows what Barack Obama will have to offer in the upcoming years as president of the United States. He could turn out to be one of the best presidents of the united states in years. So what do all of the haters have to say now?
Now to talk about the arrest of Henry Louis gates jr. who was called a "banana eating jungle monkey" by a Boston police officer and a Massachussettes national guard had made. This is such a derogatory term because i believe that nobody should ever come at an individual with this particular statement.In reality, people in general are just like monkey's, but i guess those guys didn't do enough research to have figured that out by themselves. Personally, if someone were to call me a "banana eating jungle monkey" i probably would not take offense to it that much. i mean, it is offensive , but there will always be some type of racism in the world no matter what. So my thing is, why not ignore it and dissolve the situation instead of fueling the fire and giving them a reaction that they probably want.Also, I think some racist people are just plain ignorant. I don't understand why racist people make these racist statements and then try to take back what they just said. I feel that racist people should quite frankly keep their mouths shut. If you don't have anything worth saying, don't say it at all! The last thing that i wanted to add about the "banana eating jungle monkey" is that i believe that some people who have experienced negative comments like this should not fear people who make racist comments.
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Being a white American from the suburbs I was not so “immersed” into different cultures growing up. The high school in which I attended had to be at least 98% white. I believe there were only a few kids of color in my school. Racism, however, never really was a very relevant topic for the kids that I tended to hang out with. Now, I am definitely not saying that racism did not exist in my school, because I know for a fact that it did. I guess some “white” people think that all “white” people think just like they do, because one day which I can remember quite vividly, a white kid whose locker happened to be next to mine, asked me, “Dude, wouldn’t it be sweet to just have your own slave? You could be like dude go mow my lawn now?” I looked at him and didn’t even know what to say. I turned and walked away. I truly could not believe what he just had said. When I watched the video about the man who had “slipped” and compared Mrs. Obama with a gorilla this thought immediately popped into my head. That kid that asked me that question is probably going to say something to the wrong person one day and it is going to turn into a story just like this one. I believe some people truly do not think before they speak. This comes from the fact that the world needs to change. If everyone would just learn to accept people of color then stories like this would never happen. Now I know what I am preaching is completely impossible but if somehow this could happen just think about the world and what a different place that it would be. Here at Penn State, I am a good friend with kids of an array of races. Some of my best friends here are born here in the United States but their parents are straight from India. When Sam asked for that white kid the other day in class that basically thinks he’s “black” or “of color” all of my friends looked at me and were like that’s you, raise your hand. I just wish the world would come to see the best in people instead of concentrating on things like skin color or where people are from. Each individual is unique and until we learn this, were always going to have that “WTF were you thinking file” that stories like this and many other stories to come will be entered into. The world is a cruel place. Honestly, when I think about the world to myself and look at all of the hatred around us I just want to ask these people, “Why can’t we be friends?”
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Upon looking at this poster of all the United States presidents, in the so called the post racial era, I realized that even though it could be argued that the American society has come along way in terms of moving towards a more racial tolerant and diverse nation, we still have a long way to go! It was absolutely shocking to me to see our president Barack Obama depicted on that poster in the most demeaning and racial charged manner. President Obama has been the realization of a dream of millions of American that fought for civil rights and that never gave up on demanding that their fellow American ought to be judged on the merit of their character and not the color of their skin. For Obama to be elected for the highest office in the land, he had to stand on the shoulders of so many Americans that paved the way for centuries before him. So, for the vast majority of Americans who voted him in the office to see him portrayed in a degrading and racially charged way, it can never be perceived as a joke and obviously it was not meant to be funny. In fact, it totally has the opposite effect of funny; it makes me angry and disappointed to see that there are still deeply racists in the day and age.
Being an immigrant who came in this country several years ago, I felll in love with in love with this country ever since I was in my birth country because of the idea of the United States being the ultimate melting pot. The promise that any one regardless of racial background, religion and social status can come in this country and achieve his or her dreams is based upon the progress that the American society has achieved in terms of being a more racially tolerant society. In this century, technology advancement, especially internet, has made it exceedingly easy for information to go around the world instantly. For that poster to be online, even though it does not represent the view of the vast majority of Americans, it casts a shadow of disbelief on the tremendous effort and progress that the American society has made to make this country the only place on earth where dreams can be realized for anyone from any race.
I am cognizant that perfection is a work in progress and that the US has come along way to elect a person of color as our President. As our society perfects itself and moves in the direction of a more diverse and more tolerant society, I hope that someday being of a different race will not be a problem but rather a difference to be celebrated. I hope that the dream of Dr Martin Luther King that someday people will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character will come to pass.
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I honestly can say I could not believe the picture of the Presidents when I saw it. I think that even though it was suppose to be considered a “joke” no one should ever do that to someone. How would you feel if someone pulled this joke on you, personally I would not appreciate it at all. It is very immature and you would not expect an adult to pull a joke like that, especially one at that level. I want to know how the residents of Tennessee feel about this issue. I know if I lived there I would be horrified. Does it really matter what our race is? Or what we look like? I think it is awful that that’s all we care about and I cannot say that I am any differently because I know I am not, but I think we need to try and change the way we judge people. President Obama is our first black president and look at how we are treating him, this is supposed to be a step in the right direction, not the time to say hurtful things or make racist jokes.
Captain Justin Barrett referred to Henry Louis Gates, Jr. as a “banana eating jungle monkey.” And then he went on to say that he did not mean that. How do you say something like that and then not mean it, I personally do not think that is possible. Yes, he probably regrets saying what he did, but he did say it and it was then announced to the public which made it worse. Everyone says something they regret but nothing to that degree. He made a racial slur that is something you do not let slip out of your mouth.
The comment about the gorilla being Michelle Obama’s relative is so offensive. How could you say that about the First Lady? Once again this person tried to take it back and say that it was a joke and I feel the same way about this as I did before. You cannot say something like that and then try and take it back! I think all of these statements are so rude and racist. I think it is pretty dumb that these people would say something like this and then believe that it would not get out in the media world. Also, do they think that people are really going to forgive them for what horrible things they said? Maybe these issues will start to teach people how to act and what not to say. We need to treat everyone with respect. Treat others how you want to be treated is something I like to live by and I think others need to start thinking that way too.
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