One more from the left: Free Republic Pulls Thread Bashing Malia Obama

DailyKOS ^ | Fri Jul 10, 2009 | by CatM

[Jim Robinson]

Yesterday, theHalfrican posted a link to the Free Republic Website where several of its regular members were bashing Malia Obama for wearing a peace symbol t-shirt. The thread had several derogotary, racist, and sexual remarks about Malia. It also included a picture of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that was accompanied with a racist caption.

I wrote the media contact at Free Republic yesterday, kristinn@bellatlantic.net, questioning the nature of the posters and the site:

Hello. I am an independent writer developing a book about the grassroots conservative movement online, of which your site, Free Republic, is included as a primary online gathering place for conservatives.

Could you please tell me how the owner of the site feels about posts like this one:

http://www.freerepublic.com/...

...in which conservatives who post regularly at the site make several racist statements about the 11-year-old daughter of President Obama for wearing a t-shirt adorned with a peace symbol? Remarks included the following:

"We’re being represented by a family of ghetto trash." "Looks like a bunch of ghetto thugs. A stain on America."

"Looks like a typical street whore."

"What we now are sending the ghetto over to represent us. and if so who the hell is that flea bag who looks to be dragged from the trash dumpster."

"you could go down any ghetto right now and see exactly the same."

"could you imagine what world leaders must be thinking seeing this kind of street trash and that we paid for this kind of street ghetto trash to go over there"

"the world must be laughing like mad right now at that we have this kind of street trash in our white house."

"Wonder when she will have her first abortion."

"sad isn’t it that we now have ghetto street trash over there representing us in Europe."

"This disgusting display makes me more and more eager for the revolution.

"They make me sick.... The whole family... mammy, pappy, the free loadin’ mammy-in-law, the misguided chillin’, and especially ‘lil cuz... This is not the America I want representin’ my peeps."

In addition, the thread includes a picture of Michelle Obama speaking to her daughter with the caption, "To Entertain Her Daughter, Michelle Obama Likes to Make Monkey Sounds."

Before you dismiss this as only a minority of posters at the site, out of 100 posts on that thread I found only 1 that criticized such remarks. This is not the first time I have seen such an exhibition of blatant racism at Free Republic by members who regularly post there.

Here are my questions:

Does Free Republic condone this type of exercise in free speech?

Are these the type of participants Free Republic is happy to have posting at its site?

What is Free Republic's policy about posting racially offensive comments?

What is Free Republic's policy about making sexual insinuations about minors (particularly relevant in light of the David Letterman/Sarah Palin brouhaha)?

Does Free Republic believe its membership accurately represents the conservative movement?

Does the owner of Free Republic believe this kind of discourse is helpful to rebuilding the Republican Party and furthering its goals?

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your responses.

went back to the site today and saw that the offending thread has been pulled "pending review."

http://www.freerepublic.com/...

I do note that Free Republic has a disclaimer on the first page that claims it does not condone this type of post; however, I am not sure when the disclaimer was added. Does anyone know?

From the disclaimer:

Opinions expressed on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Free Republic or its operators.

Please enjoy our forum, but also please remember to use common courtesy when posting and refrain from posting personal attacks, profanity, vulgarity, threats, racial or religious bigotry, or any other materials offensive or otherwise inappropriate for a conservative family audience.

Free Republic is a site dedicated to the concerns of traditional grassroots conservative activists. We're here to discuss and advance our conservative causes in a more or less liberal-free environment. We're not here to debate liberals. We do not want our pages filled with their arrogant, obnoxious, repugnant bile. Liberals, usurpers, and other assorted malcontents are considered unwelcome trolls on FR and their accounts and or posts will be summarily dismissed at the convenience of the site administrators.

Free Republic does not advocate or condone racism, violence, rebellion, secession, or an overthrow of the government.

So, the site will readily delete posts from liberals just because they are liberals and therefore everything they say is automatically considered "arrogant, obnoxious, repugant bile."

But comments calling an 11-year-old black girl "ghetto trash" and a "whore" are pulled "pending review." What is to review? Your site either supports that kind of rhetoric or it does not. Which is it?

