# I Pitt "Piss Obama" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 30, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606 "2012-11-30T20:24:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/61 "2012-12-01T00:11:14Z")
I remember when Piss Christ came out. At the time I thought that it was massively fucking stupid and way more juvenile than shocking. The art students at my college were doing way more shocking and original stuff. Piss Obama is only marginally more fucking stupid and juvenile, if at all. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/62 "2012-12-01T00:13:10Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Have you read the “Book of Famous Jewish Basketball Players”? Got a minute? Actually, there’s a new book out about Jewish sports heros, and the guy talks about how Jewish guys pretty much invented our modern version of the game back in, I don’t know, the 30s or 40s or something. But Baseball was the big Jewish sport (and Boxing). Anyway, times change. Just happened to have heard an interview with the author on NPR last weekend. As for the OP, what makes you thing Beck considers this to be art? He’s an entertainer who nows how to rake in the dough. And he wasn’t using any taxpayer’s money. But he got the attention from you he was looking for!! ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/63 "2012-12-01T00:14:19Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > You know what, I take that back. Some crackpots probably do think Obama is the Messiah. I still think your examples were a poor demonstration of the point you were trying to prove. Only one of them explicitly compared Obama to God, the rest were just art pieces and photographs combining faith with imagery of Obama. I can only lead the horse to water… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/64 "2012-12-01T00:43:02Z")
Horse is probably just worried you’ll get lost. ---
**Author:** ![jordanr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@jordanr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jordanr2)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/65 "2012-12-01T01:45:35Z")
I just find it odd that he seems to think there’s daring social commentary in parodying a half-forgotten work of art from 20 years ago. The real discomfort here is the awkwardness of seeing someone do something hopelessly passé and think he’s got a finger on the pulse of things - I’m reminded of the “cool mom” from _Mean Girls_. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/66 "2012-12-01T02:54:00Z")
His audience remembers it like it were yesterday. They wouldn’t know who U2 was unless they saw a certain movie. Do your best Bill Paxton saying “Game over, man, game over!” they blink in confusion. That a crazy ass liberal artist made a piss Jesus: that they remember. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/67 "2012-12-01T03:19:59Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Wow. I actually thought at least one of those links would prove your point. You poor bastard. Don’t tell me you clicked through each one of those. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/68 "2012-12-01T03:41:41Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > I share **Starving Artist’s** bemusement that some of you genuinely seem to fail to grasp that Beck is obviously doing this as a parody. Piss Christ is not intended as an insult to Christ or Christianity. It’s intended to be a statement about the way that society disrespects Christ and (metaphorically) saying, “Hey - you wouldn’t want to see Jesus covered in piss, right? Well stop pissing all over His message.” Unless Beck is implying that he’s angry at society for not being more respectful of Obama and his plans, then Beck is a moron and his “parody” misses the mark. Ditto for those of you who didn’t know this and are trying to defend Beck’s stupidity. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/69 "2012-12-01T04:04:59Z")
> [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](#): > > Good rant - but Marilyn Manson was pretty much a straight rip - off of Alison Cooper, who pre-dated them by at least a decade. _Alice_ Cooper predated Marilyn Manson by three decades. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/70 "2012-12-01T04:28:44Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Don’t know why it’s always the cranks on the right who equate Obama with Christ. > [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Geez, it’s like you guys have never heard of parody. > > From Wiki: “… in current use, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on or trivialise an **original work** , its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of satiric or ironic imitation” Soooo, you’re saying Beck was trying to mock the original Piss Christ? I’m not sure you understand what Beck was doing (but to be fair - neither did he) or what parody is. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/71 "2012-12-01T04:34:26Z")
At least Beck gets paid for this nonsense. Can you imagine how shitty Terr’s life is that he has to do it for free? ---
**Author:** ![cutman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@cutman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cutman74)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/72 "2012-12-01T04:53:51Z")
" I always thought that art was just short for Arthur" - George Harrison ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/73 "2012-12-01T15:45:30Z")
> [@bup](#): > > This is kind of a nitpick, but also part of the awesomeness. > > Glenn Beck’s piece is call _Obama in Pee Pee_. > > Not Piss. _Pee pee_. > > I think it’s a good attempt at satire. Ultimately, his point is stupid (nudity[sup]1[/sup] and yucky stuff isn’t art! see how you like it!) but whatever. > > Actually, if he did succeed in offending you with his 7-year-old-boy’s sense of what’s offensive (pee pee!), maybe his point isn’t off. But did he titter uncontrollably when he said it? ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/74 "2012-12-01T15:54:09Z")
Actually, it is not bad art-it has a theme, it expresses the theme, and is an honest use of materials. The message is perhaps not one that most would appreciate-but that is athe purpose of art-isn’t it? Yes, its not as profound a piece as a Rembrandt, but is does get a point across-and it’s edgy.I cannot see why a NYC art gallery would not display such a work. Plus, its a 1st amendment right-it should not be supressed. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/75 "2012-12-01T16:31:14Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > _Alice_ Cooper predated Marilyn Manson by three decades. And the Grand Guignol was 70 years before Alice Cooper. And gruesome revenge plays were a staple in Restoration England. Curious about all the outrage, Groucho Marx and Mae West went to an Alice Cooper concert. More than being entertained, which they were, they also enjoyed the validation of their own careers. Alice Cooper was pulling the same strings that they’d pulled years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/76 "2012-12-01T16:45:16Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Actually, it is not bad art-it has a theme, it expresses the theme, and is an honest use of materials. The message is perhaps not one that most would appreciate-but that is athe purpose of art-isn’t it? Yes, its not as profound a piece as a Rembrandt, but is does get a point across-and it’s edgy.I cannot see why a NYC art gallery would not display such a work. Plus, its a 1st amendment right-it should not be supressed. Why, **ralph** , I never would have taken you for a fan of “Piss Christ”. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/77 "2012-12-01T17:08:20Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Actually, it is not bad art-it has a theme, it expresses the theme, and is an honest use of materials. The message is perhaps not one that most would appreciate-but that is athe purpose of art-isn’t it? Yes, its not as profound a piece as a Rembrandt, but is does get a point across-and it’s edgy.I cannot see why a NYC art gallery would not display such a work. Plus, its a 1st amendment right-it should not be supressed. Nobody’s trying to suppress “Pee-Pee Obama”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/78 "2012-12-01T17:24:03Z")
I’m going to go against the consensus here. I actually think it’s a relatively clever piece of satire. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/79 "2012-12-01T17:54:39Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > You poor bastard. > > Don’t tell me you clicked through each one of those. I’ve learned my lesson. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606/80 "2012-12-01T18:19:50Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Actually, it is not bad art-it has a theme, it expresses the theme, and is an honest use of materials. Using beer and calling it “pee-pee” is honest? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pitt-piss-obama/642606.md?page=5)