Assad has a white wife

[blazeKing]

Not something the media will ever let you know about because then it would be a black man attacking a white woman and that wouldn't be good for war. Like George Carlin said, war isn't popular unless it's bombing brown people. And we're even tired of that now with war at 9% approval. Basically the 9% is a bunch of old white males watching Fox News.

http://instagram.com/syrianpresidency

[eissa]

1. Not white, she's Arab

Born and raised in London to Syrian parents.

[Warpy]

13. I look Irish

with extremely pale skin and blue eyes, but I can trace my ancestry within the past 200 years, not long, to 3 continents.

One of the major "looks" in that part of the Middle East is red hair and green eyes, the Persian influence. The skin isn't quite as pale as my Irish hide, but it's almost there.

I have a weird outlook on "white," in any case. I went to an "all white" public school at the age of 11. It was a joke, there were Cherokee kids and Chinese kids and Arab kids and Mexican kids and Japanese kids, all classified "white." The only kids outside that classification had the "one drop" rule from Jim Crow laws applied to them, ancestry from sub Saharan Africa. I decided the whole thing was beyond stupid and age has not mellowed that opinion one bit.

[dorkzilla]

60. Funny you say that...

From the first time I saw him, I thought that Assad bore a more than passing resemblance to my 100% Irish ex-husband

[Warpy]

113. Paleolinguists have pointed out a lot of similarities

between Gaelic and Chaldean, so any resemblance is probably not accidental.

[totodeinhere]

96. Arabs are whites. They are Caucasians. n/t

[eissa]

102. Depends

I don't have the links, but there was a study conducted on roots of the region. Populations in places like Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran fell into the "Caucasian" category. Others in the gulf region, and of course the Arabs of North Africa fell into a different category (sorry, don't remember the exact terminology right now.)

Skin color aside, I never considered myself "white."

[MineralMan]

169. White is a color. It is not an ethnicity or race.

It is simply a color.

[blazeKing]

2. forreal? She looks whiter than most of my white friends

[eissa]

4. You'd be surprised

at the features of many Arabs in the Levant, Syria and Lebanon is particular. Nothing like the caricatures we see here regularly. Stunningly beautiful.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

8. .

[Raine1967]

41. And this matters, WHY?

Why are you responding to you own post?

What the ever loving hell is your point in making this an OP?

[bluestate10]

133. The middle-east has many caucasians, people that have lived in the region for centuries.

Racial identification is such a trap that far too many people fall into it.

[CreekDog]

174. Going out in a blaze of glory?

minus the glory part though.

[El Supremo]

3. What the fucking hell?

[Supersedeas]

9. Whitey supreme...and blinded by ideological glasses

[Nuclear Unicorn]

38. I'm not sure I understand your post. Could you expound?

[Supersedeas]

48. the 9% that support the President's actions

see the OP

[Cali_Democrat]

5. LOL...Wuh?

[Earth_First]

6. You sir/m'am are an idiot. nt

[cthulu2016]

54. ^^^ hard to argue

[etherealtruth]

65. Astute observation

[Hekate]

7. OFFS. Assad is "white" himself, just not European. Very white.

There is a whole range of skin colors throughout the entire region. Some of those refugee children have blue eyes.

[pnwmom]

111. He could be Italian, Greek, Spanish. Plenty of Europeans have his coloring. n/t

[Hekate]

132. True dat. But in his case he's--you know--Syrian. The OP is a bit bizarre....

Or maybe just totally ignorant and operating off stereotypes.

[jakeXT]

10. She is Sunni

As a Sunni Muslim by birth, Asma al-Assad's leading role was also important for the view of the Syrian government and president, an Alawite, among the Sunni majority of Syria.[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asma_al-Assad

[Cerridwen]

11. Uh, wut?

I'm trying very hard to figure out why this is indicative of anything, especially since it appears to be wrong.

Could you answer a question for me please?

What crap load of shit are you willing to swallow in order to validate your confirmation bias and/or prejudice?

[CountAllVotes]

12. .

