DUMB AS DEAD CATS YO

[kyburg]

California politics at its finest - I'm sure you've been hearing all about this little graphic making the rounds as part of a newsletter published by a Republican Women's group in San Bernardino County:



I think I can clearly state that truly - politics in California can be as both as polarized as you can possibly imagine...and equally as brain dead on arrival.

She said she doesn't think in racist terms, pointing out she once supported Republican Alan Keyes, an African-American who previously ran for president.

"I didn't see it the way that it's being taken. I never connected," she said. "It was just food to me. It didn't mean anything else."

Ummm. Yeah. Sure.

But the real kicker? Who do you think built that graphic?

They didn't even have the balls to create the artwork themselves. They lifted it from this 'liberal' blogsite.

In May I drew this cartoon and posted a satirical article regarding a fake Obama food stamp plan. This article was complete satire and I wanted to let anyone reading this know that this was not a slight on Obama at all. It was a satirical look at some of the Fox News watching right-wingers out there that are afraid of a government that sponsors welfare type programs.
It was intended to poke fun at the unrealistic fears and agenda of racism that a fringe element of Republicans strongly embrace.

Evidently, people that did not take the satirical nature of the article in to account and not exploring other posts on this site forwarded my "Obama Bucks" food stamp image to their racist right wing counterparts.

So now this is a major news story.

Some dumb ass from the right wing group Chaffey Community Republican Women led by a housewife named Diane Fedele, thought it would be a good image to include in their Republican newsletter.

What a complete moron.

I'll second that. Now - to the question at hand.

I'm calling both sides on this one - the original for doing something so completely STUPID in the first place...and the second party for one STEALING (oh no john ringo no) without noticing that someone played right into their little paranoid fantasies. (Your daily dose of irony anyone?)

skademonx knows of what I speak. dracowayfarer, featherquill too. Ya wonder why I'm a Green - with this kind of stuff going on, would you claim any part of it?

I've got the Obama yard sign now - but do I check to see if its still in my yard every morning? Please. The little market down the street that is plagued with hispanic graffiti - big surprise, since a lot of my neighborhood is - also has reader boards with a real estate agent's advertising on it. She's not white...and not hispanic. And her picture has a great big X sliced through it. Like, with a knife sliced through it. Yes, we can indeed.

I should really piss them off and put a No on 8 sign up too.

Comments

I Can't do a Good Graphic

[sun-berry.livejournal.com]

but that bumper sticker makes me sick
My favorite sign I have see said " VOTE NO ON H8TE "

[feyandstrange.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of hoping that KFC decides to sue over misuse of its trademarks, thus heaping even more stupidity on top.

[dracowayfarer.livejournal.com]

I am a registered Democrat, but only because that's the side with the most numbers on the ideological side I normally lean towards.

Ideally, I'd much rather have a multi-party system. Until I find the time and motivation to walk the walk, though, I'm trying to be pragmatic and working with what we've got rather than against it.


All of that is a long preamble for: Yeah, that was a dumb move on both sides.

[redqueenofevil.livejournal.com]

Would you mind putting that racist picture behind a cut please?

I hadn't seen it before, and I am very offended by the shitty stereotypes on my page.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

I considered that when I made the post - then recalled that a number of people 1) won't look behind a cut, and 2) would wonder what the frack this was all about/over anyway.

Don't worry - the Times will take that image down in a few days.

I have to seize the opportunity though - you know the races on both sides of this story, right? Is it beginning to sink in why white people scare me?

NEITHER OF THEM GOT IT. Not at all. Not ever. Not funny. Never was.

GAH.

[redqueenofevil.livejournal.com]

It doesn't matter if you're trying to make a point, you're posting triggers without placing them under a cut. You'll note in certain communities like feminist, they have a nifty rule in place where posts are cut for triggers.

If there will be more of these uncut racial slur posts, I will have to remove you from my LJ fl. I get that you're pointing fingers at both sides. And I get that I would at least like warning before seeing images like this. I think it's a reasonable request.

I grew up hearing these horrible stereotypes, and it's not funny. It's really offensive. Please put it behind a cut. Consolation about hotlinking is not going to make me feel better.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

I'm going to be VERY mean. I hope you'll forgive me, but I can't make you.

I don't believe I'm responsible for managing triggers for other people. I don't demand other people 'protect' me, and frankly? Nobody ever gave it a second thought when something was difficult for me to deal with - and in all honesty, I really think I'm better for it.

That said, I will not take any offence to whatever measures you think appropriate in this case. Do whatever you feel you must.

But life is ugly at times. And we have to face it, unvarnished and raw. We're not children, and we're not ill. We get to put on our big girl panties and deal.

I don't think labeling things 'triggering' does anything but artificially inflate the shock value. LIFE is triggering, thank you very much, and resiliency is being able to cope with whatever you are handed, when it is handed to you. You can learn this - but not if you expect everything to be a known value before it comes to you.

