When People Don't Realize They Are Racist...

[Morgan]

Bush and Obama held the exact same position as POTUS.   I find it absurd that one man has to be treated with kid gloves just because his skin color is darker than another man's.   There is something seriously wrong with our society when all men are not treated equally.

Go ahead, treat GWB and President Obama equally........ send your boss/company CEO an email w/ Obama looking like an ape. Nobody is stopping you.

[JDog]

I wouldn't send my boss/company CEO an email with a picture of anyone looking like an ape.    But I see nothing wrong with people making fun of Obama just like they did to Bush.    If it's fair to do it to Bush, it's fair to do it to Obama.  You yourself even commented that the Bush pictures were "funny".   

It was a huge deal in Thailand a few years ago when a picture of the King of Thailand was posted on Youtube with his face replaced by a monkey face.    Youtube was banned in Thailand because of that.    Was it "racist"?    Not likely.   But it was an insult.

[Chief Joseph]

Bush and Obama held the exact same position as POTUS.   I find it absurd that one man has to be treated with kid gloves just because his skin color is darker than another man's.   There is something seriously wrong with our society when all men are not treated equally.

Go ahead, treat GWB and President Obama equally........ send your boss/company CEO an email w/ Obama looking like an ape. Nobody is stopping you.

The double standard you refuse to acknowledge clearly prohibits one from taking that action.

[JDog]

Here's a video of the King of Thailand as a monkey.



Notice the words stating that the reason the video is so hated is that the leaders of Thailand are evil and hate free speech.   I guess Obama falls into that category as well since he's supposedly off limits too.

[CBWx2]

Jeez, why do I bother...

The reason it is racist to compare blacks to monkeys is because one of the primary justifications for continuing slavery and the treatment of slaves was rooted the idea that African Americans were lower on the evolutionary scale than whites. This idea permeated throughout the U.S. from the mid 1800's until well into the 1900's, and has been used as a means of dehumanizing African Americans to justify denying of rights, segregation, lynchings, beatings, etc. The same history does not apply to whites, which is why the comparison lacks the cultural implication.

Discrimination Against Blacks Linked To Dehumanization, Study Finds

Scientific racism in the United States was graphically promoted in a mid-19th-century book by Josiah C. Nott and George Robins Gliddon titled "Types of Mankind", which used misleading illustrations to suggest that "Negroes" ranked between "Greeks" and chimpanzees. "When we have a history like that in this country, I don't know how much of that goes away completely, especially to the extent that we are still dealing with severe racial inequality, which fuels and maintains those associations in ways that people are unaware," Eberhardt said.

Although such grotesque characterizations of African Americans have largely disappeared from mainstream U.S. society, Eberhardt noted that science education could be partly responsible for reinforcing the view that blacks are less evolved than whites. An iconic 1970 illustration, "March of Progress," published in the Time-Life book Early Man, depicts evolution beginning with a chimpanzee and ending with a white man. "It's a legacy of our past that the endpoint of evolution is a white man," Eberhardt said. "I don't think it's intentional, but when people learn about human evolution, they walk away with a notion that people of African descent are closer to apes than people of European descent. When people think of a civilized person, a white man comes to mind."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080207163811.htm

[Chief Joseph]

So because of a book no one has ever heard about, some people should get preferential treatment? That's a pretty hard sell.

The same history does not apply to whites, which is why the comparison lacks the cultural implication.

You are ill-informed:
http://www.google.com/search?q=irish%20monkey&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=961

[Durango 95]

It goes without saying that you certainly have to be careful what you say when you are critical of a minority, particularly African Americans, however, seeing as we are striving to achieve a race neutral environment, shouldn't it be sufficient that somebody can say that they simply did not think of it from a racial perspective. If this lady had a history of racial slurs, fine, I don't know.

Well apparently this isn't the first time that she has been called on the carpet because of questionable behavior on issues involving minorities and race.

"But her fellow Republicans aren't seeing the funny side.

Scott Baugh, chairman of the OC Republican Party, told Ms Davenport that the email was 'tasteless.'
'When I saw that email today I thought it was de**CENSORED**able,' Mr Baugh told OC Weekly.
'It is dripping with racism and it does not promote the type of message Orange County Republicans want to deliver to the public.

'I think she should consider stepping down as an elected official,' he added.

Michael J Schroeder, an Orange County resident and former chairman of the California Republican Party, was also not amused.

'This is a three strikes situation for Marilyn Davenport,' Mr Schroeder told the paper. 


