Latest attack on Obama: personal ad calls for his assassination (among other racism)

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From http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090529/world/us_obama_threats_2

Some are convinced he's the Antichrist. Others have made jokes about watermelon and fried chicken, and sent emails containing racist slurs. And now a personal ad in a Pennsylvania newspaper has called for his assassination.

President Barack Obama's milestone presidency has brought out its fair share of racists and hateful misfits, evident in an ad placed in the Times-Observer of Warren, in northwest Pennsylvania, earlier this week.

The ad in Thursday's paper read: "May Obama follow in the steps of Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy!" All four presidents were assassinated in office.

The paper apologized on Friday, calling it an oversight. Its publisher, John Elchert, said the advertising staff didn't make the historical connection between the five men.

Elchert added that the Times-Observer has been in touch with police, and the Secret Service was in town on Friday to investigate the person who placed the ad.

But the Pennsylvania ad is just the latest in a series of disturbing and incendiary attacks on Obama, many of them racially tinged.

"Unfortunately, the attitude of the person who placed the ad is too prevalent in Pennsylvania," said Michael Morrill, the executive director of Keystone Progress, an advocacy group based in Harrisburg, Pa.

"In the last few days we've gotten emails calling the president 'chimp' and the n-word after he nominated Judge (Sonia) Sotomayor. It makes it very difficult to organize around issues when the opposition to the president's policies is so racially charged."

Keystone Progress exposed racist incidents at rallies for the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin in Pennsylvania last year, including one event at which someone called out "kill him" in reference to Obama, the Democratic nominee.

The situation doesn't seem to have progressed much since those rallies.

Protests held across the United States last month, known as tea party and teabagging rallies in reference to the Boston Tea Party, were ostensibly meant to rail against big government spending. The movement began when organizers sent teabags to their congressional representatives on April 1.

But instead, those protests were populated by several attendees waving signs with racist slogans, including a child in Denver who carried one that read: "Obama-nomics: Monkey See, Monkey Do."

Another sign in Chicago featured a photo of Adolf Hitler with Obama's head super-imposed over the infamous dictator's, and read: "Barack Hussein Obama: The New Face of Hitler." Another urged him to go "back to Kenya."

Such sentiments haven't been exclusive to the odd face in the crowd, and are a far cry from the insults about George W. Bush's intelligence that were routinely aimed at the former president by his opponents.

Some elected officials and low-level Republicans, in fact, have been forced to resign for making racist jokes in the five months since Obama's historic inauguration.

In Florida, a Republican state committee member quit after she sent a racist email about the inauguration festivities.

The email from Carol Carter, who represented Hillsborough County, was entitled "Amazing." It read: "I'm confused. How can two million blacks get into Washington, D.C., in one day in sub-zero temps when 200,000 couldn't get out of New Orleans in 85 degree temps with four days notice?"

In a subsequent missive to those on her recipient list, she wrote: "I have been asked to send this apology for my earlier email. I am sorry that it was received in a negative manner. I do hope that we are going to be allowed to keep our sense of humour."

A southern California mayor was also forced to quit earlier this year after sending an email depicting the White House lawn as a giant watermelon patch.

Dean Grose, mayor of Los Alamitos, said he meant nothing racist by the email, but said the controversy over racism has made it difficult for him to continue to lead the city.

The Internet, as always, is a treasure trove of anti-Obama sites, ranging from those accusing him of being a Marxist and a secret Muslim to one that's entirely devoted to the notion that he could be the Antichrist.

Ironically, it's been Obama and Sotomayor, his pick for Supreme Court Justice, who have been accused of racism this week.

Sotomayor's remarks about Latina wisdom in 2001 has become a flashpoint for conservatives who oppose her nomination.

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life," said Sotomayor, who is of Puerto Rican descent.

Those comments have prompted both talk show megastar Rush Limbaugh and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to call Sotomayor a racist.

Gingrich said Sotomayor, who would be the first Latino on the country's highest court, has argued that if a white male nominee had said something similar, he'd be forced to withdraw his nomination, and so should Sotomayor.

Limbaugh had this to say: "Reverse racists certainly do have the power to implement their power. Obama is the greatest living example of a reverse racist and now he's appointed one."

Seriously, what the heck is wrong with you people? I say "you people" as a collective, not as an address to every individual. I don't want to sound like a racist myself by blanketing all of you as half-brained, ignorant racists (because I know that's certainly not the case). It just seems like the US is the only country from which I hear about unspeakably hateful remarks and actions such as these.

