Anti-Obama Billboard At Colorado Car Dealership Brings Controversy
Some call it freedom of speech and others are calling it plain racist. Either way, it’s attracting a lot of attention to a suburban Denver car dealer. The billboard, located in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, shows two cartoonish images of Barack Obama, one wearing a Muslim turban and reads “President or Jihad?” It also raises the Birther issue with the line “Birth Certificate – Prove it!” Regardless of how one feels about President Obama, its hard not to ask if this sign goes too far.
Local News Station Fox 31 KDVR reports:
The sign belongs to a car dealership. “Since Fort Hood, I’ve had it,” owner Phil West told FOX 31 News Friday. “You can’t suggest things. You can’t profile. You gotta call a spade a spade.”
“Everything I have read about Mr. Obama points right to the fact that he is a Muslim. And that is the agenda of what Muslim is all about. It’s about anti-American, it’s about anti-Christianity,” West said.
The Anti-Defamation League condemned the sign, as did AM760 radio host David Sirota, who discussed the sign and interviewed West on his program Friday morning.
“It’s out of control,” Sirota said. “This conservative hatred of Barack Obama is out of contol, and this brings together all those strands of it: the racism, the anti-Muslim fervor. It’s one thing to criticise the president on health care, or Wall Street reform, or immigration. But this is outrageous. And I think it’s a fair question to ask why these questions about religion and ancestry are being directed so viciously at the first African-American President of the United States.”
Yeah, we’re going to go with “too far” on this one.
18 comments
m says: Absolutely despicable.
Absolutely funny.
ImNotBlue says: Why now? That’s the question. This story came out on FRIDAY… that’s 4 days ago, and you’re just getting to it now?
Hmmm… maybe there IS hope that you’ll talk about “60 Minutes” from this weekend, or the NYTimes refusing to run a story about the global warming documents. We just have to wait a few days…
Oh, as for the story… the guy’s a kook, but it’s his free speech. Moving on…
em says: Racism
ImNotBlue says: Out of curiosity… for those who cry that this is offensive (not saying it isn’t, but that’s not the point)… do me a favor… Tell me how it compares to Bill Adkins comment to me from yesterday.
I had pointed out that Adkins had made five Nazi references in one thread to attack Beck and his supporters with. I pointed out that this was offensive to me as a Jew, and to other Jews… and that he should stay away from Nazi references if he wants to be taken seriously. This is his response:
Bill Adkins says:
November 24, 2009 at 7:22 amAs a Jew you should remember that in Warsaw during WW II Jews acting as policemen for their Nazi masters helped to herd Jews to the camps (btw, this is another historical reference- you can look it up). It seems you’ve applied for the police academy early.
Are these the type of comments that Democrats and the Left are proud of? Is Mediaite happy to have these kind of comments associated with their blog? Is this kind of offensive language permitted?
The billboard, while deplorable, is also protected speech. Period. The First Amendment was specifically designed to protect unpopular speech and expression.
@Colby Hall: As if Chris Matthews’ summation that Palin’s popularity is driven by racism is any better. This crap is coming from BOTH sides. Wake up and smell the ugliness.
@Chuck Varrick: Funny? That is funny? No, it is not even vaguely funny.
@ImNotBlue: Actually, Bill Adkins’ comments were worse because they were not only yet another sad example of Hitler analogies run wild, but in this case, directly offensive by saying that any conservative Jew is automatically a Sonder Kommando.
More examples of the death of civility in our political discourse.
@Bill Adkins: I had to think about this, because my initial response was to blast back at you. I lost a lot of relatives in those camps and am tired of both sides summoning Nazi references endlessly. Maybe you need to take a step back from the insanity and read your own words.
Your words are are offensive. Highly offensive. Accusing any Jew of Sonder Kommando is beyond offensive. Plus, you are a grade A hypocrite. You condemn the inflammatory speech of Beck and then engage in your own hate filled offensive comments to a person that you don’t know and obviously don’t respect.
Your words do not make YOU a Nazi or Socialist or any other kind of “-ist.” They make you a pathetic fool who has now resorted to tossing inflammatory insults around since logic and intellect have failed you.