If the Free Republic's "conservative family audience" consists of people who say such things as they often do (like yesterday), how conservative are they? And how family-oriented are they? Where were all the posts from other Free Republic regulars or from the owner of the site decrying this kind of racism directed at a child for no apparent reason than the fact that a peace symbol t-shirt inflamed their hatred to disgusting depths, like a red handkerchief in front of a mad bull?

Conservatives continually reinforce the fact that the only families they care about are conservative ones; the only troops they support are ones that do not vote democratic; the only children whose lives they value are the children of conservatives or unborn. How many of those aborted fetuses they claim to hold so dear would they trash had they been born and grown into a pre-teen who wore a t-shirt with a peace symbol or supported a liberal president? Or was gay?

The truth is that conservatives do not know the meaning of Jesus' words despite how much they love to use them when it suits their inner hatred of all those who are different. Worse, they lack basic human decency, as they demonstrate time and again.

[trisham]

In your post you were criticizing conservatives:

The truth is that conservatives do not know the meaning of Jesus’ words despite how much they love to use them when it suits their inner hatred of all those who are different. Worse, they lack basic human decency, as they demonstrate time and again.

68 posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 1:13:06 PM by griswold3

What did you mean?

[firebasecody]

I think that in this context “independent writer” means a kid in Mom’s basement who isn’t getting paid for his skewed opinions.

[TheClintons-STILLAnti-American]

"The truth is that conservatives do not know the meaning of Jesus' words despite how much they love to use them when it suits their inner hatred of all those who are different. Worse, they lack basic human decency, as they demonstrate time and again."

Liberals generally not only know nothing about what is involved in living the Christian life, but could care less what it involves except when it comes to passing judgment on how well others are doing at it.

Yes, racist humor does appear sometimes on FR, and although I'm not racist I have to say I can understand the appeal of it to some degree in today's climate.

As someone who does happen to know a thing or two about the real challenges of living the Christian life in a fallen, self-aggrandizing, self-righteous liberal-dominated culture, I can understand the impulsive appeal to take a jab back at those who lecture us on our hypocrisy as if having standards and failing to always live up to them is somehow inferior to having no standards but whatever makes them feel good for the moment.

People such as those who congregate at DailyKos could learn a lot, as a group, from those who congregate at FR about equality and real social justice.

This high-and-mighty righteous indignation is nothing more than another thinly veiled attempt to discredit and/or censure all effective challenges to liberal monopoly on thought and values.

Who wouldn't be tempted to poke fun at a first family that was foisted upon us BECAUSE of their skin color more than anything else, while those raising them up are breaking their arms patting themselves on the back for supposedly rising above judging others based on skin color?

Talk about hypocrisy and hatred.

If you really want to see those traits in their concentrated form, look at the liberal sites--DailyKos, DemocraticUnderground, etc--NOT Free Republic.

[dforest]

I remember a video of the Rev James manning warning that Obama would light up racial hatred that we haven’t seen in years.

Many white people are getting a message that they are under assault by this administration. Truth is they are. The race card and race baiting has picked up dramatically since Obama became president.

We should have know this was coming when Obama used it constantly in his campaign. Even to the point of calling Clinton a racist.

[warsaw44]

My objection to Obama has nothing to do with skin tone

---

Amen. I'll take content of a man's character over skin color every time.

[Question_Assumptions]

Jim, I think the writer has a very good point. People seem to be feeling more and more free to post things here that are difficult to explain as anything other than racism or, perhaps, excessive racial insensitivity. There is plenty to complain about with Obama without going into his race. And while I'd personally leave them alone, there are legitimate complaints that can be made about his wife or daughters without going into their looks or race. And the black jokes, pictures from old black sitcoms, and cracks that rely on black stereotypes applied ot Obama and his family just look horrible and simply feed the stereotypes that conservatives are racist, even if the intent was harmless. Maybe you don't notice the curious runs of articles about black on white crime, the particularly nasty attacks on Michelle Obama's looks, or the generic black stereotype comments being tossed out there but it sure looks like a concerted racist against blacks at times to me.

To be fair to Free Republic, though, the Report Abuse button works and the moderators have been very good at pulling comments and even threads where the content or source was questionable. Further, it's been my experience that a concerted effort to challenge the racially charged comments usually result in those making them scurrying back under their rocks.

