Posted on 07/10/2009 9:53:00 AM PDT by 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.
Two minor suggestions to the author of the Kos column:
1. “I am an independent writer developing a book about the grassroots conservative movement online...”
Charity begins at home and so should the author’s writing. Write about Kos, DU, HuffPost, then come back to conservatives.
2. The author seems to have had no problem publishing Kristinn’s email address online. Maybe his/her’s should be posted as well. Communications is a two-way deal, isn’t it?
I wonder why she doesn’t use her real name if she is representing DailyKos since you use yours on FreeRepublic?
I don’t think FreeRepublic should take advice from anyone at DailyKos. They are the most vile bunch of lunatics on the web.
But, that’s just me.
Yeah, once SHE chose the shirt, we know that Mom,Dad, and Grandma just couldn’t tell her that it was “inappropriate” for representing your country on foreign soil.
I’m all for getting downright filthy and I would paint the media as a primary target. People who travel in parallel circles should watch the mediatards. If somebody is screwing around on their wife, collect evidence and document it. The same goes with democrat politicians.
But the children of all are forever off the target list in my book. There is just no reason to ever get that dirty in my book.
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.
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Well said and I agree. This calling everyone racist while allowing them to say anything they want is BS. Complete BS. We have blacks in the WH. I’m over this racist, minority crap.
“Thank God for the love and basic human decency displayed by TRUE Democrats.” LOL ... good to see you’ve not been PCed out of your sense of humor.
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.
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BRAVO!!!!
Daily Kos diary on Sarah Palin pregnancy cover-up
“The most damning piece of evidence is that Sarah Palin’s water breaks a month early, and she calls her doctor, and the doctor says “don’t worry, just get on an eight-hour plane flight and come home.” Not very likely. She’d be told to go to the nearest hospital. The reason she had to fly home is because Bristol was the one who suddenly went into labor.”
******
Daily Kos: Sarah Palin Is NOT The Mother [Photos+Video]
by ArcXIX
Sat Aug 30, 2008 at 01:12:31 PM PDT
“Well, Sarah, I’m calling you a liar. And not even a good one. Trig Paxson Van Palin is not your son. He is your grandson. The sooner you come forward with this revelation to the public, the better.”
http://wizbangblog.com/docs/Daily-Kos-Sarah-Palin-Smear.htm
There have been a lot of things said about Bristol, etc., but I’ve never seen anything as ugly as what I saw in the thread about Malia’s shirt.
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Give me 24 hours to get it all together and make you eat these words. I will be sure to post it all here so you can say you were so very wrong.
Other than that, I think Malia and Sasha are lovely young girls, and - yes - I understand why we should steer clear of them.
If I'm following your question here, and I'm not sure I am, do you mean for instance derisive remarks about people from rural southern towns marrying their first cousins, attempting to procreate with farm animals or something like that? If that's what you're asking me, YES, I find derision based on cultural stereotypes to be extremely offensive.
I wish that you would do that but VanillaMilkSheikh has been banned.
Those kind of descriptions are why I never went there. :-p
No, he won't. He got the ZOT!
Strange claim, as I’ve seen pictures portraying Obama as Barney Fife, Joe Isuzu, Jesus, Steve Carell, Adolf Hitler, Spock, Superman, Alfred E. Neuman, etc.
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You forgot Urkel, Mussolini, Stalin, and tons of other white guys.
Actually, I think they do have something in common. Both are angry women.
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Exactly and also they have many of the same facial expressions and I really do think their faces have a similar look.
But don't you dare talking about Malia walking around as a communist billboard!
Got the message? The gall of these people!
“This calling everyone racist while allowing them to say anything they want is BS”
They should be called out on it every time. There are numerous threads about the white family getting beaten, and the guy in new york getting beaten, and in both cases, the “investigators” haven’t decided if it was a racial attack!!!
Read the examples listed in the original post. Yes it got really nasty.
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