# "The anti-Obama people are just mad because the president is black." Discuss. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 10, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129 "2011-03-10T03:24:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![margin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@margin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/margin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/81 "2011-03-10T19:24:30Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > For the record, I don’t have a dog in this fight. I don’t live in your country, and if I did, I’d have even less affinities for Reps (because of the religious fucknuttery) than for Dems. > > But getting that job just because of the color of your skin, that’s racism uh ? > > Oh. Right. It’s not discrimination when it benefits the Minoritay. Still not cite, I see, but it’s pure right wing propaganda. Hidden inside this belief is the fact that the person who believes it thinks that all white people are qualified for whatever job is under discussion, while no minority or woman is. Not racist at all, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/82 "2011-03-10T19:27:06Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > I know how stupid it is. I just don’t believe that the major basis for it is his skin color. As per the rest of my post, if his father had been a white Soviet Russian, I think there’d probably still be a crazy - and equally stupid - birther movement. There is always going to be some crazy shit out there. Particularly if he was from Russia. (Then again these people apparently think Kenya was a Soviet client state so their grasp on history may be a bit fuzzy.) It would not look like this. Seriously, what’s the link between Barack Obama and Malcolm X? They’re both black and that’s it. Apparently a white woman who’ll have sex with one black guy will do any black guy- nevermind said guy is a hardline Muslim who was once famous for calling white people ‘devils.’ It’s like saying Mel Martinez is the son of Che Guevara. The Muslim thing is entirely based on race, too. I admit he’s not as overtly religious as a lot of other politicians, but the whole thing is too stupid. The theory is that he’s a Muslim because he’s got dark skin like a terrorist. ---
**Author:** ![margin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@margin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/margin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/83 "2011-03-10T19:33:49Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > There is always going to be some crazy shit out there. Particularly if he was from Russia. (Then again these people apparently think Kenya was a Soviet client state so their grasp on history may be a bit fuzzy.) It would not look like this. Seriously, what’s the link between Barack Obama and Malcolm X? They’re both black and that’s it. Apparently a white woman who’ll have sex with one black guy will do any black guy- nevermind said guy is a hardline Muslim who was once famous for calling white people ‘devils.’ It’s like saying Mel Martinez is the son of Che Guevara. The Muslim thing is entirely based on race, too. I admit he’s not as overtly religious as a lot of other politicians, but the whole thing is too stupid. The theory is that he’s a Muslim because he’s got dark skin like a terrorist. Oh it’s even worse. He’s got the same _name_ as Sodom Hussein [wink, wink, nudge, nudge) so you know he’s really a terrorist. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/84 "2011-03-10T19:57:21Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > For the record, I don’t have a dog in this fight. I don’t live in your country, and if I did, I’d have even less affinities for Reps (because of the religious fucknuttery) than for Dems. > > But getting that job just because of the color of your skin, that’s racism uh ? Is this something you think really happens? ---
**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:** [March 10, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/85 "2011-03-10T20:01:48Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > So conservatism, however defined, is inextricably racist, or at least anti-black…? At the very least, it is anti-lower class, which makes it anti-black in effect, even if not always in intention. Of course, conservatism doesn’t lack for individuals with intent either. > [@](#): > > What’s a black person who likes what he reads of Milton Friedman, believes in a strong military, doesn’t like the idea of teacher’s unions, and whatever-other-not-race-related-talking-points-you-can-come-up-with supposed to do? Vote Democrat. They are fiscally conservative and support a strong military. They don’t hate teacher’s unions, but hating teachers’ unions is not indicative of great intellect anyway. We’re talking about _smart_ people here. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/86 "2011-03-10T20:29:46Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Similar instances of astroturfing: > > [http://www.google.com/trends?q=evolution+of+dance&ctab=0&geo=us&geor=all&date=all&sort=0](http://www.google.com/trends?q=evolution+of+dance&ctab=0&geo=us&geor=all&date=all&sort=0) > > [http://www.google.com/trends?q="david+after+the+dentist"&ctab=0&geo=us&geor=all&date=all&sort=0](http://www.google.com/trends?q=%22david+after+the+dentist%22&ctab=0&geo=us&geor=all&date=all&sort=0) > > [http://www.google.com/trends?q=chuck+norris+facts&ctab=0&geo=us&geor=all&date=all&sort=0](http://www.google.com/trends?q=chuck+norris+facts&ctab=0&geo=us&geor=all&date=all&sort=0) > > [http://www.google.com/trends?q="rick+rolled"&ctab=0&geo=us&geor=all&date=all](http://www.google.com/trends?q=%22rick+rolled%22&ctab=0&geo=us&geor=all&date=all) Just wanted to point out to you **furt** , that you do not seem to know what astroturfing is. You have given examples of internet or social memes. Ideas that did not exist, and then exploded onto the scene due to lots of people passing them around. [Astroturfing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing) is defined as "a form of advocacy often in support of a political or corporate agenda designed to give the appearance of a “grassroots” movement. " For example, if a major news network (FOX) promotes, advocates, supports a rally (Tea Party), and then reports on the rally as if it was entirely a grassroots movement? That’s astroturfing. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/87 "2011-03-10T20:40:06Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > There is always going to be some crazy shit out there. Particularly if he was from Russia. (Then again these people apparently think Kenya was a Soviet client state so their grasp on history may be a bit fuzzy.) It would not look like this. Seriously, what’s the link between Barack Obama and Malcolm X? They’re both black and that’s it. Apparently a white woman who’ll have sex with one black guy will do any black guy- nevermind said guy is a hardline Muslim who was once famous for calling white people ‘devils.’ It’s like saying Mel Martinez is the son of Che Guevara. I think it would look very nearly the same - I guess we just disagree. There’s no connection between Obama and Malcolm X; frankly, I never even heard that theory before this thread. But as you say, whackjobs would believe something similar about a Hispanic - or white or Asian - politician. > [@](#): > > The Muslim thing is entirely based on race, too. I admit he’s not as overtly religious as a lot of other politicians, but the whole thing is too stupid. The theory is that he’s a Muslim because he’s got dark skin like a terrorist. The Muslim thing is not entirely based on race. It’s based on something about his father having been raised Muslim and his stepfather and some conspiracy theory that he attended a madrassa in Indonesia as a kid - I don’t feel like polluting my computer by looking up all the details. It’s at turns vile, ridiculous, and just stupid, but it’s a _gross_ simplification to say that people think he’s a Muslim “because he’s got dark skin like a terrorist”. (Besides which, how many people associate blacks with Muslim terrorism…? It’s Arab-Americans who get the short end of that stick.) ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/88 "2011-03-10T21:00:29Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Just wanted to point out to you **furt** , that you do not seem to know what astroturfing is. > > You have given examples of internet or social memes. Ideas that did not exist, and then exploded onto the scene due to lots of people passing them around. > > [Astroturfing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing) is defined as "a form of advocacy often in support of a political or corporate agenda designed to give the appearance of a “grassroots” movement. " > > For example, if a major news network (FOX) promotes, advocates, supports a rally (Tea Party), and then reports on the rally as if it was entirely a grassroots movement? > > That’s astroturfing. Whoosh. I know exactly what astroturfing is. \*\* L. G. Butts\*\* was postulating that the sudden popularity of the term “tea party” was evidence of it. I was pointing out, with charts, that in the internet age, it is common for memes to spread suddenly without any central organization. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/89 "2011-03-10T21:14:53Z")
\*\*L.G. Butts \*\*may have used a bad example or link to show the astroturfing that was occuring with the Tea Party, but it did occur nonetheless. There was significant money and organizational effort behind this sudden emergence of this “grassroots” movement. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/90 "2011-03-10T21:32:07Z")