But if you want to know what sort of harm this can do, I suggest remembering how Jerome Corsi's credibility was harmed by some comments he made here and how easy it would be to make guilt-by-association attacks if the our opponents can make a credible case that Free Republic is a racist site or at least condones racism. Because "conservatives are racists" is already the prevailing stereotype, that means we won't be given the benefit of the doubt and anything that seems to fit that stereotype is going to be assumed to be racist. And if the best conservatives can do is, "Look at Obama and his family! They're black! Haw, haw!", then we're going to have 8 years of him.

[Sloth]

griswold was quoting the last paragraph of the article.

[GOPJ]

I was commenting more on the selective outrage of the left.

Liberal selective outrage - double standard stuff - is always offensive. You are right on that.

Liberals are disgusting.

I didn't like the daughter's shirt in that setting - and comments about the shirt might be fair play. But that's a fine line - maybe too fine.

Going after the children on a personal level is way too " tacky liberal" for me. They appear to be well mannered, happy children. And in my book Obama's children are "OFF limits" to any personal negative comments.

[Rodney Dangerfield]

Screw them.

These people said the most vile things about Sarah Palin and her family imaginable.

They set the bar low, then they complain?

Like I said, screw them.

[trisham]

All too true. I do believe that criticizing the Obamas is fine, btw, just not their children. I also believe that it is acceptable to criticize what the children are wearing in this instance, but it should be directed at the parents.

It seems to me if there is the appearance of the Obamas using their children as billboards for their own political beliefs, then criticism of the Obamas is perfectly appropriate.

[GOPJ]

I was commenting more on the selective outrage of the left.

Liberal selective outrage - double standard stuff - is always offensive. You are right on that.

Liberals are disgusting.

I didn't like the daughter's shirt in that setting - and comments about the shirt might be fair play. But that's a fine line - maybe too fine.

Going after the children on a personal level is way too " tacky liberal" for me. They appear to be well mannered, happy children. And in my book Obama's children are "OFF limits" to any personal negative comments.

Same as Sarah's.

[Hacklehead]

“Yep, we can get dirty but going after the children is beyond dirty.”

True, but if would be easier if Obammy didnt let his daughter wear hot pants and tops with politically charged messages. The “peace symbol” rubs alot of true Americans the wrong way. If she wears a Che’ T-shirt are we expected not to comment?

[I see my hands]

"They’re children for heck’s sake. We should know better"

They are Liberals. Their age provides them no special status other than that afforded by political correctness. Fine leave them alone but don’t assert they deserve the consideration. They are Liberals, you should know better.

[misterrob]

People who engaged in these personal attacks about a kid should get a time out. I don’t care what the leftists do, there has to be standards on how people conduct themselves. Your site, your standards but it makes it hard to listen to people around here complain about how the Bush twins and Palin family have been treated in the past when stuff like these comments are posted.

[olrtex]

I think you are wrong to say, “none of the quoted statements appear to exhibit racism except maybe the referenced “monkey noises” picture. These remarks were obviously racist:

“They make me sick.... The whole family... mammy, pappy, the free loadin’ mammy-in-law, the misguided chillin’, and especially ‘lil cuz... .”

“We’re being represented by a family of ghetto trash.” “Looks like a bunch of ghetto thugs. A stain on America.”

The people who made remarks like deserve our scorn and contempt. They are the real trash.

[Lion Den Dan]

Yeah pal- but I'm Jewish. I'd rather remember the words of my sages: If someone wakes up in the morning to kill you, wake up earlier and kill him first" You people drew first blood.

I am not Jewish and subscribe to the same sages and their advice.

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

Before you dismiss this as only a minority of posters at the site, out of 100 posts on that thread I found only 1 that criticized such remarks. This is not the first time I have seen such an exhibition of blatant racism at Free Republic by members who regularly post there.

___________________________________________________

However this is a flat out lie. Many did indeed comment on how inappropriate it was and many including myself reported abuse.

[Drango]

Malia was introduced into the public arena by her parents and the peace symbol on her shirt. How is it the left can make fun of Palin’s kids but 0bama’s are off limits?

[trisham]

Thanks.

[buccaneer81]

Lighten up, Francis.