Posted on 07/11/2009 12:01:08 PM PDT by 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
Sniff, sniff.
Lenin had a labor catagory for folks like you.
Jack Royce
Since Jul 14, 2009
You signed up?
Why?
Yeah, but 'useful idiot' just doesn't pay the way it used to, given how many there are nowadays. That supply and demand thingy.
I assure you I do not run a site called “new republic”.
Now that’s too funny.
Hasn't that been abolished by some Czar's fiat?
Yeah, but it always has a way of un-abolishing itself.
The fact that -8bama is African American matters not at all. So is Clarence Thomas and Thomas Sowell and many, many other blacks of tremendous character and achievement. Screaming "racist" is simply an obnoxious and disingenuous smear tactic, which we have done a good job in fighting against over the past week. Failure to see that is not an accident IMO.
-8bama being a liberal - a university marxist, actually - is everything and his world view deserves both clear intellectual refutation and well-founded ridicule which you will find on this site in abundance.
If you don't agree with this position then you are on the wrong privately-owned forum with forum rules set by the owner Jim Robinson. They are posted on the home page. Please read them now.
Failure to follow forum rules will result in a very short stay on Free Republic which, based on your initial post, will probably result in greater happiness for all concerned if you were then to find a more liberal site.
You both have been assimilated into the Thompson Borg. Resistance is futile.
Oh yeah? Is your first name Jim?
No, Locutus. Locutus J. Thompson.
Really? That’s funny. My name is Jim L.Thompson.
all your twins R us!
Freep ‘em if they can’t take a joke.
So far the only thing I agree with you on is that you’re gonna get blasted. From the few that I’ve read so far, I’d say you predicted that one pretty well. Good call there genius! ;-)
Why? So he could address his first post to me of course! :-)
If that is the case, then evidently the people you encounter expect that you are cool with that kind of talk. You have outed yourself.
I have not decided if you are a lamebrain or a troll or both.
Please reply quickly. I am smelling me some ozone.
I don’t agree with the comments that the quoted FReepers made. We have our share of aholes here. I find it very interesting that this makes a fairly mainstream newspaper; I don’t recall seeing any similar articles about the horrible comments that I’ve read on big democrat sites.
Come back Jack. Come back.
We talk back and forth here.
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