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Re: Ok in the Past
Posted by **murray** on Aug 17, 2013 at 6:25:33 AM:
In Reply to: Re: Ok in the Past posted by **comic relief** on Aug 16, 2013 at 9:53:25 PM:
*********not so much today
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********Historical context matters.
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********A picture of, I dunno let's go with Jack Kemp being sent to a gas chamber will never be in great taste, and will likely get a mild negative reaction. Same image with Joseph Lieberman, however? Artist would be lucky to have only what's described in that image. And I think you know why that is.
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******* If the rodeo clown had said "Would you like to see Obama get lynched?", I could certainly see your point..
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*******But if all the Presidents get their turn at being mocked in that setting, , why should Obama get an exemption?
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*******Surely you must know all this furor is way over the top...
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******I honestly don't know if you're aware that you're inserting your opinion as the premise before it's been established. Just in case, I'm pointing that out.
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******Lynching isn't the only thing that happened to blacks in the US. There was whipping, torture, inhumane treatment, and deliberate mutilation as well. Hell, as recently as the mid-20th century, black boxers were routinely heckled and beaten by their own audiences, to no consequence. It's a part of our history we would like to forget, and fortunately for us all it's getting more distant with every passing day, but it's still there. It's an image that is far more hurtful than I think you understand, and while the whole thing might just be a dumb decision on a particular rodeo clown's part and nothing more (I don't know and I don't care: this is a story I'm willfully ignoring), dumb decisions still have consequences.
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*****In case you haven't heard, Obama's approval rating is at a new all time low (42%). And people want to make a big issue out of this incident? If it were GWB or anyone else you would be laughing your ass off instead of trying to resurrect all the historical crimes against blacks as a defense against those who thought of it as no big deal? Seriously?
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*****This country has always had a tradition to make fun of it's leaders at times and Obama isn't the exception. Race has nothing to do with this. There are always those who want to turn it into a racial issue or call it a "hate crime" (like the head of the Missouri NAACP just did). It's a crock of shit!
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*****It's pathetic that's there is a double standard at play when it comes to things like this. Because Obama happens to be black, some feel the necessity to bring up the race card.. it's pathetic. It's all about Obama's policy failures not about his color. Sheesh!
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****While I'll agree with you that this is going way too far and the NAACP just needs to relax with their 'hate crime' label, from the initial article I read about this it does seem that the performance went beyond just making fun of the president. This article quotes someone that was in attendance. It wasn't about what the clown did while he had the mask on, it was more about the fact that they riled the crowd up by trying to destroy a dummy with the mask on. That's essentially trying to kill the president in effigy, that's not poking fun. Are you OK with killing the president in effigy, in your own state nonetheless?
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****Let me again say that I think this whole thing is absolutely ridiculous and the measures taken have gone WAY beyond what's reasonable (lifetime ban for one, sensitivity training for all????), but there is a little more to the context of the performance than just making fun of Obama.
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****On a personal sidebar, my sister's brother-in-law is a rodeo clown in Oklahoma. He has a bit in his performance that involves an Obama mask and I'm sure all across the country other rodeo clowns have similar acts. Not one of those acts has been brought to the attention of the nation because they're probably not stepping over the line like this one did.
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****Why do you mention his approval rating? Because one poll has his approval at 42%, that makes it OK to kill the president in effigy?
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*** Something doesn't smell right with this..
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***Just one person said tbis is what he saw?
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*** The people raising such a stink had something like this and it managed to go unmentioned in every single article I've read on this matter? That makes no sense..
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***And no, the articles I read on it were not from conservative sites..
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***How could that this possibly go unmentioned in so many reports from Obama-friendly media outlets?
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** Another question is whether what is described by this one person is unique and not a routine used in performances depicting other presidents.. If it has never been done before, that's a much bigger deal... But one I think worthy of a lengthy suspension at most.. Certainly not a lifetime ban..
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**Then again, I don't know about any standards set forth by the association regarding conduct of employees and so on...They certainly have the right to fire anyone who violated their rules... But did he?
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** Can't help but wonder how many people were penalized for burning Bush in effigy though...
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*I can't say what's happened at the thousands of rodeos that happen every weekend across the country. I'm sure there's plenty of shit that's actually extremely racist that happens and never sees the light of day because the crowd enjoyed it.
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*I'd also be willing to bet that other dummies with former presidential masks have been propped up in the same way, and I'm sure that they were trampled. Now how the announcers handled it would be question. I just linked the actual video so you can see how this announcer did. It was a stereotypical redneck "We're gonna git ya!!"
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*Granted, if the exact same announcer made the exact same statements in the exact same tone, but the dummy had a W Bush, a Clinton, an HW Bush, or a Reagan mask...it wouldn't get the same reaction. Unfortunately race does play into this.
As long as we cater to unreasonable demands instead of insisting on true equality, MLK's dream will remain elusive... As long as we give in to everyone who can't live without the victimization crutch , we are in cars with dead batteries which are also stuck in the mud.. What tow truck?
Equality.. If it was good enough for the other presidents, no exemption for Obama...
But as long as it is known that some will jump to the tune, that song will be played over and over and over again with no end in sight...Followup Messages:
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Last updated on Aug 17, 2013