# Freepers make racist attacks on Malia Obama for wearing a peace-sign t-shirt **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 14, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011 "2009-07-14T18:13:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/281 "2009-07-16T22:17:56Z")
> [@antoinefinch](#): > > The cruel and hateful things that have been said about a little defenseless 11 year old girl (Malia Obama)shows that America is still as hateful as it has ever been.To attack a child of any race in this way shows how far a people have truly come, This shows the true heart of America.May GOD have mercy on us.☹ The comments are disgusting, but let’s get real here: this is ridiculous. These girls live in the White House. Imagine their situation in Chicago 40 or 50 years ago, nevermind earlier. There’s just no comparison. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/282 "2009-07-16T23:20:57Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > 1. I don’t think she looks bad either. But that’s not my point. They did. Jeepers, Freepers. Where’d you get those peepers? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/283 "2009-07-16T23:22:49Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > **Freudian Slit** said: > The second one does a little. It may just be the glasses. Yeah…minus the oversized hipster lenses, it’s not so bad. Well, I mean, it’s not great, but it’s not hideous. ---
**Author:** ![antoinefinch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a6a055/32.png) [@antoinefinch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antoinefinch)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/284 "2009-07-16T23:24:11Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Oh, they’re definitely racist. And mean-sprited assholes. But that’s beside the point. My main objection is that someone called them racist _without providing any evidence of it_. My main objection was that: > > “ghetto thug” isn’t racist. > “street trash” isn’t racist. > “typical street whore” isn’t racist > “get her first abortion” isn’t racist. > “America hating Marxist pig” isn’t racist. > “mammy et al” I couldn’t even understand, but now acknowledge as racist. > “monkey noises” was out of left field and had nothing to do with the photo in question. > Then we spent a few pages debating whether the first one was racist or not. Now a few have acknowledged my point that it’s not in itself racist. Some posters have tried to put words in my mouth, but I’m sticking with my original point. Chris Perry wrote a retarded article. Look at what I said in the beginning in Post 51: > Not once did I comment on what I thought of her appearance, what I thought of the Freepers, what I thought about Obama, what I thought of peace symbols or Tshirts, or anything else other than what the article in the OP said. I’d appreciate it if people would quit acting like the target of my attack is Malia or Obama and read what I’m writing. I don’t know where you get your information from but as a American Of African descent I find their comments very racist and offensive.I have seen were you stated that some black co worker stated that those terms weren’t racist,I don’t know who that idiot was but he doesnt speak for the whole race.Anyone who denies the racist view of these comments can not be living in the real world.In 2009 for these type of comments to still be exclaimed and defended does not surprise me,to a lot of people nothing was wrong with the comments made and they agree whole heartly with these comments.To call a 11 year old child a street whore is more obscene than any racist comment made to this post.What bothers me is that most of america agrees with these ranting and holds the same view as this.How can you defend this by argueing that its not racist so it ok?the proof is in the pudding as the old folks say! The comments were made because the child is BLACK that why its simple enough for any one to see who loves the truth. Some people still deny the holocaust ever happened too?What is the cause for questioning wether or not the comments were racist for you?How and when did you become an authority on racist thoughts and comments?And how can you tell others what should be considered racist by them? You are wrong every comment was racist and offensive?To me as an American. haven’t we all earn the right to no longer escuse this type of thing.Or to justify it because its not racist to one group of people. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/285 "2009-07-17T00:16:32Z")
> [@antoinefinch](#): > > …May GOD have mercy on us.☹ If we have mercy on each other, divine assistance may not be required. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/286 "2009-07-17T00:18:18Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > My main objection was that: > > “ghetto thug” isn’t racist. > “street trash” isn’t racist. > “typical street whore” isn’t racist > “get her first abortion” isn’t racist. > “America hating Marxist pig” isn’t racist. > “mammy et al” I couldn’t even understand, but now acknowledge as racist. > “monkey noises” was out of left field and had nothing to do with the photo in question. I think it’s pretty funny that someone who’d never heard the word “mammy” before and is ignorant of the use of “monkey” as a slur for people of African descent is setting himself up as the big expert on what is and isn’t racist. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/287 "2009-07-17T01:35:18Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > For the record, this is the first I’m seeing of the actual comments, and I’ll agree, they’re mostly racist. But those weren’t quoted in the article. Now that I see the other photos, the monkey comment makes more sense as well. And if you’ll excuse me, I had assumed you had read the actual Freeper thread, which is obviously racist. