I would have taken an entirely different tack with this headline. Mine would have read:

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

hillbillypharmacist: I would have taken an entirely different tack with this headline. Mine would have read:

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

I would hope the difference is Obama is actually reading what crosses his desk.

hillbillypharmacist: Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

As long as he reads his presidential daily briefings about impending terrorist attacks, I'm cool.

I'll be impressed when Michelle Obama reads Little Black Sambo to her kids.

And before anyone jumps in with their opinion - have you actually read that story?

If so, please explain why it is "racist".

hillbillypharmacist: I would have taken an entirely different tack with this headline. Mine would have read:

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

And you would have been insta-greened so fast your head would have spun around.

mud_shark: If so, please explain why it is "racist".

Well, there is the use of the word 'sambo' as a racial slur. Which putting the words 'little' and 'black' in front of isn't helping.

NeverDrunk23: And you would have been insta-greened so fast your head would have spun around.

That would be the hope, yes.

hillbillypharmacist: I would have taken an entirely different tack with this headline. Mine would have read:

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

He don't have time to read books he is too busy readingtrolling Fark and 4chan

hillbillypharmacist: mud_shark: If so, please explain why it is "racist".

Well, there is the use of the word 'sambo' as a racial slur. Which putting the words 'little' and 'black' in front of isn't helping.

You fail.

mud_shark: You fail.

Show your work, Dr. Fact. Bare assertions don't fly.

hillbillypharmacist: I would have taken an entirely different tack with this headline. Mine would have read:

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

95 books a year is a lot for anyone with a full-time job. Unless all you're reading is popcorn fiction.

mud_shark: I'll be impressed when Michelle Obama reads Little Black Sambo to her kids.

That would impress you? Life of Pi is a novel, and a good one at that. Little Black Sambo is a silly picture book.

...you just want to obfuscate the issue and talk about how black people are suppressing your right to be retarded, don't you?

hillbillypharmacist: I would have taken an entirely different tack with this headline. Mine would have read:

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

So who was running the country while Bush was struggling through Hop on Pop?

hillbillypharmacist: NeverDrunk23: And you would have been insta-greened so fast your head would have spun around.

That would be the hope, yes.

Which would mean that its probably a better idea to not rail on subby anymore. Its not subby's fault that that is the best way to get greens.

MyrnaMinkoff: ...you just want to obfuscate the issue and talk about how black people are suppressing your right to be retarded, don't you?

It's plainly obvious that the PC left is keeping racism alive.

If they would just grow up, racism would go away and everybody could move on.

MyrnaMinkoff: mud_shark: I'll be impressed when Michelle Obama reads Little Black Sambo to her kids.

That would impress you? Life of Pi is a novel, and a good one at that. Little Black Sambo is a silly picture book.

Okay, maybe the Obama kids are a bit old for it, but it's actually more than a "silly picture book". BTW, how many Dr. Seuss books have you read to your kids?

bulldg4life: It's plainly obvious that the PC left is keeping racism alive.If they would just grow up, racism would go away and everybody could move on.


Are you being sarcastic?

I would love nothing more than Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to be jobless.


we are now in Post Racial America!

Oh, and I had a copy of Little Black Sambo as a child and it's still at my parents' house. The story itself isn't overtly racist, but it's a classic pickaninny story, which were popular at the time and aren't exactly renowned for their racial sensitivity. It also singlehandedly led to the introduction of "Sambo" as a slur for black children.

I'll bet you don't think Song of the South was racist, either, because that dude was HAPPY! Didn't you hear him singing?

hillbillypharmacist: I would have taken an entirely different tack with this headline. Mine would have read:

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

A+ This is how it's done people.

mud_shark: Okay, maybe the Obama kids are a bit old for it, but it's actually more than a "silly picture book". BTW, how many Dr. Seuss books have you read to your kids?

No. It is a silly picture book. As I said, I had/have a copy and I've read it hundreds of times.

As to your other question, I have no children. If I did, though, I'd read a lot of Dr. Seuss, because they're good stories with morals, and Theodore Geisel briefly attended my alma mater so I have a special fondness for him. What is the moral of Little Black Sambo? What makes it "More than a picture book?"

Beyond that, do you have a point relevant to the article?

drjekel_mrhyde: hillbillypharmacist: I would have taken an entirely different tack with this headline. Mine would have read:

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

He don't have time to read books he is too busy readingtrolling Fark and 4chan

Imagine in 20 years we may have a president who frequented 4Chan...

MyrnaMinkoff: Oh, and I had a copy of Little Black Sambo as a child and it's still at my parents' house. The story itself isn't overtly racist at all, but it's a classic pickaninny story (that Myrna feels the need to emphasize that was about someone who wasn't white), which were popular at the time and aren't exactly renowned for their racial sensitivity didn't have a damn thing to do with race. It also singlehandedly led to the introduction of "Sambo" as a slur for black children.


Fixed

And what the hell were the great moral lessons of Dr. Seuss?

