# 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:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/81 "2009-07-15T15:53:19Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > First, “ghetto” is code for “nigger.” The hell it is. Have you never heard an Irish Jew referred to as “ghetto”? Have you not heard white trash referred to as “ghetto trash”? Ghetto insults know no skin color. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/82 "2009-07-15T15:56:37Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Why has Bristol earned the right to have tasteless jokes said about her? Because she fucked her HS boyfriend and got knocked up while her Mom was a politician? She certainly hasn’t earned the right to be called a slut, whore, or most of the other more unpleasant names she’s had tossed at her here. She _has_ earned the right to be criticized (for promoting abstinence-only education after publicly admitting that it doesn’t work). > [@](#): > > And statutory rape is rape It’s certainly no less horrible than rape, but it’s not the same. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/83 "2009-07-15T15:59:48Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > The hell it is. Have you never heard an Irish Jew referred to as “ghetto”? Have you not heard white trash referred to as “ghetto trash”? Ghetto insults know no skin color. Irish Jew: No, but that, at least, has a historical connection (“ghetto” was the Jewish enclave in Venice (?)). White trash: No, not really, unless it was in connection to some supposedly “black” behavior or clothing or hairstyle. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/84 "2009-07-15T16:00:25Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Have you never heard an Irish Jew referred to as “ghetto”? Have you not heard white trash referred to as “ghetto trash”? Ghetto insults know no skin color. I sure haven’t. It looks like you’re being incredibly dense. Do you have an explanation for how the mammy comment isn’t racist? ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/85 "2009-07-15T16:02:52Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > The hell it is. Have you never heard an Irish Jew referred to as “ghetto”? Have you not heard white trash referred to as “ghetto trash”? Ghetto insults know no skin color. Okay. the ‘Is he really that stupid?’ question has been nailed. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/86 "2009-07-15T16:06:47Z")
And for that matter, how would the other meaning of ghetto apply to the Obamas anyway? Are they known for looking trashy? For being poor? I thought they were supposed to be elitist liberals from a tony Hyde Park neighborhood. That’s not exactly the ghetto. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/87 "2009-07-15T16:16:23Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > And for that matter, how would the other meaning of ghetto apply to the Obamas anyway? Are they known for looking trashy? For being poor? I thought they were supposed to be elitist liberals from a tony Hyde Park neighborhood. That’s not exactly the ghetto. Yes, I would agree that’s why it’s clearly racist in intent. It makes the assumption that there is something about them other than their actual living circumstances that makes them “ghetto.” The area of Hyde Park they live in is pretty frickin’ nice. The kind of houses you drive by and think, “GOD I would love to have a house like that some day,” but you know you probably never will. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/88 "2009-07-15T16:16:26Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > And for that matter, how would the other meaning of ghetto apply to the Obamas anyway? Are they known for looking trashy? For being poor? I thought they were supposed to be elitist liberals from a tony Hyde Park neighborhood. That’s not exactly the ghetto. In this case Ghetto means Nigger. There is no doubt about that, the Obamas are High Class black people, so the connotation is that all black people are ‘Ghetto’. The idea that wearing a peace symbol on your shirt is ghetto is beyond ludicrous. They were just looking for an excuse to bitch about the niggers in the white house. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/89 "2009-07-15T16:28:40Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > In this case Ghetto means Nigger. There is no doubt about that, the Obamas are High Class black people, so the connotation is that all black people are ‘Ghetto’. The idea that wearing a peace symbol on your shirt is ghetto is beyond ludicrous. They were just looking for an excuse to bitch about the niggers in the white house. This. And I’m amazed some in this thread are seemingly blind to it. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/90 "2009-07-15T16:36:48Z")
> [@kenner116](#): > > Only two thousand five hundred and forty seven more days, Dio. So, she’s the new Olsen Twins, then ? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/91 "2009-07-15T16:41:20Z")
