# Dear "Regards, Shodan" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 23, 2008, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191 "2008-10-23T09:23:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/1 "2008-10-23T09:23:11Z")
Could you please explain the following comment: “The Blessed One is going to turn the White House beige.” Thank you. Regards, leander ---
**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/2 "2008-10-23T09:32:08Z")
Link? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/3 "2008-10-23T09:44:55Z")
- searches \* [This](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10327507&postcount=50) post, from his [“Theocracy Now !”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=488324) thread. A silly rant about Obama. Either it’s a racial reference, or just possibly ( it was all I could find on google ), a reference to the musical _Merrily We Roll Along_, which includes the lyrics “We’re bringing back style to the White House I’m painting it beige for a start We’re making it into a cultural lighthouse For glamour and beauty and art” ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/4 "2008-10-23T09:48:47Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > “We’re bringing back style to the White House > I’m painting it beige for a start > We’re making it into a cultural lighthouse > For glamour and beauty and art” Well, that sounds okay. I like glamour and beauty and art. The current administration hasn’t exactly been the Italian Renaissance artistically (though in other ways, they are reminiscent of the Borgias). ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/5 "2008-10-23T10:36:29Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > Well, that sounds okay. I like glamour and beauty and art. The current administration hasn’t exactly been the Italian Renaissance artistically (though in other ways, they are reminiscent of the Borgias). (Or the Borg.) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/6 "2008-10-23T13:09:27Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > (though in other ways, they are reminiscent of the Borgias). And Lucrecia hasn’t even been elected yet, but by golly she will, you betcha. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/7 "2008-10-23T14:02:13Z")
Kind of a tough bind you’ve put **Shodan** in. Admit to racism or admit to being into showtunes. Hmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/8 "2008-10-23T14:06:00Z")
They still call it the White House, but that’s a temporary condition. (Can you dig it, CC?) ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/9 "2008-10-23T14:06:08Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > And Lucrecia hasn’t even been elected yet, but by golly she will, you betcha. I really think Lucrezia Borgia has gotten a bad rap. But, we’ll probably never be able to prove it one way or another. So, is Karl Rove like Machiavelli without the humanity? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/10 "2008-10-23T14:10:48Z")
It never helps to explain a joke. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/11 "2008-10-23T14:19:48Z")
So then you’re content with people assuming you’re a racist? ---
**Author:** ![A.I.Wintermute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@A.I.Wintermute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.I.Wintermute)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/12 "2008-10-23T14:26:42Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > So then you’re content with people assuming you’re a racist? Anyone making such an assumption, especially after this thread, is clearly grasping at straws. Or possibly an offenderato extraordinaire, but it’s hard to say which of those two possibilities I’d have less respect for. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/13 "2008-10-23T14:27:19Z")
Not an assumption. It is clearly a remark that says Obama will have some colored people in the WHITE House. It is also not funny. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/14 "2008-10-23T14:35:55Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It never helps to explain a joke. > > Regards, > Shodan It is show tunes, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/15 "2008-10-23T14:43:53Z")
> [@A.I.Wintermute](#): > > Anyone making such an assumption, especially after this thread, is clearly grasping at straws. Why? This thread was clearly started because the remark seemed a racist one. \*\*Shodan \*\*saying it is just a joke doesn’t mitigate that. I’m not even accusing \*\*Shodan \*\*of being racist. I get jokes. But that assumption has been floated and if he doesn’t mind people making that assumption, then fine; I can’t blame him for not feeling like he needs to explain himself at every turn. But if he doesn’t want people to assume that, he ought to address it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/16 "2008-10-23T14:51:33Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It never helps to explain a joke. > > Regards, > Shodan Dude, it never makes a joke any **funnier** when you explain it. Yours wasn’t funny to begin with, so you have nothing to lose. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/17 "2008-10-23T14:54:22Z")
Was it racist when Paris said she was going to paint the White House pink? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/18 "2008-10-23T14:56:40Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > And Lucrecia hasn’t even been elected yet, but by golly she will, you betcha. Heh, [that was my impression](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10320055&postcount=7), too. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/19 "2008-10-23T15:01:59Z")
This thread was clearly started because the remark seemed a racist one. How do you figure it could possibly be racist? Because of the reference to colour? If so, is there such a thing as “benign racism” and, If the OP intends to impugn Shodan with the charge of racism, I’d have to believe he’s relying on the stereotype of conservatives as basically racist. That doesn’t fly well with me. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191/20 "2008-10-23T15:15:10Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > This thread was clearly started because the remark seemed a racist one. > > How do you figure it could possibly be racist? What’s your take on it? What’s the joke? What is the element in the telling that is exagerrated (the hightlight of virtually any joke)? And again, I don’t think \*\*Shodan \*\*was being a racist in telling it, but it did seem racial. And also again, I don’t think he should have to explain himself, but if he doesn’t care if people make that assumption (which if it were me, I probably wouldn’t give a shit either) then fine – but following it up with “I’m not going to explain it” doesn’t help his cause very much. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-regards-shodan/469191.md?page=2)