*cringes*

[tikistitch]

So, last week we were like, PRIMARIES ARE OVER YAY!!

No more pie fights, we could finally join hands and sing campfire songs and whatever.

Well, that lasted for about 5 seconds.



This is the Barack Obama sock monkey.

Yeah, really.

It's the talk of the intarwebs today. These guys are checking out who's behind the site. Maybe there's malice aforethought, or maybe it's just the results of cousins marrying.

Speaking of cousins marrying, we come to Fox News....



We're not happy about this, but we called it: they're going after Michelle. Because sexism yay.

So, this next five months is going to be like watching the last 10 minutes of Bamboozled, only instead of just going on and on and on, it's gonna be FIVE FUCKING MONTHS of us crawling under the table to hide from the sheer yawning chasm of horrible.

Comments

[mmymoon.livejournal.com]

Wait, I'm feeling slow today -- is the sock monkey a good thing? Bad thing? Is there a racial implication I'm totally missing?

[twotone]

I think it's because "monkey" and "ape" imagery is used in racist depictions of black people as sub-human jungle creatures? There may be a secondary insinuation that Obama is a "sock puppet" that is manipulated by others.

NOTE: most of my education about African American issues comes from The Boondocks animated series, plus The Daily Show.

[twotone]

I'm horrified and confused by the "baby mama" thing. Isn't that a term specifically created for people who aren't married? Plus, isn't it twice as long as the word "wife"? Plus, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH FOX NEWS SERIOUSLY

PS: "TERRORIST FIST JAB" WTF

[moonlightnrain.livejournal.com]

Whoa. Calling Michelle Obama's baby momma??? Hello, racist much Faux News? Why don't we start talking about the fact that John McCain's marriage started as an extramarital affair while we're at it? Cuz, you know, if that sort of shit happens while he's in office, we'll surely impeach him, right?

Grrrr. Someday in the bright and shiny future, maybe politics will be about politics again. Maybe.

[mmymoon.livejournal.com]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Shades of the social Darwinism nonsense!

... but... monkeys are cute....


It's hard to pick up on these things when you're raised by Sesame Street. And, I suppose, the Etsy/indie/DIY scene that promotes stuff like Superhero Cthulu and devil-horned rubber ducks to the point of over-saturation.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Depicting African-Americans as monkeys or apes is racist.

See, for example:

http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/overview.htm
http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/menu.htm

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

I think the lesson (which we learned again during the primaries) is that sexism sells, but if you want to be racist, it makes people uncomfortable, so you need to be sneaky about it. (Reagan used to be the master of this, with all his "states rights" bloviating.) So, IMHO, this is Faux News trying to sneak one by. And failing. It would be helpful if anyone left at that network had half a brain.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH FOX NEWS SERIOUSLY

It kind of blips you into capslock, doesn't it? The stupid, I mean?

[mmymoon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I did read heaps on the historical psuedo-science claiming Africans were like monkeys and less "evolved" than the magical white people, but I'm too much a child of the "Yay! Let's save the rainforest!" 1990s to make the association with a sock monkey in our current era. I mean, I used to have a riot grrl sock monkey...

I mean, I wouldn't be completely surprised if the creator was just... oblivious. Not a prudent marketing move, obviously, but not necessarily ill-intentioned.

[twotone]

FOX NEWS ARGH

You know, I'm a faithful Daily Show/Colbert Report viewer, and I get a chuckle whenever people fail to pick up on the satire. I think, "How can they NOT realize this is hyperbole, a ridiculous over-the-top parody of stereotyped far-right punditry?"

And then Fox News does something like this, or they show a clip of O'Reilly/that scary blond chick/whatever, and I gnash my teeth and wail at the madness of the world.

[twotone]

Speaking of oblivious marketing moves... Oh god, how lucky are we that the UK hasn't bought into OBAMANIA and created an Obama Golly doll?

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

When I was an exchange student in the UK, found a mail in offer for golly toys on my marmalade jar. Appalled, I presented the atrocity in our dorm's free speech area, ie, the kitchen. I'll never forget, another lefty liberal student (UK native) protesting, "But you don't UNDERSTAAAAAAND! It's TRADITIONAL!" Ugh.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

I mean, I wouldn't be completely surprised if the creator was just... oblivious. Not a prudent marketing move, obviously, but not necessarily ill-intentioned.

