MO State Fair clown dresses up as Obama and gets run down by bull

[proud2BlibKansan]

Last night, Lily and I took a student from Taiwan to the rodeo at the Missouri State Fair. Just prior to the start of the bull riding event, one of the clowns came out dressed in this. The announcer wanted to know if anyone would like to see Obama run down by a bull. The crowd went wild. He asked it again and again, louder each time, whipping the audience into a lather. One of the clowns ran up and started bobbling the lips on the mask and the people went crazy. Finally, a bull came close enough to him that he had to move, so he jumped up and ran away to the delight of the onlookers hooting and hollering from the stands. We then left quickly and quietly. Lily's student is an inquisitive boy and asks a lot of questions about what he sees, and though he had never been to a rodeo he asked nothing about it, nor anything about America this time. We rode the sixty miles home in silence. In a way I'm glad. I had no answers for him.

http://www.showmeprogress.com/diary/8609/at-the-missouri-state-fair-last-night#.UgfONG4rc_Y.twitter

[RC]

1. Most of Missouri is out of touch with reality.

Too many fumes wafting in from Topeka, or something.

[B Calm]

24. Too close to Kansas. .

[Coyotl]

2. Someone's career shoulkd take a big hit!

What racist crap!

[Turbineguy]

3. It's a modern day version

of the proles going to the gladiator fight.

It's a shame really because it doesn't need to be like that.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. My republican cousin said that same thing.

He compared it to the Romans and gladiators.

[LuvNewcastle]

4. I remember when I went to see Independence Day in the theater.

When the aliens blew up the White House, the audience erupted in cheers. Clinton was President then. If I had been at a rodeo 10 years ago, and if they'd had a clown dressed up as Dubya, I would have been cheering for the bull. The country is very divided and has been for some time. Who knows what they'll think of Obama a few years after he leaves office. Clinton is popular now; Bush, not so much. We'll soon see what Obama makes of his time, good or bad.

[progressoid]

27. I remember that too.

Actually, I remember my right wing boss telling me about the cheering.

I decided I could wait until it came out on tape to watch it.

[xmas74]

6. I was just coming to post this.

A friend was there at the time and was offended, even though she's not a fan of the president. (Yep, Romney voter.) She said that the clown played with his lips, accentuating how big they were, in an obvious attempt at racism.

She made the comment about how she tries to raise her children to respectfully agree or disagree but how hard of a battle that is nowadays. She said that people in the crowd yelling at the bull to "mow that n***** down " didn't help her point with her children.

Here's a link to another article.
http://www.kansascity.com/2013/08/11/4403626/shameful-missouri-state-fair-stunt.html

I'm just glad that my kid left before the rodeo last night.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. OMG a teacher friend just told me the announcer

is the superintendent of Pettis County Schools!!!

[xmas74]

14. I heard it was Booneville.

Now I want to find out.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Yep. Booneville.

http://politicmo.com/2013/08/11/boonville-superintendent-announcer-during-controversial-rodeo-performance/

[xmas74]

17. My old high school band teacher posted it on facebook.

He also heard Booneville, though Pettis would have made sense at the time.

http://politicmo.com/2013/08/11/missouri-state-fair-apologizes-for-anti-obama-performance/
Short apology from the fair. Heck, even Kinder had more to say about it than the fair, which I didn't expect.
Apology from MO Cowboy Rodeo, which Ficken represented. If you keep looking at the page, the officers list has been scrubbed.
http://missourirodeo.com/

[Cha]

18. I hadn't seen that part.. about the

lip play. The other being run over by a bull was bad enough.. but the stupid racism went too far.. as they usually do.

thanks for the story, xmas

[xmas74]

21. I heard about it

then read it later on.

Every last bit was meant to be racial.

[ag_dude]

7. It wasn't racist when clowns did it for Bush...

...it's not racist now.

[frogmarch]

8. When the clowns

did it for Bush, did they wiggle his lips?

[Raine]

9. It is when the crowd is yelling the "N" word. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Which clowns? How did they make fun of his race?

[olddots]

13. did they really ???????? really ???????????

oh come on tell me the clowns wore Bush costumes .

[xmas74]

15. Except the crowd was yelling the n word.

I live within a short drive and have it from a source that was there.

[Cha]

19. You're wrong.. this was racist. And, what clowns asked if a bull

should run over bush?

[jberryhill]

26. And when and where did this happen?

In various newspaper accounts, there are people talking about anti-Bush political protests.

This was not a protest gathering. It was a taxpayer supported state fair.

[LiberalAndProud]

42. Which rodeo was that?

Bush clowns. I doubt it very much.

[Hekate]

50. Rodeo clowns dressed up as Chicken Hawk in Chief, & got charged by a bull?!

Really sorry I missed that one.

[olddots]

12. politics has become entertainment --cheap entertainment

our lives and well being have been bought by the highest bidders who sit back and make tons of money while people suffer no matter what side wins .

