But it's just a mask! (isn't it?)

[rick-day.livejournal.com]

VS

FIGHT!

But it's just a mask!

Or so claim the 'suddenly found free speech religion' right wing (those same guys who brought us "free speech zones")regarding the recent incident in Gawd's country Missouri. If you have not heard, some clown in a mask got the PC banhammer from the Missouri Clown Club for..being funny. Or insulting. Both of which are in the clown job descriptions.

Of course, the PC wingnut left went into a pearl clutching tizzy over offending our president. They want justice! Wingnuts on the right respond by "PANDERING PHOTO OP!" and some Texas asshole 'invites' him and his mask to Texas, presumably to...hit the chicken dinner circuit, shoot abortion doctors or taunt liberal cows idk. (mod note: that part is humor. There are no liberal cows in TX). Anything but talk about the problems of the country.

So who is at fault here, the mask maker, the clown or maybe... the announcer who egged the thing on?Who was the announcer who screamed his 'free speech' into a public address system in a taxpayer paid and supported venue (state fair)? Apparently, not a clown.

An attorney for rodeo announcer Mark Ficken said that his resignation from the group is not an acknowledgment of wrongdoing on his part but rather a protest that the association has not banned the rodeo clown from its membership.

Ficken's resignation from the rodeo group comes as he tries to hold on to his job as superintendent of the Boonville School District. The school system announced Monday that it is hiring an investigator to look into whether Ficken was involved in any "inappropriate conduct" during Saturday's bull riding event at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia.

So what did Ficken resign? Well..um...as the president of the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association.

But there is no racism here, just free speech! (mods: that was sarcasm)

On the right: back when President Shrub was around, many within the GOP clutched their pearls while pointing bony fingers of 'you support terrorists if you do not support my president' hypocrisy. Remember Cynthia McKinney? Max Cleland?

On the left: where was your presidential insult indignation when it happens at rodeos with Bush Masks?

How..inconvenient, I must say. So when does humor cross the line into insult. A most excellent question, I must say as well! In this example, I postulate

Clown alone - random humor. He was doing his job and a right scary one too. POTII are fair game on the clown circuit.
Scripting between Clown and announcer - collusion. That is where the line is to me. I don't see that here.
Announcer's intent that his words elicit a bigoted crowd reaction - collusion because the person controlling the message use the message to stir the prejudices of the crowd.

And for balance I'll throw in

Announcer's words and Crowd Condemnation - no collusion, just a stupid looking announcer.

So now the two 'new labels' are 'bigot' (I don't use the r-word anymore) or 'nanny'. My opinion: it was the announcer who took the situation from humor to gutter emotional pandering to people's prejudices because growing up in the town that hosted the World's Best Rodeo, I can certainly tell you that rodeos are as diverse an audience as a klan meeting. (note: this is based on experience. I can not link to a fact made up by someone else to 'prove' that observation). I pose to the group: should this be considered unfettered free speech and not have consequences, or are the consequences too draconian for the sin? Perhaps something in between?

Comments

[vitsli.livejournal.com]

Free speech and no LEGAL consequences.

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

1.) Why can't we insult the president? Or the presidency for that matter? Insulting presidents is an American tradition that did not spare George Washington. I mean, Bush=monkey was a ubiquitous trope for the whole of his presidency. Why have a 1st Amendment if we can't use it to be a douche bag occasionally?

2.) I haven't listened to the announcer, to be honest, but if he was inciting violence against anyone, but especially the president, that is a crime and he should be held responsible. If he was just being a douche bag, well, that is its own reward punishment.

3.) The whole "controversy" is as phony as a $3 bill.

[brother-dour.livejournal.com]

I've been to Missouri many times; my family is originally from there, and I still have a lot of extended family up there. I can assure you, Missouri is in many ways more back-asswards than Texas even is (especially on race relations, but at least the state is pretty pro-union).

