Two charged in latest Obama effigy incident

[DogPoundPup]

Source: Yahoo

LEXINGTON, Kentucky (AFP) – Two men faced criminal charges Thursday for hanging an effigy of Barack Obama from a tree with a noose, the latest in a string of racially tinged incidents targeting the man who hopes to be the first black president.

The effigy hung at the University of Kentucky Wednesday was seen as particularly offensive because it was reminiscent of the lynchings that once took place in the former slave state.

Its discovery prompted strong rebukes from the Kentucky governor and university president, an apology letter sent to Obama by the Lexington mayor on behalf of the city's residents, and a campus forum.

The two men who turned themselves in to campus police said the effigy was hung in response to the highly publicized effigy of Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin hung from the roof of a California home.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081031/ts_alt_afp/usvoteobamacrimeeffigy

[Donnachaidh]

1. the u Kentucky student should be kicked out of school

If he wants to act like an ignorant redneck, he doesn't NEED an education. Give his spot to someone who deserves higher education. :grr:

[jwirr]

2. I am beginning to feel sorry for Democrats who live in this area of

the country. It must be hard to know that there is this kind of hatred festering all around you. Stay safe.

[RNdaSilva]

3. It was distasteful but beware of double standards.

What's being done about the hanging of Palin in effigy?

"The two men who turned themselves in to campus police said the effigy was hung in response to the highly publicized effigy of Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin hung from the roof of a California home."

If one act is criminal then both acts are criminal.

What were the ages of the men? If they were students I'd like to believe that they just might learn something after a strong reprimand.

Again, both incidents were offensive and should be dealt with...equally.

[Barrymores Ghost]

4. People here are MOST aware, and thanks for noting the need. (nt)

[JI7]

6. the mayor talked to the asshole and told him to take it down

he said he will take it down.

people are fucking stupid. i wanted to beat the crap out of that dumb ignorant asshole who did it in california.

to respond in the same way is stupid also.

[Gormy Cuss]

7. There's a very good reason for holding the two incidents to a different standard.

The Palin effigy was tacky and tasteless and in our current climate can be construed as a threat on a candidate just as the Obama effigy can, but the Palin incident lacked the historic reference to racially motivated lynching.

[Robb]

11. This is the exact post I was about to type up

...Of course, you said it better than I would've, probably. But, "What Gormy Cuss said." :)

[mopinko]

13. there is plenty of history of hanging women

as witches. a little farther in the past, but certainly not the complete disassociation that you are leaning on. and of course the real crime of many of those women is also that they were "uppity".
i cannot condone either.

[Gormy Cuss]

16. There's plenty of history of hanging people for a host of reasons, but none have the same weight

in our culture as hanging African-Americans. Women hung as witches in the 17th century and people hung as criminals in the old West are a small footnote compared to the long and more recent history of racial lynching. I don't condone the Palin effigy either but it is not in the same league.

[CBGLuthier]

9. I think there is a BIG difference

Considering this nation doesn't have a history of lynching white women I think there is a big difference.

[Psephos]

14. I guess you forgot about Salem. Women and blacks both have long histories of oppression.

There's only one real difference between what happened in West Hollywood and Kentucky. One involved a repug, one a Democrat. Women and black people have both gone through a lot of grief and ugliness in the past. Don't minimize what women have put up with.

The principle involved is simple. Do we condemn mock lynchings for all people or just for those who vote the same way as us? The hypocrites who think it's the latter need to find a new party.

[Gormy Cuss]

17. One can condemn mock lynchings for all people and still see that the Obama one was more offensive.

There are other ways that the WeHo display could have portrayed Palin that would evoke the oppression of women rather than just her. There are also ways that Obama could have been portrayed in a way that didn't evoke racial oppression. But hanging a black man in the south? That's about as clear as it gets.

[Psephos]

18. Splitting hairs

We each have our sensibilities. One size does not fit all.

I find what happened in Kentucky especially disgusting, but then, Obama's my guy. I'm taking a larger view, which is that mock lynchings of people we don't like is universally execrable. Beyond that, in practical political terms, the clear hypocrisy does the party no favor.

[Gormy Cuss]

19. We certainly have different sensibilities.

I don't find the Kentucky incident more disgusting because Obama's my candidate. It's just disgusting period, as were the Obama sock monkeys and the Obama waffles. I also find it disgusting that Palin is reduced to "the bitch," criticized for accepted the VP nomination when she has a young baby, and for a whole host of other sexist criticisms levied at her even though I would rather vote for a pile of dung than cast a vote for her.

[Psephos]

20. ok, I think we're on the same page n/t

[Winterblues]

21. Right or wrong weren't those women tried in a public court

with most townsfolk present? There is a difference between a pick up load of cloaked white men chasing down a random black person and torturing and hanging them until dead.

[Psephos]

23. You have got to be kidding n/t

[Marrah_G]

15. Actually there is a history there.

[RoadRage]

12. I TOTALLY agree.. treating these issues differently is ASKING for trouble

Yes, I understand that black people actually WERE Hanged, and white women were not.

But, by saying that because of that it's OK to put Palin in a noose (or at least not arrest someone who does), yet it's NOT OK to do the same with an Obama character is a HUGE double standard.

That asks pundits to start talking about other things.. like affirmitive action, etc. And frankly - that's not at all what we need them to be focusing on 5 days before the election. Right now there are a LOT of blue collar voters who have finally decided to vote Obama... but they don't need a reminder about why they're hesitant to vote for him.

My brother is a prime example.. he's a white fire-fighter. It took him 2 years longer to get on the department because minorities who scored much lower on tests, and who have less education then he does got on before him due to quotas. Is it fair? I can argue both sides of that. To my brother who was well qualified and watched less qualified people pass him by becaues of gender and race - no it's not. You're not going to change his mind. And, it was one of the reasons he was hesitant on Obama.. but thankfully he's now unenthusiastically voting for him (hey, a vote is a vote).

Back to my original point.. let's not give guys like my brother any talking points on why it should be legally OK to hang a Palin figure but not an Obama one. BOTH should be illeagal. End of story.

[JonQ]

22. I agree

I doubt either group was really trying to incite someone else to violence against either Obama or Palin, but if it's going to be illegal it ought to be illegal for everyone. If not, then it should be legal for everyone.

Free speech isn't always pretty, but that doesn't mean people should be thrown in jail over it.

Unless you can find actual evidence of violent intent then I'd say any group that does this, for either side, is simple a group of misguided, irresponsible, narrow minded but otherwise harmless idiots.

[Hulk]

5. Could only happen in the south....nice going KY...

Can we start the Civil War over again, and this time let's let the South secede?

[Tyler Generation]

8. KY didn't secede in the CW

Only in the south? What about the bear carcass in California? We're not all a bunch of fucking rednecks down here, have some respect for your comrades in the southern demographic.

[Roland99]

10. Idiots with bigotry and racist attitudes exist in every state of the union

And, btw, Kentucky wasn't really a part of either side during the Civil War.

The Underground Railroad was very busy here.