[ananda]

56. Monsters can look like anybody I guess.

..

[UtahLib]

14. I can make no sense, whatsoever, of this OP. nt

[cali]

27. there's no sense to be made of it. It's just majorly stupid and offensive.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

35. But he has white friends, so it's OK.

[tnlefty]

137. Seriously, I LOLd so hard that I choked, thanks, I think

blazeking....hmmm...Beck's show is called the Blaze, on teevee anyway, and they delight in stirring up racial crap....could it be a troll? Maybe, possibly a troll??

[Nuclear Unicorn]

164. Blaze could also be a pot smoking reference. Also consider the psychedelic Bob Marley avatar

<--- went to college

[Supersedeas]

165. so many alibis

that's funny and oh so one sided in its application

expect no less when it comes to granting allowances...and the ole college try

[Nuclear Unicorn]

166. I don't even know what that means

[Supersedeas]

167. it means all of those things you reference could be possible at the same time

the Marley, the pot, the college, etc.

It might no only explain the language contained in the post you reference, but also the arrow to the picture that your reference.

Then, again, maybe I read too much into the whole Marley thing.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

168. The arrow pointed to/referenced me, ergo me going to college.

Any other interpretation would not be intended on my part. Honest apologies if it may have seemed to be something else to you.

[Supersedeas]

170. No apology necessary...that's my bad.

[Supersedeas]

141. Ouch

[JI7]

15. she is Ethnic Arab, and i guess she is White in the same way Assad is White also

[DemocratSinceBirth]

16. We bombed the Serbs for 78 straight days. I think they are white./nt

[karynnj]

93. and the Germans as well -- very white - often with blond hair and blue eyes

[pinboy3niner]

17. If I were you, I'd self-delete this offensive garbage of a post

This has no place at DU.

[UtahLib]

25. Absolutely agree. nt

[pinboy3niner]

31. Another member had already alerted and the jury split 3-3 to leave it

Unfortunately.

[DrDan]

37. just started to alert it - unbelievable

[pinboy3niner]

42. My alert msg:

"Ignorant racist drivel masquerading as progressive analysis/commentary."

Unfortunately, it had already been alerted and decided.

[FSogol]

87. You nailed it. n/t

[etherealtruth]

91. How . why ... ?

At what point would 3 DUers find this appropriate? The results are even more disturbing than the OP

[seabeyond]

99. more and more. someone called our daughters... bitches in the litter and it was left standing.

we are told how well the jury is doing. more and more is left.

comparing the death of jews at the hands of nazi's to the suicide of the man that kidnapped three women and held them hostage for a decade.

[etherealtruth]

101. I know

Disheartening

[lumpy]

116. The job must be overwhelming considering all the ignorant trash and insults that is posted here.

ugh

[DrDan]

104. just hard to believe 3 would support not hiding it - wonder if they even read the post

[pinboy3niner]

110. DU juries are like the Wild West

They have no rules or guidelines beyond the TOS and forum/group SOPs, and those are very limited.

And nothing prevents new trolls--who have not yet been PPRd--from serving on juries.

Still, it's hard to believe they missed the obvious racism in this post.

[nolabear]

136. I have yet to see a post by this one that isn't flamebait.

As the name implies.

[pinboy3niner]

138. I recently suggested that the poster chose that username...

...over ArmageddonInferno.
http://upload.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3582889

[JI7]

18. this thread just seems kind of fucked up

and i'm not even sure the point that is trying to be made

[Union Scribe]

19. dafuq did I just read? nt

[Hissyspit]

171. +1

[bluestate10]

20. Assad's wife was born in London, her parents are Shia Muslims from Aleppo, Syria.

The definition of White is a slippery slope. If a person's skin or eye color are the only determinants, some Blacks and Hispanics would be White.

