Um. This seems… kind of racist?
[quote=“SamLL, post:2, topic:37463, full:true”]
Um. This seems… kind of racist?
[/quote]It is. And it will still be cheered on by oblivious White dudes because Spying!
It is propaganda – DIY propaganda, but the rules and motives are very different. Racism is a set of beliefs that conveniently rig the game to keep one group elevated at the expense of another.
This is a show of something else – discrediting a target deemed to now be the enemy and a propagandist goes for the jugular. Ronald Reagan’s age was thrown in his face to imply he was senile, and thus could be conquered. Bush 41 was made to seem like an airhead, Clinton got a two-fer of being both over-sexed and a hillbilly, Bush 43 also had the two-fer of being seen as a childish cowboy, and now it is Obama’s inevitable turn in the hotseat – and he is being made over into an immature adolescent rather than an adult.
It is quite the fall from grace and one that makes me uneasy. This is disillusionment and a sign that the seeds of discord have taken root…
[quote=“AlexandraKitty, post:4, topic:37463”]
and now it is Obama’s inevitable turn in the hotseat – and he is being made over into an immature adolescent rather than an adult.
[/quote]Yeah, a backwards hat and ebonics on a Black man has no racial component at all. Nope, nope, none at all. It’s just about immaturity.
No, that message is not just directed to the leader of the United States: it is directed to the entire USA, and the last time I checked outside my door – men and teens of every race and creed looks just like that – from white pot-bellied geezers to ripped young men of Asian ancestry.
And the last time I went across the border, there were more than just African-American men who made the US their home.
That message goes way beyond racism – it goes to sever a link between two nations as it seeks to discredit its representative and deem it untrustworthy. It has always been done between two opposing factions because that is a stratagem of war, plain and simple.
Tomorrow, a blond, whitebread guy could be sworn in as president – if you think all will be well between the US and Germany, think again. There is a far greater game afoot.
Propagandists exploit and they don’t care who is on the other side – so long as their own interests are reached…
Sophomoric message; racist caricature; BoingBoing imbedding Putin’s propaganda arm Russia Today… awesome.
He meant bigoted. You also mean seem to bigoted. Holding someone in caricature is belittling, but it is no fall from grace that an artist would hold authority in caricature. It is a compliment.
[quote=“AlexandraKitty, post:6, topic:37463”]Tomorrow, a blond, whitebread guy could be sworn in as president – if you think all will be well between the US and Germany, think again. There is a far greater game afoot…[/quote]I’m not saying the artist is criticizing Obama because he’s racist, I’m saying his criticism of Obama is racist.
And sticking a backwards hat on a Black man and putting an ebonics phrase next to him is racist. Period. This is like, Fried Chicken and Watermelon level stereotyping. And no, the fact that white people like fried chicken and watermelon doesn’t make their usage in racist caricatures of Black people not racist.
I can’t believe I need to explain this to anyone.
I know what he meant – and I know what you are doing as well – throwing a well-choreographed temper tantrum because someone is not applauding your worldview.
I have been around long enough to know how easily manipulated people are and how easily they dismiss truths as you are doing right now.
Memo to the clueless: the players do not care what color are the pawns or whether they wear a crown on their heads or not. They look to further their self interests and deflect attention with propaganda and people fall for it hook line, and sinker. People spend their entire lives getting offended by someone else’s manipulations and it would be nice if people could get over themselves to see what they have sunk.
I am not bigoted and I do not resort to name-calling as you seem desperate to do.
And I feel the same way – a propagandist’s job is to deflect attention. It is not personal – sexist, racist, or any other -ist. Once you start playing into the propagandist’s game, you lose.
That image has nothing to do with racism – it is a ruse, plain and simple. It is merely attacking a sensitive area – any area will do.
Instead of worrying about the image – I would be more concerned as to what advantage is to be gained. Countries spy on each other all the time – so why use this as the wedge?
And you could without the patronizing demeanor – because it sounds quite sexist – but I have heard worse in my lifetime…
Why are you characterizing me and not responding to what I have said? I do tend to suffer fools lightly. Sex organs are your hangup, not mine.
What truths was I dismissing when I pointed out the similarity of your position with that of the other person whom I believe you misunderstood?
Then again, performance artists are noted projectionists.
[quote=“AlexandraKitty, post:11, topic:37463”]
Instead of worrying about the image – I would be more concerned as to what advantage is to be gained.
[/quote]Maybe we have different concerns and interests? I don’t like seeing racist caricatures approvingly stuck up on the front page of one of my favorite sites. And you want to discuss propaganda methods. I’m not gonna stop you from doing that if that’s your thing. But please don’t sit there and tell me that this imagery isn’t racist, when it so very clearly is.
Jesus Christ. I guess all the major problems of the world are solved so now we can sit back and bitch that a person in another country protesting a foreign government spying on his did so in manner that wasn’t politically correct enough.
ETA:
Caricature - or portraiture?
Are you going anywhere with that, or is that it? Cause it looks like we (the world collective) have a tendency to mock the leaders that aren’t respected. Wasn’t there a video yesterday showing Kim Jong-Un to be acting stupid and childish - isn’t that how most of the modern world views him anyway? Bush Jr. was pushed as nothing more than a dumb cowboy/redneck… But I forget that racism doesn’t apply to white people because of that privilege card we carry. Then again this is happening in Berlin and being done by someone not American. I take it more as mocking him in a possible way the rest of the world might see blacks in America. Besides “in da house” is about as 90’s as you can get. Racist or not the message is pretty clear.
I think the main issue with that is the fact that you have countries now spying on themselves with our help/direction. In decades past countries spied on each other, but not in a cooperative fashion. At least not like it is now.
That part I liked.
The photo and response to @GideonTJones, added later, have caused me to learn i cannot unlike a comment.
Sorry about that. The way discuss warns you when you get too many posts means I try to lump things together sometimes. I marked it “ETA” so hopefully combined with this post you won’t get tossed into the flames with me.
No worries man. It’s a limited platform. I’m sure you could make a stronger argument though!
