Is naming a black dog Obama racist?

[Simplicio]

@Anduril

No, I don’t know that already so please explain. I’m not American so I’m not all that familiar with the subtext. My position right now is “what’s good for the goose should be good for the gander” unless I’m missing something. (I’m not feigning ignorance here)

Segregation and the Civil Rights movement is still easily within living memory here, and people remain very sensitive of symbols from the time period that were used to make blacks appear simple and sub-human. Blacks as monkey imagery was (and still is in certain unsavory parts) popular amongst racists to taunt blacks for being “less evolved” and the association of blacks charicatured as monkeys with racists is strong enough that even if you’re legitimately trying to make fun of some other aspect of a black persons persona, people are going to assume that you’re aware of the racist overtones and that thats at least part of the idea your trying to communicate.

Its sorta like if you drew a charactature of Bernie Madoff with a comically long nose and have him hugging a bag of money. The guy does have a decent sized nose, and he certainly liked money, but its impossible not to read such a cartoon as anti-semetic simply because so many similar cartoons of Jews were used by anti-semites prior to WWII.

[Anduril]

Gotcha! Thanks.

[even_sven]

It may not be racist, but it’s something that doesn’t translate across cultures well and probably doesn’t belong in the workplace. From my experiences in China, I can say discourse about race is a very different thing there. It’s a much less diverse society, and I think people have less experience with the need to be sensitive to these things.

@Anduril

My position right now is “what’s good for the goose should be good for the gander” unless I’m missing something. (I’m not feigning ignorance here)

If you think about it, this doesn’t make sense. If I called my female boss a “castrating bitch” it’d be a grave insult. If I called my male boss that, it’d be so baffling that it’d probably end up being amusing

[Enuma_Elish]

When you are elected President of the United States, you immediately give up any possibility of being insulted by anyone naming their dog after you. In fact, if no-one ever named their dog after you this would be an indication that you were a complete loser as a president because you never held any views or established any policies that offended anyone.

Consider it a badge of honor and STOP BEING SO HYPERSENSITIVE! I may not agree with President Obama on everything, but he IS my president and he can take every bit as much shit as every other president.

[Tim_T-Bonham.net]

@Mozart1220

@panache45

One of my college housemates in the 60s had a big black dog named “Nigger.” The dog managed to get outside, and the girl was too embarrassed to go out yelling the dog’s name. She never saw it again.

You must really get around, because I heard that story from a friend of my brother’s, except he spoke of a man who did this.

It’s a pretty old ‘urban legend’.

And it’s just plain inaccurate, anyway. Dogs (and other animals) do not understand the specific words used, but go by tone & syllables and recognition of the voice. So if this person had gone around the neighborhood calling “dog-gie!” instead of “nig-ger!”, the dog would have responded just as well.

[bubba_jr]

@Anduril

@Diogenes_the_Cynic

With Obama, it’s only because of his race and nothing else. He does not have a simian appearance, nor does he exhibit stupidity or cluelessness.

Well, to me at least, he does look like a chimp and he does exhibit stupidity and cluelessness. Why should it be racist to call Obama a chimp if calling Bush the same name is NOT racist?

Because RACISM is over. We have a self proclaimed “black” president(he’s really a mixed breed mutt like most of us americans), so now we all have to tiptoe around any little bit of possibly inferred racism like it was a nuclear bomb on a hair trigger.

When we all called Bush a monkey, it was funny, I’ve even got a copy of clueless george goes to war, ‘Curious George’. No problem there, and I’ve never seen a white monkey.

So clueless George #2 comes along, why can’t we call him a monkey? he’s at least the right color. He’s got big monkey ears, he speaks much better but still spews the same BS out of his mouth.

To the OP, ITS THE NAME OF A DOG!! How can the name of a dog be racist. If the namer of the BLACK dog was BLACK it would be OK right?

