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

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

buccaneer81, you are exactly correct.

We have to be Smarter, ten times more ethical, ten times more decent, etc than the left.

What occurred in this situation was vulgar and it stooped to the Lefts disgusting level.

The children should be left alone. PERIOD

We conservatives should hold ourselves to a higher standard. We are certainly better than what these posts suggest, and if we are not then we deserve to watch more Democrats win elections, not on merits but on the media spin that stories like this, created by our own hands and minds, actualize.

Please realize that this one set of comments has given the Left complete control. They now can say or do ANYTHING to conservative candidate's children. All they have to do is refer back to this.

It does not matter what they have done in the past to Bush's children, it does not matter that we held the higher ground concerning Chelsea Clinton.

This has just set the conservative cause back. These opinions should not be censored, but they should have been vigorously attacked as inappropriate.

"...typical street whore..."?

I know that sometimes postings can linger too long, but for heaven's sake! This isn't the sort of verbiage we prefer to see here... at least not most of us. I know from personal experience just about how far we can push admin mods, and the sort of comments mentioned above do cross the line.

But seriously... we're being demonized here. It was bound to happen... it's already happened to Christians, home-schoolers, conservatives, those who uphold and value the U.S. Constitution and it's virtues, and gun owners who believe that the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights has NOT A DAMNED thing to do with sportsmen or hunting! Essentially if one refuses to go along with the myriad of lies spewed forth by the left, one is branded as a hater. Eventually, we won't have anything to lose by simply BECOMING what they accuse us of being. At that point, choices will be limited, and could bring about results that the left would probably NOT prefer.

I was telling somebody here just the other day how the contrast between FR and the DU was so striking. I can't even lurk at the DU. It's like swimming in a cesspool. I feel dirty just reading their malignant writings, much less having to weed through the base profanity which is laced through it.

I think I understand though... we are now Racist Haters in addition to being conservatives. Sometimes I think that the sooner they make a real watch list and don't even feel bad about being caught...the better. But everybody knows what I'm pointing toward in that instance, and none of us are in a real hurry to get to that point....although I'll have to admit that unfortunately, it does appear as though that point in time is approaching.

Jim - Please keep us in the loop on how this affects fund raising. I for one can dig just a little deeper. I'm sure there are lots more like me here as well.

Racism has no place in this world. It never did really, even though it's been practiced. It's never done anything but breed contempt and result in "bad stuff". But think about it... who perpetuates racism?...and more importantly, WHY?!

Let's flip things around for a minute just to give a proper perspective to these two questions (who and why).

Why don't we have -

The United Caucasian College Fund? We have a United Negro College Fund!

White History Month? We have a Black History Month!

The National Association for the Advancement of non-Colored People? We have the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People!

White pride day? We have black pride day! This one is ironic. They'd lose their flipping minds if there was a white pride day! :-)

For that matter, if there was ANY organization for only whites to "advance" THEIR lives, those who did it would be racists! Why is this?!

There is a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain ole Chamber of Commerce. I wonder who pays for that last one!? Could it be WHITE PEOPLE?! ...then why don't we just call it the "White Chamber of Commerce?! Oh yeah...I forgot... that would be racist!

If white people had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships You know they'd be racists! Yet, there are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US, but if there were "White only colleges", THAT would be a racist college!

In the Million Man March, they believed that they were marching for their race and rights. If whites marched for their race and rights, they'd be would called racists!

People are PROUD to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and they're not afraid to announce it! But if whites were to make this announcement they're called racists!

I think you get my point by now. Racism and conservatism are mutually exclusive. One can't flourish and exist with the other. For the most part they DON'T. I spent 13 years active duty military through the 1980s and 1990s and we kicked the good ole boy network to the curb for participating in racism! I had a big part in that personally.

But racism isn't perpetuated by those of us who don't PROFIT from it. THINK ABOUT THAT.

Only those who profit from it perpetuate racism!

So far, this is a true statement given all the government entitlement programs for minorities that are in place now. Don't you think enough is enough?

So WHO are the REAL racists?! :-)

The bastards on the "other side of the fence" can scream "RACIST" at us, but they're the ones who for the great majority feed that beast! We're not really talking about real racism here. What we're talking about is a simple rule-set that non-minorities must remember in order that minorities aren't offended and then start shouting "RACIST" in their direction!

I understand that you just want to be associated with conservatism. We all do! But if you permit yourself and the rest of us to be sucked into the left's version of racism and other issues, you'll be ineffective, weak, and powerless. You'll spend all your time playing by their rules and have little left for truly effective action.

The left has redefined racism, Patriotism, and good citizenship...all the while practicing racism, gun control, and bowing to the masters at the U.N. They say ONE thing, but do ANOTHER. They enact laws "for the children", but are pro-murder (abortion). So which is it? Either you are an advocate to children, or your NOT! But they're like this on too many issues to mention here.

Ever since when did we subscribe to any of their retarded interpretations of issues such as racism?!

Racism is indeed evil and dark! But those perpetuating it must be exposed, and conservatives need to stop rolling over and going with the left's version of it! We play right into their hands when we do that.

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