Tea Party Protesters Waving Racist Posters Of Obama As “The Joker” At Town Hall?
In the spin wars over the town hall eruptions, both sides are searching for the one moment or image that crystalizes the public’s perception of the Tea Party brigade, either as legitimate protestors being unfairly maligned and silenced, or as unhinged mobs hell bent on shouting down debate at all costs.
Now it looks like several Tea Party-inspired protesters may have shown up at a town hall meeting in Tampa with signs bearing the now-infamous image of Obama as the Joker, which many say is racist. Here’s the image in question (click to enlarge):
According to Florida news outlets, shoving and scuffles broke out at an event in Tampa yesterday hosted by Dem Rep. Kathy Castor, after it was swamped by “hundreds of vocal critics” spurred on by a local club promoted by Glenn Beck. TPM, which has been tracking the event closely, has local video.
What about the “Joker” sign? The conservative blog Hot Air has quotes from a local news report (which have since been removed) saying “several of the protestor’s signs bore an image of Obama with his face painted as the Joker,” referencing the above image.
Meanwhile, HuffPo flags a conservative blogger’s on-scene report saying the same.
The “Joker” pic seems to capture in one image all the most paranoid and fearful reactions to Obama: He remains a disguised, unsettling figure; his I’ll-bring-us-all-together demeanor masks sinister intentions; his vaguely alien presence somehow represents some kind of murky international socialist conspiracy. It’s interesting that protestors may have now brought this image to a town hall meeting that was supposed to be about health care.
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I agree that it’s a fear-mongering image, but racist? I dunno. As the article you linked to points out, Vanity Fair did it to Bush, but a cartoon in a magazine is hardly the same as an image used by a mobs goaded by well-funded, right-wing interests. However, I think it’s an unsettling image, but it’s certainly not the most incendiary. The one with Obama sporting a Hitler moustache, I’d argue, is worse in terms of its political implications. (Yes, trolls, I know many in the anti-Iraq War protests compared Bush to Hitler through signs and rhetoric, which was certainly unfortunate, but I can’t seem to remember Democratic leaders endorsing the behavior of those people.)
The minute these protesters demanded their worries about socialism and government takeovers should be addressed, they lost my sympathy. So much of it is just irrational hatred of a strawman or a desire to see democrats fail.
There are people on the left who are also disappointed in the current reform bill.
I don’t think it’s racist – just stupid. WTF does the joker have to do with socialism? I think he would be classified as more of an anarchist….which, based on their recent behavior at some townhall meetings, seems like it would be a-ok with most of these a-holes.
I am shocked that no one sees the racism in this. This is all about race. The painted white face? Please.
Keep on keepin on Republicans – you will be in the minority for a long time coming.
Trust me, its racist. Its yet another attempt to create a violent image of President Obama in people’s head. Trying to depict him as Hitler just wasn’t bad enough. The wingnuts have engaged in a concerted effort to make him into an “other” and this is yet another step. There is a reason for that picture and it ain’t to revive “The Dark Knight”’s dvd sales.
SchrodingersCat: Right on. It’s just more right wing projection. Call your opponents socialists while taking federal stimulus funds (Alaska, tops in per capita stimulus. Huh.) and pushing your supporters to scream about a government takeover of Medicare (Slaps forehead). Compare your to opponents Nazis or anarchists and then use Beer Hall tactics and sew the seeds of chaos. Blame your opponents for increasing the deficit after you spent years of cutting trillions of dollars in taxes and starting an unnecessary war. Oh well.
Kris, Sg: I guess, in that it perpetuates yet another violent perception of Obama, it could be seen as racist. It’s just not the first, visceral reaction I have when I see it. To me, it’s pure fearmongering, meant to appeal to violent personalities, whether racist or not. Then again, it seems that most of this kind of opposition to Obama is grounded in racism.
Oh no, it’s no different than how the Democrats embraced the 9/11 truthers! This Tea Bag movement is real. Obama is a foreign born socialist Nazi trying to destroy the country. We will Freedom Fight him to the end. Just ask sbj!! Viva Bush!
Mike C
I have a feeling that people who aren’t racist or prejudiced can see that picture and figure that since they don’t see racism in it then there isn’t any. The point is that picture is meant as yet another dogwhistle for the people who ARE racist or bigoted or prejudiced or people who have those tendencies to get them riled up. That is pretty much the beauty of it for the people who came up with the concept. They know how reluctant most people are to call anything or anybody racist these days so they get to keep doing this kind of sh*t with impunity.