I do like eggs and ham although I prefer neither of them to be green. What did the Cat in the Hat teach me as a child?

My cat does not like hats - at least not on her head. In fact she farking hates them.

mud_shark: MyrnaMinkoff: Oh, and I had a copy of Little Black Sambo as a child and it's still at my parents' house. The story itself isn't overtly racist at all, but it's a classic pickaninny story (that Myrna feels the need to emphasize that was about someone who wasn't white), which were popular at the time and aren't exactly renowned for their racial sensitivity didn't have a damn thing to do with race. It also singlehandedly led to the introduction of "Sambo" as a slur for black children.


Fixed

I don't have a big problem with the book because Christ, it was written in 1899. It's a product of its time. But I can see why black people aren't super excited at cartoonish blackface-esque pictures of their race and stories that portray them as silly simple people, and I won't get angry because they've found fault with the book.

And I seriously don't see how you can argue the second point. If that's not where it came from, where did folks get that slur?

hillbillypharmacist: Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

I call bullshiat on the 95 books thing. That's a pretty impressive amount for anyone, but I question how much time a President really has to read. 4 books in 4 months into too bad, by that measure.

FeedTheCollapse: 4 books in 4 months into isn't too bad



ftfm.

hillbillypharmacist: I would have taken an entirely different tack with this headline. Mine would have read:

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

I know. My Pet Goat must've been a struggle as those towers burned.

NeverDrunk23: hillbillypharmacist: I would have taken an entirely different tack with this headline. Mine would have read:

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

And you would have been insta-greened so fast your head would have spun around.

As opposed to this headline which, uh... you know, was actually greenlit?

/No problem with the headline. Only with morons.

Podna: drjekel_mrhyde: hillbillypharmacist: I would have taken an entirely different tack with this headline. Mine would have read:

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

He don't have time to read books he is too busy readingtrolling Fark and 4chan

Imagine in 20 years we may have a president who frequented 4Chan...

That prospect terrifies me. What if they start trolling North Korea for the lulz?

mud_shark: And what the hell were the great moral lessons of Dr. Seuss?

You do realize he wrote a lot of other books, right?

Start with Horton Hears a Who and Yertle the Turtle. You might need to find an 8-year-old to help you.

Now answer my question to you about Sambo, since I asked it first. Also, answer me this: what does this retarded sidebar have to do with anything?

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4


Obama reads enough off the teleprompter, his eyes are too tired for books

mud_shark: MyrnaMinkoff: Oh, and I had a copy of Little Black Sambo as a child and it's still at my parents' house. The story itself isn't overtly racist at all, but it's a classic pickaninny story (that Myrna feels the need to emphasize that was about someone who wasn't white), which were popular at the time and aren't exactly renowned for their racial sensitivity didn't have a damn thing to do with race. It also singlehandedly led to the introduction of "Sambo" as a slur for black children.


Fixed

1932 called. It wants its flamebait back.

/seriously, I'm not even kidding (new window)

rynthetyn: Podna: drjekel_mrhyde: hillbillypharmacist: I would have taken an entirely different tack with this headline. Mine would have read:

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

He don't have time to read books he is too busy readingtrolling Fark and 4chan

Imagine in 20 years we may have a president who frequented 4Chan...

That prospect terrifies me. What if they start trolling North Korea for the lulz?

The funny thing is that this is almost exactly what they are doing to us.

FeedTheCollapse: hillbillypharmacist: Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

I call bullshiat on the 95 books thing. That's a pretty impressive amount for anyone, but I question how much time a President really has to read. 4 books in 4 months into too bad, by that measure.

Irrelevant. Fark's headline rules are predicated on funny.

The English language is constantly in flux. And since the time of Lee Atwater, funny has become a close synonym of Schadenfreude.


99.9% of the time, on the internet, that is the context in-which funny is used. Rarely does it have anything to do with jocularity.

WFern:
NeverDrunk23: And you would have been insta-greened so fast your head would have spun around.

As opposed to this headline which, uh... you know, was actually greenlit?

/No problem with the headline. Only with morons.

How am I a moran for saying that if his version was the submitted headline that it would have been liter-greened the second it was submitted? It is perfectly trollerific for the admins.

HeartBurnKid: 1932 called. It wants its flamebait back.

Your wiki link says its about an indian kid, why are people making it out to be a racist book about blacks? Are you really that desperate to find some kidn of non-PC thing to be outraged about that you invent it out of nowhere?

Shaggy_C: HeartBurnKid: 1932 called. It wants its flamebait back.

Your wiki link says its about an indian kid, why are people making it out to be a racist book about blacks? Are you really that desperate to find some kidn of non-PC thing to be outraged about that you invent it out of nowhere?

1, I haven't shown any kind of outrage over this, I merely pointed out that this flamewar has been going on since 1932.

2, perhaps this illustration from the first printing might enlighten you:

mud_shark: I'll be impressed when Michelle Obama reads Little Black Sambo to her kids.