Don't get me wrong, everyone should have the right to express their opinions about government policy making and the right to do something about it ... but, in what ignorant, half-witted, hateful mindset do you have to be to make remarks and display actions that are this far below the belt?

He's one of the most powerful people in the world and his skin happens to be of a dark pigment.

GET OVER IT
 
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Keystone Progress exposed racist incidents at rallies for the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin in Pennsylvania last year, including one event at which someone called out "kill him" in reference to Obama, the Democratic nominee.
Debunked. That "someone" was actually no one, just a reporter trying to cause trouble by making up news.

It just seems like the US is the only country from which I hear about unspeakably hateful remarks and actions such as these.
We are who we are, good and bad. I live in a city that is 30% white, 30% black, 30% hispanic. We get along just fine. Don't let the news sway your views, maaaannn. :) What you are reading about is a tiny percentage of America; remember there is 350 million of us who do not care who he is racially, but there are 48% of Americans who are very concerned about who he is politically.
If racial hate starts getting lumped together with political hate, as the above article try's it damnedest to do, then we might as well burn the U.S. Constitution. Think about that!

How about some other "unspeakables" from across the world:

-Hey Australia, how are you and the Aborigines getting along?
-England, you had been shitting on Ireland for going on what, 600 years? Thanks for forcing them to move here, they helped make us into the greatest nation on earth!
-Boy, those French really treat their Arab immigrants well; they celebrate by burning cars!
-The Japanese may be xenophobic, but golly their anime is really neat!
-I wonder if I can find any Christian churches in Saudi Arabia...oh, that's right: there is only one religion there, unlike America, where you are free to be who you want to be.

:|

Oh, was that a bit offensive to some people? Well, don't let the drama llama follow you home, then. Every nation has their skeletons in their closet. We sure as hell are not perfect, but we don't shirk from it either, or pretend problems do not exist. We are the most racially diverse* nation on earth, friction comes with the territory.




*personally, I only believe that there is one race, which is the human race. But in order to explain my points, well....
 
It just seems like the US is the only country from which I hear about unspeakably hateful remarks and actions such as these.

Many European countries have actual racists in their governments due to their multiple party structure. In addition to insist that racism is a mainly American phenomenon is just ignorant. I believe in France one has to submit a photo with your resume and there have been many reports of racism in denying jobs.

There are more cameras, more media, and more televisions. More things are just shown in the United States. Racism is confronted in the United States while in many European countries it is accepted.

In addition I believe you forget that the United States is a country of 300 million, you could provide thousands of examples and that still would be just a blip.
 
In addition to insist that racism is a mainly American phenomenon is just ignorant.
I didn't say that it was, nor did I insist it. All I said was that it seemed that way to me, that's all.
 
I didn't say that it was, nor did I insist it. All I said was that it seemed that way to me, that's all.

That it seems that way to you just proves that you are ignorant in these manners. Read enough European newspapers and you can pick up a substantial amount of racism. Funny bit is that many of those newspapers criticize the United States for racism while at the same time enforcing racism at home. Lots of bitching and ignorant comments about Muslims, Africans, Eastern Europeans, etc.
 
Dubya got more then his fair share of death threats too.
 
Dubya got more then his fair share of death threats too.

Didn't somebody try to fire a gun through the White House gates a mere two months after he got elected? I thought it was a sign of the times.

Still, claiming or even hoping that Obama should be assassinated should be grounds for investigation. If people took those kinds of threats seriously before 9/11, they certainly would now.
 
That it seems that way to you just proves that you are ignorant in these manners. Read enough European newspapers and you can pick up a substantial amount of racism. Funny bit is that many of those newspapers criticize the United States for racism while at the same time enforcing racism at home. Lots of bitching and ignorant comments about Muslims, Africans, Eastern Europeans, etc.
Citation please?
 
Still, claiming or even hoping that Obama should be assassinated should be grounds for investigation.

Or any President, for that matter. I do not like his politics, but he is my country's leader.
 
That it seems that way to you just proves that you are ignorant in these manners. Read enough European newspapers and you can pick up a substantial amount of racism. Funny bit is that many of those newspapers criticize the United States for racism while at the same time enforcing racism at home. Lots of bitching and ignorant comments about Muslims, Africans, Eastern Europeans, etc.

That would be xenophobia, not racism. Justt to let you know.
 
