"Rope" is the word highlighted beneath an image of President Barack Obama wearing a noose—a mockup of the well-known "Hope" imagery used during his initial presidential campaign. This is the latest meme being shared by conservatives who think it's a funny joke. Yeah, because jokes about hanging African-Americans is totally acceptable and in good taste, right? This behavior is really not even surprising anymore among the mentalities that brought you the birther conspiracy and other bigoted ideology.
As Addicting Info writer Justin Rosario points out, this rhetoric and imagery is a phenomenon that appears to be heavily concentrated on the far-right side of the political spectrum—even though conservative pundits try to say that this kind of mentality is displayed by liberals. The writer also points out that this is a form of terrorism, as the far right is the direction of origin that threats of violence (i.e. "second amendment remedies") and the ilk come when they don't get their way at the ballots. That's absolutely true! This is visual terrorism, and while this "Rope" meme of Obama is protected expression under the U.S. Constitution, the people who are sharing it and calling it a "funny joke" are dangerous people with dangerous mentalities.
Crime analyst and profiler Chelsea Hoffman can be found on The Huffington Post, Chelsea Hoffman: Case to Case and many other outlets. Follow @TheRealChelseaH on Twitter or click here to contact Chelsea directly.
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Comments: 65 ( 19 removed by Chelsea Hoffman )
The majority of oppressed people in USA, the low-wage workers, the oppressed nationalities. The fast food workers, the service-economy workers, supermarket workers, the unemployed, and the elderly poor identify with The Democratic Party. Because it is the lesser evil parties of both traditional political parties of USA.
But the voters of The Republican Party are usually pettit-bourgeoise high-wage workers, doctors, high-wage hospital workers, professionals, small business owners, real estate workers, and people who are economically stable and who benefit from the capitalist system. For them life is real good. And that's why they hate paying taxes, they don't want their taxes to be used to feed the poor and hungry children.
They are very individualist, self-absorbed assholes. They don't care if 50 million americans depend on food-stamps and free medical care. They would love Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to become presidents and vice-presidents. So that Mitt Romney destroys the food-stamps program and the medicare for the poor.
They are real heart-less people. You can find lots of Republican Party voters at Sears, JC Penney, and the people who eat at Olive Garden, Charlies Restaurants, and many other luxury restaurants. they usually drive expensive 30,000 dollars cars like new Toyota Camries, Honda Accord and luxury SUVs.
And yes we have an economic apartheid in USA. A USA for the ultra-right wingers libertarian Republican Party supporters and voters. And the other USA for the great majority of oppressed americans, victims of the neoliberal Thactherism, Reaganism economic program founded by Ronald Reagan, and The Chicago Boys school of economics in the 1980s.
LET'S JUST PRAY TO GOD THAT MITT ROMNEY AND PAUL RYAN LOSE THE NEXT NOVEMBER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. THEY ARE VERY DANGEROUS AND EVIL PEOPLE !!
Although, I agree with the vast majority of what you wrote in you comment, I can not agree with your conclusive ending.
I do not believe that God actually hears nor responds to such prayers for Devine intervention.
Assuming that you believe in some form of religion, I will refer you to an old Christian adage, "God helps those, who help themselves"
The outcome of the 2012 general election will be up to the voters, not to God, to determine.
You know damn well that was created by a loser liberal
No I don't, but I am willing to listen to any evidence that you have to support such claim. Otherwise, take your racism and hatred of President Obama elsewhere. I for one, find it to be as dispictable, as the disparaging illustration it's self.
That is a classic liberal tactic
No tactic being used in anyway by me. Ii's very simple, if you have evidence contrary to that which the article states, then present it to the membership. Otherwise etc etc etc. as I stated before.
Then with a wink they pass "jokes" like this around to their fellow conservatives.
Such portrayal is no joke, it is nothing less than a dispicable, tasteless and disparaging illustration of our country's leader. Further, the drawing has a pronounced racial overtone and exhibits hate at it's utmost extreme. None of which should be mistaken as something less. The President of the United States, no matter who holds that esteem office, should ever, at any time, be considered a joke nor depicted in any such manner.
We are a nation of ideological people who hold individualistic choices in politics and religion as well as in personal ethical and moral attributes. We have the Constitutional freedom of personal expression and speech. Therefore, it is legal to disparage anyone in a painting or some other similar manner. But, when others view such despiction as a joke and not for the expressive trash that it truly is, then something is amiss with our society and we as a nation need to take notice of that problem.
Here's one of the noose around Bush:
http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/wp-content/images2009/hangbushringo.jpg
I'll be glad when this election is over and the asylum comes around to collect all the political wackos.
The darker aspects of our history are sometimes used just a forcefully from one end as the other. Those lynchings are a good reason to be a little more sensitive but... in this case, it can also be a political crutch to excuse a noose around the neck of one president but not another.
