Conservative Free Republic blog in free speech flap after racial slurs directed at Obama children

The Vancouver Sun ^ | July 11, 2009 | Chris Parry

[buccaneer81]

Conservative Free Republic blog in free speech flap after racial slurs directed at Obama children

By Chris Parry, Vancouver SunJuly 11, 2009 11:01 AM

This photo of U.S. President Barrack Obama's daughter Malia, wearing a peace-symbol t-shirt touched off a storm of epithet-laced comments on the conservative 'Free Republic' blog

"A typical street whore." "A bunch of ghetto thugs." "Ghetto street trash." "Wonder when she will get her first abortion."

These are a small selection of some of the racially-charged comments posted to the conservative 'Free Republic' blog Thursday, aimed at U.S. President Barack Obama's 11-year-old daughter Malia after she was photographed wearing a t-shirt with a peace sign on the front.

The thread was accompanied by a photo of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that featured the caption, "To entertain her daughter, Michelle Obama loves to make monkey sounds."

Though this may sound like the sort of thing one might read on an Aryan Nation or white power website, they actually appeared on what is commonly considered one of the prime online locations for U.S. Conservative grassroots political discussion and organizing - and for a short time, the comments seemed to have the okay of site administrators.

Moderators of the blog left the comments - and commenters - in place until a complaint was lodged by a writer doing research on the conservative movement, almost a full day later.

"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?" wrote one commenter.

"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," wrote another.

Such was the onslaught of derision on the site that the person who originally complained about the slurs, a Kristin N., claims only one comment in the first hundred posted actually criticized the remarks as inappropriate.

A note on the front of the blog reads, "Free Republic does not advocate or condone racism, violence, rebellion, secession, or an overthrow of the government," but one comment on the thread read, "This disgusting display makes me more and more eager for the revolution," while another read, "I never actually wnated [sic] to be a pistol before but..."

After attention from other blogs, the thread was suppressed and placed under review, but before long it was returned to the site intact, and attracted a new series of racial slurs when the original complaint email was posted publicly to the site, with the sender's email address intact.

"The writer has a point," wrote site owner Jim Thompson sarcastically. "We should steer clear of Obama's children. They can't help it if their old man is an American-hating Marxist pig."

"I agree Jim," wrote commenter, by the nickname NoobRep. "The kids didn't pick their commie pinko pansy of a father. Nor did they choose to be put into the spotlight. But Obama/Soetoro is fair game and so is his witch of a wife."

"Poor kids. I hope they're not 'punished with a baby'," wrote another. "Hopefully they won't deal cocaine like the Kenyan."

"DIRTBAGS! All of them. Our [White House] is now a joke to the rest of the world. We have no respect and this is not going to turn out well, mark my words. We will be hit, and much worse than last time. We are now seen as weak and vulnerable. Ghetto and Chicago thugs have taken over."

Only after significant negative attention from a host of left wing political blogs did the maintainers of the Free Republic site place the thread under review for a second time, before finally pulling it.

In the wake of the controversy, some Free Republic posters complained about the vitriol.

One poster by the name of "fullchroma" wrote, "To Jim Thompson: The recent uptick here in racist vitriol, aimed at Barrack, Michelle and their children has made me wonder if I belong. My objection to Obama has nothing to do with skin tone. Is the ugly stereotype of Conservative racism true?"

Another, going by the name of TChris, wrote, "Free Republic is a political discussion forum. It SHOULD be beneath us as a group to stoop to such juvenile tactics as I see increasing here lately. Do we REALLY have to insult Mrs. Obama's appearance like a clique of nasty 14-year-old girls?"

But such opinions were not shared by all. Said Roses of Sharon, "Poor libs .... Too late, the battle has been joined." © Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

[Utilizer]

(In heavy russian accent) Was good for you too, tovarischya? *wink* *grin*

[Poe White Trash]

What do you make of this new thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2290570/posts

[Utilizer]

LOL! Blippin cute, that were.