Debunked. That "someone" was actually no one, just a reporter trying to cause trouble by making up news.


We are who we are, good and bad. I live in a city that is 30% white, 30% black, 30% hispanic. We get along just fine. Don't let the news sway your views, maaaannn. :) What you are reading about is a tiny percentage of America; remember there is 350 million of us who do not care who he is racially, but there are 48% of Americans who are very concerned about who he is politically.
If racial hate starts getting lumped together with political hate, as the above article try's it damnedest to do, then we might as well burn the U.S. Constitution. Think about that!

How about some other "unspeakables" from across the world:

-Hey Australia, how are you and the Aborigines getting along?
-England, you had been shitting on Ireland for going on what, 600 years? Thanks for forcing them to move here, they helped make us into the greatest nation on earth!
-Boy, those French really treat their Arab immigrants well; they celebrate by burning cars!
-The Japanese may be xenophobic, but golly their anime is really neat!
-I wonder if I can find any Christian churches in Saudi Arabia...oh, that's right: there is only one religion there, unlike America, where you are free to be who you want to be.

:|

Oh, was that a bit offensive to some people? Well, don't let the drama llama follow you home, then. Every nation has their skeletons in their closet. We sure as hell are not perfect, but we don't shirk from it either, or pretend problems do not exist. We are the most racially diverse* nation on earth, friction comes with the territory.




*personally, I only believe that there is one race, which is the human race. But in order to explain my points, well....

In my opinion anyone who seriously wants to kill Obama should be arrested (obviously) However, racists no more represent the American populace than Jerry Falwell and that "God hates fags" guy represent Christians.

As for Australia and England: I do think that the US at least was imperialistic- one needs only to look at the conquest of (usually) peaceful natives to see that- but who do you think early Americans got the imperialistic spirit from? :p
England, Australia- in fact the entire commonwealth was based on imperialism and destruction of other cultures. I abhor the idea, but "my" country to say the least has done its fair share.

As for the Japenese, they may be xenophobic but many are not racist- there's a difference. Not that I like either one, but a certain amount of xenophobia has preserved and left unchanged certain parts of their culture and traditions- such as the fact that they still celebrate several ancient holidays, not to mention they have invented what amounts to the only sword still practical in modern combat.

Saudi Arabia or any other purely Muslim nation is in my mind an example of what happens when there is no such thing as separation of church and state.

...

I'm not defending the French.;)
 
As for the Japenese, they may be xenophobic but many are not racist- there's a difference. Not that I like either one, but a certain amount of xenophobia has preserved and left unchanged certain parts of their culture and traditions- such as the fact that they still celebrate several ancient holidays, not to mention they have invented what amounts to the only sword still practical in modern combat.

Japan still has a form of discrimination in the treatment of the Burakumin.

A handful of innocent-looking antique maps, one offensive word and tens of thousands of offended ?untouchables? have plunged Google into an unspoken class war that has raged in Japan for centuries.

Despite its ambition to be the cartographer of the internet age, the search engine has lumbered into one of the darkest corners of Japan ? the bigotry of mainstream Japanese society towards the burakumin, the ?filthy mob?, whose ancestors fell outside the caste system of the 17th-century samurai era.

By allowing old maps to be overlaid on satellite images of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto on its Google Earth service, the search engine shows how the old ghettos relate to the 21st-century streets.

That, critics say, is perfect ammunition to hurt descendants of the people who lived there 400 years ago.

Under pressure to diffuse criticism, the search engine has asked the owners of the woodblock print maps to remove the legend that identifies the ghetto with an old term that translates loosely as ?scum town?.

Google has unwittingly created a visual tool, however, that would have prolonged an ancient discrimination into the internet age, according to the lobbying group established to protect the human rights of three million burakumin.

Members of the sub-class were condemned by the old feudal system to unclean jobs associated with death and dirt. Laws made 150 years ago supposedly ended the caste system but, their descendants say, the prejudice remains.

Burakumin leaders said it was a discrimination that even its perpetrators could not explain adequately. In 2003 Taro Aso, the Japanese Prime Minister, dismissed the chances of Hiromu Nonaka ? a burakumin who became Secretary-General of the ruling party ? becoming Prime Minister. ?There is no way we can make that kind of person prime minister,? Mr Aso was quoted as saying.

