# Is the mask in this picture racist? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2012, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967 "2012-09-27T03:52:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/21 "2012-09-27T05:08:59Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Yes, which makes them idiots. But I don’t see how that makes wearing an Obama mask racist. I don’t see any kind of black stereotype in the photo. You don’t think the “birther” movement is rooted in racism? ETA: Wearing an Obama mask is not inherently racist, of course. I took the question to be asking if it’s racist in the context of the scene from the photo. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/22 "2012-09-27T05:47:32Z")
Not racist. It’s making fun of a particular person, who happens to be black. It’s not making fun of black people as a whole. So not racist, but stupid. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/23 "2012-09-27T05:53:35Z")
One weakness of forumers here is they (still) lack confidence in themselves to decide whether or not something is racist or, if they should even give a damn. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/24 "2012-09-27T06:01:26Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Not racist. It’s making fun of a particular person, who happens to be black. It’s not making fun of black people as a whole. So not racist, but stupid. But do you honestly think race has nothing to do with those guys’ feelings about Obama? Portraying him as not a real American, but as a Kenyan with missing teeth, is just about him as an individual? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/25 "2012-09-27T06:07:05Z")
Definitely not racist in this context, no. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Mood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@Blue\_Mood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Mood)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/26 "2012-09-27T06:20:25Z")
Insulting, immature, and stupid. But not racist. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/27 "2012-09-27T08:34:43Z")
Cartoonized masks of the two Bushes, Reagan, Carter and Nixon were even uglier. At worse I’d call those mask wearers dumb or lame but not stupid. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/28 "2012-09-27T09:42:43Z")
Why is it so common to darken depictions of Obama like masks? Also Obama mask looks nothing like the actual man, not even a caricature of him. Most recent president masks back to Kennedy actually do look like the real people. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/29 "2012-09-27T10:06:34Z")
The mask isn’t racist (neither is it a good resemblance or a good caricature), but the guy wearing it appears to be extremely comfortable in the company of morons. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/30 "2012-09-27T12:13:25Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > How do you know that idiot is his buddy? Perhaps it is just an extended series of astonishing coincidences! How do you even know that “Obama” in “Obama stole my shirt” refers to the President? Maybe it refers to his former friend Trevor Obama! Who’s the racist now, hmmmm? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/31 "2012-09-27T12:25:13Z")
This guy is trolling for an accusation of racism, so that he can whip out his clever response (“See, you guys are the real racists! Why are you focusing on Obama’s color rather than the issues? Gotcha!”) In light of that, I’d settle for “in poor taste.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/32 "2012-09-27T12:52:52Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Perhaps it is just an extended series of astonishing coincidences! How do you even know that “Obama” in “Obama stole my shirt” refers to the President? Maybe it refers to his former friend Trevor Obama! Who’s the racist now, hmmmm? With nothing but that picture there’s no way to tell if those two have anything to do with each other. The OP gives the additional information that it’s not just coincidental picture in response to my question. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/33 "2012-09-27T13:26:32Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > If it were a Dubya mask and the sign referred to a town in Texas missing it’s idiot and the guy wearing the mask were black, would it be racist? > > > [@Blackberry](#): > > > > Obama isn’t actually from Kenya, you see. Missed the point > [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > I try to play opposites when determining racism. > > > [@Blackberry](#): > > > > Doesn’t work because things have to be taken in context. I did say it’s something _ **I** _ try to do, and it usually works fine in my own head. It’s not a suggestion for everyone to do it, it’s just what works for me, and in this case there was more to my post, where I said: > [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > but calling them racists would be difficult without more information. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/34 "2012-09-27T13:29:52Z")
> [@Blue\_Mood](#): > > Insulting, immature, and stupid. But not racist. This. Add me into the pile who think the mask was altered for some non-political reason. Guy needed to breathe better, eat/drink/talk/etc.. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/35 "2012-09-27T14:43:16Z")
A single bump for the west-coast daytime crowd… ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/36 "2012-09-27T14:50:26Z")
No, it’s not racist. It’s just a guy wearing a mask of a famous person. Yes, the famous person is black and the person wearing it is white, but that doesn’t make it racist. For the mask to be racist, I’d say it would have to be clearly exaggerating some aspect of Obama that is typically associated with his race, and I just don’t see it. It looks just like a likeness of him and I don’t see it as any different than someone wearing a mask of some other president while protesting him. That said, the person wearing it is probably racist, as indicated by the village in Kenya sign. But would this question be asked if someone was wearing the same mask with signs that were clearly pro-Obama? If the answer to that is no, then the mask itself isn’t racist, jsut the way it’s being used. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/37 "2012-09-27T14:53:45Z")
Funny how the mask makes his neck look red. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/38 "2012-09-27T15:10:35Z")
I don’t see obvious racism. There are two signs conveying stupidity, and a message suggesting poor economic policy. In this context, the stupidity seems to reflect on Obama’s political position rather than his race. It doesn’t tie in to stereotypic portrayals of ignorant black folk (e.g., Stepin Fetchit). The missing teeth might be an attempt to portray stupidity following the hillbilly stereotype, whereas the black stereotype is a full set of glaringly white teeth in a dark face. So while these guys might be racist to some degree, the mask itself doesn’t indicate that. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/39 "2012-09-27T15:16:13Z")
I’m going with “No” because the mask isn’t racist. I is being used by someone who may be a racist. If Hillary Clinton was president, would it be sexist to be critical of her in this fashion? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967/40 "2012-09-27T19:23:52Z")
It’s parody, it’s crude, but it’s not racist. It’s a mask with brown skin intended to portray a guy with brown skin. Don’t make more of it than it is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mask-in-this-picture-racist/635967.md?page=3)