I’ve heard stories over the past year about people who have sent out racist emails about our president and gotten in trouble for either creating them or passing them on. Just recently, a Colorado Department of Transportation worker was disciplined for forwarding an email of President Obama shining Sarah Palin’s shoes, using her state email account.
These kinds of stories have been in the news lately because they have involved state workers, politicians or other people in the public eye. I personally have never been sent one of these emails and I’ve never known anyone personally who was sent one. Until now.
My coworker called me over to her computer today to help her understand an email her brother sent her. Her brother is a cop who lives in South Carolina. As I peeked over her shoulder, and started reading the text, I saw the words “White House” and I thought to myself, “Oh, geez, don’t let this be racist.” She scrolled down and I saw this:
“This walk-in refrigerator at The White House is huge! Take a look below!
A peek inside the White House walk-in refrigerator”
And at the bottom of the email it says:
“Oh, shut up and lighten up …
I know you’re laughing!!!”
Not only is the picture offensive, but now we’re being chided for being uptight about being offended. Or even worse, the statement at the end is giving us permission to laugh and think it’s okay to send this kind of crap to our friends. Well, it’s not okay. I’m not laughing.
Yes, our president is black. Who the hell cares? I’m so tired of people making the President’s race an issue. Obama is intelligent, thoughtful, kind, generous and caring. I don’t care if he’s purple- I’m proud of him and would vote for him again in a heartbeat. I don’t agree with everything he’s done since taking office, but I do think he’s doing the best he can with the hand he was dealt.
Isn’t it about time we stop forwarding these emails and stop making it okay to laugh and make racial jokes?
I totally agree.
He’s a good man. He is admired around the world by level-headed people who appreciate his measured responses.
I hope she responded with one sentence: “Actually, I’m not laughing.”
“Oh, shut up and lighten up …
I know you’re laughing!!!”
Not only is the picture offensive, but now we’re being chided for being uptight about being offended. Or even worse, the statement at the end is giving us permission to laugh and think it’s okay to send this kind of crap to our friends. Well, it’s not okay. I’m not laughing.
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Spot on analysis. It might also be seen as an assumption on the part of the sender that all recipients are as racist as the sender and forwarders.
It appalls me that while we take a heavy hand towards school bullying and name calling with kids that we don’t have a problem with these kinds of emails which are passive aggressive harasment. (Sorry for my spelling– it’s early for me.)
Republicans/conservatives are trying to make being bi-racial or black into something we have to ignore — a dirty little secret, an elephant in the room that ‘nice’ people just don’t mention. Until the elephant turns its back.
Well, let’s just wag the dog a bit! There are more beautiful colors available in our population every day! Step up and make your own combination! It’s legal! (And doesn’t that just grate their nerves.)
Spider Robinson made the case that it was a crying shame that a displaced race was forced by prejudice to define itself by a word that denotes the absence of color — when every color from midnight blue to ivory was represented — but never black.
Canada offers a far better designation, one that honors the fact that every human alive begins their ancestry in Africa. The box they provide is entitled “First Nations”.
Isn’t that wonderful! It gets my tickmark.
I agree. Both the photograph and the comment at the end of the email was offensive. I hope the recipient let the sender know it was not acceptable humor.
I, too, had not known anyone who received these kind of emails (let alone sent any) until recently. It feels as if suddenly people are no longer inhibited by good taste or common decency. They’ve just devolved to the lowest levels of intelligence and compassion.
For example, my husband works in a high school. One of the staff, a nurse, called him in to have a look at an email that one of the secretarys had sent around.
It centered on the Islamic stamps our government issued for the holiday season. Perhaps you’ve seen it: a beautiful silvery Arabic script on a gorgeous blue background. Even aside from the meaning, it is a gorgeous work of art.
It seems that the secretary had sent an email out to everyone she knew in the district complaining that “how dare our government support terrorists!” She went on to rant against Islam.
Well, after reading the email, my husband, a teacher, sat down and wrote this secretary an email explaining how offensive her statements were. The nurse came down later to thank him for backing her up on her position against the secretary and told him how the secretary was totally puzzled that anyone could be upset with her. After all, she was just being a good patriot. Gees, what a creepy person.
Anyway, after that others let her know she was in the minority and told her if she didn’t send out another email ASAP taking it all back, they’d turn her in to the district office or go public with it.
I can only assume she did try to make amends because nothing ever became public. I doubt, however, that she understands why she upset so many folks. These ignorant people simply seem to lack the ability to think, to care, to understand.
Let’s hope they are not a sign of a trend – just throwbacks to a time when people lived in the darkness of their fears and ignorance.