Is the Obama-Joker Poster racist?

worldrepublic

This article identifies the originator of the poster:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/18/obama-joker-image-creator

The poster started to show up all over the USA, in major towns and cities, in the last couple of weeks, and shows no signs of subsiding. Should citizens be allowed to put up the poster... or should they be jailed? A lot of people putting them up are actually video-taping themselves doing it and putting it on youtube. These youtube videos are then being aired on CNN etc.

The posters are now starting to appear in Europe!

What has the world come to? What can be done to stop this in its tracks?

JohnMc1

Considering how Pres. Bush was characterized as a monkey for 8 years I would say Obama is getting off lightly.

worldrepublic

JohnMc1 wrote: »

Considering how Pres. Bush was characterized as a monkey for 8 years I would say Obama is getting off lightly.

But the Joker, as we all know, has a "white face" -so the opinion is circulating that the Poster is racist. Plus, they did not put a "black face" on Bush, so what does that mean? It might sound OTT about the racism, but that is how it's being cast.

Ailteoir

Racist - Hell no
Stupid- Yes

spank_inferno

Anything can be racist if the person perceiving it wants it to be racist.

Same goes for most " -ist's"

I think the poster is cool btw.... would live to see a Joker/Lenihan picture though I dont think it would work as well.

worldrepublic

spank_inferno wrote: »

Anything can be racist if the person perceiving it wants it to be racist.

Same goes for most " -ist's"

I think the poster is cool btw.... would live to see a Joker/Lenihan picture though I dont think it would work as well.

Or Brian Cowen as the "joker"? Maybe Mary Harney could be cat woman!

First they said Obama was the Messiah, then he was Superman... one thing is for sure, he's no Batman... and Rahm Emanuel is no Robin!

Hmmm, maybe Lyndon LaRouche is the Penguin?

JohnMc1

spank_inferno wrote: »

Anything can be racist if the person perceiving it wants it to be racist.

Same goes for most " -ist's"

I think the poster is cool btw.... would live to see a Joker/Lenihan picture though I dont think it would work as well.

Cowen and Lenhian were portrayed as Batman and Robin on the cover of an Irish Paper after the budget release. It was Taxman [Lenihan as Batman] and Robben [slang for robbing. Cowen as Robin]

bobbyjoe

Not racist just stupid.

MultiUmm

worldrepublic wrote: »

Or Brian Cowen as the "joker"? Maybe Mary Harney could be cat woman!

First they said Obama was the Messiah, then he was Superman... one thing is for sure, he's no Batman... and Rahm Emanuel is no Robin!

Hmmm, maybe Lyndon LaRouche is the Penguin?

.. -Shudder- I just pictured Mary H in a tight, latex suit. :eek: :eek: :eek: I gave myself bad thoughts.

And also I don't think the poster is racist. :rolleyes: Has the world gone so PC mad that now it's offensive to alter the image of any African American man?

That being said I think it is just typical US bullshít about fear of "commies" :rolleyes:

Overheal

At least theres hope for you OP - at least you stopped for a moment, and doubted wether it was racist. A lesser man would come in here screaming hatecrime and obscenitites.

Its not racist. Joker just happens to have a pasty white face. if you just had the lips, nobody would know wtf you were trying to portray.

bobbyjoe

Who has been saying its racist?

MultiUmm

bobbyjoe wrote: »

Who has been saying its racist?

The PC brigade. People who find anything like the Obama poster and deem it to be "offensive".

Ironically it was a 20 year old student called Firas Alkhateeb who made it. :rolleyes: Hardly sounds like a redneck with a chip on his shoulder about a black man being president does it?

bobbyjoe

MultiUmm wrote: »

The PC brigade. People who find anything like the Obama poster and deem it to be "offensive".

Ironically it was a 20 year old student called Firas Alkhateeb who made it. :rolleyes: Hardly sounds like a redneck with a chip on his shoulder about a black man being president does it?

Any links to people calling it racist?

Sounds like the persecution complex the right wing have.

MultiUmm

bobbyjoe wrote: »

Any links to people calling it racist?

Sounds like the persecution complex the right wing have.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5973064/Barack-Obama-Joker-socialism-poster-denounced-as-racist.html

"Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, denounced the image and called on those behind it to reveal themselves. "Depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery."
"It is mean-spirited and dangerous.
"We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama."