Oh, I totally missed that joke. **kenner** wins the thread. ---
**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 15, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/92 "2009-07-15T16:51:37Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > The hell it is. Have you never heard an Irish Jew referred to as “ghetto”? Have you not heard white trash referred to as “ghetto trash”? Ghetto insults know no skin color. So Denial really isn’t just a club in McMaynerberry? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/93 "2009-07-15T17:00:16Z")
Its a bit odd, culture-wise. The peace symbol has distinctly “hippy” connotations, and black people were not friendly, by and large. Not actively hostile, mind, but cool, distant, and mistrustful. Had a friend, part black, part Sioux, all mixed up, but accepted by black people as being black. He would buy a pound of weed in the Haight, catch a bus to the Fillmore, and sell it for 4 or 5 times what he paid, lather rinse repeat. Because black guys wouldn’t trust hippies, even when they _knew_ the whole deal. Didn’t understand it then, don’t now. Peace, Malia. You bring hope. You \*are \*hope. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/94 "2009-07-15T17:04:01Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > And for that matter, how would the other meaning of ghetto apply to the Obamas anyway? Are they known for looking trashy? For being poor? I thought they were supposed to be elitist liberals from a tony Hyde Park neighborhood. That’s not exactly the ghetto. However, they are clearly Irish white trash. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/95 "2009-07-15T17:22:39Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > The hell it is. Have you never heard an Irish Jew referred to as “ghetto”? Have you not heard white trash referred to as “ghetto trash”? Ghetto insults know no skin color. Count me an another person who’s never heard those particular insults. I’ve been in the United States for eight years now, and i have heard the word “ghetto” used in basically two ways: 1. It’s original, historical sense as an area of a city where a particular minority group lives or is confined. Used as a noun. 2. As a term for social and cultural practices and objects associated with black people. Used as an adjective. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/96 "2009-07-15T17:36:01Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > If so, how should we vest her to placate the bellicose? “Ayatollah Ass-a-hola” far predates her birth; “Bomb Saddam” is likewise obsolete, and nothing much rhymes with “Ahmadinejad”… maybe “You’re **SCREWED** , Mahmoud!!” (with a fiercely scowling eagle dropping a nuke from his talons, of course.) …Scrambles off to find Cafe Press Account. ---
**Author:** ![lalenin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@lalenin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lalenin)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/97 "2009-07-15T17:57:03Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Yeah, I was wondering about that myself. He made a fairly nuanced and reasoned post in Great Debates and I couldn’t wrap my mind around the cognitive dissonance. It’s interesting that he took the name of one of the most detestable cold-warriors around. The human race is lucky that we had people like Albert Wohlstetter to save us from monsters like Curtis LeMay. Sorry for the hijack, but I had not heard of LeMay until this thread. I looked up his wikipedia entry and I don’t get why he would be considered a monster. Is it because of the bombing campaigns he conducted? Or is wikipedia leaving something out? ---
**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 15, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/98 "2009-07-15T17:59:00Z")
> [@buttonjockey308](#): > > …Scrambles off to find Cafe Press Account. Let’s be fair–Ayatolla Assholla works on ANY ayatolla! ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/99 "2009-07-15T18:00:09Z")
> [@lalenin](#): > > Sorry for the hijack, but I had not heard of LeMay until this thread. I looked up his wikipedia entry and I don’t get why he would be considered a monster. Is it because of the bombing campaigns he conducted? Or is wikipedia leaving something out? It’s mostly because his view on things was to bomb the shit out of it and ask questions later. Mainly he was overruled, so his full Monster flag was not really allowed to fly. It’s not so much what he did do, but what he wanted to do that made him so scary. If he’d had his way we would’ve nuked the Soviet Union in the 50s. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011/100 "2009-07-15T18:10:26Z")
Look up Operation Rolling Thunder in Vietnam sometime - LeMay’s stated goal was to “bomb them back into the Stone Age”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freepers-make-racist-attacks-on-malia-obama-for-wearing-a-peace-sign-t-shirt/503011.md?page=6)