[jakeXT]

32. Close, Homs and not Aleppo, Sunni and not Shia

According to Tabler's book, no photos of the wedding appeared in Syrian papers; some Syrians told him the Assad family was unhappy about the union. Assad was a member of the elite Alawite tribe, and Asma's father was Sunni. The groups have a long history of rivalry and conflict -- especially in the city of Homs, Asma's father's hometown. Homs has seen sectarian tensions and killings as the protest movement has evolved.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/25/world/meast/asma-al-assad-profile

[dixiegrrrrl]

68. So, Assad is Alawhite too!

[DURHAM D]

73. I am curious...

Why is that funny?

[jakeXT]

94. the poster added a letter Alawite/Alawhite

[dixiegrrrrl]

95. Because he and his wife are Al-white

in the alternative spelling...

a double score here, one for the pun
and one to point out the silliness of the topic

plus a brownie point for having to even explain it..

Taa daaaaaaaa.....for the win!!!!

[bluestate10]

125. She was making a joke. I got it. nt

[bravenak]

89. Alawhite!

[HardTimes99]

120. Thread-winner, hands down. I'm in awe of your punning skills - nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

145. aww.......shucky durn...weren't nothing...

[pinboy3niner]

147. Nice catch, dixiegrrrrl!

Kind of revealing of the OP, too--as if we needed that.

[bluestate10]

124. Thanks for the corrections. nt

[MADem]

162. Many Hispanics ARE white. AND black. And ASIAN!

HISPANIC is an ethnicity, not a race--ask Cameron Diaz, Big Papi, and Alberto Fujimori....

[msanthrope]

21. What the fuck? nt

[bunnies]

29. +1

[Cali_Democrat]

22. BTW...I have a Syrian friend

He and his family look like white europeans.

Many arabs look white.

[David__77]

23. What the hell? Arab people are considered caucasians by many. Assad has blue eyes.

His kids are blond.

But who the hell cares?

What's with the race talk in any event?

[lumpy]

112. Makes one wonder what 'color' Adam and Eve were.

ugh

[cali]

24. jaysus. hate to break this to you but Assad is a blue eyed fair complected white man

guess what? Most syrians are white.

ack.

[Supersedeas]

142. but that kind of defeats the theory that Republicans are supporting

the President because Republicans are racist...hmmm

[CJCRANE]

26. Some arabs are white, some are brown, some are black.

Just like people.

[Starry Messenger]

28. FFS

[rug]

30. The Syrian crisis has shown a propensity for generating idiocy.

[pinboy3niner]

39. + A brazillion!

Nicely put!

[seabeyond]

33. oh fuckin bullshit. try a little harder to pull something out of .....

[hrmjustin]

34. What does it matter what color she is?

[Cooley Hurd]

36. Bringing up skin color for any reason is wrong.

It's lazy, quite frankly.

[quinnox]

40. bizarre OP

[pinboy3niner]

43. Par for the course here, I believe. nt

[Supersedeas]

51. how so?

[pinboy3niner]

103. Not the first bizarre post

I don't keep dossiers on DUers, nor am I interested in digging into all of the member's previous posts. But I recall seeing bizarre from this poster before.

But nothing as objectionable as this ignorant, racist tripe masquerading as progressive commentary/analysis. This one really takes the pizza!

[Supersedeas]

117. there's lots of masquerading going on these days

[pinboy3niner]

118. And you thought I was being cryptic

[Supersedeas]

128. Nah, straight as you could be about it

[HardTimes99]

121. I heartily concur. I want to say it's racist, but that seems to dignify it with

coherence that I'm not really sure it deserves. Reads like sheer lunacy. I started to try to deconstruct it, but just gave up. Beyond my skills at exposition.

[Jesus Malverde]

44. strange days...nt

[giftedgirl77]

45. Holy shit you don't get out much do you?

[eissa]

46. I really have no problem with this post

Being middle eastern, you'd be surprised at the comments some of us receive about not looking like what some people expect. I'm going to give the poster the benefit of the doubt and assume that they (like many Americans) think people from that region all look a certain way (no thanks to the media who portray that, by the way.) Yes, middle easterners of course come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, but you'd be amazed at how few really know that.

It's a teaching moment!

