One more from the left: Free Republic Pulls Thread Bashing Malia Obama

DailyKOS ^ | Fri Jul 10, 2009 | by CatM

[Jim Robinson]

Yesterday, theHalfrican posted a link to the Free Republic Website where several of its regular members were bashing Malia Obama for wearing a peace symbol t-shirt. The thread had several derogotary, racist, and sexual remarks about Malia. It also included a picture of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that was accompanied with a racist caption.

I wrote the media contact at Free Republic yesterday, kristinn@bellatlantic.net, questioning the nature of the posters and the site:

Hello. I am an independent writer developing a book about the grassroots conservative movement online, of which your site, Free Republic, is included as a primary online gathering place for conservatives.

Could you please tell me how the owner of the site feels about posts like this one:

http://www.freerepublic.com/...

...in which conservatives who post regularly at the site make several racist statements about the 11-year-old daughter of President Obama for wearing a t-shirt adorned with a peace symbol? Remarks included the following:

"We’re being represented by a family of ghetto trash." "Looks like a bunch of ghetto thugs. A stain on America."

"Looks like a typical street whore."

"What we now are sending the ghetto over to represent us. and if so who the hell is that flea bag who looks to be dragged from the trash dumpster."

"you could go down any ghetto right now and see exactly the same."

"could you imagine what world leaders must be thinking seeing this kind of street trash and that we paid for this kind of street ghetto trash to go over there"

"the world must be laughing like mad right now at that we have this kind of street trash in our white house."

"Wonder when she will have her first abortion."

"sad isn’t it that we now have ghetto street trash over there representing us in Europe."

"This disgusting display makes me more and more eager for the revolution.

"They make me sick.... The whole family... mammy, pappy, the free loadin’ mammy-in-law, the misguided chillin’, and especially ‘lil cuz... This is not the America I want representin’ my peeps."

In addition, the thread includes a picture of Michelle Obama speaking to her daughter with the caption, "To Entertain Her Daughter, Michelle Obama Likes to Make Monkey Sounds."

Before you dismiss this as only a minority of posters at the site, out of 100 posts on that thread I found only 1 that criticized such remarks. This is not the first time I have seen such an exhibition of blatant racism at Free Republic by members who regularly post there.

Here are my questions:

Does Free Republic condone this type of exercise in free speech?

Are these the type of participants Free Republic is happy to have posting at its site?

What is Free Republic's policy about posting racially offensive comments?

What is Free Republic's policy about making sexual insinuations about minors (particularly relevant in light of the David Letterman/Sarah Palin brouhaha)?

Does Free Republic believe its membership accurately represents the conservative movement?

Does the owner of Free Republic believe this kind of discourse is helpful to rebuilding the Republican Party and furthering its goals?

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your responses.

went back to the site today and saw that the offending thread has been pulled "pending review."

http://www.freerepublic.com/...

I do note that Free Republic has a disclaimer on the first page that claims it does not condone this type of post; however, I am not sure when the disclaimer was added. Does anyone know?

From the disclaimer:

Opinions expressed on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Free Republic or its operators.

Please enjoy our forum, but also please remember to use common courtesy when posting and refrain from posting personal attacks, profanity, vulgarity, threats, racial or religious bigotry, or any other materials offensive or otherwise inappropriate for a conservative family audience.

Free Republic is a site dedicated to the concerns of traditional grassroots conservative activists. We're here to discuss and advance our conservative causes in a more or less liberal-free environment. We're not here to debate liberals. We do not want our pages filled with their arrogant, obnoxious, repugnant bile. Liberals, usurpers, and other assorted malcontents are considered unwelcome trolls on FR and their accounts and or posts will be summarily dismissed at the convenience of the site administrators.

Free Republic does not advocate or condone racism, violence, rebellion, secession, or an overthrow of the government.

So, the site will readily delete posts from liberals just because they are liberals and therefore everything they say is automatically considered "arrogant, obnoxious, repugant bile."

