# 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:** 4
**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:** [March 1, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/61 "2011-03-01T19:53:19Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > LIKE THIS; HIGHLIGHT FOR DETAILS. By adding in non-capitalized, white colored text. Oooh…that’s tricky! > [@acsenray](#): > > The three exclamation marks were insufficiently … exclamatory? Well, I was going for an effect, ya know? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/62 "2011-03-01T20:03:36Z")
I thought the first 2–with the word “London” at the bottom–was supposed to be a stylized map of England. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/63 "2011-03-01T20:27:54Z")
Not racist, of course, unless you’re an Iranian despot aiming to deflect attention from other matters, but honestly, is there anyone on the planet who actually likes this thing, other than the designer and the committee which selected it? It screams ugly at you unless you have your head so far up your pretentious ass that you can’t hear it. In fact I detest it so that I almost wish the Iranians well in their campaign to get rid of it. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/64 "2011-03-01T20:31:59Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > And some graphic designer probably got a small mint for it. I don’t think it’s a great logo either, but still I think he should have at least got a whole box of mints for it. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/65 "2011-03-01T20:41:35Z")
Re: the Lisa Simpson angle. In the past I’ve seen the person on the left as not having a head, but I just noticed that if he does have a head that head is shaped disturbingly like Bart’s. > **[Iran threatens 2012 boycott, says logo is racist](https://www.espn.com/olympics/news/story?id=6167220)** > > Iran objects to the logo for the 2012 London Olympics, contending it is racist because it resembles the word "Zion" and warning of a possible boycott of the games. Anyway. Ugly logo. Stupid Iran. Silly mascots. Does anyone have an explanation for the little mark in the center? An explanation not involving anatomy, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/66 "2011-03-01T20:43:44Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Does anyone have an explanation for the little mark in the center? An explanation not involving anatomy, that is. Maybe it’s the hyphen in 20- 12 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/67 "2011-03-01T21:20:14Z")
If this crappy logo won, can you imagine what the reject pile must look like? I am sure the Iranians could find all sorts of Zionist propaganda there. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/68 "2011-03-01T21:22:38Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Re: the Lisa Simpson angle. In the past I’ve seen the person on the left as not having a head, but I just noticed that if he does have a head that head is shaped disturbingly like Bart’s. > [http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=6167220](http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=6167220) > > Anyway. Ugly logo. Stupid Iran. Silly mascots. Does anyone have an explanation for the little mark in the center? An explanation not involving anatomy, that is. You’re not alone… https://www.youtube.com/embed/I8lKiBIhidQ?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Chupacabras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Chupacabras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chupacabras)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/69 "2011-03-01T21:24:10Z")
I say let the Iranians stay home. They don’t deserve international attention for stupid shit like this. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/70 "2011-03-01T21:42:15Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I think as well as being 2012 it could also be a stylized continental map. 2=North America, 0=Eurasia, 1= South America, 2=Africa. So, fuck Australia, I guess. ---
**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, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/71 "2011-03-01T21:47:07Z")
Yeah, Fuck Australia! I’m down with that! … Uh … What were we talking about, now? ---
**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:** [March 1, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/72 "2011-03-01T21:52:17Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > So, fuck Australia, I guess. Maybe the dot IS Australia? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/73 "2011-03-01T22:04:29Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Maybe the dot IS Australia? That’s what I assumed. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/74 "2011-03-01T23:01:01Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Huh. I wonder about the timing of this. The logo has been around since 2007 and not a peep. Then on the same day the government acknowledges opposition leaders [Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi](http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Iran-Opposition-Site-Mousavi-and-Karroubi-Arrested-117080883.html) have been jailed, along with their wives, suddenly Iran’s National Olympic Committee makes a stink about the logo. > This looks to me like an attempt to distract people from the bigger story. Well, it won’t work. Jailing political opposition? That’s an internal matter. But insulting our 1980’s throwback hipster logo? Now you’ve gone too far! Tonight we go to war! > [@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) Oh, whatever, they’re cute. > [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Didn’t The Doctor sent them packing back to their home planet in the last Series? 😃 Note that he didn’t set them on fire. > [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The logo and mascots have done the job I see. STILL being discussed, years after unveiling. I quite like the mascots though. Clearly a man of taste. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/75 "2011-03-01T23:03:51Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > 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. Whatever. I have watched a lot of tokusatsu; they feel like they’d be at home in a Power Rangers episode. > [@gravitycrash](#): > > Not being able to watch the Iranian beach volleyball team makes me a sad panda. > Fortunately the other female volleyball teams will still be there. Or as the Iranian beach volleyball team. \>\_\< ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/76 "2011-03-01T23:11:00Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > The Olympics should make you happy. Not full of hate. The Olympics have been about politics from day one, with a long and storied history of cheats, swindlers, racism, violence, boycotts and sanctions, not to mention Avery Brundage’s Nazi sympathies and blatant anti-Semitism. This is nothing more than a continuing tradition, it’s certainly nothing new. If the Olympics make anybody happy it’s in spite of them, not because of them. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/77 "2011-03-01T23:19:20Z")
I must be a sap, because the Wenlock & Mandeville origin video at [this link](http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/olympics/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/London-unveils-creepy-looking-mascots-for-2012-O?urn=oly-242206) got e tearing up a little. > [@jjimm](#): > > Oh noes! It’s part of the protocols of the Elders of ZO-IZ. I think you mean ZIOR. Or ZIO’2, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/78 "2011-03-01T23:45:19Z")
If it’s too late to send in Stuxnet to sabotage the logo, I vote for jailing its designers, along with their wives. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/79 "2011-03-02T00:32:18Z")
You have to be predisposed to seeing a Zionist logo. It is like religious people who see faces of Jesus in a piece of toast or a shadow of Virgin Mary on the wall of a church. You can see what you want if you try hard enough and want to. But it isn’t there. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994/80 "2011-03-02T00:49:16Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > 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) Oh my lord! :eek: Someone has been cross-breeding Teletubbies with the Great Race of Yith. > [@Ogre](#): > > Yeah, but then, what the crap is that giant dot? A land bridge between S. America and Africa? The Canary Islands? A huge supertanker? The Kraken? What?! Well… given the Great Race connection I’m tending towards guessing that it represents sunken R’lyeh. We need to alert the Laundry that Case Nightmare Green might be happening at the 2012 Olympics. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-london-olympic-logo-racist/572994.md?page=5)