A few months ago, I came to a longwinded conclusion about all the borderline/blatantly racist crap that seems to be rearing its head now that there's a Black man on a crash course for 1600 Penn Ave. There were those stupid Curious George T-Shirts. The infamous sock monkey doll. That grotesque phallic symbol "art exhibit" in NYC. Those ignant Black House lapel pins. After a full month of seeing such nonsense sprout up in the name of capitalism satire, I finally realized that Black folks might need to develop a bit thicker skin, or there's going to be another breakout of hypertension in ghettos coast to coast before November 4th. Reality is, yes, this stuff is blatantly racist. I mean, c'mon. How is calling black man a monkey not racist, or at the very least incredibly insensitive? But every President gets lampooned in some way, shape or form. You can only talk about a man's abnormally large ears for awhile until that joke grows old.
In the weeks since, I've gotten similar stories emailed to me all the time, but I haven't bothered making a post of any of them for the very reasons I mentioned in the Thick Skin post. These things are offensive, but they're par for the course. We might need to learn to live with em'. Chances are, if Barry gets to spend two terms in office, we'll see far worse.
Thus, this latest example of Caucasian Craziness isn't exactly notable for any reason, other than the very notable TV personality who just happened to purchase a box for his personal enjoyment.
Activists at a conservative political forum snapped up boxes of waffle mix depicting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as a racial stereotype on its front and wearing Arab-like headdress on its top flap.Okay, so no harm, no foul. The original box has since been redesigned and the version on the product website looks like this.
Values Voter Summit organizers cut off sales of Obama Waffles boxes on Saturday, saying they had not realized the boxes displayed "offensive material." The summit and the exhibit hall where the boxes were sold had been open since Thursday afternoon.
The box was meant as political satire, said Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss, two writers from Franklin, Tenn., who created the mix. They sold it for $10 a box from a rented booth at the summit sponsored by the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council.
David Nammo, executive director of the lobbying group FRC Action, said summit organizers were told the boxes were a parody of Obama's policy positions but had not examined them closely.
Republican Party stalwarts Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney were among speakers at the forum, which officials said drew 2,100 activists from 44 states
On the back of the box, Obama is depicted in stereotypical Mexican dress, including a sombrero, above a recipe for "Open Border Fiesta Waffles" that says it can serve "4 or more illegal aliens." The recipe includes a tip: "While waiting for these zesty treats to invade your home, why not learn a foreign language?"
The novelty item also takes shots at 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, Obama's wife, Michelle, and Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Good clean, All-American fun, I tell ya.
But guess which CNN anchor mugged for a photo endorsing the waffles, which was later scrubbed from the manufacturer's website once the media got ahold of it?
This has become a minor story, getting substantial coverage in the blog world. However, the AP version of the story does not mention that the creators of Obama Waffles had a photo on their Web site of Lou Dobbs, a speaker at the Values Voters Summit, purchasing them and reported that he said "My wife will love this." The photo and story has been removed from the site but bloggers were able to take screen shots before it was taken down.And the photographic evidence.
So far, it appears no major media outlet has mentioned Dobbs' endorsement of the product. Dobbs does not appear to have been sufficiently pressured to respond, clarify, or issue an apology.
Yep, this is the world we live in folks. Laugh, to keep from crying.
Question: Do you think Obama Waffles are racist or merely fun and harmless satire? Should CNN give Lou Dobbs a bit ole' Grandaddy-powered thump to the back of the head for engaging in such nonsense?
Forum sells 'Obama Waffles' with racial stereotype [China Daily]
Obama Waffles Official Product Website
Lou Dobbs bought racist "Obama Waffles" at Values Voters Summit [Buzzflash]
