OT: Political Poll - Racist or Not Racist?

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Thomas Rogers

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The image below is getting a lot of press because many find it racist and offensive.



Here is the image:



[Broken External Image]:



Question: Is the image of President Obama Racist?



1. Yes. The image is racist and meant to demean and offend.



2. No. The image is political satire which is often not flattering but has been around for hundreds of years in cartoons and other mediums.



3. Don't Care / Doesn't Matter. We need to focus on the real problems in this country.





Answer 1, 2 or 3, please.



Thanks,

TJR
 
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2, political cartoons have always been around, I'm sure there were worse images/cartoons for past presidents for white presidents, but wait, it seems no one can be racist towards white people, you only can be racist towards other "colors"
 
2. Obviously, someone is trying to say he is playing "medicine man" with his health care plan.



But, as usual, someone couldn't help themselves and threw the race card. Bunch of BS.
 
This is more than a 1, 2, or 3 answer.



For me, the answer is 2. It is showing Obama as a Witch Doctor.



If I were black, I may take offence to that. Something alst to consider is the original motives by the picture. Was it done before the whole "Healthcare reform" started or after. if before, then the motives behind the picture were offensive.



Seriously, is this something we need to dwell on? We have a failing economy that needs to be straightened out. Lets work together and fix the problems we have.



Ultimatly for any American, the right answer is 3. Lets not worry about a stupid picture, lets fix what needs fixed.





Tom
 
Caymen,



You commented and hit on all my possible answers in a thoughtful way giving merit to each. Each response has some merit, which is why I wrote them the way I did.



Yes, this is my poll, my wording of the responses...I put the same poll on Facebook, but it was removed by their mods...argh.



But, at the end of the day I wanted each person to pick a single answer, and it seems you picked 3.





Others,



Keep responding, let's get as many responses as possible.
 
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There are still racist in this country, so I am sure that there is SOME racial bias against Obama.



I don't classify this as a political cartoon, since it is not a cartoon. Cartoons are often a characterization and exaggeration of certain predominate facial features to allow the viewer to quickly recognize who the drawing is meant to be.



This is a doctored photo that puts Obama's face on a photo of some kind of which doctor and shows some racial overtones, so I don't classify this as a political cartoon. Whether it is racially or politically motivated would require an explaination from the person who made the doctored image?



I am sure that some of the criticism of Obama is ratially motivated, but nobody can say for sure just how much of the bias is race based....No, not even Jimmy Carter can answer that question, but it may be more racially motivated in certain parts of the USA than in others?



...Rich
 
Richard L,



And sometimes, political cartoons put the person being satired into a different form, or a different wardrobe, etc) in order to drive home some point.



For example, the New Yorker front cover with the Obama's fist-pumping. Some found that offensive; I found that is an image of thought-provoking political satire.



P.S.



You didn't answer the poll.



TJR
 
1, and part of 3.



It is racist. If the current president were white, but was doing everything exactly as Obama is doing it, then the picture would never have been created. If, for example, Biden was president, the image probably would have shown some insane, crazy, butcher/doctor image (think Weird Al Yankovic's "Like a Surgeon" video). It only goes the direction it does because of race.



As for answer #3, I disagree with the "Doesn't Matter" portion of the answer, as it shows that, despite how far we've come in race relations in this country, we still have a ways to go. But the "We need to focus on the bigger problems in this country" portion of the response (notice that I changed one key word) is definitely true at this time.
 
My vote, quite simply is 1, 2 & 3.



yes it has racist undertones, yes it is a political satire, and yes there are much bigger problems in your country that warrant more attention than a photochopped picture of Obuma.
 
Bill V said:
It is racist. If the current president were white, but was doing everything exactly as Obama is doing it, then the picture would never have been created. If, for example, Biden was president, the image probably would have shown some insane, crazy, butcher/doctor image (think Weird Al Yankovic's "Like a Surgeon" video). It only goes the direction it does because of race.
Click to expand...



Okay, so what you are saying is that because Obama is black and because African tribal witch doctors are also black, if someone draws a parallel between Obama Care and a witch doctor then the parallel is racist?



Might not the parallel be drawn because witch doctors are a good symbol of improper, inept, not-so-ideal, misguided medical care?



I think it could be as much the latter as your former.



Here me out please...



President Bush had physical features that were brought into politically satirical images. Case in point; he looked like a chimp to many. Several satiracal images of him with a "hear no evil, see no evil" type of analogy and him as a chimp have been created; for example:



c2e037ed3947f9889e609a56b8bf0e3d.jpg




So, I submit that:



Using a subject's physical features to draw parallels with an unflattering representation is nothing new and is not inheriently racist.



That's what the Bush image above is. That's what the Obama witch doctor image is, in my opinion. The only difference is that one is considered RACIST by some, the other is NOT.



Isn't treating or defining two otherwise identical situations differently because one has an element of race in itself a form of RACISM?



I submit that maybe those that think the Obama Witch Doctor image is racist think that way because they are thinking in a racist manner! They are thinking about race first and foremost as they ponder the image?



At the worst, I think that the Obama image may not pass the "politically correct" (no pun intended) test. But I don't believe in political correctness. If a very good satirical analogy for Obama Care is "witch doctor medicine", then that parallel should be fair game and shouldn't be silenced because some draw a racists inference from it.





Something to consider.



TJR
 
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It can be 1, 2 or 3.

To me it's 2, something you'd see on Saturday Night Live.

But as Caymen said, it really should be 3.

We have too many people worriied about the small stuff.

getting their feelings hurt, too much political correctness.

Get over people!
 
I dont really care about the image as I had it sent to me about 2 months ago and forwarded it on to several people asI thought it was funny and true.



So my answer is 3



Is it racist?? I dont really care; because no matter what you do or say about Obama someone will put a racial twist on it.
 
TJR,

I think people will see this doctored image as what ever they want to see it as. Those with a conservative or Republican view point will just see it as political satire. Liberal Democrats and people of color will see it as being racist. More middle of the road people can see how it can be taken either way.



If someone was offended then, they feel it was racist, and your opinion or mine will not change that. So it does not matter how many people think that it has not racist overtones, most people of color and a number of white people whould probably disagree.



Since the vast majority of the member here are white, you will not get a true cross section of the US population, picking from any of the three answers does not change anyones mind or make any appologies to anyone who was offended...and obviously some people were offended.



...Rich
 

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