Democrats Point Fingers About "The Joker"
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Harrison
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Democrats hope and change left Liberals obama joker parody racism rev. wright socialism
The Joker was no Socialist though he did seek to make people powerless.
I guess “The Joker” poster of Obama is what passes for serious political discourse now in the United States. I find the poster amusing but in both Batman movies (and in the TV show) the Joker was hardly a Socialist. I guess the image was chosen because it is iconic. What I did find surprising (though I shouldn’t have) are the “allegations” that this poster is racist. I guess calling someone a “racist” is the final tactic people who dislike something have when all else fails. Clearly the perception, created by Obama himself, is that the man stands for Socialism. Obama may not be a Socialist in the poly-sci sense but he certainly is interested in pushing government into private life with Cap and Trade and Obamakare.
The biggest problem I have with this poster is it tries to encapsulate many ideas into a false image. Had Obama been made to look like Mao or Stalin (as Bush was many times) then I could better understand it but I think whomever created this image was a bit of an anarchist themselves. They certainly succeeded in throwing a monkey wrench into political discourse.
Still, people will latch on to an image, even if they don’t quite understand it, and that will form the basis of their understanding. What this poster has done has been very effective in throwing Team Obama off message and illustrating the fact that the man is now openly mocked and is thus no longer the Messiah figure the media and most of his supporters claimed with that whole “Hope and Change” nonsense.
The problem with “Hope and Change” is that people can read whatever they want into those words and can create their perfect politician from that framework. This is one of the many reasons why I never took Obama seriously from the standpoint of actually improving American life. Like most slogans, they are meaningless.
It should also be of note that an image like this did not come about before he was elected president or immediately after. Rather, we have The Joker now that Obamakare and Cap and Trade were proposed. This tells me that when Obama finally came out and stated some of his core beliefs it wasn’t until after he was elected. Judging by the people he associated himself with (Rev. Wright for example) it should be of no surprise what Obama believes but, as this poster’s simplistic summation of the man shows so was the simplistic encapsulation of the man by the press which was equally false.
I see nothing “racial” about the poster and it must dissappoint much of the Left that they were not able to pin the “racist” charge on many people while Obama campaigned or even once he became president. Like the many tired ideas Obama supporters bring to the table, so is the charge of racism.
It is highly ironic that though Democrats claim they seek to eliminate racism as a part of American life, the more this happens the more shrill they become in trying to use that charge to silence people. Maybe one day Democratic supporters who are themselves minorities will cast off the ties that the Democrats use to try and control them as voters.
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8:41 PM
That is pretty freakin’ ridiculous isn’t it? As Stunatra pointed out in my comments regarding this subject – it seems the people who are calling others racist are actually the racists.
What is really great about this poster, to me, is that this has evoked a whole range of interpretations. Ultimately, if you take it at face value (no pun intended) Obama is a joker (not necessarily THE Joker from the movie). In other words, he’s proven himself to be a joke and the “socialism” under the photo is about the man, his policies, and the reason he’s a joke.
However, as you read on my blog, I also saw a more deeper interpretation linking the caption to the image in that it represents his power grab.
No matter what though, what has transpired is that once again the hypocrisy was exposed in broad daylight.
.-= The BoBo´s last blog ..WWRRD? =-.
8:54 PM
I couldn’t believe you were called a “racist.” Same tired old dogma brought out… it loses its power in the face of being so false.
Still… no stink was ever made about all of the George W. Bush posters.
8:54 PM
Wouldn’t a black man in white face make-up be as racist as a white man in black face?
.-= burro´s last blog ..Bulls, Bears, and Obama =-.
8:56 PM
Why don’t we just split the difference?
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_91s-Zkod9Gc/SlWcuGC_LYI/AAAAAAAAF5o/Nuj21OvFP10/s400/bele_and_lokai_star_trek.jpg
10:26 PM
I find the imagery discouraging, only because: it’s come to this.
As a conservative who’s fighting his ass off to inform his friends, family and otherwise as to the dangers of cap and trade, health care, etc. we all have to deal with this as a distraction.
On the other hand, though, if you build up your guy to such ridiculous iconic status then you might expect a free thinking and acting electorate to tear down that same guy in a similar ridiculous iconic manner.
P.S. It’s rather ham-fisted in that I’m not sure what it means (Joker = Socialism???) but I guess it does work in the macro sense that “party’s over, chump… time to pay up”.
I dunno. Head hurts. Need beer.
.-= Dean´s last blog ..Paul Krugman has little use for a show of hands =-.
11:44 PM
Might I suggest this one:
http://www.hoppocketwine.co.uk/images/williams%20joker.jpg
3:43 AM
While the poster itself is really a “nothing” issue, it’s ironic that since Obama took office the race card seems to be getting played more over the pond, when you would have thought it would start getting played less. It looks like pretty soon you guys in the US are going to have to deal with the same politically correct crap we get all the time in the UK, where unless you’re supporting gay rights, espousing multi-culturalism, paying for lesbian creche facilities, recycling your garbage, embracing vegetarianism and attending the Mosque regularly you’re treated as a social outcast.