Put another way, I can guarantee you that this picture is a hit with neo nazis and the white supemecist crowd.
All I can say is what I said yesterday – look at the “protesters” – see anything that stands out? How about their whiteness, because they are uniformly white.
“Taxes” is code for “black president OMG.” They all listen to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, apparently. It’s the revolt of the terrified old white people.
@ Tena Exactly. I have yet to see a non-white tea-bag “protestor”. I’m not saying they don’t exist. I’m just saying that it is awfully interesting that they are not a visible part of this “uprising”.
Trinity – I haven’t seen one, either. I don’t think every black or other ethnic person in this country is 100% thrilled with Obama, but that’s not what this is about.
This is just racism, Beck and Limbaugh style. That’s all it has been since the start. That’s all Limbaugh goes on about – this president is a Nazi BECAUSE HE’S BLACK. That’s all it is and I’m thoroughly disgusted with the whole damn thing. We ought to be able to get some FCC control over what these people are saying on our public airways.
It’s not racist in my eyes. Incredibly dumb and empty of course but that is to be expected.
One of my right winger employees left this in my office for me yesterday morning. I told him it wasn’t very original considering the same was done to his hero Dubya a while back. He asked why the liberal media was calling it treason. I told him I hadn’t heard that yet and I just thought it was a display of how bitter everyone was that they are no longer in power and don’t know how to act or what to do. He got mad and stopped emailed me after that.
Hey Greg, check out this video of what happened yesterday in Tampa:
http://www.dailykostv.com/w/002028/
Glenn Greenwald has a very important post up showing the differences in response (from Republicans AND the mainstream media, not to mention ADL) between a) an anonymous blogger posting a Bush=Hitler comment at MoveOn and b) Limbaugh and Beck pushing Obama/Pelosi/Dems=Hitler. It needs to be disseminated much more broadly.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/08/06/republicans/index1.html
I don’t particularly think this is a racist image. However, if you know your history… This picture is very reminiscent to the whole “Black Face” minstrel tradition of American film. White actors would dress up like black people and get into Black face. Thus creating many of the incorrect stereotypes that still haunt the Black community today. Yeah Step and Fletcher anything come to mind? Minstrels were often used as a form of comedic relief like the fool in a Shakespearian play or like a clown or a joker. So maybe it’s a little far fetched but it’s still valid. Someone knew what he or she was doing. I’m so disappointed with this country that I love… There was an inkling of hope and then it died out. There has been so much opposition and dissension. I am forced to wonder if the president was phenotypically white would he be enduring all of this discrimination?
“I don’t particularly think this is a racist image”
Maybe the image isn’t, but the motive is purely racist. Anyone who can’t see that is fooling themselves. Read MediaMatters Limbaugh wire and you’ll see what I mean. This is a direct response to Limbaugh and Beck’s racist rabble rousing.
Didn’t Heath Ledger win an Oscar for this role? I mean, if the movie was a flop and the guy was **** I’d be mad but heck, it was a brilliant performance.
“Town hall heckler ID’d as GOP operative
Was vice chair of Republican Party of Kewaunee County.”
Here’s the other sickening aspect of this. The media makes it seem that these people are, as the trolls keep claiming, ordinary people. They aren’t.
The whole tea bagger movement is racist, connected to social Darwinism. Get off your butt. Get an education. Get a decent job w benefits like the white folks. If we give “them” another form of welfare, they’ll never get with the program and, bonus, illegals will overrun the borders. Look what happened in the UK and Europe.
At least that’s the vibe I’m picking up.
I will say I’m white. White as they come. I’m listening to country music as I type this. I’m from the south and am pretty proud of my southern drawl. I don’t find the image to be racist but absolutely agree it will be used by racists as a chest thumping rally point.
For as far as we’ve come as a nation, it’s just another reminder of how far we still have to go.
I knew the whole thing was as phony as a $3 bill when protesters showed up at Lloyd Doggett’s Town Hall meeting with signs with Lloyd wearing devil’s horns, and a tombstone with his name on it. Lloyd’s actual constituents love him. They wouldn’t do that.
These are all outside agitators.
“These are all outside agitators.”
Would you please make up your mind? Half the time you say that some are legit and some are manufactured, the other half you say they are “ALL outside agitators.”