[Cha]

20. There are a lot of people who aren't suffering because Obama's side

won. Me included.

[Recursion]

28. W.H. Harrison's campaign involved races between two teams rolling huge balls of cheese

up a hill.

It was ever so.

[Hekate]

51. I'm not suffering from Obama's stint in the White House. Bush, otoh....

... made millions suffer.

[loyalsister]

22. Is there any doubt left?

I think Obama has been disrespected at level that many if not most of us has ever seen. There is nothing that they have done that is nearly as disrespectful is this. The racists have given themselves permission to be as nasty as they can be. Possibly because in their twisted thinking the white race is threatened by having a black president? I don't think many of us would have conceived of this level of hate directed toward our president. I say that as a white person. To people of color there may be a different perspective based on personal experience? I'm so ashamed of my state and my country for this.

[iemitsu]

30. When did Americans learn to be so disrespectful?

This incident and countless others since Barak Obama became President, and the thread the other night about Oprah's experience in Switzerland (where DUers were arguing that the store clerk wasn't being racist) are really depressing (someone actually made that claim on this thread too).
They serve to remind those of us, without exclusively European backgrounds, that we are despised by this culture, that it is okay to publicly mock us, and that there will be no repercussions for for acts of overt racism.
I must confess, I did not know the hatred was so intense.
Its shameful and frightening. Where will it end?

[loyalsister]

31. When will it end?

I wish I could see light at the end of this tunnel. I think Obama's composure is remarkable.
Can you imagine how pissed he must be when events this extreme happen? After all he has done and the sacrifices his family has made because had a noble goal to serve his country. He earned his position and people hate him for it.

[iemitsu]

34. I wish I could see that light too, but it grows dimmer

along with my cataracts.
I too find Obama's composure and resilience remarkable, though I know he did not rise to his present position by making a big deal out of other people's idiotic attitudes and behaviors.
I wanted him to be Dr. MLK Jr. but I understand why he's not.
I get mad at him over policy, but then something like this happens, and I can't be mad at him any more. I can only feel embarrassment and shame.
I really thought that Americans were moving beyond their history of racism.
I live in a town that is often cited as a place where no one would like to live, a former industrial center with no industry left or jobs, a place with a large and transient military population, the northern terminus of the I-5 gangster highway, and a multi-ethnic hub of immigrant relocation. I teach in a school where more than 70% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunches. Their test scores are low. In many ways the town seems like a wasteland, yet that's just how outsiders, or those who are exclusive, see things.
The rest of us belong to a thriving and mixed community of people, who have learned, or are learning to, do the best we can, with that sort of a reputation. We set goals, we struggle to achieve them, and we persist in our attempts to achieve, even when things don't go as planned.
Practically every family I know, or work with, is multi-ethnic to one degree or another. No one thinks or acts like the fair goers in Missouri. Thank goodness, no one acts that way.
The overt and nasty racism on display in parts of this country today, reminds me of the Jim Crow South. Living in my safe and brown corner of the country has shielded me from how pervasive the old attitudes still are in much of the rest of the place.
It has to be changed. People need to dump that shit.

[loyalsister]

35. This thing happened less than 100 miles away from where I live

My friends and most people I know don't think\behave that way. But, I do know people who do. Sadly, I am pretty sure my father would have been cheering had he been there.
Meanwhile, I live in the projects and have a lot of black and brown friends. That's how I like it.

[iemitsu]

36. Well, there's proof that not all folk from the mid-west are idiots.

Thank you for that, I feel better.
Actually, I have to admit that I know of people, who act the same as the fair goers in Missouri, and I know that some of them live in my community. But they are not the dominant group and they are confronted when they say or promote stupid or racist agendas.
I'm glad you can find like minded people where you live, its difficult to be without friendly support.

[loyalsister]

37. It seems like the loudness is deceptive

People who behave like those fair goers are not the dominant group even in the rural areas.

[iemitsu]

45. I know that's true, but sometimes its hard to remember.

Thank you for the assurance.
I work with a woman from Nebraska, who is as conservative as they come. She and I agree about nothing, when it comes to politics. But she is also one of the most genuinely decent and honest people I have ever known. She would never treat another person as the vocal rodeo attendees did Obama, though you might catch her at the Missouri State Fair (certainly the Nebraska State Fair).
I know she is like this, because I have sometimes acted horribly toward her, over political issues and people. Though I was intolerant and out of line, she was, and remains, a friend, who treats me with respect and who says nice things about me behind my back.

I have apologized for being an ass but she was like this before the apology. She used to be my archetypal model for mid-western/plains state behavior.

[loyalsister]

49. I have known people like that, too

And, I have friends who I can civilly disagree with. i have to admit to having had similar experiences that warranted my apology. Since then, I try to be as tolerant as possible.

[iemitsu]

54. Me too. I try to learn from my mistakes.

[xmas74]

38. 30 miles from me.