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/288 "2009-07-17T02:53:04Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Oh, they’re definitely racist. And mean-sprited assholes. But that’s beside the point. My main objection is that someone called them racist _without providing any evidence of it_. My main objection was that: > > “ghetto thug” isn’t racist. > “street trash” isn’t racist. > “typical street whore” isn’t racist > “get her first abortion” isn’t racist. > “America hating Marxist pig” isn’t racist. > “mammy et al” I couldn’t even understand, but now acknowledge as racist. > “monkey noises” was out of left field and had nothing to do with the photo in question. Let’s try an experiment here. Is the word “Jew” racist? If I said, “Golda Meier is a famous Jew,” would that be a racist statement? Now, if my friend is complaining about money, and I say, “Stop acting like such a Jew,” is that a racist comment? Same word, different contexts. One usage is racist, one isn’t. Context matters. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/289 "2009-07-17T03:05:39Z")
I’ve skimmed the whole thread, but can’t see anyone else pointing out that that symbol is not actually some random ‘peace sign,’ but [the logo of the organisation CND, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.](http://www.cnduk.org/index.php/information/info-sheets/the-cnd-logo.html) Malia Obama doubtless wasn’t aware of that, since it seems none of you are either. CND are happy to let the logo be used by other people (well, usually they are), but it bugs me slightly that so many people are ignorant of its origins. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/290 "2009-07-17T03:06:10Z")
**Chessic’s** arguments amount to about the same thing as saying that white people eat watermelon, and a poll off his coworkers elicits a response that watermelon is a fruit, therefore it would be ridiculous to interpret any comments about black people eating watermelon as racist. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/291 "2009-07-17T03:10:02Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I’ve skimmed the whole thread, but can’t see anyone else pointing out that that symbol is not actually some random ‘peace sign,’ but [the logo of the organisation CND, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.](http://www.cnduk.org/index.php/information/info-sheets/the-cnd-logo.html) > > Malia Obama doubtless wasn’t aware of that, since it seems none of you are either. CND are happy to let the logo be used by other people (well, usually they are), but it bugs me slightly that so many people are ignorant of its origins. Check out posts #20 and #121 of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/292 "2009-07-17T04:10:23Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Check out posts #20 and #121 of this thread. Ah - neither actually mention CND, so I missed it. Good to see that a few people do actually have some idea of the symbol’s origins. Of course, the idiots slamming Malia Obama would probably be even more spiteful if they knew it was the CND logo. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/293 "2009-07-17T07:23:54Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > … “A typical street whore.” “A bunch of ghetto thugs.” “Ghetto street trash.” “Wonder when she will get her first abortion.”… Disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/294 "2009-07-17T21:06:13Z")
**SciFiSam** , while the origin may have been specific, it has long since entered the common parlance as “the peace sign”. Your link admits as much. > [@](#): > > In the United States and much of the rest of the world it is known more broadly as the peace symbol. > [@](#): > > Although specifically designed for the anti-nuclear movement it has quite deliberately never been copyrighted. No one has to pay or to seek permission before they use it. A symbol of freedom, it is free for all. This of course sometimes leads to its use, or misuse, in circumstances that CND and the peace movement find distasteful. It is also often exploited for commercial, advertising or generally fashion purposes. We can’t stop this happening and have no intention of copyrighting it. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/295 "2009-07-17T21:22:26Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > YES!! YES THEY WOULD!! I grew up with a woman down the street that let her house fall into the worst shape of any in the neighborhood. Her windows were covered in plastic, weeds overgrew the sidewalk, she was always strung out on god-knows-what, and had the police over her house all the time, breaking up some fight or another. She was as white as I am. You know what the neighborhood called her? Ghetto street trash. Right, because she IS ghetto. > [@](#): > > This just in: My Korean (by birth) boss weighs in on the subject. She grew up in a ghetto- a real American success story of the pulled-up-by-bootstraps variety. She went to a high school that drew from two very different social strata. The rich kids referred to the poor kids (all of them, including the whites) as, you guessed it, ghetto street trash. > > I showed her the comment where the poster says ghetto=nigger. She said “Wow. That person is…misguided.” > Are you _now_ willing to acknowledge that ghetto != black? ghetto != black but context matters. Would anyone have referred to Meghan McCain as ghetto? If not why not? What makes the joke work with Malia Obama but not with Megan McCain? ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/296 "2009-07-17T21:23:30Z")
**Chessic Sense** What about Malia Obama is ghetto? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/297 "2009-07-17T21:50:57Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > **SciFiSam** , while the origin may have been specific, it has long since entered the common parlance as “the peace sign”. Your link admits as much. Erm, I think you must have missed the bit where I said that CND are happy for the logo to be used by other people. I know it has entered common parlance as ‘the peace sign,’ but that doesn’t mean its origins are irrelevant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011.md?page=14)