UPDATE, June 2, 2010: West Allis renews license for tavern where Obama figurine was burned.
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UPDATE: Karen Schoenfeld, bar owner, receives threats.
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This is a disturbing and strange story.
An exclusive, from TMJ4:
A bar owner could be in serious trouble with the federal government. He was videotaped burning a statue of President Obama.
And the whole thing was video taped.
...So far, the bar owner hasn't explained why a bar tender torched the statue of the President a cheering crowd.
People in West Allis were shouting and laughing as a bar tender torched the statue for the crowd. Flames tore through the statue with what looks like duct tape wrapped around it's neck.
West Allis Police say they found out about the incident after it was reported at Yester Years Pub and Grill on Greenfield Avenue.
West Allis police say the Secret Service is also investigating. The Secret Service investigates any possible threats against the president.
...The President of Milwaukee's NAACP is outraged and worries it could be racially motivated. "Very offensive. And it sends a terrible message to other people," said Jerry Ann Hamilton.
Yester Years Pub and Grill is owned by Karen Schoenfeld. We wanted to ask her what the bartender meant with the fire. But a message left at the bar wasn't returned. And no one answered the door at her New Berlin home.
Video.
I always find it troubling when U.S. presidents are burned in effigy.
It happens with relative frequency in the Arab world. For example, in January, Obama was burned in effigy by protesters in Afghanistan.
President George W. Bush received the same treatment during his tenure in office, not only abroad but at home as well.
For instance, throwing shoes at an effigy of President George W. Bush was an activity associated with Obama's inauguration.
Another example: The Effigy Project
I find those displays extremely offensive and juvenile. Note the people are laughing and cheering.
But Americans do have the freedom to express themselves.
Nevertheless, I think it's completely appropriate for the Secret Service to follow up on these cases and make sure that serious threats aren't being made against the safety of the president.
Unfortunately, when one assumes the office of the presidency, this sort of stuff happens. It's sick, but that's how presidents are treated.
So some buffoons at a West Allis bar are "expressing" their opinion of Obama. The crowd cheers as Obama burns.
Sick. Just as sick as when such displays of disapproval of President Bush took place.
I find the TMJ4 story rather interesting in that it's reported as if this is something that's never happened before. Of course, the video is troubling but it's not shocking.
Moreover, I find the racial angle to be particularly interesting. The NAACP jumps in concerned that the incident was racially motivated. Who knows? Maybe it was, but that's a leap.
Were the protesters in Afghanistan racially motivated when they burned Obama in effigy, too?
Was race a factor all those times when Bush was burned in effigy?
Bottom line: I was disgusted when Bush was disrespected in that manner. I am disgusted that Obama has been dissed in the same way. Furthermore, I'm ticked off that some fools have brought negative national attention to Wisconsin.
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Here's raw video of the incident.
8 comments:
I agree with your write up. It is disgusting, but it is not the first time in history. But just perhaps, because Obama is black, it is easy to jump on the racism bandwagon. Add to that the fact that county and western music was playing in the background and I know very, very few blacks who are crazy about C&W and we can safely assume that this is probably a C&W bar not frequented much by blacks or latinos.
What would be much more damning would be to find out it Ms. Schoenfeld is a "known" within the Republican party. That would indeed be a problem.
I hope you realize that you're engaging in profiling and tossing around stereotypes.
22% of the population in the US voted in the last election. Out of that 22% Obama got 53% of the vote. What's more telling than Obama being burned in effigy is that some of the people cheering the burning voted for him.
No.
Based on the percentages you cite, you can't assume that some of those at the bar cheering the burning of the statue voted for Obama.
It's possible, but you don't know that to be the case just based on your figures.
I know people supported Obama and feel betrayed now. Still, you can't apply those numbers to the small sample of people at the bar and arrive at your conclusion.
There were a lot of people in that bar and according to the news story the person who video the burning did so because he/she was upset by it. Even if only a fraction of the people in the bar voted for Obama that's still saying something.
The person upset by the burning probably wasn't "cheering." If he/she was, he/she was lying.
You can't say that any of those at the bar cheering voted for Obama. It's an assumption that you can't make without asking them. That's my point.
"I hope you realize that you're engaging in profiling and tossing around stereotypes. "
NO, I am not. I've been in a lot of C&W bars in my life over the last 24 years and in all those years I have seen exactly 3 black people and 5 latinos. That was it. But if you really think it is profiling, then feel free to contact republican hack Rasmussen and have him do a "scientific" poll.
Regardless, the burning of an effigy is stupid stupid stupid. And I agreed with your write up on most of it's points. So pull off the attack dog. It is unbecoming of you.
and anamandy wrote a real gem:
"22% of the population in the US voted in the last election. Out of that 22% Obama got 53% of the vote. What's more telling than Obama being burned in effigy is that some of the people cheering the burning voted for him."
Well now, that is some really fine math. 61% of registered voters voted, that is the statistic that concerns us. And that is the highest voter turnout since 1968. Comparing the vote tally to the entire population is silly, for not all of the population is eligible to vote. As a matter of fact, 24.3% of the population of the US is, by age, not eligible to vote.
Not only that, your "statistic" is very wrong. On November 4, 2008 131,461,089 votes were cast, a raw-vote record. There are around 307,000,000 americans. 131,461,089/307,000,000 = 42.82% and NOT 22%. So, if you are going to compare apples and oranges, you should at least get the apples straight.
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