Quoth **Frylock** : > [@](#): > > I am clicking to maximize these comments; please expand. Our current energy generation system is socialist: A significant portion of the costs of energy generation are borne by everyone, regardless of how much energy they use. Obama, and Democrats in general, want the costs of energy generation to be borne by those who use the energy. Republicans fight tooth and nail against this. You could also make the case that Gingrichcare is less socialist than the health care system we’ve been using, in that it makes it easier for people to change providers, thus allowing the free market to work. Quoth **Rodgers01** : > [@](#): > > Imagine that every other detail of Obama’s biography was the same, except that his father had been a white Russian instead of a black Kenyan, and Obama was thus as white as John McCain. If we’re to believe that it’s just the color of Obama’s skin that is the root cause of all this, can you really tell me that in that situation you don’t think the right would be trying the exact same tactics? Birthers don’t give a damn about Russians. Heck, the number 1 champion of the birther movement is herself a Russian. So why is it that nobody cares? ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/91 "2011-03-10T21:40:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Quoth **Rodgers01** :Birthers don’t give a damn about Russians. Heck, the number 1 champion of the birther movement is herself a Russian. So why is it that nobody cares? What birthers give a damn about is trying to prove that Obama is ineligible to be president - whether that means trying to show that his “birth” citizenship was Kenyan, Russian, Swiss, or Japanese wouldn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/92 "2011-03-10T21:53:02Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Am I the only one hearing a dog-whistle here? … Nope. CMC fnord! Malcolm X? That’s silly, everybody knows that [Frank Marshall Davis is Obama’s real father](http://www.google.com/search?q=t%20Frank%20Marshall%20Davis%20is%20Obama%27s%20real%20father&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#hl=en&sugexp=gsis&pq=t%20frank%20marshall%20davis%20is%20obama%27s%20real%20father&xhr=t&q=Frank%20Marshall%20Davis%20is%20Obama%27s%20real%20father&nfpr=1&ei=wUd5TdqMLsP0gAfV-8DcBw&sqi=2&cp=0&pf=p&sclient=psy&newwindow=1&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=AwT&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&source=hp&aq=0b&aqi=&aql=f&oq=Frank+Marshall+Davis+is+Obama%27s+real+father&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.&fp=eb3895a2a03b0891&bs=1)! ---
**Author:** ![Cort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/77aa72/32.png) [@Cort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cort)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/93 "2011-03-10T22:20:36Z")
By no means are all Obama opponents racist, but the dumbfuck birthers _definitely_ are. They’d never even _think_ to question the citizenship of a white President, as evidenced by the fact that America has had _43_ of them and this is the first time we’ve had to put up with this bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/94 "2011-03-10T22:43:59Z")
> [@Cort](#): > > By no means are all Obama opponents racist, but the dumbfuck birthers _definitely_ are. They’d never even _think_ to question the citizenship of a white President, as evidenced by the fact that America has had _43_ of them and this is the first time we’ve had to put up with this bullshit. And we won’t have to put up with it again until the next non white Democrat appears to be headed for the oval office which, if the Tea Partiers, birthers, and their ilk have their way, will be never. It’s quite sad to see people bend over backward to deny racism so blatant you’d have to almost gouge your eyes out not to see it. Just what would it take for deniers to see and admit to the ugliness that’s there, people walking around with “I hate niggers and especially that nigger Obama” signs? Would the denials of racism continue even then? What is wrong with this country?! ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/95 "2011-03-10T22:58:17Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I think that’s the key - his race is a big factor but it’s part of the larger point that Obama is “Other” - he’s not just black, he’s a Democrat, he’s an intellectual who uses big words, and he’s just not the kind of guy you could sit down and have a beer with. In other words, he’s the opposite of GWB who was white, right-wing, folksy and someone the Republican-voting base could understand. And once someone is seen as the Other, they are presumed to be capable of anything - being a closet Muslim, promoting terrorism, eating babies and so forth. For what it’s worth, I would _ **love** _ to sit down and have a beer with Pres. Obama. But, yeah, I think this is a pretty good summary of the matter. It’s not all of the Tea Party, and it’s maybe not even the majority, but I think it’s a substantial and _very_ vocal minority. