"Outrageous behavior, which only brings shame", to make fun of Obama

[Kyriakos]

This is, of course, the article from the slaves of Houyhnhnms

An Olympic figure skating gold medalist in 1972, '76 and '80, Rodnina came under fire for what many perceived as racism in September, when she posted a photo on Twitter of the commander in chief and first lady Michelle Obama with a digitally manipulated image of a hand holding a banana superimposed over the couple.

While Rodnina, currently a member of parliament for Putin's United Russia political party, has since deleted the photo from her Twitter account, she insisted she had done nothing wrong in a follow-up tweet, according to the Guardian. "Freedom of speech is freedom of speech," she wrote in September, "and you should answer for your own hang-ups."

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul quickly responded on Twitter, calling Rodnina's actions "outrageous behavior, which only brings shame to her parliament and country."

Rodnina's selection to light the Olympic cauldron seems to suggest otherwise from Russia's perspective.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olymp...ersial-ties-to-president-obama-202816634.html

The image which brought such unbearable shame to her country will follow, but in a spoiler since it may seem way too extremely anti-Obama for some to keep breathing while looking at it :/

Spoiler :

Likening a US president to this sort of lowly animal? Really? Very uncool, man, very uncool. Only racists do such things

 

[JollyRoger]

Where was PETA when those chimps were being abused by such a comparison?

 

[bugwar]

I had no idea that your faith in god defines your race.

You learn something new every day, whether you want to or not.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Because making bigoted comments is so much better than racist ones?

Would a white president who was raised as a Christian be incessantly and falsely characterized as being Muslim by the usual suspects?

 

[Leonel]

This is, of course, the article from the slaves of Houyhnhnms



http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olymp...ersial-ties-to-president-obama-202816634.html

The image which brought such unbearable shame to her country will follow, but in a spoiler since it may seem way too extremely anti-Obama for some to keep breathing while looking at it :/

Spoiler :

Likening a US president to this sort of lowly animal? Really? Very uncool, man, very uncool. Only racists do such things

Well I would imagine the difference between Obama and Bush is that there is a historically underlying connotation in comparing Obama, a black person, with a monkey in America that's been going on since slave days.

http://www.authentichistory.com/diversity/african/3-coon/6-monkey/

 

[Kyriakos]

^Not sure why a Russian Olympics winner should know or care about that particular (and for other cultures very tenuous) link though..

 

[bugwar]

Because making bigoted comments is so much better than racist ones?

 

[Synobun]

^Not sure why a Russian Olympics winner should know or care about that particular (and for other cultures very tenuous) link though..

Believe it or not, slavery goes beyond the United States.

 

[Antilogic]

Well I would imagine the difference between Obama and Bush is that there is a historically underlying connotation in comparing Obama, a black person, with a monkey in America that's been going on since slave days.

http://www.authentichistory.com/diversity/african/3-coon/6-monkey/

This. It's the context that matters.

 

[Souron]

Believe it or not, slavery goes beyond the United States.

Russia was never in the black slave trade. It's plausible that she was not aware of the history of this kind of imagery.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Then what was the intent?

Racism in Russia appears mainly in the form of negative attitudes and actions by Russians towards people who are not considered ethnically Russian. Traditionally, this included antisemitism, as well as hostility towards various ethnicities of Caucasus and Central Asia.[1] The director of the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights, Alexander Brod, stated that surveys show xenophobia and other racist expressions are prevalent in 50 percent of Russians.[2] In 2006, Amnesty International reported that racism in Russia was “out of control” and estimated the number of Russian neo-Nazis at around 85,000 in 2008.[3][4]

On 21 March 2011, during a game away at Zenit Saint Petersburg, a banana was held by one of the fans near Roberto Carlos of Russian Premier League club Anzhi Makhachkala as the footballer was taking part in a flag-raising ceremony.[51] In June, in a match away at Krylia Sovetov Samara, Roberto Carlos received a pass from the goalkeeper and was about to pass it when a banana was thrown onto the pitch, landing nearby.[52] The 38-year-old Brazilian picked it up and threw it by the sidelines, walking off the field before the final whistle and raising two fingers at the stands, indicating this was the second such incident.[53]

Lokomotiv Moscow were involved in another incident on 18 March 2012, when a banana was thrown at Anzhi Makhachkala defender Christopher Samba during at a match at the Lokomotiv Stadium.[54]

In October 2013, during the second half of the match, between Manchester City and CSKA Moscow, Yaya Touré, a star midfielder for City from Ivory Coast, walked up to the referee, Ovidiu Hategan, and angrily pointed at CSKA fans making monkey chants and shouting abuse toward him and his black teammates. The game continued and, according to Touré, so did the abuse.[55]

 

[Souron]

Then what was the intent?

Visual comedy.

Follow up on your edit: I didn't say Russians aren't racist, just that the anti-black symbolism of the US may not be widely recognized.

 

[Formaldehyde]

So all the other banana incidents are also "visual comedy"?

 

[Synobun]

So all the other banana incidents are also "visual comedy"?

All just a big coincidence!

 

[Lord of Elves]

The universality of brown people = apes is pretty, well, universal. Of course, you can pretend that it wasn't racism, just poor taste, that made Given Bigoted Jerk compare Obama to a monkey. Which would lead you to ask, why a monkey specifically? But don't answer that question, because racism is totally over you guys.

 

[bugwar]

The universality of brown people = apes is pretty, well, universal.

Interesting viewpoint.
The source you are using to claim that opinion as fact is?

Of course, you can pretend that it wasn't racism, just poor taste, that made Given Bigoted Jerk compare Obama to a monkey. Which would lead you to ask, why a monkey specifically? But don't answer that question, because racism is totally over you guys.

 

[Souron]

So all the other banana incidents are also "visual comedy"?

Which other banana incidents?

 

[Synobun]

Which other banana incidents?

Follow up on your edit: I didn't say Russians aren't racist, just that the anti-black symbolism of the US may not be widely recognized.

Perhaps you should actually read the edit you seemingly responded to.

 

[Berzerker]

The universality of brown people = apes is pretty, well, universal.

which is strange, monkeys have white skin

 

[Formaldehyde]

Is that right?