"The liberal tabloid "LA Weekly", which depicted George W. Bush, the former president, as Dracula on its cover in 2004, denounced the Obama-Joker poster as virulently racist."
"It has a bit of everything to appeal to the drunk tank of California conservatism: Obama is in white face, his mouth (like Ledger's Joker's) has been grotesquely slit wide open and the word 'Socialism' appears below his face," wrote its blogger Steven Mikulan. "The only thing missing is a noose."

Here's the actual blog that LA Weekly fella wrote. http://blogs.laweekly.com/ladaily/politics/new-anti-obama-joker-poster/ :rolleyes: So, it was all well and good to take the píss out of Bush but because it's Obama people aren't allowed because it's "racist"? Don't get me wrong, I'm not some prudish anti Obama conservative person, but it says something about the age we live in when people can't depict him as a character like the joker without PC authoritarians giving out about it.

bobbyjoe

MultiUmm wrote: »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5973064/Barack-Obama-Joker-socialism-poster-denounced-as-racist.html

"Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, denounced the image and called on those behind it to reveal themselves. "Depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery."
"It is mean-spirited and dangerous.
"We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama."

"The liberal tabloid "LA Weekly", which depicted George W. Bush, the former president, as Dracula on its cover in 2004, denounced the Obama-Joker poster as virulently racist."
"It has a bit of everything to appeal to the drunk tank of California conservatism: Obama is in white face, his mouth (like Ledger's Joker's) has been grotesquely slit wide open and the word 'Socialism' appears below his face," wrote its blogger Steven Mikulan. "The only thing missing is a noose."

Here's the actual blog that LA Weekly fella wrote. http://blogs.laweekly.com/ladaily/politics/new-anti-obama-joker-poster/ :rolleyes: So, it was all well and good to take the píss out of Bush but because it's Obama people aren't allowed because it's "racist"? Don't get me wrong, I'm not some prudish anti Obama conservative person, but it says something about the age we live in when people can't depict him as a character like the joker without PC authoritarians giving out about it.

One bloke with a blog is the PC authoritarians now?

MultiUmm

bobbyjoe wrote: »

One bloke with a blog is the PC authoritarians now?

He's hardly the only one. No doubt there are others Americans who feel the same way. It wouldn't have been reported on if it was just one bloke with a blog who found it to be racist.

"We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama."

This sounds more like something you'd hear in a dictatorship then in a democracy. Why shouldn't the people be allowed to ridicule Obama in such a way? Are we so petty that we can't look at the image of a black man whose skin has been altered to look like it has white face paint on it? The poster wasn't even intended to highlight the colour of his skin.

bobbyjoe

MultiUmm wrote: »

He's hardly the only one. No doubt there are others Americans who feel the same way. It wouldn't have been reported on if it was just one bloke with a blog who found it to be racist.

"We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama."

This sounds more like something you'd hear in a dictatorship then in a democracy. Why shouldn't the people be allowed to ridicule Obama in such a way? Are we so petty that we can't look at the image of a black man whose skin has been altered to look like it has white face paint on it? The poster wasn't even intended to highlight the colour of his skin.

I think your making a mountain out of a mole hill in this case.

Overheal

bobbyjoe wrote: »

I think your making a mountain out of a mole hill in this case.

re-read. Multi is quoting.

bobbyjoe

Overheal wrote: »

re-read. Multi is quoting.

I know

worldrepublic

Have a look on youtube -there are a host of clips, CNN, Fox, all dealing with the poster and discussing whether it is racist or not. Is it?

And here's one of the "usual suspects":

This all reminds me of that painting of Brian Cowen sitting on the loo that RTE ended up apologising over.

Overheal

It really should have said "Why So Socialist?" Now that I think about it
\
edit: Vandalism my left testicle.

Im printing these out tonight, and putting one up anywhere I see a Lost Puppy poster.

LostinKildare

MultiUmm wrote: »

This sounds more like something you'd hear in a dictatorship then in a democracy. Why shouldn't the people be allowed to ridicule Obama in such a way?

Um, they are allowed to. They did, didn't they? Were they arrested, thrown into jail or something?

If you mean that you think they should not be subject to criticism -- even denuniciation -- for it, from "PC authoritarians" or whoever, then you are advocating the suppression of other views. Which is antidemocratic.

worldrepublic

LostinKildare wrote: »

Um, they are allowed to. They did, didn't they? Were they arrested, thrown into jail or something?

If you mean that you think they should not be subject to criticism -- even denuniciation -- for it, from "PC authoritarians" or whoever, then you are advocating the suppression of other views. Which is antidemocratic.