And before anyone jumps in with their opinion - have you actually read that story?

If so, please explain why it is "racist".

Hmmm. Of all the books in the world, why oh why would you purposely pick THAT book for your comment?

/flamebait troll is obvious

MyrnaMinkoff: mud_shark: And what the hell were the great moral lessons of Dr. Seuss?

You do realize he wrote a lot of other books, right?

Start with Horton Hears a Who and Yertle the Turtle. You might need to find an 8-year-old to help you.

Now answer my question to you about Sambo, since I asked it first. Also, answer me this: what does this retarded sidebar have to do with anything?

If we're discussing moral lessons from Dr. Seuss books, the Butter Battle Book has to be on the list of books to check out.

HeartBurnKid: 2, perhaps this illustration from the first printing might enlighten you:

That's an indian kid, not a black guy. I can tell by the shoes and from having seen a few indian guys in my time.

Shaggy_C: Your wiki link says its about an indian kid, why are people making it out to be a racist book about blacks? Are you really that desperate to find some kidn of non-PC thing to be outraged about that you invent it out of nowhere?

Because the publishers purposefully used golliwog/blackface characters to illustrate the book to tap into the existing market for books that made cartoons out of blacks (or hell, any race with dark skin, we're not picky)?

Why am I having an argument that hasn't been had since like 1950? Did I wake up in a wormhole timewarp or something?

MyrnaMinkoff: Did I wake up in a wormhole timewarp or something?

mud_shark: I'll be impressed when Michelle Obama reads Little Black Sambo to her kids.

And before anyone jumps in with their opinion - have you actually read that story?

If so, please explain why it is "racist".

I agree, it isn't racist. I read it as a kid.

Shaggy_C: HeartBurnKid: 2, perhaps this illustration from the first printing might enlighten you:

That's an indian kid, not a black guy. I can tell by the shoes and from having seen a few indian guys in my time.

While that may be so, one can't deny the resemblance to "minstrel" characters, and the use of Sambo as a racial slur.

Look, it might have been a completely innocent story, but things pick up and change meanings as they are used in a living culture. Sometimes, the source of these symbols gets tainted by the connotations that come later. That's why we don't use swastikas (new window) anymore, despite them having a long tradition as a positive symbol of life.

MyrnaMinkoff: mud_shark: I'll be impressed when Michelle Obama reads Little Black Sambo to her kids.

That would impress you? Life of Pi is a novel, and a good one at that. Little Black Sambo is a silly picture book.

...you just want to obfuscate the issue and talk about how black people are suppressing your right to be retarded, don't you?

Yeah, he wants to read it because Dr, Suess is too complicated and lefty, but the libruls won't let him.

Woops way late with my Dr. Suess references...

MyrnaMinkoff: Because the publishers purposefully used golliwog/blackface characters to illustrate the book to tap into the existing market for books that made cartoons out of blacks (or hell, any race with dark skin, we're not picky)?

The author drew the pictures too, not the publishers. Besides, would you band all these stories too? (new window)

Just spreading his liberal propoganda. Real Americans don't get their knowledge from ivory tower tomes forced on the masses by the Socialist education system, but from the heroes of underground radio like Rush Limbaugh

Shaggy_C: The author drew the pictures too, not the publishers. Besides, would you band all these stories too? (new window)

The book was re-illustrated for the US market.

Thus, the generalization problem - Bannerman, a Scot living in India, gave an Indian character a name associated, in the U.S., with African slaves. The book's original illustrations show a Sambo character resembling a golliwog, a European version sometimes viewed as an iconic, racist "darky" stereotype, which could be taken as a stereotype of African people. As the book made its way across the Atlantic to the U.S., the illustrations were adapted to the possibly more obvious stereotype known as blackface in the U.S.

Source.

I'm not for banning any stories; I just understand why people have gotten upset about this story and don't want it in classrooms. Same as any other "simple savage" type story.

The Disney cartoons you linked are great, but they're also products of their time, just like Sambo. If you deny that those characters are racist stereotypes, I don't know what to say.

Tor_Eckman: rynthetyn: Podna: drjekel_mrhyde: hillbillypharmacist: I would have taken an entirely different tack with this headline. Mine would have read:

Miserable buffoon Bush read 95 books his first year in the Presidency. Learned scholar Obama? So far, 4

He don't have time to read books he is too busy readingtrolling Fark and 4chan

Imagine in 20 years we may have a president who frequented 4Chan...

That prospect terrifies me. What if they start trolling North Korea for the lulz?

The funny thing is that this is almost exactly what they are doing to us.

Heh heh heh, good point. Maybe Kim Jong Il is a /b/tard

Shaggy_C: HeartBurnKid: 2, perhaps this illustration from the first printing might enlighten you:

That's an indian kid, not a black guy. I can tell by the shoes and from having seen a few indian guys in my time.

It always was a wog. Dunno why African Americans hated it.