Comparing Obama to a monkey on a sign. Is it racist? (np.reddit.com)
SubredditDrama
12 ups - 3 downs = 9 votes
23 comments submitted at 22:50:49 on Apr 4, 2014 by 75000_Tokkul
Comparing Obama to a monkey on a sign. Is it racist? (np.reddit.com)
SubredditDrama
12 ups - 3 downs = 9 votes
23 comments submitted at 22:50:49 on Apr 4, 2014 by 75000_Tokkul
Calling black people monkeys is racist. Calling a person acting like a buffoon a monkey isn't racist. Does anybody remember these types of of pictures a few years ago...
http://i.imgur.com/ZveAP99.jpg
Maybe if the right wing used a snow monkey instead...
https://i.imgur.com/nO7xpl4.png
Given the fact that people have been comparing Obama to monkeys since 2008, I don't think it's fair to say it's a reaction to his policies and choices. Remember when these came out?
Maybe you are right. I do think the monkey works best in satire in the politicians world. Which animal would you pick if wanted to show a president as a buffoon? Remember you can't pick the donkey or elephant. You can pick dogs playing poker, but /r/aww crowd might get mad.
I think good satire gets its point across--a good satirist should know that the message will be confused if a classic racist symbol is chosen as a comparison. It works for Bush because the monkey is not a classic racist symbol for White politicians.
So which animal would be best for President Obama?
I don't know about Obama but I'd characterize Biden as a billy goat.
How about a llama for Obama?
Now that would be funny. John Boehne is trying to shear "Lllama Obama" and orange tan Boehner crying that his shears are getting cut by the president's wool. And the veep we can cal Billy Joe the the silly head strong one.
I voted for Obama, but I've disagreed with some of his decisions and many of his changes in position. If I have to pick an animal, I would go with angler fish--advertising something but providing something else (something much less desirable). I think he's done a lot of good, but there have also been many shortcomings (as we have with every President).
Hmmmm. I don't know. Angler fish looks more of an evil genius and not a three stooges.
you asked me what I would pick. I don't think he's a "stooge."
Pick an animal. Just because you think he isn't a stooge doesn't mean some cartoonist doesn't. If you are willing to protect a President Obama from being criticize than you should protect all presidents from being criticized.
>Pick an animal.
They did.
>Just because you think he isn't a stooge doesn't mean some cartoonist doesn't
You didn't ask them about a cartoonist's opinion. You asked for theirs.
> If you are willing to protect a President Obama from being criticize
They absolutely never said that. They said comparing Bush to a monkey was different than comparing Obama to one-- and that is true. Historical context is a thing.
>you should protect all presidents from being criticized.
Like I said, they never said anything about not criticizing Obama. Just don't call him a monkey if you don't want to be called a racist. When people referred to Bush as a monkey, they were calling him a buffoon. When you call a black person a monkey, it comes across differently. That's just how it is.
Seriously? You asked me to pick an animal and I did, and I'm not saying the President should be protected from criticism--that's a basic part of Democracy in the U.S. I was point out that the monkey comparison was racist, I'm not saying criticizing the President is racist.
Monkey see - monkey do is a common phrase to imply ignorance or more specific doing things without knowing the outcome. Now I'm not a conservative but I can understand how this popular phrase might be used to describe Obama or governments in general.
So I think that "Monkey see - Monkey spend" can be a neutral statement. Just because Obama is black it's not automatically a racist phrase. He could have also used the 3 monkey metaphor (don't see, listen, speak). Is this sign racist? Maybe. If he intended to compare Obama to an ape but I wouldn't jump the gun. It could have been a naive sign by some random kid who simply didn't think about it. Now I'm not American so I don't know how common it is to connect monkeys to racism but I know that there are many countries where you could make this exact same sign without having a racism debate. Is the monkey head supposed to depict Obama? It's such a shitty picture that I can't tell. If it is it's most likely racist.
In the U.S., the comparison between Black people and monkeys is pretty long standing and pretty ugly. The fact that there is still a subset of very vocal racists in the U.S. who continue this comparison make it clear that the stereotype is still active. While I can see the whole "monkey see, monkey do" thing, the Obama-monkey comparisons have existed since he was elected (actually before) so I don't think we can brush it off as a typical saying given the history behind the comparison.