Posted on 07/11/2009 12:01:08 PM PDT by buccaneer81
Conservative Free Republic blog in free speech flap after racial slurs directed at Obama children
By Chris Parry, Vancouver SunJuly 11, 2009 11:01 AM
This photo of U.S. President Barrack Obama's daughter Malia, wearing a peace-symbol t-shirt touched off a storm of epithet-laced comments on the conservative 'Free Republic' blog
"A typical street whore." "A bunch of ghetto thugs." "Ghetto street trash." "Wonder when she will get her first abortion."
These are a small selection of some of the racially-charged comments posted to the conservative 'Free Republic' blog Thursday, aimed at U.S. President Barack Obama's 11-year-old daughter Malia after she was photographed wearing a t-shirt with a peace sign on the front.
The thread was accompanied by a photo of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that featured the caption, "To entertain her daughter, Michelle Obama loves to make monkey sounds."
Though this may sound like the sort of thing one might read on an Aryan Nation or white power website, they actually appeared on what is commonly considered one of the prime online locations for U.S. Conservative grassroots political discussion and organizing - and for a short time, the comments seemed to have the okay of site administrators.
Moderators of the blog left the comments - and commenters - in place until a complaint was lodged by a writer doing research on the conservative movement, almost a full day later.
"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?" wrote one commenter.
"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," wrote another.
Such was the onslaught of derision on the site that the person who originally complained about the slurs, a Kristin N., claims only one comment in the first hundred posted actually criticized the remarks as inappropriate.
A note on the front of the blog reads, "Free Republic does not advocate or condone racism, violence, rebellion, secession, or an overthrow of the government," but one comment on the thread read, "This disgusting display makes me more and more eager for the revolution," while another read, "I never actually wnated [sic] to be a pistol before but..."
After attention from other blogs, the thread was suppressed and placed under review, but before long it was returned to the site intact, and attracted a new series of racial slurs when the original complaint email was posted publicly to the site, with the sender's email address intact.
"The writer has a point," wrote site owner Jim Thompson sarcastically. "We should steer clear of Obama's children. They can't help it if their old man is an American-hating Marxist pig."
"I agree Jim," wrote commenter, by the nickname NoobRep. "The kids didn't pick their commie pinko pansy of a father. Nor did they choose to be put into the spotlight. But Obama/Soetoro is fair game and so is his witch of a wife."
"Poor kids. I hope they're not 'punished with a baby'," wrote another. "Hopefully they won't deal cocaine like the Kenyan."
"DIRTBAGS! All of them. Our [White House] is now a joke to the rest of the world. We have no respect and this is not going to turn out well, mark my words. We will be hit, and much worse than last time. We are now seen as weak and vulnerable. Ghetto and Chicago thugs have taken over."
Only after significant negative attention from a host of left wing political blogs did the maintainers of the Free Republic site place the thread under review for a second time, before finally pulling it.
In the wake of the controversy, some Free Republic posters complained about the vitriol.
One poster by the name of "fullchroma" wrote, "To Jim Thompson: The recent uptick here in racist vitriol, aimed at Barrack, Michelle and their children has made me wonder if I belong. My objection to Obama has nothing to do with skin tone. Is the ugly stereotype of Conservative racism true?"
Another, going by the name of TChris, wrote, "Free Republic is a political discussion forum. It SHOULD be beneath us as a group to stoop to such juvenile tactics as I see increasing here lately. Do we REALLY have to insult Mrs. Obama's appearance like a clique of nasty 14-year-old girls?"
But such opinions were not shared by all. Said Roses of Sharon, "Poor libs .... Too late, the battle has been joined." © Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
I think I might have to donate again.
Hussein brought up the subject of abortion and his daughters..saying “I wouldn’t want my daughters punished by and unwanted pregnancy”.
The left is now warming up to discredit a firefighter in New Jersey, who dares to testify about his Supreme Court case..let’s see if he or his kids are off limits.
“Ghetto street trash.”
Fact is, there’s more and more white trash comments on FR. They better clean it up or those FReepathons will take longer and longer.
I would have liked an opportunity to examine the archives for the most objectionable writers.
Length of membership and previous comments can often distinguish Real Freepers from Leftside provocateurs.
But it was ok to go after the Palin kids.... (didn’t see the thread, but I would have hit abuse on the racial slurs, had I seen them. Those are beneath us...Republicans and Democrats alike.)
Is the author saying that only blacks can be "street whores", "ghetto thugs", "ghetto street trash" and only black women have abortions?
We know who the racist is now, don't we?
Seriesly, do they not get that they’re complicit in such name calling when said name calling is directed toward political enemies - but horrified when it’s about political allies - even though they’re not supposed to even have any political enemies or allies in the “free press”?
Further, do they not get that this was done merely to point that out? Geezus they’re myopic.
And they wonder why they’re almost all going bankrupt????
LOL!!! I forgot about that.
Well, um. Cheer up. The day isn’t over.
*waves hi to lurkers*
Whining will have no effect on the press, that is obvious, but I would think that short to the point sentences detailing their responsibility for the degradation of their industry is in order.
Yep. Unfortunately I have been finding myself more and more distant with some of the commenter’s here. I am not racist, I do not want my name to be associated with racism. I want it to be associated with conservatism and the retaking of this country from marxists. We are better than the left and we should act that way.
And there were several comments made along those lines on the thread in question, but notice the Vancouver Scum didn't bother to quote any of those.
Man, they made the The Getaway into a great movie (the Steve McQueen one) except I thought you were dead?
Canada - stay out of our business in the United States. Remember you idiots were the ones booing our national anthem when we had hockey or baseball games up there. Oh yea and you can have your 11% in Government Motors, hope that works out for you.
The media is to blame. After what happened to the Bush twins and Palin’s kids the gloves are off.
It doesn’t matter, let the world see their trash let us not be like them. We are better than that.
Would the Vancouver Sun be considered or equivalent to being an “Obama-thug” outlet? ^^
Oh THAT Free Republic, I thought they meant ours...whew.
This whole thing stinks to high heaven as a setup, and I need to write a letter to the Vancouver Sun?
Why?
Just because I'll feel better and the losers may even publish the letter.
Damn you Jim Thompson, Damn you all to hell. LOL
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