[Cerridwen]

47. Your other right.

I notice reading through the thread that a "majority" of DUers who served on a jury didn't notice anything racist in your OP.

I'm not the least surprised.

That you thought you could come here and post racist shit and get away with it, has been confirmed by the jury.

Your OP is disgusting.

The jury who allowed such; I presume in the name of tolerating anything in the name of tolerance, is also not unexpected and also disgusting.

Mr. Benchley, is that you? Then you're good. No problem with Mr. Benchley.

[ProSense]

49. Exactly, asking what her race has to do with it is or what's the point completely ignores the

the point:

"Not something the media will ever let you know about because then it would be a black man attacking a white woman and that wouldn't be good for war. "

Racist shit!

[Cerridwen]

52. This is where you get to learn why I

am not one of the popular kids or the cool kids or what the fuck ever.

Is this OP racist? Yes. Do they think they can play a racist card on DU without retribution? Of course they do.

Do I think you and I share common values? No.

You have proven time after time that anything a "D"emocratic president does is acceptable especially if his "skin color" is acceptable.

I don't want you on my side.

I prefer honest, principled in spite of the party-line, and consistently intellectually honest people on "my" side.

You don't fit.

Don't fucking hitch your wagon to my "cause." You don't fucking have a cause. You have hero worship and party loyalty.

[ProSense]

58. You know what?

This is where you get to learn why I

am not one of the popular kids or the cool kids or what the fuck ever.

Is this OP racist? Yes. Do they think they can play a racist card on DU without retribution? Of course they do.

Do I think you and I share common values? No.

You have proven time after time that anything a "D"emocratic president does is acceptable especially if his "skin color" is acceptable.

I don't want you on my side.

I prefer honest, principled in spite of the party-line, and consistently intellectually honest people on "my" side.

You don't fit.

Don't fucking hitch your wagon to my "cause." You don't fucking have a cause. You have hero worship and party loyalty.

I'm not offended, and I am not interested in being on your "side." Your comment lacks class, and say a lot more about you than me. I made my point about the OP.

[Cerridwen]

61. omc was allowed to teach a lot

of DUers a tactic. For six (?) years or so. Man, he provided a lot of income generating clicks, didn't he? Don't worry, "it's just business; nothing personal (llc)."

You've learned it well.

"'Tis only a flesh wound.

[RetroLounge]

98. "Your comment lacks class"

I'd say it's pretty spot on.



RL

[bunnies]

79. Holy hell.

This is first time Ive seen a DUer attack another one for agreeing with them. You come off incredibly mean and spiteful. Not a good look, really. We dont all agree with each other on every issue, all of the time. But to attack someone personally like that, completely unprovoked... What a sucky thing to do.

You neednt bother to reply. Im sure you dont give a fuck what I think. I just wanted to say what I said. Carry on.

[RetroLounge]

97. +1000

RL

[leftstreet]

72. +1

I can't even 'cipher what the racist intend of the post was

Just makes DU look really stupid

[UtahLib]

50. You really should delete this OP.

You have, whether intentional or not, made a pretty nasty spectacle of yourself.

[alcibiades_mystery]

53. Wow

You done lost your shit.

[BOG PERSON]

55. whiteness is conditional and can be revoked

for example, in america, the irish were not considered "white" until fairly recently

[leeroysphitz]

57. Nice. n/t

[kwassa]

59. oh no! not a white-on-white marriage! what a scandal!

[etherealtruth]

64. I am opposed to this type of union!

Sadly, idiocy has been expressed

[etherealtruth]

62. Oh for Pete's sake

Really...? "Ethnic" middle easterners are "caucasion"

[blm]

63. This post is so crazy it sounds trollish.

.

[LAGC]

156. OP will be "blazing" out shortly, I suspect.

He's been flying under the radar (just barely) so far...

[pinboy3niner]

158. What do you mean, "ish"?

[Solly Mack]

66. This is a truly horrible post. Wow. Damn. Why is this thread not locked?

Why has it not been zapped out of existence?