But comments calling an 11-year-old black girl "ghetto trash" and a "whore" are pulled "pending review." What is to review? Your site either supports that kind of rhetoric or it does not. Which is it?

If the Free Republic's "conservative family audience" consists of people who say such things as they often do (like yesterday), how conservative are they? And how family-oriented are they? Where were all the posts from other Free Republic regulars or from the owner of the site decrying this kind of racism directed at a child for no apparent reason than the fact that a peace symbol t-shirt inflamed their hatred to disgusting depths, like a red handkerchief in front of a mad bull?

Conservatives continually reinforce the fact that the only families they care about are conservative ones; the only troops they support are ones that do not vote democratic; the only children whose lives they value are the children of conservatives or unborn. How many of those aborted fetuses they claim to hold so dear would they trash had they been born and grown into a pre-teen who wore a t-shirt with a peace symbol or supported a liberal president? Or was gay?

The truth is that conservatives do not know the meaning of Jesus' words despite how much they love to use them when it suits their inner hatred of all those who are different. Worse, they lack basic human decency, as they demonstrate time and again.

[stephenjohnbanker]

B U M P

[rogue yam]

Malia was introduced into the public arena by her parents and the peace symbol on her shirt. How is it the left can make fun of Palin’s kids but 0bama’s are off limits?

I think that when it is children who are involved then one should refrain from criticizing the child's character. In this instance, I think it is legitimate to observe that a particuar shirt sends an unfortunate poitical message and therefore shouldn't have been worn, but it would be wrong to disparage the character of the child wearing the shirt. Kids are kids. They do lame stuff sometimes. It was the parents' fault for not insisting that the shirt be changed.

[sausageseller]

Stay away from the children. but is there an exception when they are used as pawns for political purposes. If they stick them out there they should free game in my book.

This whole idea that they should call us on the carpet is dumbfounding to me . They are such truly EVIL hypocrites. And yet we should care what they say?

I think a reply with 100 of their hypocrite posts, from their website,or their brethren at DU should be the only reply.

That is all the evil b@$tards are due!

[Jo Nuvark]

Jim... If this guy wants to play tit for tat,
he’s going to lose BIG TIME. Daily Kos is
saturated with vehement, racist remarks about
Palin’s children, the Bush family, etc. A gold
mine has just been handed to Free Republic.

To call out FR while standing in his glass
house is just stupid!

MO

[Peter Horry]

“Any time I see the “Peace” symbol it’s offensive because it is a political statement.”

I agree, it also reflects on her parents for allowing her to appear dressed like that. I do not agree that children should be “off limits” when they display questionable behavior, the problem is some here seem unable to do so without profanity and vicious attacks.

[MozarkDawg]

It seems to me if there is the appearance of the Obamas using their children as billboards for their own political beliefs, then criticism of the Obamas is perfectly appropriate.

The article clearly stated that SHE chose to wear that shirt, it was not chosen by mom or dad. Unlike the younger daughter, photographed with a peace-sign tee as she's coming down the plane steps with 0bama later on in the thread, now that one I figured was handed to her by one of the adults. But the article in question was unambiguous.

[txlurker]

You didn’t answer the question.

[I see my hands]

"And what they WEAR is important because?"

I don’t care what they wear. Who said I do? Did you toss in that bit of false witness to support your argument? You must know your argument is baseless.

As an aside.. The formulation of the word “And” followed by a incomplete declarative statement and a question mark is lame-o.

[Dick Bachert]

Well said, Mr. JimRob.

The old man — and, if she weighs in on issues — the old lady are sufficiently target rich environments.

But we’ll see how the tolerant and diversity loving left behaves if and when Sarah or some other conservative starts to get under their putrid, wrinkled, boil infested, snake-like skin.

(PREGNANT PAUSE HERE)

ROFLMAO!!!