Perhaps.

Did you see this?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/15/politics/main4098542.shtml

Odd coincidence that AFAIK no one yet has depicted Sen. McCain as an ape.

[twotone]

Cultural blindspots like that are really fascinating. I mean, Japan/Takara was savvy enough to slowwwwly make the Takara mascot, Dakko-chan, less of a horrible ethnic stereotype by doing a little redesign here and there, painting her in pastel colors, etc. And yet Japan still has its own cultural blind spots, like the idea that men liking sweets = weird and inappropriate, but digital anal penetration (specifically kancho) is ha-ha-hilarious.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Adding, Europe seems to have *totally* bought into Oba-mania. When we were in Germany a couple months back, he seemed to be on the cover of every magazine. It would be a quite pleasant change for us to have him as president, after years of having to sheepishly crawl under the table when our Euro-pals mention Bush.

[aoi-no-neko.livejournal.com]

*face palm because I messed up my own comment and refuse to pay LJ for the simple ability to edit it*

Because them Evangelical right wingers who back Republicans don't believe in Evolution?

Uh, stuff like Fox New, and all the rest is why I don't watch tv. Or have cable.

*really crawls back into her cave*

[aoi-no-neko.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh, well now, Obitsu dolls has decided the appropriate term for marketing their off-white vinyl bodies is to call it "whitey" I kid you not.

[sublate.livejournal.com]

I'm waiting for them to mention the fact that Barack has fathered a black child.

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

God almighty. I'm surprised they didn't put a little noose around its neck.

Even more fail: it's not a goddamned sock monkey if it isn't made from socks.

[mmymoon.livejournal.com]

Not really. McCain isn't... well... lovable.
If you were going to plushify him, he'd have to be a fat stuffed piggie or something.

*shrugs* You've heard my rants about "har har, black Blythe" and all, I'm just saying that my initial reaction to sock monkeys, as a twenty-something demographic, is "kawaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiii!" I think they're about on par with teddy bears for the indie set -- so I wouldn't be entirely shocked if a doe-eyed "I've been brought up so liberal I don't even make the connection" person though it would be a cute cuddly marketing tool.

I wouldn't be surprised if it were snide and racist, either.

Neither one would surprise me. I'm just sayin', you know, sock monkeys are generic/trendy enough now that it definitely wasn't my first assumption.


If anything, the historical racism pisses me off because the implication is that apes are somehow inferior to or "less evolved" than humans, which just irritates me. Let's continue using apes in our ads and circuses! It's not like they have emotions similar to ours! Bah. Sorry, politically, I'm more of a primate rights person than a primaries person. I'd be more likely to vote for someone who DID support The Great Ape Project or something. Maybe Obama could turn it around and get the Jane Goodall vote!

[mmymoon.livejournal.com]

As far as Curious George goes, that would've probably triggered my internal "Wait, what the fuck?" censors more. There's no obvious cuddly-lovable-marketing there.

Personally, I'm kind of creeped out by parodying beloved children's books/media in general -- they ALL give me a bad taste -- so that would've put me on the suspicious track in the first place.

Sock monkeys are just generic enough, like rubber duckies, not to do anything for me. If anything, I would've figured it was a Teddy Roosevelt sort of move.


... *cackles* We did all collectively portray our current white-white president as a monkey. But that's because he looks like one.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Hee. Obitsu presents it's new line, the "Crackers." :-)

[mmymoon.livejournal.com]

'Kay, my ten minutes of reading all the related blogs I could find:

http://mouemagazine.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/obama-monkey-doll/#comment-2954

That one claims to have a reply from the actual creators, and they're claiming it's just supposed to be cute and cuddly.

So -- stealth racism or children's toy? If I were Obama's PR guy, I'd promote the site as cute toys -- as they are kind of, well, freaking cute -- and help bury the stupid ideas of two generations ago. All plush toys could live together in harmony!

[mmymoon.livejournal.com]

Damn it. I knew I should've delayed grad school!

"Let me tell you about your country's president..."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooo"

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

FWIW, there have always been those who claimed pickaninnies, gollies, and all the other crap were supposed to be affectionate and endearing.