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

The voice over commentary on Obama running around like a clown without knowing it seemed a bit rude. I would not suggest the commenter be disciplined, however. I would just invite him to spend the night on the other side of the tracks to see if his humor might not need some adjustment.

I found this example of Christian masking on the Interwebz:

[rimpala.livejournal.com]

The Missouri Clown Club doesn't sound like a government organization though, if they want to ban someone because they didn't like what they did it's not a freedom of speech issue it's a PR one.

[paft.livejournal.com]

I think the issue isn't just that the clown was "disrespectful" of the president, but that it implied violence towards the president.

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

Having grown up in ranch country, I went to a lot of rodeos. I never saw a rodeo clown that was 'implying' violence toward anything.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

Actually, what the announcer said was not "implied" violence at all, but a threat. There are laws on the books that forbid anyone from threatening the life of a sitting president.

Ask Dan Savage. He noted that if Clinton didn't repeal the ban on gays in the military, he would be angry enough to kill. That got him a personal visit from the Secret Service.

Suggesting that a bull trample Obama might also fit the legal definition.

[vehemencet-t.livejournal.com]

But that's horrible!!

wait..

No it's not. People complaining about the president, saying they hate him and even calling for his 'assassination' is actually a time-honored tradition in some population sectors. Actually it's pretty much universal for rulers who, you know, order the deaths of innocent people to be hated by some segments, usually not the ruling class, for various reasons.

But I do have to call stupid hypocrisy on sparing the president comments that "imply violence against him" (seriously do you know how bad that sounds) when the president has presided over quite a bit of violence against his geopolitical enemies.

In short, get over it. I'm not saying I got any pleasure out of Blackface Rodeo Clown, but the principle itself is what bothers me.

[oportet.livejournal.com]

"Hypocrisy is bad, unless I'm the one doing it" - words we can all live by.

(...but since you asked, put me down for 'unfettered free speech and not have consequences')

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

DQ ^

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

This leftist is more worried about how they treat their animals at the rodeo.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

I don't see anything wrong with this.

[rick-day.livejournal.com]

perhaps another great subject for another post? :)

[rick-day.livejournal.com]

with the corn pone delivery of the entertainment company, one could also assume that any famous 'city slicker' was more likely than not the target of ridicule. But he is POTUS and the crowd is rather redneck so...*sigh* what can we infer?

TBH, I'm not even sure after watching that if there was even a human under than mask, or a mannequin.

What what that hard rock song they were playing? Where are the fiddles???

[rimpala.livejournal.com]

I don't see anything, at all. Why is YouTube videos still this crappy...

[rimpala.livejournal.com]

Well after reviewing the videos I think the announcer was the one who's been doing all the mocking, all the clown did as far as I can tell was put on a mask. I wonder if the blame is even in the right direction here.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Agree. The clown was more worried about the bull they just tortured and pissed off.

[root-fu.livejournal.com]

In before, let's BAWWWW about Guy Fawkes masks.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Wut?

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

It's inappropriate to inject ham radio politics into an event like this. It's the same if this happened at a baseball game for any President, the audience would be like "wtf? I'm hear to watch baseball, even if I'm a card-carrying member of the Tea Party." I don't think there should be legal repercussions, but if there's some social ones from the employers, that's the risk they take when they bring politics into entertainment.

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

https://twitter.com/SteveWorks4You/status/367755672781193216

[rick-day.livejournal.com]

yeah pretty much this. I had to hold my nose when I retweeted but he has a point.

[comeonyouspurs.livejournal.com]

Obama is black. That does not make any depiction of Obama we don't like racist.

^^^^^This.^^^^^

It would be nice to read a discussion about that drone-dropping motherfucker without reading the 'r-word'. If I criticise him for killing other brown people, then that doesn't necessarily mean that I want David Duke in the White (Power!) House.

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

I don't think I have ever been more sure that a dog was being wagged.

Egypt's imploading, the IRS is still evading, and THIS makes the news?