Funny was NEVER the object here. The absolute lack of comprehension of what they were doing - on both sides - claiming to be 'enlightened' Californians - is uglier than any picture.

[redqueenofevil.livejournal.com]

This isn't a matter of asking for 'protection,' except that it's entries like this that make me reconsider going on Live Journal in the first place. Enough 'ugly' stuff happens outside of LJ, that I really don't get why it's unreasonable to ask for an lj- cut.

Guess what? I grew up watching people hurl these stereotypes at my family. So seeing pictures like this really pisses me off. Hearing slurs like "porch monkey," and "darkie," and the infamous "N word" with all of its variants thrown at my relatives are enough. Consider yourself so lucky that you probably didn't have people picking fights with you because your dad is black. I won't even get into how dad, aunt, grandma, cousins, etc. all deal with the racism, because their experiences were much worse.

So excuse me if I get just a little pissed off at seeing stupid graphic images on my F-list. Somehow, I think that if you were of the demographic being stereotyped, there's no way in hell you would parade it around on your entry, in such a calm manner.

So if you think I'm being a big baby about it, then fine. I will most certainly take my toys and leave. But My first thought when I saw the entry last night (before I got to the text) was, "Why is she perpetuating racism?" The text back story didn't come until after the foul graphic, so what should I have thought? Sarcasm is lost on the internet quite often, so that first sentence? I was just tired enough that I read it as praise, not sarcastic, not criticism. My sarcasm meter is broken much of the time, and I'm usually dead tired when I get around to reading LJ. I'll make no apologies about it, just like you're making no apologies about this post.

So yes, based on real life experiences, sure I'm pissed as hell at the San Bernardino Cty Republican Women's party, and I'm appalled that the 'liberal' artist who drew this didn't even think of what would happen as she created this piece. If I meet the woman who drew this, I won't hesitate to give her a piece of my mind.

The thing is, this isn't the first post you've made that has discussed racism, and yet, you've cut those posts in the past. So I don't get it.

I will repeat my statement that I think by posting the graphic (not linking to it, not cutting it saying, "CRAZY RACIST GRAFFIX AHEAD!!!111one") out in the open, you are just as guilty of perpetuating the racism as these other parties.

And I will not condone it. If it means taking my toys and leaving, then so be it. But don't call me a baby over it, until you've walked in my shoes for a while.

[catsonmars.livejournal.com]

With all due respect:

You're a lovely person, and one I like and respect very much. But I fail to see how looking away (especially when it comes an image now plastered on every newspaper in the country - and no, no LJ-cuts there) or avoiding issue of racism helps you.

Yes, it's offensive - it is supposed to be. The fact that you see racism and recoil in horror is appropriate, admirable, and understandable. But this isn't a "hey look at this funny picture" racist post or anything like it - it's "my god, this is ugly, and someone thought it was appropriate, and now it's national news."

You are welcome to not want something that upsets you plastering your friends page, of course - but this picture should upset you, as should the fact that it was sent out as part of a legitimate political mailer.

We need to approach the issues of societal ugliness - politics of bigotry and exclusion - with thick skin if we want to overcome these things. Pretending it isn't there or that it doesn't exist will probably not serve to do you any great service, nor will it address the real problem.

But I do totally understand your point of view about being hit visually with it, I do.

<3

[redqueenofevil.livejournal.com]

It's not to avoid it, so much as to at least ask for a head's up. I always click on people's lj cuts, even if I don't comment in the entry. There's just so much blatant racism present in every day tasks, that the f-list is one place I would desperately hope to get a little respite from it. And if not respite, a warning, so that it's not a blatant slap in the face coming from left field. Just for that little time that I pop onto the journal part of the f-list (not the comms- those are riddled with all sorts of craziness, which thankfully, I can avoid if I want).

For what it's worth, I appreciate and understand what you're saying. I understand the point that kyburg is making with her post to a degree. One merely need have eyes and ears to note all the racist crap that happens on a daily basis, and that's just from observing, not just on the receiving end. It's significantly more traumatic to see your loved ones be on the receiving end, or to be on the receiving end yourself.

When the f-list (non comms again) becomes a mine field riddled with triggers, I guess I feel justified in my anger. Considering all the crap that goes on during the day in even the melting pot city of LA, it's not unreasonable to want 10 minutes of non hateful, non racist crap to digest.

[singingpatient.livejournal.com]

the folks who do this type of satire don't understand that most folks,as my pal bob malone would say it, are "irony-challenged." they don't understand irony, or sarcasm.
and sometimes it's too outrageous for it to even occur to me, me, a connoisseur of sarcasm, to realize they're kidding. like that stupid new yorker cover with obama with muslim garb and michelle obama with a machine gun. at first glance i figured fox news created it.

the creators of All in the Family had the same problem. Archie was a bigot, a caricature, and people thought he was serious, and they loved him and rooted for him and agreed with him. the writers couldn't get their point across, much as they tried by having basically everyone in the show tell him what an ass he was being. finally they had no choice but to soften archie and make him mroe human. Sam thing with the simpsons, except it was a cartoon for adults. and people saw cartoon and figured ti was a kid show. next thing you know kids are telling their dad to eat their shorts.

sigh.