Mayor Grose, sent round the watermelon field email just in time for President Obama's inauguration
'She was a passionate defender of former Newport Beach city councilman **CENSORED** Nichols who stated that he was voting against putting in more grass at Corona del Mar's beach because, he said, there were already "too many Mexicans on the beach."
'She was also on the wrong side of the fence with the Los Alamitos mayor and his White House watermelon patch picture.
'Now, she has managed to top both of those incidents by comparing African Americans to monkeys.
'She has disgraced herself and needs to resign. If she doesn't, the Republican Party must remove her,' he added.

The Watermelon-gate email, which depicted a watermelon field in front of the White House, was sent by Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose, another Orange County Republican, in February 2009 - just in time for President's Obama's inauguration.
He later apologised."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1377725/Now-know-theres-birth-certificate-jokes-Tea-Party-member-racist-email-showing-Obama-parents-chimps.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

[Durango 95]

So the woman has a history involving emails depicting Obama w/ chimps and the White House w/ watermelons.

Surely, no racist connotations there.

[CBWx2]

So because of a book no one has ever heard about, some people should get preferential treatment? That's a pretty hard sell.

The same history does not apply to whites, which is why the comparison lacks the cultural implication.

You are ill-informed:
http://www.google.com/search?q=irish%20monkey&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=961

So by showing me bigotry towards the Irish this is supposed to somehow prove that it's not racially/ethnically offensive? 

You do realize that the bigotry towards the Irish was used by the British for the same reasons it was used on African Americans by white Americans, right? By bringing this to light, you've essentially argued against your own point.

http://espressostalinist.wordpress.com/genocide/the-irish-genocide/

[ufojoe]

It goes without saying that you certainly have to be careful what you say when you are critical of a minority, particularly African Americans, however, seeing as we are striving to achieve a race neutral environment, shouldn't it be sufficient that somebody can say that they simply did not think of it from a racial perspective. If this lady had a history of racial slurs, fine, I don't know.

Well apparently this isn't the first time that she has been called on the carpet because of questionable behavior on issues involving minorities and race.

"But her fellow Republicans aren't seeing the funny side.

Scott Baugh, chairman of the OC Republican Party, told Ms Davenport that the email was 'tasteless.'
'When I saw that email today I thought it was de**CENSORED**able,' Mr Baugh told OC Weekly.
'It is dripping with racism and it does not promote the type of message Orange County Republicans want to deliver to the public.

'I think she should consider stepping down as an elected official,' he added.

Michael J Schroeder, an Orange County resident and former chairman of the California Republican Party, was also not amused.

'This is a three strikes situation for Marilyn Davenport,' Mr Schroeder told the paper.

Mayor Grose, sent round the watermelon field email just in time for President Obama's inauguration

'She was a passionate defender of former Newport Beach city councilman **CENSORED** Nichols who stated that he was voting against putting in more grass at Corona del Mar's beach because, he said, there were already "too many Mexicans on the beach."

'She was also on the wrong side of the fence with the Los Alamitos mayor and his White House watermelon patch picture.

'Now, she has managed to top both of those incidents by comparing African Americans to monkeys.
'She has disgraced herself and needs to resign. If she doesn't, the Republican Party must remove her,' he added.

The Watermelon-gate email, which depicted a watermelon field in front of the White House, was sent by Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose, another Orange County Republican, in February 2009 - just in time for President's Obama's inauguration.
He later apologised."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1377725/Now-know-theres-birth-certificate-jokes-Tea-Party-member-racist-email-showing-Obama-parents-chimps.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Yeah, not surprised she has a history of this kind of thing. Like I said, she doesn't even realize it.

African Americans have historically been compared to monkeys/apes in a demeaning way. Didn't think it needed to be explained. Guess I was wrong.

[ufojoe]

Those are the scariest kind. Not surprised she was a Tea Party activist.

Why?

Because, IMO, the Tea Party has an above average amount of racists/bigots in their ranks. Like I said, just my opinion.

[dbucfan]

Which is exactly where this thread started - UFOjoe indicated he wasn't surprised because of Tea party affiliation 3 pages back, and reaffirmed it now.  He feels/opines very clearly the Tea Party has an above average amount of racists and bigots.

He didn't say the Tea Party invented racism or bigotry...

I don't agree, nor do I have data to show he might be inaccurate in his opinion.   

What it would be silly to argue is that racism or bigotry is new, suddenly more centered within one group of people, or suddenly exclusively aimed at Barry. 

[ONEBIGDADDY]

Those are the scariest kind. Not surprised she was a Tea Party activist.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-obama-offensive-email,0,3803760.story

Civil Rights leaders are demanding the resignation of an Orange County Republican official who reportedly sent an email containing a photo depicting President Barack Obama as a chimpanzee.

Joe its a sad state of affairs when people in political positions start letting their hair down and then you really get to see what they are really all about...OBD

[GameTime]

Racism is rampant and always will be.  And it goes both ways.

[Fitz66]

The email image, in case anyone was curious.