Re: The 2008 Presidential Elections - Chapter 2
I think the writer of that Time online article was either being naive,... or had an ulterior motive in mind.
Yes, there would appear to be nothing wrong or offensive in using Barrack Obama's middle name. But in the midst of heatedly political campaign, it would be naive to think that a candidate's middle name which happens to be associated with one of the most despised people of this past century wouldn't be a factor in inflaming the emotions of many voters. (Hey, Saddam isn't too far down the list from where Adolph Hitler and Pol Pot stand at the summit.)
Making matters worse was Bill Cunningham's disparaging refences to Obama's middle name. As a result, use of "Hussein" in reference to Obama has now come to be regarded as a campaign smear, even though it is, in fact, his middle name.
It's not dissimilar to the shortened term for "Japanese." On the surface, it would appear that there's nothing offensive about doing that, just as it is common to refer to British citizens as Brits. But because of the deragatory way that it was used towards Japanese-Americans in WWII, people now regard the use of J*p as a racial slur.
I wonder if that Time article writer actually had an anti-Obama agenda in mind when he wrote that piece. He can't be so naive as to think that at least some lesser educated/informed voters won't be swayed by campaign smears against Obama that use his middle name, conjuring up images of one of the biggest butchers in the world scene over the last 30 years.
Originally posted by glossyp
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Yes, there would appear to be nothing wrong or offensive in using Barrack Obama's middle name. But in the midst of heatedly political campaign, it would be naive to think that a candidate's middle name which happens to be associated with one of the most despised people of this past century wouldn't be a factor in inflaming the emotions of many voters. (Hey, Saddam isn't too far down the list from where Adolph Hitler and Pol Pot stand at the summit.)
Making matters worse was Bill Cunningham's disparaging refences to Obama's middle name. As a result, use of "Hussein" in reference to Obama has now come to be regarded as a campaign smear, even though it is, in fact, his middle name.
It's not dissimilar to the shortened term for "Japanese." On the surface, it would appear that there's nothing offensive about doing that, just as it is common to refer to British citizens as Brits. But because of the deragatory way that it was used towards Japanese-Americans in WWII, people now regard the use of J*p as a racial slur.
I wonder if that Time article writer actually had an anti-Obama agenda in mind when he wrote that piece. He can't be so naive as to think that at least some lesser educated/informed voters won't be swayed by campaign smears against Obama that use his middle name, conjuring up images of one of the biggest butchers in the world scene over the last 30 years.
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