# Would you consider this bottle opener racist? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 12, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584 "2016-05-12T00:46:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/41 "2016-05-13T03:25:26Z")
Not racist, just tacky. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/42 "2016-05-13T14:41:39Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Ehhhh. See the thing is. By itself it isn’t racist, but the person whose kitchen that is generally found in is soooooo racist. Well, except for the OP and his friend who bought it, right? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/43 "2016-05-13T20:42:44Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Racist? Not to me. But its not my type of thing either. The same basic premise with George W wouldn’t appeal to me either. +1. Ugly as sin. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/44 "2016-05-15T11:38:38Z")
It is just a humorous, exaggerated caricature. It is **not** racist in any way whatsoever. It is not in bad taste in any way whatsoever (outside of serious political discussions at least). If his lips were of exaggerated size or if his hair were shown as a large 70s afro etc. that would clearly be a racial epithet. Classic example of oversensitive political correctness. The Hillary one is a little more personally insulting towards her, because she is known for [her exaggerated, forced, kind of scary-looking smile…](https://www.google.com/search?q=hillary+scary+smile&biw=1431&bih=762&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjis_L5_tvMAhWCcD4KHVT6CtAQ_AUIBigB) ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/45 "2016-05-15T12:08:25Z")
Though it’s certainly hard to say, I actually do read this as at least a bit racist. I think the nose width is too exaggerated and that pushes it over the line. Though I did have to search for images of Obama and compare them and was still left not quite certain. Maybe more than “racist” this is a shining example of where edgy humor has an outsized potential to be offensive and possibly harmful. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/46 "2016-05-15T14:46:24Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I think the reason it gives some a minstrely vibe is that minstrel shows, blackface, and the like are based off cartoonish exaggerations of black features. Any hyper-stylized cartoon caricature of someone with black features is probably going to at least superficially have some similarities. I think the most “minstrely” thing about this bottle opener is that Obama is depicted with bright red lips. That’s typical of [blackface](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minstrel_show#/media/File:Minstrel_PosterBillyVanWare_edit.jpg), but doesn’t resemble the real Obama. The Hillary Clinton bottle opener also has bright red lips, but the [real Hillary Clinton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton#/media/File:Hillary_Clinton_official_Secretary_of_State_portrait_crop.jpg) does wear lipstick and it’s common for female cartoon characters to be depicted with red lipstick mouths. I’m not in a position to say _why_ the Obama bottle opener was given bright red lips, but had the lips just been the same color as the rest of the face it would have been less reminiscent of blackface makeup and looked a bit more like the real Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/47 "2016-05-16T01:17:02Z")
Henry gates would probably find it useful the next time his door is jammed shut. It would be his personalized multi-tool. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/48 "2016-05-16T14:04:08Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > Personally I’m a bit :dubious: that the only two “Big Mouth” politician bottle openers I could find are the woman and the black guy. That’s interesting, since this thread provides links to others. Going back to 1970 or so, the only US presidents for whom I can’t easily find a caricature bottle opener are Gerald Ford and Ronald Regan. I find plenty of caricatures of both but, alas, no bottle opener. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/49 "2016-05-16T16:46:15Z")
What struck me is the teeth, which are significantly exaggerated. It can bring to mind some stereotypical depictions of black folks, where bright white teeth stand out in vivid contrast to dark skin. _[Example.](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9c/13/7a/9c137a0c61411f9d0c681890530f5fb8.jpg)_ I was a little surprised to google both _minstrel_ and _blackface_ only to find very few examples of this. Highly exaggerated lips are much more common. And of course the Hillary opener has the same teeth, indicating they were made big for the function of the thing and not because of Obama’s ethnicity. So I would say not racist, but I can understand some people seeing a suggestion of racism there, especially if they’re only aware of the Obama version. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/50 "2016-05-17T10:38:31Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > So I would say not racist, but I can understand some people seeing a suggestion of racism there, especially if they’re only aware of the Obama version. I can’t. Actually, yes I can, but only in the sense that the latest generation of millennials have been completely indoctrinated in political correctness. Simply because Obama is black, any and every criticism immediately gets run thru the ‘race filter’ and, even when it isn’t, it still gets treated with kid gloves regardless… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/51 "2016-05-17T20:31:07Z")
Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/52 "2016-05-18T23:43:16Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > That’s interesting, since this thread provides links to others. Going back to 1970 or so, the only US presidents for whom I can’t easily find a caricature bottle opener are Gerald Ford and Ronald Regan. I find plenty of caricatures of both but, alas, no bottle opener. Those other links are not “Big Mouth” bottle openers, either in terms of the branding or in how they’re constructed. Bottle openers, yes. “Big Mouths,” no. Which is why I am :dubious: that it’s specifically the “Big Mouths” that are associated with those two. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/53 "2016-05-18T23:54:12Z")
Or, in case I have to spell it out to the letter, it seems shall we say “odd” that the “Big Mouth” bottle openers are the woman and the black guy, because these are two groups commonly referred to as “uppity” when they speak their grievances in order to silence them in the public/political sphere. So, haha, the woman / black guy has a BIG MOUTH, gettit?? That make it any clearer? ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/54 "2016-05-19T04:25:21Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > Or, in case I have to spell it out to the letter, it seems shall we say “odd” that the “Big Mouth” bottle openers are the woman and the black guy, because these are two groups commonly referred to as “uppity” when they speak their grievances in order to silence them in the public/political sphere. So, haha, the woman / black guy has a BIG MOUTH, gettit?? That make it any clearer? Absolute meh. They’re made because **politicians** universally have big mouths… ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/55 "2016-05-19T05:43:48Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Absolute meh. They’re made because **politicians** universally have big mouths… And yet, there are only the two “Big Mouth” bottle openers… Wow, I have to repeat myself a lot, here. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/56 "2016-05-19T13:40:02Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > And yet, there are only the two “Big Mouth” bottle openers… > > Wow, I have to repeat myself a lot, here. Perhaps because you are not reading for comprehension. Go back to post #22. Click the first link - voila, Jimmy Carter big mouth bottle opener. Click the second link - Richard Nixon big mouth shower head. The big mouth political caricature is not limited to the “black man and the woman”. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584/57 "2016-05-24T06:36:22Z")
I honestly think any big mouthed Obama looks racist. I don’t mean the manufacturer is racist–I can tell it’s just their style and a necessity. And I don’t necessarily mean the owner is racist. But it just looks racist to me. I looked up some caricatures of Obama, and I found that only the ones without the big mouth and teeth looked non-racist. I have to also admit that I find the whole idea kinda weird, and would not peg anyone using one as a supporter. They look gaudy enough that they look like they are trying to make a statement. But, obviously, such dislike does not need to be racist–even if Facebook sometimes makes you feel that way (at least, back in 2013 or so before I banished politics from my wall.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-this-bottle-opener-racist/754584.md?page=2)