The last paper I ever wrote in college was for my Power and Propaganda course, and addressed the propaganda being hurled against Obama. One thing I addressed was that many of the criticisms of him were blatant lies. It’d be like if I started posting here that John McCain said, “Thank God for the Nazis!” and President Bush met with McCain and used “the N-word” to refer to Obama. Total fabrications as part of a smear campaign.
The problem is that they work. I’m going from memory, but if memory serves me correctly, 13% of people in a recent poll said that they thought Obama was a Muslim. Soon it was being reported that he was sworn in on the Qu’ran, too. Of course, the Muslim rumors would soon be contradicted by trying to label him racist because his pastor said some crazy things, and the fact that he was sworn in on the Qu’ran would be refuted by photographs showing him with his hand on the Bible when being sworn in.
There was also the big row over the photograph of him “refusing to say the pledge,” with some versions of the chain letter or website alleging that he refuses to do it for religion reasons; one even said that he didn’t know the words. In actuality, Obama was singing the national anthem, as a video of the event shows.
There’s another one about him hiding his birth certificate because he’s not actually a citizen. (If you want to get technical, John McCain is the one who wasn’t born in the US… Though it’d be asinine to argue that he’s not a US citizen because he was born on a US military base.)
The Obama campaign has finally launched Fight the Smears, a page refuting the utter falsehoods against him. The latest one seems to be alleging a videotape of Michelle Obama using the word “whitey.” Frankly, I could see this being done in a non-racist manner, but it’s a moot point, because none of the <sarcasm>reputable</sarcasm> sources claiming to have seen / possessing the tape have released it, and because one person has some pointed allegations of exactly where the tape was filmed, most of which seem fabricated.
It’s totally cool with me if you’d prefer to vote for McCain. (Well, I’d still disagree, but I’d at least respect that you had a rational difference of opinion.) Obama isn’t a Muslim, terrorist, or unpatriotic. John McCain isn’t a rapist and he doesn’t eat babies for breakfast. In a time when the truth is so sorely missing, can we please try to stick to reality this election?
Senator Obama is NOT a Dirty Muslim!
“What you won’t hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge,” says Mr. Obama, while denouncing statements of him being a Muslim as a smear. Why is the presidential candidate who claims to be religiously inclusive is treating the word “Muslim” as an insult? Apparently, it is OK for Mr. Obama to be associated with terrorists like William Ayers or racists like Jeremiah Wright, but God forbid somebody would call him a Muslim! No, he won’t stand for that kind of smear! We admit that most terrorists are Muslims, but most Muslims are not terrorists and the statement on Mr. Obama’s website is insulting to hundreds of millions of people.
How could a man who discards his family heritage in favor of political expediency be even considered for presidency of the United States? Where are all the so-called “Islamic civil rights groups” like CAIR, MPAC, ISNA, MAS, etc. who are quick to defend every Islamic terrorist, but are silent when Muslims in general are being denigrated? Would Mr. Obama have the same reaction if someone claimed that he was raised as a Jew? We sincerely doubt that.
Muslims Against Sharia demand immediate removal of “SMEAR: Barack Obama is a Muslim” statement from the official Barack Obama’s website as well as an apology for giving the word “Muslim” a negative connotation.
http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2008/06/senator-obama-is-not-dirty-muslim.html
I posted a similar comment on your site, but I’ll put it here, too…
While you’re right in that the website does seem to dismiss being Muslim as a “smear,” something that should be corrected, I think it’s important to look at the bigger picture. Obama has commented before that this “smear” is offensive not just to him, but to the Muslim community, because it plays into racial prejudices.
The real problem is our current society, where “Muslim” has become a bad word. They’re perceived as our enemy, as if all Muslims attacked us on 9/11, not a fringe group of people who misinterpret the Qu’ran. I came across a person online yesterday arguing that “All Muslim [sic] ought to be rounded up like the Japs in WWII” or something to that effect.
How could a man who discards his family heritage in favor of political expediency be even considered for presidency of the United States?
Here I’m beginning to think that you just flat-out don’t like Obama. His adoptive father was Muslim, thus it’s his “family heritage?”
Apparently, it is OK for Mr. Obama to be associated with terrorists like William Ayers or racists like Jeremiah Wright, but God forbid somebody would call him a Muslim!
That’s a problem with American society, not Obama’s website. And, while he initially tried to stand by his pastor, did you miss when his pastor went on to make even more ludicrous and incendiary remarks, so Obama denounced him and left his church of 20+ years?
Where are all the so-called “Islamic civil rights groups” like CAIR, MPAC, ISNA, MAS, etc. who are quick to defend every Islamic terrorist, but are silent when Muslims in general are being denigrated?
I agree with you completely here. So many in our nation view Islam as “the enemy.” A concerted effort is really needed to show Americans that Muslims–save a small pocket of people who practice a hateful belief that I’m not sure can really be called Islam–are peaceful, good people. I had the good fortune of having many Muslim students as peers in college, where my beliefs were confirmed: they’re just like me, except they pray to a different God.
Would Mr. Obama have the same reaction if someone claimed that he was raised as a Jew?
No, because the climate is different. It would be like if we were in Hawaii in 1943 and people were accusing Obama of being Japanese. The very implication carries the connotation that he’s thus one of the people who attacked us and needs to be stopped.
You’re right, the website is inelegant and, frankly, pretty curt on something that’s a delicate issue. But if you listen to Obama as he addresses this issue, he’s quick to point out that the rumor is most harmful to Muslims, not him.
Muslims Against Sharia demand immediate removal of “SMEAR: Barack Obama is a Muslim” statement…
I mean this with all respect and sincerity, but this phrasing serves to discredit you. While you’re right to ask for the material to be fixed and an apology given for its unintended offense, “demands” are usually given by kidnappers, tyrants, and fringe lunatics. I don’t think you intended any of that.