I am no fan of Beck or Olbermann or any of the others, but that does not make them Nazis. It makes them idiots and worse, but not evil. The leadership in Iran is evil. They do believe in genocide. Sensationalist pundits like Beck, Olbermann and company are not killers or evil.
Learn the difference.
TfT says: It’s bad, but no different from the racist cartoons against the first black Secretary of State, or the first black female Secretary of State. Both Powell and Condi were attacked in very racist cartoons, spread across the country in newspapers, although I don’t recall a specific billboard.
hkyplayer says: I think he will sell more cars! Because it got national attention. More people like himself that agree will seek out his dealership now and buy from him. You will see, he will be putting up more signs and try to get more air play.
Nachi says: Hey! This is MURCUH. That bit of oily residue left upon the sidewalks after the departure of Missing-Link BushDrunk and his minions. Anything goes! Where there was once little “taste” – there is now no “taste.”
The weak and endangered always end up clawing at each other.
Ted says: Let me guess…white, angry guy that feels victimized…was I close? If you are a racist idiot I can understand how you might think this is “absolutely funny.”
@hkyplayer” Yep. It will sell cars because it is a brilliant PR move to get free coverage. It is still highly offensive and still protected speech.
@nachi: Huh?
@TfT Spot on!
tjl says: @ImNotBlue — ma’am, this is not about you. Why are you trying to make this about you? Start your own blog and you can talk about you being a Jew all you want. But please don’t make this about you. Also, the Hitler/Nazi comparisons come from both sides. I’ve never seen you call for Beck or Limbaugh to quiet down. Hypocrisy now!
ImNotBlue says: Nachi says:
November 24, 2009 at 1:24 pm
MURCUH IS STILL AN UNKNOWN WORD! What are you trying to say?! Give me a link to this word or something… nobody knows what you’re trying to say!
tjl says:
November 24, 2009 at 7:35 pm
1) From both sides, it’s inappropriate… and I’ve consistently said that.
2) I’ll talk about what I want, thank you. If you don’t like it, ignore it or read somewhere else.
3) There is a clear comparison between this potentially racist billboard, and what is deemed “acceptable speech,” by those on the left. The left is quick to jump on any criticism from the right, and call it “racist,” but are much less likely to call out or reprimand offensive language from their own site. This is an example of that.
Keeva says:
November 24, 2009 at 11:50 am
Well said.
tjl says: What would you like me to say ImNotBlue? I agree with you 100% that offensive language from either side is not necessary. But this billboard has nothing to do with someone comparing you to Hitler or calling you a Jew, etc. This is about a racist billboard, plain and simple. And that fact that you can’t call it that is what is sad. If you want me to say that bringing Hitler into the discussion is inappropriate — I will certainly do so. But you have to follow through as well. This billboard is racists, plain and simple. That doesn’t mean that you are. Or that doesn’t mean that all conservatives are. But not being able to call it as you see it is what bothers me.
ImNotBlue says: l says:
November 25, 2009 at 1:40 am
Well, if you scroll up a bit, you’ll find that I did say all of that, prior to my more personal comment (which you apparently didn’t actually read, because you got the synopsis completely wrong). My point was that there are loons from both sides, and while so many like to say, “Those guys are all crazy,” they’re less likely to point out similar offense from within. So yes, I want you to call out the loons on your side for saying stupid and hurtful things… I don’t think that’s too much of a burden.
But let’s talk about the billboard. I haven’t seen a comment yet on WHY it’s racist. Are the drawings racist? Why? Is the “birther theory” the bit that makes it racist? What part about it is racist?
I’ll agree that the board is offensive, and that the birther stuff is a waste of time… but racist, I’m not sure I’ve been convinced of that just yet. Make you pitch. (And don’t give me the old, “I’m not going to bother,” line because that means you don’t have any idea, and you’re just saying “racist,” but don’t understand why.)
jimmymaher says: Racist? haha, it’s so funny how all these people calling to complain are white. I wonder how many blacks or muslims called all the liberals who were mocking bush?
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