Is this poster racist? - Page 5

Vampyr · 08-20-2009, 12:10 AM

People like that are hilarious because they can't see how ridiculously stupid they are.

Bond · 08-20-2009, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Germanator

Second: Are these town hall meetings making anyone else worried about America? I mean, I appreciate free speech, but can't we do it without going fucking insane? That woman in the second video...there are just no words for the ignorance and hatred. Shame on you is right, yeesh.

Well, I think to some degree the "out of control" town halls are being greatly exaggerated by the sensationalist media. Also, one has to assume the majority of these town halls are being held during the day. Who is available during the day? The elderly and unemployed. Passion is overwhelming rationality.

TheGame · 08-20-2009, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bond

Well, I think to some degree the "out of control" town halls are being greatly exaggerated by the sensationalist media.

I don't know Bond.. what exactly has to happen before it's not seen as an exaggeration? Do the people with assault rifles need to let some rounds loose?

I'll admit that the responce by Barney Frank sounded a little set up.. But it doesn't change that these extremely ignorant people are showing up with those offensive posters, asking stupid questions, and trying to drown out opposing views.

Professor S · 08-20-2009, 08:56 AM

1) The gun thing, while a concern and should be monitored, it severely overblown. The story about the guy with the gun was journalism at it's worst. If he had it hidden under a coat and was trying to sneak in to the meeting, then it should have been given the attention TYT gave it, but then again, it's TYT. Did anyone ask why he decided to wear his licensed gun? My guess is that he was making a non-verbal statement about 2nd amendment rights because of Presdient Obama' background in Illinois when ti comes to gun rights, not intending on threatening President Obama's life. If anything, it's likely a cultural misunderstanding.

2) Yes, there are nutjobs at these meetings, but have you ever been to or seen a leftist protest where they literaly have assaulted the vehicles that President Bush and his entourage rode in or burned his image in effigy? Lets not pretend this is solely a problem on the right. At least so far these protesters have only expressed themselves verbally. I mainly chalk it up to poorly thought out expressions of discontent, but anti-semites and the like and not reflective of the majority of these people, IMO

3) Working from home several days a week, I've seen many of the town halls broadcast live and like Bond stated, the media is playing up the most irate people because its more entertaining. There are a lot of very good questions that are not being answered honestly in the process, and that is only adding to the catcalls and outrage.

4) Speaking of dismising dissent and drowning out opposing views, the democrats aren't doing themelves a favor by accusing THEIR dissenters of not having their own opinions and dismissing them as "astroturf" and only speaking because their Republican masters told them to. If I were them, I'd feel ignored, disenfranchied and angry too. The problem is that anger is not productive.

Teuthida · 08-20-2009, 09:00 AM

Professor S · 08-20-2009, 09:44 AM

I can't see photo-bucket at work, but seeing the URL (socialist spiderman) I imagine is hilarious

People are weird.

TheGame · 08-20-2009, 09:45 AM

I don't know prof, when you consider the sign the guy was holding along with having his gun, it seemed like an obvious threat or attempt at intimidation.

Professor S · 08-20-2009, 10:47 AM

Oops, somehow I didn't catch the sign (in hindsight I'm not sure how, I might have only been listening to the video and not watching it), only the gun. You're right, he's a nutter, even if he means it just to put a point across. I hope the FBI is looking into him, quite honestly.

I retract point one.

KillerGremlin · 08-24-2009, 02:49 PM

Evidently the original artist of that Obama poster goes to UIC. Apparently the picture was stolen and "socialism" was added to it. There was an psuedo-interview with the artist, and I think (I skimmed...will get back later) the intentions where not racist or to suggest Obama is socialist.

KillerGremlin · 08-25-2009, 12:49 PM

http://media.www.chicagoflame.com/me...-3755924.shtml

Quote:

Firas Alkhateeb was your typical, anonymous college student until a few weeks ago, when someone took artwork from his Flickr account and created a national controversy out of them. Alkhateeb had taken a cover of Time magazine featuring Barack Obama and transformed him into Heath Ledger's Joker. Someone else then took his image from Flickr, added "Socialist" underneath, and plastered it around southern California. The Flame caught up with Alkhateeb last week for an exclusive interview.

Flame: Where were you born? On Facebook, you list San Mateo as your hometown but everyone calls you "a college student from Chicago."

FA: I was born in California (the San Francisco Bay Area) and lived in that area (San Mateo area) for 7 years. When I was 7 I moved to Chicago and have lived in Chicago and the suburbs since.

Flame: Critics have alleged that your spoof "depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery [and] is mean-spirited and dangerous." What do you say to your critics?

FA: I think I saw that quote in the Guardian newspaper from the UK two weeks ago when the story first came out and they didn't know who was behind the original photoshop. A lot of the people who have problems with the Obama-as-Joker image are people who would enjoy Bush-as-Hitler images or something similar. The great thing about art - particularly political art - is that it can be a very effective medium through which to propagate an idea. Just because someone doesn't agree with a particular point of view expressed, doesn't entitle them to label it dangerous. What good is our First Amendment if we can't express political viewpoints? Everyone has a political ideology and to each his own. If someone else wants to overreact, it's not my problem.

Flame: Are you at all interested in suing anyone for marketing the picture you made on t-shirts over the Internet?

FA: I can't comment on any legal issues about the poster, as all of that is still ongoing.

Flame: In one article, you are portrayed as supporting Obama -- in another, you say you didn't vote for him and didn't want people to know about the picture you drew because you don't want to offend the "very, very liberal" Chicagoans who support him, but then other stories add that you are a big Kucinich fan. Can you clarify your political views?

FA: I support Obama in that I want him and his efforts to succeed so the nation can get out of our current economic situation. I don't agree with alot of his domestic policies and didn't vote for him (or anyone) as a sort of protest against the electoral system that had given Obama Illinois pretty much before the election. Me "supporting" Dennis Kucinich has been blown way out of proportion. I agree with some of his ideas, but certainly not all. I've been described as a far leftist as well as a conservative, but the truth is I'd consider myself moderate and avoid supporting either political party - instead, I support or oppose individual issues.

Flame: What inspired you to study history?

FA: I don't have a concentration in history yet, I just transferred into the major and fall will be my first semester in the program. I've spent three years in civil engineering before this. I'm studying history because it's something I have a passion for and really enjoy reading about.

They don't really address his intentions for making the original picture...I still don't see the Joker/Socialist connection. I think this whole thing has been blown....err...overboard.