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Images of Murder and Torture emerge against Obama and his wife

By Carmen D. on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008, 10:32 am Comments

These images are viscerally offensive. But they were not created by those you would expect. The second photo appeared on the cover of a Georgia newspaper. The first illustration was created by a liberal, white blogger at Daily Kos named ONECITIZEN – trying to make a point. This is unsettling because I expect violent, angry, white racists to always fantasize about raping, torturing and possessing strong, black women. They will always twist their craving for sexual dominance into some kind of hollow-piped rhetoric trumpeting racial purity and white superiority.

But I expect more from people who call themselves allies. And I expect more from “legitimate” journalists and I condemn the choices of both images to illustrate important stories. I don’t believe the intent was to incite violence against Obama or his wife, but these are boneheaded choices sinking to the lowest, most incendiary perspective. Why not a photo of a hooded Klansman in the crosshairs? That would have actually made more sense since the article details how agents have infiltrated white supremacist groups. Maybe no one in crosshairs? There are smarter ways to make a point. But in no way would it ever be acceptable to put Barack Obama, a United States Senator poised to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for President of the United States, in the crosshairs of a rifle scope. Or to depict Michelle Obama being lynched. Never.

But the ‘Roswell Beacon’ is not alone in it’s offense. I get the feeling that they are tapping into.

It is also unacceptable for a national television news and radio host to speak of Michelle Obama and lynching parties.

It is also unacceptable for a national political figure to joke about Barack Obama ducking in fear as a gun is pointed at him.

Yes, I know what’s being said around the dinner table, at the bar and in the lunchroom. I’ve heard it, too.

“Someone’s gonna shoot him.”

“He’s going to get shot.”

I’ve heard this now dozens of times. I am surprised by how many times I’ve heard it and from the breadth of people I have heard it from. From older black ladies at the beauty parlor, to young activist people of color, from Wall Street professionals to conservative political pundits, a lot of people are saying it. I know you’ve heard it. Heck, you may have even said it. But what bothers me most is that it’s not said in a tone of defiant derision, but with a kind of agitated resignation.

Well I strongly disagree. I do not believe that Barack Obama will be shot or assassinated. I do not believe that evil will necessarily triumph over good. I am not naive, of course Barack Obama is a target, as were Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford. I also believe George Bush and Dick Cheney are targets, but what magazine or newspaper would put them on their covers in crosshairs or talk about lynching their wives?

I pretty much stick to nuts and bolts on this site. But I firmly believe in the power of visualization as a tool that guides outcomes. I for one refuse to accept that the worst possible outcome is the probable outcome. I believe there are more of us than there are of them. And by them I mean angry, violent, destroyers who use the issue of “race” to shroud their sociopathic lack of human empathy.

But it will take more than “happy thoughts” to have the country many of us believe in. There is little room on the sidelines now. Speak up when you see or hear something wrong. Pick up the phone and make a call. Send an email. Your voice, our voices must be heard. There are more of us than there are of them. Please remember that.

Hat Tip to Amani for letting me know about this.

Read More – What About Our Daughters

Read More – Electronic Village

  • Kai
    Hi Changeseeker! Good to see you here. ;-)

    pteranodon, I engage in productive discussions with white folks about racism all the time; as in, every day. People like you think all discussions on race end with whites being called racist because people like you always end up saying racist things; but not all white people are like you, thank god. Changeseeker, for example, is a white scholar who stands against racism. Inversely there are of course persons of color who help prop up white supremacism. So it's not nearly as simple as you think. If you want to discuss anti-racism, the first thing you need to do is read some anti-racist books and get up to speed on the conversation, which is a complex, multi-disciplinary, high-context discussion. If you just jump in cold as a white person defending white people from scary people of color, then yes you'll likely come off as a troll, as Changeseeker patiently explained.

    Cheers.
  • A troll, pteranodon, is a commentator that seeks to create dissention on a blog with which they don't agree, but insist on haunting. Trolls are not interested in dialogue. They are interested in trying to get a rise out of someone. If you're not a troll, you shouldn't be concerned about what I said. If you are a troll, you have no complaints coming for being identified. I used the term Vanilla Troll to identify trolls (see above) that do what they do to push a White Supremacist agenda. Again, if the shoe doesn't fit, nobody is asking you to put it on. The fact that you immediately began to defend yourself suggests that you are identifying yourself as a troll with a White Supremacist perspective. In which case, this blog must make you very uncomfortable. Just keepin' it real.
  • pteranodon
    I was making a comparision; I did not call anyone a monkey. There is a difference between talking about offensive words and using the offensive words.

    But my point is still the same one from my post to your "Manifesto" posting; any discussion of race by whites will end in someone declaring that the white speaker/writer is a racist (or a Vanilla Troll, or a Nazi, or a moron, cracker, etc.).

    Jes keepin' it real.
  • Calling anyone of any hue a monkey on my site will NEVER be acceptable. I'm out P.
  • pteranodon
    Carmen, I was responding to Changeseeker. But, apparently, name-calling towards whites is acceptable on your site, but name calling of blacks is not.

    The white oppressor-black oppressed dogma is routinely taught in grade schools around the country now, and its acceptance is required for teachers to be recommended for licencing at many colleges.
  • pteranodon, I let through some name calling on both sides...more than most sites. Maybe more than I should. But, I don't think so. Given the original version of your comment...you know what I am referring to...I give up. You win.

    I still believe your comment on Our Manifesto is inflammatory -- "teaching white children to hate themselves??" OK.

    Second the movie you referenced and the covers I wrote about are not parallel examples.
  • pteranodon
    Vanilla Trollz; more name-calling. Again, what passes for 'dialog'.

    You would never see anything like this with a white candidate? See "Death of a President": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0853096/
  • Boy-oh-boy, you post a couple of sleezy covers, comment reasonably on their disgusting and even dangerous implications and the Vanilla Trollz climb out of the woodwork like they came with the covers. Humph. Why am I not surprised? This is an important issue, Carmen. I'm going to post on it, too, at some point shortly and will then link, as well. Not only would you never see a White candidate in crosshairs like this (because they don't threaten the crazies apparently -- an entirely different issue?), but I think covers like these encourage crazies to act. Some of the comments here demonstrate the kind of folks that defend such "illustrations."
  • pteranodon
    Carmen D,

    You write, " This is unsettling because I expect violent, angry, white racists to always fantasize about raping, torturing and possessing strong, black women. They will always twist their craving for sexual dominance into some kind of hollow-piped rhetoric trumpeting racial purity and white superiority."

    Where are you getting this? Please cite a credible source such as a psychiatric journal or a study of attitudes of white supremicists. If not, it would seem that your assertions are perhaps just your fantasies. Just because you can think up a horrible thought and articulate it in print does not make it true.

    Given that DOJ crime statistics show that white men rarely rape black women (the statistic is not significantly different from zero), if, indeed, these seething racists fantasize about subjugating black women, it would appear they rarely do anything about it.
  • pteranodon
    Jerry C makes his opinion known and Kai calls him 'moronic' and a 'racist troll'.

    So goes dialog on race.
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