# "Obama is a chimp" Tea Party Republican is sorry if anyone was offended by her harmless satire. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 30, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320 "2011-04-30T21:53:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/101 "2011-05-01T20:36:15Z")
The correct answer to teh question was no, the left did not make racist attacks on Condi Rice. Shodan’s links wer fatuous attempts by righties to pretend to see racist intent where none existed. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/102 "2011-05-01T20:38:53Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > …What humilations have you and your ancestors “gotten over”, praytell, that would make your opinion mean squat to anyone? I come from a long line of people portrayed as dumb and stubborn. Run with it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/103 "2011-05-01T20:38:58Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Okay. I don’t get why this is racist. I don’t get why this is the worst thing you can caricature a black person as, comparable to a Jew eating a baby. It’s like everybody here is saying that Obama’s image will somehow be more damaged by being satirized as a chimp than Bush’s image would have been. It’s disrespectful in either case, but we supposedly have free speech here and the freedom to make fun of our elected officials, including the top guy. And he IS the top guy and I’m sure he can take care of himself without the help of a bunch of idiots on a message board. > > If I were going to caricature Obama as the worst thing I could think of, I would pick something specific to him, not some old, tired, used-up insult from the '40s. Probably make him look like Bush. Portraying Bush as looking like a monkey only made fun of Bush. Portraying Obama and his parents as chimps insults _all black people_ as sub human. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/104 "2011-05-01T20:47:24Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I come from a long line of people portrayed as dumb and stubborn. But this thread is about race, not your family. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/105 "2011-05-01T20:52:27Z")
Since nobody has suggested that it be illegal to characterize Obama as an ape, there’s no free speech issue here. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/106 "2011-05-01T20:55:23Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > **Shodan** , do you think that the term “house Negro” is an intrinsically racist one? It depends, apparently. Coming from Sharpton, apparently not, which is what I said originally. Interestingly, “house nigga” is also OK. (I don’t know if Rall is white or not - it doesn’t seem to matter). And of course calling a black woman a “mammy” and a shoe shine girl. That’s not racist at all - no sir. _:shrugs:_ Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/107 "2011-05-01T20:58:19Z")
[Cracked.com - America's Only Humor Site | Cracked.com](http://www.cracked.com/funny-3809-internet-argument-techniques/) (#8) ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/108 "2011-05-01T21:24:06Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It depends, apparently. Coming from Sharpton, apparently not, which is what I said originally. You don’t see so yourself that it depends upon who says it, and for what reasons? That words don’t carry context-free _connotations_? ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/109 "2011-05-01T21:40:39Z")
Communications 101. Context is everything. But even at face value, the “apparently it’s OK!” argument is rubbish. Many African Americans hate that other African Americans use those words and expressions; they are often publicly rebuked for doing so. It’s complete cherry picking to say that so-and-so “can” say it and so-and-so “can’t.” The reality is that any public figure making racist remarks or using loaded language is going to get some blowback. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/110 "2011-05-01T22:04:05Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > This reminds me of Palin and her assasination jokes. All good satire, right? > [@gonzomax](#): > > Not familiar with them. Did they get much play? I saw nothing about it. > But if you are a fan and especially sensitive, you might have thought they were a big deal when the rest did not notice. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Is this a whoosh? Afraid I don’t get the reference either, and “Palin assassination jokes” brings up a bunch of sites talking about her map with the crosshairs/surveyor’s marks on it, which I don’t think was intended as a joke. There is [this](http://www.torontosun.com/news/world/2010/08/12/15008731.html), talking about a “New Hampshire Democratic state lawmaker” who resigned after making a “Sarah Palin death joke,” but to find out the lawmaker’s name (and presumably, the joke) would require a back issue purchase from the Toronto Sun. A local-interest story, I assume, which ran day and night on Fox News for a few days? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/111 "2011-05-01T22:31:17Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Afraid I don’t get the reference either, and “Palin assassination jokes” brings up a bunch of sites talking about her map with the crosshairs/surveyor’s marks on it, which I don’t think was intended as a joke. > > There is [this](http://www.torontosun.com/news/world/2010/08/12/15008731.html), talking about a “New Hampshire Democratic state lawmaker” who resigned after making a “Sarah Palin death joke,” but to find out the lawmaker’s name (and presumably, the joke) would require a back issue purchase from the Toronto Sun. A local-interest story, I assume, which ran day and night on Fox News for a few days? Timothy Horrigan. > **[New Hampshire State Representative RESIGNS After Speculating About Sarah...](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/new-hampshire-state-repre_n_680273)** > > New Hampshire State Representative RESIGNS After Speculating About Sarah Palin's Death > [@](#): > > I don’t wish Sarah Palin dead … but not merely for compassionate reasons…Well a dead Palin wd be even more dangerous than a live one…she is all about her myth & if she was dead she cldn’t commit any more gaffes," Horrigan wrote Wednesday on Facebook, according to New Hampshire’s Union Leader. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/112 "2011-05-01T22:45:38Z")
