Belgium Newspaper Depicts BARACK AND MICHELLE OBAMA as Apes Ahead Of President`s Visit

Not sure if this has been posted yet but I find it disgusting, apart from your opinion on Barack Obama ...

Belgian newspaper De Morgen has published pictures of US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama depicted as apes, days ahead of Obama's expected visit to the country this coming week.

www.breitbart.com...

I am no fan/lover of Obama or his wife, but this is over the line IMO. I can't believe that someone had the audacity to do this and not think/care about the repercussions of it.

They certainly have the freedom to do what they have done, but that doesn't make it the right thing to do.

It's extremely poor taste, classless, and ignorant IMO. It also appears that this isn't the first time they have done this according to the article.

Unreal.

Not defending this, but Belgium and other parts don't have the sensitivities we Americans have on such topics. I am in quite constant casual conversation with many people from different European countries, and they just don't see the big deal. Many of them would look at this and just think it's funny, without a ounce of racist thought behind it.

So what.....?
They are acting like trained pets of the bankers....

Kangaruex4Ewe
I am no fan/lover of Obama or his wife, but this is over the line IMO. I can't believe that someone had the audacity to do this and not think/care about the repercussions of it.

They certainly have the freedom to do what they have done, but that doesn't make it the right thing to do.

It's extremely poor taste, classless, and ignorant IMO. It also appears that this isn't the first time they have done this according to the article.

Unreal.

edit on 3/25/2014 by Kangaruex4Ewe because: (no reason given)

The paper apparently has an Onion type section that ran it as something sent in by Putin,

Offensive yes,

Its satire, and in poor taste, I don't know if anything more need be said.

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe


Exactly, no matter what`s your opinion on Barack and Michelle Obama, I`d feel insulted if I was a black person and/or an American citizen.

For the record, I find the depiction of our First Family disgusting, regardless of opinion about them.

This Just In...

pdated, Tuesday, 9:50 a.m. | One of Belgium’s leading newspapers, De Morgen, apologized on Monday to readers offended by a satirical feature published two days earlier that used racist images of President Obama mocking his strained relationship with the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin.

The editors of the left-leaning Flemish daily explained that the premise of their “admittedly tasteless joke” was that the Russian president had submitted an op-ed article about Mr. Obama that featured two racist caricatures — one photograph captioned to suggest that the first African-American president of the United States was a drug dealer, and a second, digitally altered, to give the president and Michelle Obama the faces of apes.

Link

benrl

The paper apparently has an Onion type section that ran it as something sent in by Putin,

Offensive yes,

Its satire, and in poor taste, I don't know if anything more need be said.

I agree. That is why I didn't say it was racist. I think they were trying to poke some fun at the "relationship" (between Obama and Putin) and wanted to evoke some uncomfortable feelings in the mean time.

Like you said... very poor taste either way.

Take away his teleprompter and all he is is a performing monkey be he black white yellow or brindle-there was plenty of comparisons of Bush with an ape perhaps its more a european comment on the calibre of recent US leadership -not race.

Obviously the Theory of Evolution is wrong, it needs to be rewritten, as it's considered an insult comparing humans and monkeys.
Why our species are ashamed of our ancestors??? We should celebrate them, heck, if they didn't exist we wouldn't be here.

Kangaruex4Ewe

benrl

The paper apparently has an Onion type section that ran it as something sent in by Putin,

Offensive yes,

Its satire, and in poor taste, I don't know if anything more need be said.

I agree. That is why I didn't say it was racist. I think they were poking fun at their "relationship" (between Obama and Putin) and wanted to evoke some uncomfortable feelings in the mean time.

Like you said... very poor taste either way.

Yep,

Often time, Humor and Satire are used to cover peoples innate prejudice,

Most often than not a Bad joke though, no matter how offensive and in poor taste, is still just a bad joke.

And says way more about the person who made it, than anything else, I say, let them air their ignorance in plain sight.

Better to be addressed and mocked that way.

And it seems they already have retracted.

Kangaruex4Ewe
I am no fan/lover of Obama or his wife, but this is over the line IMO. I can't believe that someone had the audacity to do this and not think/care about the repercussions of it.

They certainly have the freedom to do what they have done, but that doesn't make it the right thing to do.

It's extremely poor taste, classless, and ignorant IMO. It also appears that this isn't the first time they have done this according to the article.

Unreal.

edit on 3/25/2014 by Kangaruex4Ewe because: (no reason given)

Could you elaborate as to why you feel this way?

I have a few feelings about this.

If it were a white guy, would anyone care?

do you believe this photo racial depictions or depictions based on showing stupidity? and why?

I feel that because the term monkey has been used negatively toward black people but even so, it's a show of the word users ignorance and not related to black people. We all come from monkeys right, so why do people jump the gun and assume this is racial.

I am likewise jumping the gun and assuming that others assume this was racial... but what do you make of the idea that monkey isn't negative toward black people but all people?

Just another fine example of how the world respects our current president. But yes its in bad taste.

reply to post by CosmicDude


Oh I've seen those comments made here on ATS.
Wouldn't be the first time.

zilebeliveunknown
Obviously the Theory of Evolution is wrong, it needs to be rewritten, as it's considered an insult comparing humans and monkeys.
Why our species are ashamed of our ancestors??? We should celebrate them, heck, if they didn't exist we wouldn't be here.

This is a non-story. IF it were a white guy, no issue at all.... although some would say if it were a white guy this wouldn't have been depicted as it was.

CosmicDude
reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

 

Exactly, no matter what`s your opinion on Barack and Michelle Obama, I`d feel insulted if I was a black person and/or an American citizen.

Why would you feel insulted? Is this satire article depicting black people or just the American president's ignorance? If it was depicting black people, why wouldn't you assume that the satire in the article was pointing out Putin's Racism?

Also, why as an American should I be offended? MY president has been acting like an un-evolved asshole his whole time in office, i'm glad someone is willing to make fun of both sides on that.

Have to admit.. it made me laugh when I saw it... But in the same way I do when a.comedian makes a joke about a disabled person.

Antipathy17

Could you elaborate as to why you feel this way?

I have a few feelings about this.

If it were a white guy, would anyone care?

do you believe this photo racial depictions or depictions based on showing stupidity? and why?

I feel that because the term monkey has been used negatively toward black people but even so, it's a show of the word users ignorance and not related to black people. We all come from monkeys right, so why do people jump the gun and assume this is racial.

I am likewise jumping the gun and assuming that others assume this was racial... but what do you make of the idea that monkey isn't negative toward black people but all people?

No. Nobody would care if it was a white guy. It is what it is.

I feel like it was classless and in poor taste because even if Belgium doesn't have the same history as we do, they are well aware of ours. The photo was done as it was done for the reaction it is getting now.

I already stated that I do not believe the people behind this are racist. They were portraying Putin as a possible racist KNOWING that this picture would do just that.

We can all pretend that black people should not be offended by this, that it is harmless, but we all know that most of them are just based on history and the many terms used to describe them by uneducated, hateful people.

I am not offended at all when I see a white person portrayed as an ape/monkey, but I have never been called such by anybody out of hate and ignorance.

Again... it is what it is. I stand by my opinion that the article was classless and in extremely poor taste.

More infos here

www.breitbart.com...

reply to post by CosmicDude


I am no fan of Obama, but this is blatant racism that should not be tolerated... How does a newspaper editor allow this crap to be published???