Actually the police have brought people in for questioning, and are framing the posters in criminal terms, vandalism, racism, etc. I note that when Obama supporters put up "hope" posters, or when someone puts up a "lost puppy" poster it's not vandalism. The problem is (and the police/media/whitehose now realise it) that they can't prosecute or even denounce millions and millions of people! Is it any wonder the Whitehouse is now backing down on the healthcare issue, and the media are starting to (finally!) see Obama for what he really is: a puppet reading a tele-prompter.

Overheal

Thats the thing - they should certainly feel free to criticise. However thats not the way some of these news outlets are reporting it (republic's video #1) - They're using a vandalism outcry. Saying OMG THEY ARE USING STAPLES ON THIS LAMP POST

Uhm hello. We do it ALL THE TIME. Lost and Found? Anyone?

major bill

poster imo is class and clever. obama's the antichrist that was predicted by the bible. you heard it here first;)

ChocolateSauce

Considering the number of ways one could interpret that poster, I'd say ____

LostinKildare

Overheal wrote: »

Thats the thing - they should certainly feel free to criticise. However thats not the way some of these news outlets are reporting it (republic's video #1) - They're using a vandalism outcry. Saying OMG THEY ARE USING STAPLES ON THIS LAMP POST

Uhm hello. We do it ALL THE TIME. Lost and Found? Anyone?

So? You are allowed to ridicule the president. You aren't allowed to vandalize property. Enforcement of vandalism laws vary from area to area and time to time. When I lived in NYC, under Guiliani you'd get arrested for posting any kind of bills (including little lost kitten ones).

If you wanna make a political protest, keep your method legal.

worldrepublic

LostinKildare wrote: »

So? You are allowed to ridicule the president. You aren't allowed to vandalize property. Enforcement of vandalism laws vary from area to area and time to time. When I lived in NYC, under Guiliani you'd get arrested for posting any kind of bills (including little lost kitten ones).

If you wanna make a political protest, keep your method legal.

The point is the police all over America IGNORED the "vandalism" entailed in putting up Obama "hope" posters. Then the media screamed RACISM! It is a case of blatant, biased and ruthless suppression. Talk about pure hypocrisy!

Anyway, it's just a diversion. Sooner (oh yeah) or later Obama is going to have to create jobs, or he's out on his ass. It doesn't have to be fair, but it's reality, and all the diversions, tactics and blame-games in the world will not change the very disappointing facts of trillions lost, pensions lost, homes lost and double-digit unemployment. Tick, tock... Mr. Obama, get the job done that needs doing, or be replaced.

Overheal

worldrepublic wrote: »

The point is the police all over America IGNORED the "vandalism" entailed in putting up Obama "hope" posters. Then the media screamed RACISM! It is a case of blatant, biased and ruthless suppression. Talk about pure hypocrisy!

Anyway, it's just a diversion. Sooner (oh yeah) or later Obama is going to have to create jobs, or he's out on his ass. It doesn't have to be fair, but it's reality, and all the diversions, tactics and blame-games in the world will not change the very disappointing facts of trillions lost, pensions lost, homes lost and double-digit unemployment. Tick, tock... Mr. Obama, get the job done that needs doing, or be replaced.

So what youre saying is, if I post BOTH of them, I will create a conundrum?

So, I'll find kitten posters and next to these kittens I will post 1 copy of the HOPE poster and 1 copy of the Why So Socialist poster.

To complete the socialist (edit: this was a typo - Jon) experiment, I will record the number of PRO posters taken down, and the number of ANTI posters taken down.

worldrepublic

Overheal wrote: »

So what youre saying is, if I post BOTH of them, I will create a conundrum?

So, I'll find kitten posters and next to these kittens I will post 1 copy of the HOPE poster and 1 copy of the Why So Socialist poster.

To complete the socialist (edit: this was a typo - Jon) experiment, I will record the number of PRO posters taken down, and the number of ANTI posters taken down.

Rubbish! There are plenty of posters, plenty of Joker ones (growing by the day), and plenty of existing "Hope" posters. Now, just analyse the mainstream news and you'll see that all of the criticism in relation to vandalism is directed at the Joker posters! It doesn't take a rocket scientist approach to understand the hypocrisy. Unless, of course, you are will to argue that the Joker poster is racist... are you?

bobbyjoe

None of the video's say its racist except the Fox one which says some people are calling it racist but not who. Faux outrage on the part of the anti-Obama crowd who love to pretend they are being repressed.