This time of year I tend to leave the area as often as possible, just to get away from the traffic coming through town. Of course, this weekend is even worse, with university coming back in session.

Unfortunately, I know plenty of people around here who had no qualms cheering this on. I know four people who were attending the rodeo that night yet have only heard one complain about the incident.

[loyalsister]

40. Are you talking about MU or CMSU?

could be either one. I can see Jesse Hall from my window.

[xmas74]

43. UCM, used to be known as CMSU.

Move in is this weekend.

[loyalsister]

46. I went to school there in the late 80s\early 90s

It's noticeable but not too dramatic when they come back here. Probably because it's bigger and quite a few stick around during the summer.

[xmas74]

47. If you were here back then

you'd be surprised at how much the school has grown. Supposedly, they plan on growing enough to give Springfield a run for their money.

[loyalsister]

48. I'm sure I would be

I have lived in Columbia since 92 and am amazed at how it has changed. I get my PBS from UCM. It's kind of nostalgic because I had friends who worked at the TV station.

[xmas74]

52. I sometimes volunteer on the fund drives for PBS.

I used to run around Columbia back in the 90's. I remember spending lots of time at Blue Note.

[pstokely]

56. Columbia used to have PBS available from St. Louise until Mediacom removed KETC

before the analog turn off date

[loyalsister]

57. I have Centurytel

I don't know if they ever had the STL PBS.

[iemitsu]

53. The nation is polarized, and egged on by

factional mouthpieces like those found on Fox News.
Fox, and right wing radio hosts, feed people so much dreck they don't know what real food tastes like any longer. They believe any story as long as it comes from the mouth of someone, perceived to be "on their side".
We're a confused people.

[csziggy]

23. Now hitting MSM media

Rodeo Clown Dresses As President Obama at Mo. State Fair
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/08/11/rodeo-clown-dresses-as-president-obama-at-mo-state-fair/

Missouri rodeo clown blasted after donning Obama mask in front of bucking bull
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/missouri-rodeo-clown-blasted-donning-obama-mask-article-1.1424189#ixzz2bkBZRr00

Rodeo Clown Impersonates Obama At Missouri State Fair
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/11/obama-rodeo-clown_n_3741218.html

Senator {Claire McCaskill} Lambastes Depiction of Obama As Rodeo Clown
http://politix.topix.com/news/7438-sen-claire-mccaskill-lambastes-depiction-of-obama-as-rodeo-clown

[Vinnie From Indy]

29. The comments thread on this article is chock full of racism

It is really quite amazing and sad to see so many people posting racist BS.

http://www.kansascity.com/2013/08/11/4404230/clowns-obama-stunt-at-missouri.html

[iemitsu]

33. I will never go to Missouri.

The comments posted after those articles are horrible. They reflect ugliness, and hatred that are hard to fathom, especially given the fact that Obama inherited a country in terrible shape and he has been given no quarter, by republicans, in his attempts to get things back on track.
I'm sure that not everyone in Missouri is as hateful as those, who left comments on these articles, but there are far too many hateful people there for me.
Its clear, from the comments, that many blame Obama for problems created by Bush. And they defend their ugliness by comparing their rabidly racist comments to the legitimate criticism leveled at the lying, usurper Bush.
Obama is far from perfect and I am no fan of many of his policy approaches, but he did not steal the office. He did not lie to us to start an illegal and immoral war. He has curbed spending not raised it.
People, who excuse, support, or would participate in acts, like that displayed at the Missouri State Fair, and pretend it was nothing more than satire, are revealing their own racism through these spurious arguments.
It shocks and scares me to think that so many were comfortable participating in this shameful public event.

[xmas74]

39. Here's the thing:

many of those comments weren't even made by people from Missouri. I live here and have called others out on those threads. When challenged I've proven them to not be from where they say. An example: people said they lived in my town and that no one in my town wanted the president to visit recently. When challenged with simple things like local restaurants or the location of the university compared to the air force base they weren't able to respond. (It's common knowledge in town-no trick questions.)

The rodeo was at the state fair, which draws a specific group of people. Some of the people there are the common a-hole types while others were offended. (How do you think they go the video tape? It was made by someone who was upset with what they saw at the fair.)

Don't use them as an excuse not to visit, or even compare all of us to them. It's a great place to visit with lots of history and some great state parks.

[iemitsu]

55. I'm sure you're right.

I'll try to accept that most in Missouri are not like that, but I've been refused service in a restaurant in Montana for wanting to dine with a black woman. Even when most are decent people, one a-hole can ruin one's day.

[Scurrilous]

25. Kick

[xmas74]

32. Superintendent answers back

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2013/08/missouri_state_fair_obama_mark_ficken.php

[proud2BlibKansan]

41. Here

[e-mail] or 660-882-7474

[xmas74]

44. How long until his inbox is full?

The ramifications should be interesting, to say the least.