Wrong is either wrong across the board or we are no different than those racists of old... except that we flipped sides.
Like I said... when this election is over, the guys with the butterfly nets will hopefully come to collect their missing patients.
in this case, it can also be a political crutch to excuse a noose around the neck of one president but not another.
I respect your opinion and do not wish to overtly oppose, nor to contradict your statement, nor to spit hairs with you on your assessment. However, in placing the blame on both parties, I believe you are ignoring the fact that it the far rightwing of the Republican Party who have been excessively disrespectful to President Obama. Your inclusion of information concerning previous such disrespectful accurrences as being attributed to both political parties, I believe, are out of place in this particular discussion.
Agreed, throughout our history both presidential candidates and presidents themselves have been hanged in effigy. But in doing so, it was in representing the person as either loosing an election or suggesting that the person should be thrown out of office. Both being done in an atmosphere of political jousting for the upper hand in politics. None of which can be compared to what this illustration of President Obama portrays.
It is recorded fact, that President Obama has had to endure charges and accusations by the extremist of the Republican Party consisting of, sexual infidelity, being a Muslim, a foreigner, a false president, a terrorist, a liar, a forger, a hater of America, a hater of the Constitution, a hater of the U.S. Military, a Maxist, a Nazi, a Socialist, A Stalinist, a Communist, a follower of Che, a hater of Israel and Jews, etc etc etc, the list goes on and on.
Therefore, to see President Obama pictured in an abstract illustration with a noose arournd his neck, once again, IMO, can not be considered as being good old boy political jousting. Neither, should the blame for the depiction be seen as being wrong headed politicing attributed of both parties. But, must be viewed as the work of a racist hater of President Obama and such, can not be summarially dismissed nor viewed as anything less than the direct racist debasing of the President himself.
I guess we will take different roads at this point.
Someday, we will either rise above and escape our racial and political shackles to join as one nation - color blind - or we will go down as the house divided because of our failure. This is my heartfelt position.
Further, I cannot, and will not subscribe to a crime being worse upon one person or the next based on politics, religion or race. We bleed the same blood... the donation of a black man can go into a white man and vice-versa. The race issue, regardless of history, is so shallow as to be useless except for the point of political score.
None of this changes history or erases the sins of the past... but it does offer us the key to release ourselves from the ghosts of yesterday to seek a better tomorrow.
Those who take the image of a siting president of any name, of any party and of any race and dangle them from a noose... are equally despicable because we are all equally dependent on this person to lead us and our country.
That's where it ends for me.
PS - I'd give my left big toe for a means to edit comments without having to do a full delete and repost. My apologies.
Were 'twere that it were True.
It is also disingenuous to suggest that both political violence and racism are absent from the conservative mentality. I am not going to say they are dominant traits found in every conservative, and I'm sure that many conservatives are just as offended by them as anyone else. But there certainly is a streak of violence and of racism amongst many convervatives and it encourages the whacko element in your midst to act out on those ideas. (And yes, there are whackos amongst the left as well.)
"But there certainly is a streak of violence and of racism amongst many convervatives and it encourages the whacko element in your midst to act out on those ideas."
And those are the ones that this should be addressed to, instead of making it seem common with any group. The average normal person is offended by that picture, as am I. It is insulting when I feel something like this is presented to represent anyone who is not actually known to share in that mentality.
I know of absolutely no one who would agree with that photo, and most that I associate with would find it offensive, as well.
I know of absolutely no one who would agree with that photo, and most that I associate with would find it offensive, as well.
The reason being, that both you and those you associate with, possess ethical and moral values as well as a sense of dignity and respect for others.
However, in all honesty, you, just as I, have read many comments posted by other members here on GN, which are of the same racially disrepectful rhetoric as is the meaning of the depicted illustration it's self.
Do not expect any of your comments to stick -- and if you continue spamming the same comment over and over, like you have done in the past, I will see to it that your account is banned.
Why does everything that Republicans say about Obama tend to have an edge of physical violence to it? We are talking about an election, not a riot. Physical violence is off topic.
Oh wait, I forgot, only the right uses violent imagery.
Pull your head out and look around.
Here is another question...Why is it that I can come to this post, as a Republican, and speak against the picture and what it suggests, and my comment is not worthy of a response?
I am directing this to Chris, since he posted the above question after my comment, and still made the comment about everything Republicans say being related to violence.
I actually did not put much thought into Boehner's comment. I just found out what it was a few moments ago...
Again, Chris...I am sorry...I meant no disrespect...
I will back away from my over-generalizing- inaccurate to say that EVERYTHING said by republicans about Obama carries a tinge of physical menace. TOO many examples of it, but there still exist republicans who express opposition to Obama's policies without getting physical in their language.
Argue issues, hate the policies... but not the person...
I really hate election time because it brings out the worst in people.