[Utilizer]

Wouldn’t work. We already have about ten trolls from the DailyKos mindset doing guerilla comments on several posts (usually identifiable by their joined-within-the-last-few-days date tags) and a concerted effort by the DU-mmies would make things intolerable quite quickly.

[presently no screen name]

They make us all look bad in the public eye

Wouldn't be surprised if that was their intent.

[sausageseller]

A “writer doing research”? LOL ___________ The same writer that was over at KOS bragging?

Yea. And the dilbert at the Vancover Sun fell for it.

[Albion Wilde]

As FReepers, we should feel free to comment on the first family's fashion sense and behaviour, after all, whether or not we like it, they represent the USSA at home and abroad, and as difficult as it may be, we need not make sweeping statements offending ghetto culture.

I agree; when the First Lady violates protocol and plays with the edge of offensiveness, as in her recent decision to display her bra strap, armpits, bare legs and toes in a Russian hospital, a sanitary setting where all the nurses and aides were in starched traditional nurse dress uniforms, it's time to say something. This is like showing the bottom of your shoe in the middle east. It's just incredibly presumptuous that a state visit should be treated as a "me"-promoting fashion statement, by her or by the press. If it has anything to do with her skin color, I'd like to know how. Attitude and love of country have no skin color.

[rodguy911]

Why would we respond to anything written by the Vancouver sun or MSLSD?

[meandog]

I do cringe at some of my fellow FReepers comments, though. They make us all look bad in the public eye, and if we want to take this country back, we do need to be the good guys.

I agree with you...racists and antisemites have no place on FR. There are other sites (Stormfront, etc.). Besides, minor children are OFF LIMITS period. It doesn't matter whom they belong to: Dems or Republicans!

[rodguy911]

We have huge problems on FR,we are loaded down with trolls and that 1% contingent of bigots who are also here.

Problem is the Vancouver Suns and the mslsd's only need a few lines to go after us with. that's all it takes. Forget the millions of great posts we do here. They don't care only one or two that they can shoot us down with.

Its exactly how they attack Sarah as well. Just one little indiscretion is all they need to blow something up.

[rodguy911]

Nit really. We have huge problems,especially with trolls, on many threads. The moderators drop the ball more than they straighten things out, IMHO.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Obama has hardly banned Ayers and Wright.

[FTJM]

So if I call Joe Biden’s daughter a coke whore will that get published?

[Albion Wilde]

See post 304.

[ScottinVA]

I was looking for the Sun’s criticism of the HuffPo blogger’s ridicule of little Trig Palin. I’m still looking.

[AU72]

The Empire is striking back. Now that the Obama agenda is hitting a wall the counter attack starts with the piling on of Firefighter Ricci for daring to be his best and causing the Latina judge to get slapped by SCOTUS.

You can bet that every off-color and dubious sounding postings on FR over the last 10 years are going to dredged up and used as the reason we need an internet "Fairness Doctrine".

[Albion Wilde]

You are likely a nicer person than me. My pride will not fall.... and I yield to no man.

Probably not nicer. Maybe older.

[Travis McGee]

Though this may sound like the sort of thing one might read on an Aryan Nation or white power website, they actually appeared on what is commonly considered one of the prime online locations for U.S. Conservative grassroots political discussion and organizing - and for a short time, the comments seemed to have the okay of site administrators.

We are being Alinskied.

[Albion Wilde]

I cringe when I read racist comments, after all both groups have gone through to try to repair the one flaw in our Constitution. Thank you for sticking with it here in spite of the mindless jerks.

[Question_Assumptions]

I see one message pulled by the moderators, I hit the abuse button on a second one, though I’d understand if the moderators didn’t pull it. Other than that, not too bad. I thought 122 was the right way to deal with it. If you want to claim payback or that the left does the same thing, put it side by side so they can’t ignore it to make the point.