Incredibly offensive.

[fujiyama]

67. Your post has FAIL written all over it

Really, this is one dumb fucking post.

You must never have met a person from the middle east. They come in different colors, shapes, and sizes.

Just like us.

Who'da guessed it?

[kestrel91316]

69. Racebaiter.

[irisblue]

70. some one alerted MIRT right?

[DURHAM D]

71. I sent a TOS question to the Admin.

Will probably take awhile.

[pinboy3niner]

92. MIRT can't PPR a member with that many posts

It has to go to admins, and alerts with TOS checked (as mine and I'm sure others were) automatically are referred to the admins.

Fingers crossed.

[xfundy]

74. How are things at Glenn Beckkk's blaze site?

I'm positive he'd love your way of "thinking."

[Iggo]

75. Excuse me?

Wow!

[JI7]

76. does anyone have results of the jury vote on this ?

and whether any of them gave an explanation for how they voted ?

[bunnies]

82. 3-3.

No ones posted the actual results email though.

[bluestate10]

130. I wasn't on the jury. If I was, I would have voted to leave it.

While the post is a bit disjointed on the point the OP is attempting to make, it doesn't violate any policy, IMO. To me, it seems that the OP is making an attack on the American far right and the racial undertones that color actions from that political block.

[bunnies]

131. Could be.

Could be trolling too. Its almost impossible to tell with this one. That whole black man attacking a white woman thing is just odd.

[pinboy3niner]

139. You'd leave it? Really?

The post is more than just disjointed, it's ignorant and racist in its assumptions.

With many, many threads here on the issue, NO ONE has introduced race into it--until now. The post is disgusting, and the jury should not have left it up.

[etherealtruth]

77. Every village has one ...

[lpbk2713]

78. I have a red Ford Escape

So there.




OMFG

[BainsBane]

81. She's had some high profile spreads in Vogue magazine

because they hired a PR firm to enhance the image of the Assads. The media lets people know about her.

[Throd]

83. I have a white ass.

[Iggo]

127. Me, too...

...and a suggestion for someone, know'm say'n?

[brooklynite]

84. Considering that Assad isn't being targeted, this is completely irrelevent.

[Number23]

85. Easily the worst thread in a forum full of damn good contenders for that title on a daily basis

I mean this is really, really bad.

Asma al-Assad is not white (though some would argue that her light complexion, hair and that they send their kids to Christian schools were more than enough to catch the attention of Vogue magazine. If she'd been any darker and/or poorer, would she have been declared Vogue's "Rose in the Desert" for their cringe-inducing feature on her at the start of the Arab Spring?) and if you saw a picture of Bashar al-Assad's dad you would think he was European.

[noiretextatique]

86. odd post, however carlin was correct

about the popularity of recent American wars. regarding assad's wife, surely ignorant americans, like teabaggers, would not consider any middle-eastern person "white."

[Tx4obama]

88. You are wrong about the media. Yesterday or day before CNN was talking about her

And I've seen profiles of her on TV in the past too.

Years ago she was very popular and had been compared to Princess Diana many times due to her charity work.

It appears that it is YOU that hasn't been paying attention.

Asma's BIO: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asma_Assad

[bravenak]

90. My BFF is Turkish and Persian.

Sh has green eyes, white skin, and honey blond hair. She's not white.

[MineralMan]

100. WTF?

A white wife? She has a white husband. What are you talking about? Please explain this racist bullshit. I will wait here.

[warrant46]

107. I agree with you

Its a degrading and insolent post

[Supersedeas]

135. hooked

[trackfan]

154. +1 n/t

[Posteritatis]

105. This may actually be the stupidest OP I've seen here this week. (nt)

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

106. That's a funny way to write the headline

Assad is Caucasian aka white...............

[lumpy]

108. Assad has a white wife. Bloody hell, that post is unbelieveable.

The ignorance exhibited on this forum is outstanding.

[Enrique]

109. this post didn't go over well here at DU

you might get a better reception at Stormfront.org

[pinboy3niner]

153. Oh, snap!

And right on!

