# Is the London Olympic Logo Racist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 28, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994 "2011-02-28T23:58:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [March 1, 2011, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/21 "2011-03-01T04:26:22Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I’ve heard the logo described as “Lisa Simpson giving a blowjob”, _\_ I can see that. My other interpretation would be that it’s a symbolic representation of the Olympics somehow calling down lightning on London. Perhaps in retribution for those mascots. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/22 "2011-03-01T04:34:26Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I’ve heard the logo described as “Lisa Simpson giving a blowjob”, but the charge of racism is a new one on me… Crap. I will never be able to unsee this. I would never have picked Zion or Lisa Simpson or 2012 out of that logo without being prompted. It’s a mess. And those mascots look like they came from the same brain as the [Greendale Community College Human Beings.](http://poopsmcgeee.deviantart.com/art/greendale-human-being-194220818) ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/23 "2011-03-01T05:06:41Z")
The whole thing seems bizarrely sexual. Lisa Simpson blow job and the teletubby inspired Hentai styled mascots with the gloryhole for a face. Or is that just all a face.needs? One rounded toothless hole. It is the XXX OLYMPICS. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/24 "2011-03-01T05:17:31Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > You think THAT’S ugly? > > Have a look at the terrifying, soul-devouring mascots, drawn from an alternate dimension of twisted time and impossible space: > > [London’s Olympic Mascots](http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/olympics/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/London-unveils-creepy-looking-mascots-for-2012-O?urn=oly-242206) they made a one-eyed trouser trout into a mascot? Will the official Olympic doll come with “C” cell batteries? ---
**Author:** ![New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Deal_Democrat)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/25 "2011-03-01T05:25:29Z")
Should we care? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/26 "2011-03-01T08:28:36Z")
Surely it says ZOIN, not ZION? Even if it did say ZION, so what? Jews don’t have a monopoly on it, ask any Rastafarian. Huh, Zoroastrian was in the spell-checker, but not Rastafarian? Weird. > [@RickJay](#): > > You think THAT’S ugly? > > Have a look at the terrifying, soul-devouring mascots, drawn from an alternate dimension of twisted time and impossible space: > > [London’s Olympic Mascots](http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/olympics/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/London-unveils-creepy-looking-mascots-for-2012-O?urn=oly-242206) Yaah! Kill them! Kill them with FIRE! ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/27 "2011-03-01T10:26:21Z")
The logo and mascots have done the job I see. STILL being discussed, years after unveiling. I quite like the mascots though. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/28 "2011-03-01T10:53:10Z")
If the government was smart and/or not irredeemably corrupt it would have had a public competition for both logos and mascots. The BBC ran one and several of the logos were _miles_ better than the actual one. (Of course, they also had a goatse-inspired one that made it into the final 12 until the sound of the entirety of the internet snickering at them clued them in). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/29 "2011-03-01T11:08:42Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The logo and mascots have done the job I see. STILL being discussed, years after unveiling. I quite like the mascots though. Actually, in the animated \*video \*at that link, where they’re these silvery pocket-sized toys within a story, they work quite well. But the \*picture \*accompanying the article, which I take it are people in suits, made me want to take off for orbit, as it were. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/30 "2011-03-01T11:13:29Z")
I can sort of see what’s happened with the thought-process behind the mascots, there. Typically, with a mascot, you’d go with something fuzzy that would bumble about trying to be endearing for photographs and generally getting in everyone’s way. But, of course, London’s already _got_ Boris, so they’ve had to make more of an imaginative stretch. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/31 "2011-03-01T11:17:31Z")
Meh, not as good as a news outlet [thinking that Pedobear was an official Olympic mascot.](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7187027/Polish-newspaper-claims-Pedobear-is-2010-Vancouver-Olympic-mascot.html) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/32 "2011-03-01T11:27:56Z")
> [@Assi](#): > > I’d support a logo of Moohamud fucking Grimace if it upset them in any way. This is where you fall into Ahmedinejad’s trap. He doesn’t give a crap about the logo. He’s just playing to his public. He’s not upset in the least. Thais is exactly the kind of bullshit he rides on. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/33 "2011-03-01T12:32:55Z")
You do realize that there has not been a peep on this issue by Ahmedinejad one way or another and the protest was made by some official of the Iran Olympic Committee? Unless of course you think all Iranians are automatons and they take directions from Ahmedinejad, THAT would be exceptionally racists (and par for the course for the Dope but thats another story) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/34 "2011-03-01T12:36:46Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > You do realize that there has not been a peep on this issue by Ahmedinejad one way or another and the protest was made by some official of the Iran Olympic Committee? > > Unless of course you think all Iranians are automatons and they take directions from Ahmedinejad, THAT would be exceptionally racists (and par for the course for the Dope but thats another story) Of course we don’t think that. That would be silly. They take directions from Ali Khamenei. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/35 "2011-03-01T12:48:55Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > You do realize that there has not been a peep on this issue by Ahmedinejad one way or another and the protest was made by some official of the Iran Olympic Committee? > > Unless of course you think all Iranians are automatons and they take directions from Ahmedinejad, THAT would be exceptionally racists (and par for the course for the Dope but thats another story) Actually, I haven’t read any of the stories and have been going by only what I read in this thread. When I read the OP’s mention of “Iran,” I automatically assumed Ahmedinejad, because I naturally assumed that if someone in Iran was being reported as saying something demagogic, inflammatory, and irrational, then it would be Ahmedinejad. That’s not racism. If you want to accuse me of a bias against Ahmedinejad, go ahead. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/36 "2011-03-01T13:25:09Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > You do realize that there has not been a peep on this issue by Ahmedinejad one way or another and the protest was made by some official of the Iran Olympic Committee? > > Unless of course you think all Iranians are automatons and they take directions from Ahmedinejad, THAT would be exceptionally racists (and par for the course for the Dope but thats another story) I think people are assuming that Iranian government officials take directions from the head of the Iranian government. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/37 "2011-03-01T13:38:01Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I think people are assuming that Iranian government officials take directions from the head of the Iranian government. Racist! ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/38 "2011-03-01T13:45:33Z")
Can someone explain to me what the logo is supposed to be anyway (dont bother with the Lisa Simpson blowing her bro explanation, I’ve already seen it)? I thought it looked like the UK after a nuclear bombs rain. ---
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/39 "2011-03-01T13:57:33Z")
Talk about ridiculous. It’s supposed to be “2012” ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/40 "2011-03-01T14:02:30Z")
> [@Waxwinged](#): > > Talk about ridiculous. It’s supposed to be “2012” Wow, heavy drug use during the design phase I guess, then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994.md?page=3)