Companies sometimes hire private detectives to ensure that they are not employing someone of burakumin ancestry. Parents may run a similar check on their prospective son or daughter-in-law, and children may be excluded from good schools. Property prices in burakumin communities are lower than in the areas that surround them and public works projects take longer to be completed in the zones.

Toru Matsuoka, an opposition MP and member of the Buraku Liberation League, said that it amounted to illegal bullying.

?It is a discrimination that has driven many people to death. Two of my friends have killed themselves over this bigotry,? he said.

Throughout the recent history of the burakumin, the central issue has been identification. Because there is nothing physical to differentiate burakumin from other Japanese and because there are no clues in their names or accent, the only way of establishing whether or not they are burakumin is by tracing their family. By publishing the locations of the ghettos with the modern street map, the illegal quest to trace ancestry is made easier, Mr Matsuoka said.

He said that the mistake of Google was to believe the old maps had lost their capacity to cause offence.

Printing the maps is not illegal in Japan, but museums and publishers are careful about how they are presented, especially if the words on the maps may cause offence.

Yoshito Funabashi, a Google spokesman, said: ?We had not acknowledged the seriousness of the map, but we do take this matter seriously.?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6337499.ece
 
I think a lot of people take some of the stuff said about Obama - like the Monkey See, Monkey Do thing, and make it racial. If it is, SO WHAT, there are racists in every country, even Canada. What else is new? But I didnt see anyone leaping up to say GET OVER IT for any of the Bush stuff. Remember this?

Bush-monkey.gif


I guess if he were black, that would have been SUPER SERIAL.
 
Incitement to commit murder, no matter of whom, and for what ever reason is illegal - well here it is.

Funny how loads of Muslims were going around shouting for the death of Salman Rushdie (who, btw I think is a prize wally) and no one got arrested. ...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article1951462.ece


/EDIT
Or any President, for that matter. I do not like his politics, but he is my country's leader.

We do not have that problem - the Queen is 'a' (i.e. as in non) Political and is head of state which frees us Brits up to be as rude as we like about the Prime Minister without a seconds thought that it may seem to be criticising our own country. Oh see how they forgot to invite her to the D-Day commemorations this year?

The French and American heads of State will be there, oops.
 
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We do not have that problem - the Queen is 'a' (i.e. as in non) Political and is head of state which frees us Brits up to be as rude as we like about the Prime Minister without a seconds thought that it may seem to be criticising our own country. Oh see how they forgot to invite her to the D-Day commemorations this year?

The French and American heads of State will be there, oops.

Blown out of proportion by the UK tabloids.

It was originally Sarko wanting a PR coup by having a 1-on-1 with Obama. Sarko is still doing badly in the polls and (like most European leaders) he wrongly believes that a mere photograph with the Chosen One will triple his popularity overnight. After some pestering, the UK gov't got an invite, too.

Then the Daily Fail got hold of the story, and in order to manufacture controversy and headlines, wondered why the Queen wasn't there. She didn't expect to be, nor is she bothered she isn't going. Link that sums up the French view nicely.

Don't get me wrong, it is stupidity and 'greed' on Sarko's part, and foolish to only have two invited countries at a D-Day memorial event in the first place. To think there is a giant transmanche snub though is silly.
 
I think a lot of people take some of the stuff said about Obama - like the Monkey See, Monkey Do thing, and make it racial. If it is, SO WHAT, there are racists in every country, even Canada. What else is new? But I didnt see anyone leaping up to say GET OVER IT for any of the Bush stuff. Remember this?

Bush-monkey.gif


I guess if he were black, that would have been SUPER SERIAL.

Thanks for the new desktop background :D
 
Blown out of proportion by the UK tabloids.

It was originally Sarko wanting a PR coup by having a 1-on-1 with Obama. Sarko is still doing badly in the polls and (like most European leaders) he wrongly believes that a mere photograph with the Chosen One will triple his popularity overnight. After some pestering, the UK gov't got an invite, too.

Then the Daily Fail got hold of the story, and in order to manufacture controversy and headlines, wondered why the Queen wasn't there. She didn't expect to be, nor is she bothered she isn't going. Link that sums up the French view nicely.

Don't get me wrong, it is stupidity and 'greed' on Sarko's part, and foolish to only have two invited countries at a D-Day memorial event in the first place. To think there is a giant transmanche snub though is silly.
Well my dad, who was there actually, is not that bothered anyhow, neither am I; just that its nice to know other countries make diplomatic cock ups too.
 
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