[Drew Richards]

114. Omg go back to freeperville with this racist crap

[SidDithers]

115. ...

Sid

[WilliamPitt]

119. Assad has a white wife. George W. Bush has a good heart. Cruise missiles aren't war.

Where the fuck am I????

[Coyotl]

122. Noone is "white"and everyone should know that.

There is no such thing as human "races" except in the minds of people who are racists and mentally divide people into color categories that have no reality of their own.

[Texasgal]

123. Dumb post.

I am confused as to what your point was... can you explain?

[BeyondGeography]

126. Still?

[lunasun]

129. 'K

[nolabear]

134. And you appear to be a flamer and nothing more.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

140. smh/nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

143. Pssst...

You're a dick.

[Raine1967]

144. Original OP Jury results:

I sent the alert. I still find this post offensive.

At Thu Sep 5, 2013, 06:03 PM you sent an alert on the following post:

Assad has a white wife
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023605219

REASON FOR ALERT:

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

YOUR COMMENTS:

Assad's wife and her skin color should not have one place of discussion with regard to Syria.



JURY RESULTS

A randomly-selected Jury of DU members completed their review of this alert at Thu Sep 5, 2013, 06:11 PM, and voted 3-3 to LEAVE IT ALONE.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: This can be hashed out without without hiding the post
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: Stupid post about race since Semitic people are considered by many to be Caucasian. Other characteristics, not skin color determine what a Caucasian is. However, not alert worthy on that basis.
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT and said: Voting to hide. Alerter is correct. Aside from the fact that Assad's wife is not white, her skin color has nothing to do with this, and neither does the President's, for that matter.

Thank you.

I ask again that the OP please delete this. It's not being hashed out, it is a flame-fest.

[markpkessinger]

149. Actually, I'm glad the post was left standing . . .

. . . because it has given the rest of the DU community an opportunity to call the poster out on such a moronic post!

[pinboy3niner]

152. Thankyou, Raine

The result is still a headscratcher. And I still think my alert msg was better:

"Ignorant racist drivel masquerading as progressive analysis/commentary."

[markiv]

146. 'Basically the 9% is a bunch of old white males'

perhaps someday we will have an african american president, and.....

oh wait....we already do

sorry, the number one guy pushing this sure doent look white to me

[Blue_In_AK]

148. Huh?

Assad is not black.

[donheld]

150. You made a fool of yourself

[Scootaloo]

151. And what a lucky woman she is, to have landed a man who looks like he's swallowing his lower jaw

Seriously, if we can, just for the briefest of moments overlook the whole "brutal dictator" thing...

Isn't Bashar Assad a perfect shoe-in for Bill Engval's "Dorkfish" routine?

[Jamastiene]

155. This is racist drivel.

There are plenty of good arguments to be made about the horror of going to war again and why we should not be doing that, but this is not one of them. You could try to save face and self delete this garbage.

[bobclark86]

157. Dafuq does that have to do with anything?

And by white, you mean Syrian... just like Assad.

[NutmegYankee]

159. Assad is also white.

Arabs are Caucasians.

Wow what a dumb thing to post!

[iamthebandfanman]

160. Wtf ?

Seriously?

Yikes.

some of you sit around and think waaaaaaay to much.. I can think of no other way some of you could come up with the wild theories that you do.


for the record tho, her ethnicity is SYRIAN .. not sure if that makes her white brown pink or yellow in your opinion.. but who cares what you think after this crazy assertion?

[dipsydoodle]

161. and ?

[a la izquierda]

163. Ahh, this is insane.

I come from fairly recent immigrants: Irish and Scottish on one side, Italian, Spanish, and French on the other. I look...Mediterranean, like any number of people from parts of the Middle East, Europe, or North Africa.
Race is a social construct.

[annabanana]

172. onion?

Assad Isn't white?

(Head scratcher)

[Avalux]

173. I don't care what color she 'looks'. How does she feel about her husband gassing innocents? n/t