Well, I wouldn’t use the term personally, and I don’t even hold with the kind of identity-politics view that it’s tied to–but I don’t see “house Negro,” or variants, as racist. They describe a black person who has adopted a certain posture relative to a dominant white culture, or to a specific white power structure. Whether or not it’s fair, or useful, to use as a descriptor for some black people, I understand what it means, and it is never a commentary on black people generally. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/113 "2011-05-01T22:59:31Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > If I were going to caricature Obama as the worst thing I could think of, I would pick something specific to him, not some old, tired, used-up insult from the '40s. Probably make him look like Bush. It isn’t about Obama. That is a missile aimed at a _black man_, not Obama or the President. That “joke” is nothing of the sort. It is simultaneously conveying that Obama is nothing more than a black man, and subhuman at that. It isn’t a dig at him, his accomplishments, or his politics. It’s a dig at his physical race which is not acceptable. THAT is why it is the worst thing you can call a black person. It is stating they are nothing more than the product of their inferior, bestial, subhuman race and not an individual deserving of respect, rights or humanity. It’s disgusting, and totally unacceptable. Get it now? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/114 "2011-05-01T23:13:27Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Actually, the Irish comparison is an interesting one. I teach US history to college students, and we talk quite a bit in class about the anti-Irish, anti-Catholic sentiment of the nineteenth century in the United States. Those Harper’s Weekly images are excellent examples of the way that the Irish were often represented during that period. > > A key difference, it seems to me, is that anti-Irish prejudice (or racism or whatever you want to call it) is basically non-existent now in the United States, and has been for some time. The Irish have been assimilated and incorporated into the predominant white, Christian culture of America, a process that has been easier for them partly because they look like other white people. > > If we ever arrive at a stage in our historical development when African Americans no longer suffer from racism and discrimination in the United States, then it could be that we will also arrive at a stage when it will be possible to compare an individual black man to a chimp without it being about race. That time has not yet come. I was answering the statement that chimp resemblance was _never_ used to denigrate any non-Black people. It was–but I pointed out that it was historic, not current. (Well, [somebody](http://mohurley.blogspot.com/2007/10/arbys-dancing-chimps-is-offensive-and.html) thinks it’s not in the past; guess I missed that Arby’s ad.) The comparison is still racist when used for Obama. For Bush? Maybe it’s insulting to chimps. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/115 "2011-05-01T23:19:55Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Afraid I don’t get the reference either, and “Palin assassination jokes” brings up a bunch of sites talking about her map with the crosshairs/surveyor’s marks on it, which I don’t think was intended as a joke. When the subject of Palin assassination jokes was raised, it was about Sarah Palin posting pictures of Democratic politicians with targets on them along with maps showing where they lived. Then when somebody actually went ahead and shot one of her targets, Palin claimed that it had been intended as a joke not a serious call for assassinations. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/116 "2011-05-01T23:44:43Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I was answering the statement that chimp resemblance was _never_ used to denigrate any non-Black people. It was–but I pointed out that it was historic, not current. You seem to be under the impression that i was disagreeing with you. I’m not sure where you got that idea. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/117 "2011-05-01T23:45:27Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > It isn’t about Obama. That is a missile aimed at a _black man_, not Obama or the President. That “joke” is nothing of the sort. It is simultaneously conveying that Obama is nothing more than a black man, and subhuman at that. It isn’t a dig at him, his accomplishments, or his politics. It’s a dig at his physical race which is not acceptable. THAT is why it is the worst thing you can call a black person. It is stating they are nothing more than the product of their inferior, bestial, subhuman race and not an individual deserving of respect, rights or humanity. It’s disgusting, and totally unacceptable. Get it now? No. Your explanation is incoherent and unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/118 "2011-05-02T00:10:21Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > No. Your explanation is incoherent and unacceptable. You’re being willfully ignorant. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/119 "2011-05-02T00:48:27Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > You seem to be under the impression that i was disagreeing with you. I’m not sure where you got that idea. Just [my inherent pugnacity](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://kbosweeney.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/irish-racism-6.gif&imgrefurl=http://kbosweeney.wordpress.com/2010/09/page/2/&usg=__MI1RQjkdTC5ue94rXT-u5hGtj9o=&h=492&w=600&sz=31&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=A-7zV9lrc21bvM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=184&ei=_v69Tff0IYG6sAPjyamRBg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dbridget%2Bmcbruiser%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26biw%3D839%26bih%3D610%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=369&vpy=81&dur=3529&hovh=203&hovw=248&tx=159&ty=104&page=1&ndsp=9&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0)expressing itself! Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320/120 "2011-05-02T01:21:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Did this actually happen at any point during the eight years Rice was in office? Or is your cite that it happened that way in your imagination? Totally imagination.She was not called cruel racist names. Nobody even brought up the lesbian thing in 8 years. It was virtually unmentioned. She was treated with respect and never showed her birth certificate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-a-chimp-tea-party-republican-is-sorry-if-anyone-was-offended-by-her-harmless-satire/580320.md?page=7)