It’s a powerful image that makes no sense whatsoever. It must be hitting us all on a subconscious level in some way…
I’m not sure about how racist the Joker picture is but I do know that the mobs are all white. If the mobs were all black, it would certainly be portrayed in a racial light. I have yet to hear the media describe an “unruly white mob”.
“Would you please make up your mind? ”
And you insist at all times that they are Ordinary Citizens.
The rioters are organized, funded and directed by several groups who are all employed by the insurance industry and the GOP.
There are legitimate people at the meetings, who have questions they cannot get answered because the organizers and the people they have terrified into siding with them are disrupting things.
I’ve said this about 230 times now. You are being obtuse on purpose because it fits your reason for being here.
My mind is clear and so is what I say. You keep trying to confuse what I’m saying.
Look Tena, seriously and sincerely, I have never denied that stupid people are attending these meetings. So don’t try that. I have never denied that opponents of health reform are trying to gin up folks – perhaps even dupe them – into showing up and protesting. To claim that I have only ever said that the only people at these rallies are ordinary citizens is just an outright lie on your part. Stop it.
You, on the other hand, make a very clear statement above: “These are ALL outside agitators.” It’s pretty darn difficult to misinterpret the word “ALL” in that absolute statement. If you don’t want to be called on it then stop saying it. My understanding of your opinion right now is that you believe not one legitimate anti-public option protester has attended any of these townhalls. If you feel that some protesters are legitimate then please say so. If not, I am going to continue to point out that you are living in a fantasy world. (Nothing personal. ‘kay?)
@pug: Just last night a black conservative was injured at the Carnahan townhall. So you are wrong. It was a very bad idea to organize the SEIU to start attending these events to provide “cover” for the Dem reps.
HOW THE HELL CAN THIS BE RACIST DONT YOU AS-HOL KNOW THAT HE IS
HALF WHITE.WHY HE MADE DEALS WITH THE BLACK PANTHERS AND THE
CORREPT UNIONS TELLS ME HE WANTS US TO FIGHT EACH OTHER AND HE
CAN LAY BACK AND SCREW ANYONE THAT DID NOT VOTE FOR THE JOKER
Keep it up with the all caps, buddy. Clues us in to take you and your opinion seriously.
uhm…. why is it that no one remembers bush in the same poster ?
just because a person does not like our president does not mean there racist.
and if you feel thats the case doesnt that make you racist for not liking bush? just saying…
I don’t see the racism in this poster. I also think its an absolutely ridiculous comparison that makes no sense. How come everyone assumes though that just because people don’t agree with our half white/half black president that it’s racism? Stop playing the race card. It’s about policies.
You weaseled out in this post Greg. It’s your blog, do YOU think it’s racist or not? You instead weaseled to “many say” without stating your own views.
And how do YOU compare Obama/joker to GWB/Monkey images?
When you weasel Greg, it makes the blogosphere that much stupider for everyone. More honest, brave blogging please.
Tenanomics: let’s get those white devils’ money.
Mike C:
Mike, the act of portraying our first black president — a man with a half-white, half-African heritage who self-identifies as black — as a sociopath in whiteface would certainly seem to possess some racial undertones, at minimum, don’t you think>
.
The Obama joker campaign is wildly successful, instantly going viral wordwide, erasing the silly heroic “Che” style poster image and infuriating the left. Now, Obama is being openly mocked by millions and shattering the silly perception that he is some kind of hero, He is a puppet here to do the bidding of the international socialists and allied big banks.
Reading the comments, I see all kinds of accusations of racism, racism. Folks, our problem with Obama/Soetoro or whatever his name is, is that he is an extreme left winger, socialist,maybe even Marxist, with strong Fascist tendencies. Look at his “Czar” and cabinet appointees- criminals, left wing extremists. Nationalize this, subsidize that, take over most of the economy– banks, health care, energy. His spending spree will be our ruin.
The reason most (not all) the protesters are white is because they pay most of the taxes and are the #1 target. Obama is attempting to destroy the middle class. I know black people that voted for Obama, because they feel he can empathize with them,because he claimed he would represent interest dear to them and because they loved the idea of giving a black man the top job. All of those reasons I can undertand, but most people did NOT know who Obama really is. I implore you to read “The Obama Timeline” (see http://www.colony14.net).
That’s what we’re concerned about.
He MUST be stopped.