.-= Caledonian Jim´s last blog ..THE ECONOMY WON’T BE SAVED BY PROFITEERING BANKS =-.
7:55 AM
Thanks for your comments and welcome. Politically Correct speech invaded the U.S. in the late-80s/early 90s. It’s still around but with not as much force. The book Londistan really opened my eyes to the situation in England… terrible!
7:13 AM
burro-
it would only be considered racist if the image depicted obama in whiteface, i.e. trying to look white. the parallel would be the blackface used by whites during the minstrel shows early in the last century.
no, the image was meant to mock on face value. no pun intended. a deeper message could prob be that the joker saw all people as predictable cattle in need of self-enlightenment. admittedly, the latter is a very narrow interpretation.
obama promised hope and change. but he never specified what kind of hope and change he was bringing.
11:44 AM
It is racist and a set-back for what had been done in the Civil Rights movement. Maybe you would like to seat our President at his own lunch counter as well.
.-= askcherlock´s last blog ..HATE CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN =-.
11:57 AM
Please explain how it is “racist.”
1:29 PM
Any criticism leveled at Obama was always going to be tied to some form of racism sooner or later. Guess what? If he loses the next election, it’ll be blamed on racism.
.-= vulcanhammer´s last blog ..Who deserves a raise? =-.
2:02 PM
Those damn racists who helped him beat Hillary in Iowa!
4:58 PM
This might not be racist, but it is certainly very demeaning towards clowns. Last time I checked, “clown” was not a race but more of a lifestyle choice.
.-= Burro´s last blog ..Bulls, Bears, and Obama =-.
6:58 PM
LOL!!!
.-= vulcanhammer´s last blog ..Stossel’s 20/20 Take on Health Care Reform =-.
7:29 PM
If you ever rent Shakes the Clown you will delve into the clown sub-culture. A hilarious movie if ever there was one!
6:48 PM
Burro – I’m offended! It’s not a lifestyle choice. I was born a clown!
.-= The BoBo´s last blog ..Townhall Protestors – Beware – The REAL Mob has been called in. =-.
8:42 PM
The problem with this poster, as you suggest, is that it does not mean anything. It does not make any sense. It does not make clear what the point of it is. It is no better than somebody disfacing a picture by painting a mustache and a beard on it. It is juvenile.
But it is disturbing in that it gives people permission to unleash a lot of hate and anger. I enjoy debating with you, Harrison, because you and I generally keep the tone civil, and we try not to resort to personal attacks. The problem with posters like this, as with the demonstrations at town hall meetings, is that they are preventing a rational debate on the issues, and they are setting loose a lot of nastiness. In that way, maybe the Joker is an appropriate symbol, because he is the symbol of irrational hate, of nihilism, of destructiveness, of anarchy. He is not a symbol of socialism. So if he illustrates anything, he illustrates the person who made the poster, who must be a very angry person.
.-= Joe Markowitz´s last blog ..Laughter is the best medicine. =-.
8:49 PM
We often disagree but I do respect your views. You are right about the Joker poster and on this point we see eye-to-eye but as to the Town Hall meetings I disagree. In those places you have Democrats trying to basically force Obamakare on people. They are scared for whatever reason but, generally, when the government gets involved people sense they will lose all control. Maybe with private insurance companies they have equally as little control but it is perception. Polls show upwards of 80% of people are happy with their insurance and their doctors. I think it is the Democrats who try and paint these people as Brown Shirts or Nazis as the angry ones.
The person who made the Joker poster is more like the Joker than Obama is.
9:55 PM
I agree with you Joe, it is juvenile. Personally, I am very bipartisan, the issue determines where I stand, left or right. I simply do not see the point to this poster, it makes no sense, has no back ground. I also coincide that such posters take away seriousness that politics deserves. Some will say that Washington as a whole needs a little more seriousness to get more done.
2:26 PM
Please explain how the Democrats are forcing anything on anyone. It seems to me that they have respected the democratic process in every possible way, and have included all points of view in drafting legislation. What is happening in the town halls is that a very vocal minority is trying to prevent a calm, rational debate on the issues. These people have in many cases been exposed as Republican party operatives, or stooges of the insurance industry.
.-= Joe Markowitz´s last blog ..Laughter is the best medicine. =-.
2:49 PM
The vast majority are just regular folks. Democrats have responded by stacking the rooms with union supporters… even letting them in first.
And does this sound like someone who is interested in including everyone in the process:
“I don’t want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking,” the president said Thursday at a political rally in Virginia. “I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess.”
6:03 PM
Although racism is unfortunately alive and well here in the U.S., I don’t see the “Joker” poster as racist. Having said that, I do feel that some of the criticism that Obama has received is racist:
Signs held by various tea party protesters, one of which said, “Obama what you talkin’ about Willis? Spend my money!”
Political cartoons such as the one depicting the White House lawn as a watermelon patch.
There’s more, but I think most people will agree that this type of criticism wouldn’t be leveled at a non-African American president.
.-= Malcolm´s last blog ..Our First Award =-.