[stephenjohnbanker]

double BUMP

[phalynx]

Racism doesn't belong anywhere, period. However, children can and do make mistakes. Children need to learn from their mistakes. If a child goes to school wearing a 20 gallon cowboy hat and all the other kids make fun of him/her, he/she has learned a valuable lesson and he/she wasn't off limits by those very kids. Why can't we make the very same comments? If a child wears gang colors, a knife and a gun, are we not allowed to say anything negative about it?

Seriously people, you shouldn't joke about a persons race EVER. You shouldn't joke about anything remotely close to sexual or illegal activities on or about children. But the moment we say we can't judge or comment (even mean comments) is the moment we become the very thing the libtards are. I say, speak your mind. It is perfectly acceptable to make comments, discuss in public, and/or completely verbally slam someone for their behavior. It is free speech. JimRob does NOT have to allow it on FreeRepublic. That is his choice. But, we should never remove it from our lives even on the basis of "they are just children".

I can't begin to tell you how fast I would roast my child for wearing a peace shirt or something similar.

Let's remember free speech.

[nhwingut]

Give me a break. Imagine if Willow Palin was wearing a NRA or Pro Life t shirt? The left would go nuts.

[txlurker]

Understanding the truly low-brow comments to be out of order, I have to protest the idea that this girl should not be critiqued on her public political statements when it is she who allowed the situation to occur by being fully cognizant of the power of the press, she used the media to do so. If she didn't know what she was doing, the article would not have been written as it was.

This was not an instance of "she can't help who her father is", not when she wore the shirt to deliberately make a point and used the press to assist her.

Well said!

[Question_Assumptions]

I saw exactly TWO posts pulled by the mods. Take it up with them. Real racism? Really? I see very little of it on FR.

In some threads about the Obamas, particularly about Michelle and her appearance, I've seen a half-dozen or more replies marked as removed by moderator and I recently questioned a whole thread that was pulled when I clicked through to the source and saw it talking about whites having to control and manage minorities who will never have the capacity to achieve the American dream. Further, I've seen the tone of plenty of threads shift from a trip down the memory lane of Good Times, Sanford and Son, and the Jeffersons as well as impresonations of Jim from Huck Finn simply by calling such comments into question.

[trisham]

The article clearly stated that SHE chose to wear that shirt, it was not chosen by mom or dad.

****************

Doesn't matter. She's what, eleven? Her parents are legally responsible for her, and presumably, still in charge.

[TomOnTheRun]

I don’t think these sorts of posts should be pulled. People should stand by what they said or they should withdraw their comments. Stripping their comments from the site merely excuses them from doing either one.

[Political Junkie Too]

Of course, you know this is just tit-for-tat retaliation for the recent stories about Free Republic getting the Huffington Post to pull a thread and publicly apologize for it.

Do we know if the posters are long-timers, or agitprop by recent infiltrator posters?

I know FR's roster has grown way beyond the civil posters of the early days, especially with younger posters who may not have the same view of appropriate public discourse.

Things like this will continue to happen in a public forum that is too big to police every single thread. I guess we need to have more of us hit the abuse button when we see stuff like that?

-PJ

[colorcountry]

This thread is about what Malia WORE and the comments her T-shirt garnered. I guess you have a hard time concentrating.

[buccaneer81]

Good Times, Sanford and Son, and the Jeffersons

Big deal. No different than The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres and Petticoat Junction. If we're going to be that sensitive, we might as well hang it up.

[LADY J]

"And for better or worse, there is a double standard. So what? Maybe we should try to be better instead of throwing in the towel and climing into the mud with the left."

NO!! I'm not going to agree with you. I'm not going to go along to get along anymore. This mister nice guy crap is getting to be over the top.

The Republicans in Congress & the Senate are wimping out with your same excuses...we have to be nice & above the fray.

What else are you willing to give up for them?? In my world - their time is over. The more you cower & bow down - the more they demand.. I'm out of what I have to give up anymore.