I would have been thrilled to have a black president. Names like Clarence Thomas, JC Watts, Thomas Sowell, even Bill Cosby (Now there’s REAL “uniter”) come to mind.
GMiller:
IF that were true, you wouldn’t need to hype it on a bulletin board — it already be obvious to us all.
Clearly you are insecure and worried that it isn’t true. Why?
.
GMiller:
Yes, funny how that will happen when you portray a black man as a sociopath in whiteface. No racial undertones in that at all.
.
Here’s the reason why Americans are being dragged out of their town hall meetings.
*****
July 31, 2009
Dear Tea Parties,
What pushed back President Barack Obama’s Health Care bill?
The Universal Health Care bill was a “slam dunk” for President Barack Obama on July 20, 2009 to pass in the United House of Congress and the United State Senate before July 31st.
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On behalf of God and the American people, thank you.
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Author Emmie Ross –
An Awakening Spiritual Journey into Dirty Politics after Election 2008
*****
July 21, 2009
Rahm Emanuel and Tim Mahoney’s documented paper trail of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s scandal
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Testimony by Emmie Ross – Independent Candidate:
What was the urgency by Rahm Emanuel, who is currently the Chief of Staff for President Barack Obama, getting Tim Mahoney to Congress in 2007? This action led to an assassinate attempt on the Independent Candidate’s life who refused to drop out of the Congressional race.
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2007
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*****
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If it wasn’t racist when they did it to Bush, it isn’t racist now. Your logic makes no sense. Just because the man isn’t naturally white (which by the way he isn’t black, hes biracial), doesn’t mean that painting his face white is racist. It means it was done in the spirit of the image itself. The Joker wouldn’t be the joker without a painted white face. Didn’t Heath Leger paint his face white? I think he did.
And the tea-partiers are your average, everyday, run of the mill people. I went to one. My boyfriend went to one. We are both college students, seeking degrees in Psychology and Business. We VOTED DEMOCRAT. I am not against what he is doing because I’m racist (I voted for him, so I’m quite obviously not), I am against what he is doing because he is trying to bring out country down. He wants total government control. And I personally like it the way the founders set it up. Very little government.
Please, don’t spread your ignorance, it is very unbecoming. And even though you are all hiding behind your screens and keyboards, it makes you look very bad.
And by the way, did you know that 91% of talk radio is conservative? That isn’t because they are the “rich ones” its because thats what the general public wants to listen to. Fox News has higher ratings that CNN and MSNBC combined. So you can say all you want, but its not true.
Racist? Are you kidding me? Please explain how associating a public official with a publicly-known, fictional bad guy is racist? Sounds like you are the one treating people differently based on skin color.
Also, by the way, that image was created by a young liberal named Firas Alkhateeb (who preferred Dennis Kucinich in the last election).
And you may want to do a little more research for your posts. The scuffles you mention were started by a SEIU union goon who denied a man entry to the event, slammed him against the wall, ripped his shirt and scratched his chest.
And the event was created with the unions’ help and was packed with union members as a way to crowd out regular Americans who wanted to have their voices heard. Union members were also led into the event via a second, private passageway while the main entry was closed off to others.
Very similar to the St Louis SEIU-orchestrated event.
My question: why is it that these events only got violent AFTER paid union toughies started showing up?
BTW, why are union bosses having their heavies unleashed on concerned American citizens? Answer: there is $10billion pay off to union healthcare in one of the bills floating around in Congress. Google it.
Let it be clear: the only violence that’s happening is from the pro-Big-Government people. Google ‘”Don Alvarez” elbow’ for just the latest videotaped attack on a citizen.
hello……
Tena and Trinity and Kris (stripper names?) are idiots. Oh yeah, and Baby Hugo = *********/jerkoff/racist. We all know (or should know) that Obama is only 6% black. He chooses to live a black life though, not an arab or white existence. And for those on it, please get off that racism bandwagon, man it is so tired. Always the race card. Every time. GET.OVER.IT.
For those with no sense of irony. The “Joker” is a title meant to mean someone is funny or laughable. The Joker in Batman was scary so..not funny. Depicting a president (be it Obama OR Bush) as the Batman’s Joker is meant to imply they are scary. – Much like the boy who calls wolf, the opposition who calls racism too often soon creates an environment which allows the real danger to flourish.
There is legitimate debate to be had over these issues. Unfortunately the hyperbole used by the left and the right is clearly detracting from it.
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