Something I don't like in some Rice parodies

[Bucky]

Most of the parodies I'm seeing about Condoleezza Rice's peculiar management style and lack of competence I've just loved. It ranges from the cute (photoshopping her face on Gary Coleman's or STNG Worf's body) to the scathing (photoshopping her face onto Sigourney Weaver's body from the Aliens poster, with Dubya being portrayed as the little tow-headed ragamuffin she's rescuing from the Alien).

But on a couple of parodies, I'm seeing some racist stuff. On Bartcop there's an image of Rice's face being stuck on the body of a long-necked Masai woman. There seems to be no political comment there except that Rice is black and that people of African ancestry are exotic looking.

On WhiteHouse.org there's a parody of a conversation between Rice and Dick Clarke in which Rice calls al-Qaeda "al-Kwaanza" and acts reflexively hostile to Clarke, accusing him of being racist. I know suggesting that Clarke is prejudiced is a lame talking point by some right wing hacks, but hyper racial sensitivity has never been part of Rice's style. This line of bogus attack was seemingly put in Rice's voice solely because she's black.

Notice how this is funny...


And this is not:


It's not just that these attacks rely on race-specific stereotypes. It's that they are quite unfunny when they rely on such hacky and un-truthful ideas. I think this sort of thing--loose race-bating--delutes our side's case that Dr Rice is an embecile unfit to serve.

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Yeah, those are rude

and uncalled for.

Lambaste her for her stupidity and evil clownitude, but not for racial matters.

[Skeptical Democrat]

8. Her incompetence is plentiful to call attention to

There is no reason to call her race or the fact that she is a woman into question. She's just incompetent as a person. Period.

[mitchum]

2. How about my calling her "Stephanie Fetchit"?

since that is her role/function...

[Bucky]

5. I'm not the arbiter of your taste. I find it offensive. She's no Fetchit

Steppin Fetchit exploited and perpetuated racial stereotypes to make money. I dislike virtually everything Condi Rice says, does, thinks, or accomplishes. She's been a disasterous NSD. But she's gotten where she's gotten by her own merits and based solely on the value of her experience and opinions. She's accomplished, smart, and well poised and has done nothing to exploit other people for their racial backgrounds. She's a bad person regardless of race. Her race is not a factor in her incompetance.

[buycitgo]

7. there are many qualified judges of her academic credentials, just for

starters, who'd disagree with you

she's just a dogmatic, ideological shill, who couldn't even get basic facts straight in a book she wrote back in 1985 or six. academicians who reviewed it said it was a collection of kneejerk ideology, uncorroborated by facts

she's as intellectually qualified as Clarence Thomas, just a bit smoother around the edges, more PR friendly

[mitchum]

10. Thank you

:)

[jpgray]

3. To quote Jon Stewart--I didn't know that deck even HAD a race card

:D

But yes, some of those are in poor taste. That's the case with just about every public figure in the history of mankind--some jokes will be made that are in poor taste.

[minkyboodle]

4. I tend to agree

the ones you point out are not only in bad taste, they simply aren't even that funny. now the Crap-In-ator.... thats quality :)
Scott

[SoCalDem]

6. Actually, neither of those are funny..

The second one is actually from a woman from Myanmar(Burma), not even a black woman..

Masai women don't do that..

[gmaki]

9. Funny this thread shows up here

I am going off memory here but I am almost certain that those pics originated as part of a fark.com photoshop contest. In that context there is no problem with them since they are not even really attacks on Rice. The whole idea of the photoshop contest is to make your entry stand out, which sometimes means to make it somewhat shocking.

I was surprised when I saw them on Bartcop, and I almost shot him an email asking him why he did not even bother crediting the original artists or fark.com. Once they appeared there they became attacks, however they were not originally intended that way.

[Redleg]

11. I agree- some cartoons do apprear to be focused on race rather than her

character.

[DemLikr]

12. It's likely race has a lot to do with Condi and Colin's presence in Bushco

: they provide plausible deniability for charges of Republican institutional racism, as lampooned by Bartcop's and The Rude Pundit's use of the term "House Negro" to describe both of them.

As their race is quite possibly part of the reason for their presence in a whites-almost-only power clique, it seems to me that race is fair game here.

Look, it is not racist to use the fact of race in a mocking manner; Condi has huge, widely spaced front teeth, and she is an African American. Both traits can legitimately be used in the service of edgy satire.

Effectively outrageous social satire by its nature flirts with the outer edges of what is "permissible."

I suggest you relax, enjoy and laugh a little.