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/96 "2011-03-10T23:03:02Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > \*\*L.G. Butts \*\*may have used a bad example or link to show the astroturfing that was occuring with the Tea Party, but it did occur nonetheless. > > There was significant money and organizational effort behind this sudden emergence of this “grassroots” movement. According to the various mainstream sources cited on [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement#Early_local_protest_events), the tea party movement arose very early in 2009. Do you you have cites to indicate “significant money and organizational effort” in or before early 2009? ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/97 "2011-03-10T23:10:21Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Accusations of racism are often simply a way to put someone on the defensive. I don’t these are any different. > > Look at the shit **Diogenes** is spewing. After a point, it becomes impossible to take seriously. > > Blah blah blah - Obama is perfect, anyone who doesn’t like him is racist, any black who doesn’t vote Democratic 100% of the time is an Uncle Tom, yadda yadda. > > Regards, > Shodan Are you surprised that this thread turned into yet another example of the SDMB left-wing strawman echo chamber? This type of thread is why I don’t bother getting involved in any political debate on this board. There is no point, when they automatically assume that you perfectly correspond to their strawmen, and insist you first _prove_ that their strawman is, in fact, a strawman. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/98 "2011-03-10T23:43:16Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Whoosh. > > I know exactly what astroturfing is. \*\* L. G. Butts\*\* was postulating that the sudden popularity of the term “tea party” was evidence of it. I was pointing out, with charts, that in the internet age, it is common for memes to spread suddenly without any central organization. Look **furt** , from my viewpoint it looks like your protestations that conservatives “cared about spending and budgets” before Obama are full of shit. Sure, you cared about it, I cared about, **Sam Stone** (who is not even an American) cared about it, but the vast majority of social conservatives that make up the tea party didn’t. From my viewpoint, the tea party was a piece of astroturfing funded by establishment conservative donors and marketed by the Fox News Corporation. The [del]popular[/del] populist worry about budgets and spending did not start until after Obama became president and just was not an issue when President Bush was spending trillions of dollars. Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/99 "2011-03-10T23:49:01Z")
If the “right-wing” hates Obama like 100, I’d think they’d hate Hillary at about 95-105 (ceteris paribus) and John Edwards 90-100). Biden might get to 80-90 just becasue he’s so goofy it’ hard to hate him. Racism is a condiment for some, but not by far the most important. ---
**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 11, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129/100 "2011-03-11T00:00:36Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > So conservatism, however defined, is inextricably racist, or at least anti-black…? What’s a black person who likes what he reads of Milton Friedman, believes in a strong military, doesn’t like the idea of teacher’s unions, and whatever-other-not-race-related-talking-points-you-can-come-up-with supposed to do? Then he’s still stupid to support a party that is filled to the brim with anti-black racists, who have depended on catering to such racists for decades to get votes. Whatever other political opinions he has, it’s foolish to support an organization mostly composed of people who hate him and want him to suffer, who at best will regard him as a tool to be used and discarded. Look what happened to Colin Powell; used as a front man to spout lies, his reputation wrecked. > [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > It’s quite sad to see people bend over backward to deny racism so blatant you’d have to almost gouge your eyes out not to see it. Just what would it take for deniers to see and admit to the ugliness that’s there, people walking around with “I hate niggers and especially that nigger Obama” signs? Would the denials of racism continue even then? Considering all the blatantly racist imagery that has popped up on the Internet against Obama (like the White House with a field of watermelons in front of it, or Michelle Obama as an ape-woman), that wouldn’t be enough. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-obama-people-are-just-mad-because-the-president-is-black-discuss/574129.md?page=6)