Posted on 07/10/2009 9:53:00 AM PDT by 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.
“...is was O.K. for the DUmpsters, KOS clowns, and Huffers to savagely smear Sarah Palin’s kids, especially infant Trig?”
I was over at KOS poking around and I see they are still going on about who Trig’s real mother is. Can you believe they are demanding that the Palins produce Trig’s birth certificate? Is that rich or what?
You're entirely correct.
Wow, I really should have previewed that.
The Republicans in Congress & the Senate are wimping out with your same excuses...we have to be nice & above the fray."
You're kidding, right? Are you actually saying to be strong and be a winner we need to behave like trash?!
I'm deadly serious. You are the one saying 'we need to behave like trash' I did not say that.
I meant what I said. I will not be okay with the left being outraged ONLY by what Conservatives do. I will not sit in judgement when people fight back in whatever way they choose to express their opinions.
Silence is consent - so by not retaliating with disgust is to condone what the left is doing to Conservatives.
Discrimination is being touted as a MUST for us - but they are pretty quick to pretend 'outrage' when they are not the ones doing it.
So you reposted it newbie?
Are you the troll that posted it?
Hey, if throwing word feces at little girls makes you happy and if you think it will advance Conservatism...
Fair game if they insert themselves into the fray. Michelle did that last year with her "First time I'm proud to be an American" tripe.
A handful of objectionable posts out of over 160 on that thread.
He got the ZOT!
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I guess one of the offenders got smoked out.
I was on that thread. I was careful about what I said, but I have to wonder about some of this being a setup by people like that milkshake troll.
Ah, the classic straw man. Hillary Clinton is not, to my knowledge, green, nor were the pictures of a witch simply about her being a woman. And, by the way, I've objected to attacks here against Chelsea Clinton, too.
That double standard doesn't fly.
What double standard? The comparison between Hillary Clinton and the witch does not rely solely on race or sex for the comparison to be meaningful. What does Michelle Obama have in common with Aunt Esther other than her race? Do their personalities have anything in common?
Strange claim, as I've seen pictures portraying Obama as Barney Fife, Joe Isuzu, Jesus, Steve Carell, Adolf Hitler, Spock, Superman, Alfred E. Neuman, etc.
From that statement it is not clear what you intend. Defense is great. Offensive offense we can do without.
Our side did very well against Letterman. We need to be outraged but not offensive.
Facial expression when she gets emotional. That has nothing to do with race.
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Actually, I think they do have something in common. Both are angry women.
I think I saw saw that thread on the end. If it’s the same one, OhioWfan was on that thread, telling certain posters how they shouldn’t be going after the Obama kids. She posted often, and forcefully, the KOS author conveniently forgot to mention her.
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