[audacian.livejournal.com]

It's just food? Really? Wow. Who has the balls to say they don't know about those stereotypes?

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

People in San Bernardino county whose shit don't stink and if they tell you they didn't mean it that way...ought to be believed, because if they can convince you it...that's the truth.

And they really do stick to it.

DUMB AS DEAD CATS. Or they think we all are.

[featherquill.livejournal.com]

I am sick to death that this came from such a good community. Chaffey is a place that I will stand behind and stand up for until the day I die. But that woman - that woman is a whore.

This is part of why I'm a Libertarian. Where the hell do people get off throwing their reproductive organs in the limelight where we can all see them and fear for the future of our country? Because really, that's what that horrible woman did. No brain, all baby maker.

GAH.

Also - I made my OWN yard signs. They say "VOTE 'MO ON 8." and we have 3 of them in our yard. Screw the red coats and their god damned fear mongering hate agenda.

Have you SEEN the "vote yes on 8" commercial with the little kid who learns that a prince can marry a prince? I would just LOVE to hear what it is that her mom is saying to her. My husband made up his own little dialogue.

Mom: "You see, honey, God hates homosexuals, and it is our job to shun and hate them too. If you marry a princess, your daddy and I will never speak to you again, and you will be shunned by your entire support group."

Little Girl: "Oh. Hey mommy? Why is your eye black and blue under your makeup?"

Mom: "I argued with daddy today - but I will go to heaven for obeying him! Now go clean your room, or Santa Clause will bring you COAL in your stocking on Yule, and the Easter bunny will forget you next Ostara Easter."

I mean really.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

I did okay with Libertarians until I got into a group of them claiming "I don't have to do ANYTHNG for anyone but myself. MAKE ME."

Wow. Total turnoff. Like, dude - can you afford to buy a hospital when you finally need one? THE WHOLE THING? No? How about those nice roads you take for granted? HUH?

technoshaman is a wealth of information on libertarianism in action. Ask him about the fire department, and what happens when you don't pay your fees towards keeping them in nomex and fire hoses.

[featherquill.livejournal.com]

:) Not all of us are so horrible. I assume that your problem with "Libertarians" is a problem with a specific group of people, not with the Libertarian philosophy. I've never met a green I didn't like (you included), so I am sorry that you met some nasty Libbies, but I'm not all bad. :)

Not paying your taxes is not Libertarian. It's anarchistic, and agoristic, which are two whole other things. Not liking that one is being *forced* to pay taxes, on the other hand; well that is a Libby philosophy, but it's not as distasteful as the group you spoke with made it sound. It's not supposed to be a "Fuck everybody else" kind of a thing. It's supposed to be a "and it harm none, do as you will" sort of thing. I do not believe in the initiation of force. Including *forcing* people to pay taxes in order to take care of me and mine. However, I willingly pay those same taxes, because I desire access to things that constitute a group effort in order to even be a possibility in my world. That includes hospitals, roads, state colleges, etc.

I hope that opens your heart just a little bit to we brown-coats. There are those who will put the label on like a jacket without understanding the consequences of the very nature of the jacket. And there are those who will exploit it, and who will turn it into something it isn't. Just like the welfare system, and the republic for which we stand.

But seriously, Libertarianism has never said anything bad about you. Really!

Also - CSU Pomona sends its regards. And the library? It is 6 stories tall, omg. And has a Starbucks. Just in case I hadn't mentioned that to you before. :)

[catsonmars.livejournal.com]

I think the scariest thing about it is that it probably really didn't click with her as offensive, or having any actual meaning beyond what people in her narrow-minded demographic "know" to be true - namely, that black people love fried chicken, ribs, kool-aid, and watermelon.

After all, it's not offensive if it's "true" and you "know" it to be true, right?

But it's really brilliant - an unfunny satire site posts something that is clearly offensive with the aim of calling attention to ridiculously stereotypical attitudes, and one of the satirized picks up on it and runs with it.

I believe something similar happened with The Onion and a Harry Potter/witchcraft article - some parents cited it as a legitimate example of Rowling's books turning children to the Dark Arts.

Faces, red much?

And believe me, your neighborhood might surprise you demographically come voting day - Obama is not unpopular among latinos, especially considering the alternative.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Oh, it only takes one asshole with a knife to ruin someone's day - I'm sure of it.

And - the sign is still in the yard, at least it was when I left for work this AM.

[kimberlychapman.livejournal.com]

I had heard about that on NPR but hadn't seen it. Wow. No question of racism there.

Ya wonder why I'm a Green

Because you're an intelligent, rational, think-for-yourself kind of person?