I named my dog Ginger because of her color, pink nose, pink lips and skin, orange hair, and she might be tasty in a ginger sauce if I was so inclined. Does that mean I hate red heads? Or is that OK because I’m a red head? Or is that all thrown out the window because it doesn’t matter because I’m white???

When does this “racist” hypersensitivity stop? A BLACK, colored, negro etc… man was voted president of the United States of America, the most powerful man in the free world!!!

What the f**k more do you want? What more proof do you need that skin color just doesn’t matter?

Apparently now we have to be careful how we name our dogs based on their fur color, and the skin color of the person naming the dog. Maybe I should take the OP to task since I’ve been chewed here for mentioning that someone was a Mexican. But I guess mentioning stereotypically successful races and their behavior is OK.

If you really want something racist, besides the name of a dog with black hair, here…

Q: What would George Washington say if he was alive today?

A: If I had known it was going to be this bad, I would have picked the cotton myself.

That right there is racist. Naming a black furred dog after a president/admired person is not.

[Tim_T-Bonham.net]

@bubba_jr

When we all called Bush a monkey, it was funny, I’ve even got a copy of clueless george goes to war, ‘Curious George’. No problem there, and I’ve never seen a white monkey.

Here’s a picture for you!

[Mozart1220]

@t-bonham@scc.net

@Mozart1220

You must really get around, because I heard that story from a friend of my brother’s, except he spoke of a man who did this.

It’s a pretty old ‘urban legend’.

And it’s just plain inaccurate, anyway. Dogs (and other animals) do not understand the specific words used, but go by tone & syllables and recognition of the voice. So if this person had gone around the neighborhood calling “dog-gie!” instead of “nig-ger!”, the dog would have responded just as well.

Which is pretty much what I was a sayin’

[panache45]

@Mozart1220

@panache45

One of my college housemates in the 60s had a big black dog named “Nigger.” The dog managed to get outside, and the girl was too embarrassed to go out yelling the dog’s name. She never saw it again.

You must really get around, because I heard that story from a friend of my brother’s, except he spoke of a man who did this.

This was a girl who went to Ohio State in 1968.

[Mozart1220]

@panache45

@Mozart1220

You must really get around, because I heard that story from a friend of my brother’s, except he spoke of a man who did this.

This was a girl who went to Ohio State in 1968.

Well, that proves it’s true then. Case closed.
I guess my question to the OP would be, why would you name a dog “Obama” in the first place unless it was meant as an insult of some sort to the president racist or not?

[Gala_Matrix_Fire]

“Nigger” was a pretty common name for dogs until about the 1970s. I hope that’s not the part of the anecdote that is in doubt.

[whereismymind]

hahaha. I think it’s great. Who cares if she gets shit for it? I bet she can handle herself. Ask her.

[Hilarity_N.Suze]

We named a cat after a president. He’s an alley cat (well, actually I think he is a very valuable cat, and I’m sorry for whoever let him get away). Hail to The Chief! How disrespectful was that?

[Hilarity_N.Suze]

@panache45

One of my college housemates in the 60s had a big black dog named “Nigger.” The dog managed to get outside, and the girl was too embarrassed to go out yelling the dog’s name. She never saw it again.

I once rode to glory (barrel racing) on a horse with the same name, also in the '60s. His owner had broken her ankle but she wanted him to compete. Even then, in redneck country, she got some flack for that name, as she should have. WHY did she name him that? Because of an old book she read as a kid, called Nigger and Nine Lives, about a horse and a cat. (I assume the cat was “nine lives.”) That’s what she said; I never heard of that book.

[Mozart1220]

@Gala_Matrix_Fire

“Nigger” was a pretty common name for dogs until about the 1970s. I hope that’s not the part of the anecdote that is in doubt.

Funny, I lived in an all white small town, and I never actually knew anyone who named their dog that. It was always a story about someone else.

And why name a dog “Obama” anyway if you had even 1% respect for the man, no matter what color he is?