"Niggardly" Obama Sign Causing Controversy

[proud2BlibKansan]

(NewsCore) - A sign outside a northern California business that accuses President Obama of being “niggardly” is causing controversy among locals, KTXL-TV reported Wednesday.

The sign, located along a freeway in Acampo, Calif. says “Obama = niggardly” and that he “hurts small biz.” Another part of the sign reads “Buck Ofama.”

One motorist told KTXL that the sign was associated with the Sunny Rose Cafe in Acampo. A telephone listing for the business on Google was disconnected, according to KTXL.

The word "niggardly," despite sounding like a racial epithet, actually means " grudgingly mean about spending or granting” according to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary and is believed to have its origin prior to that of the racial slur.

more . . . http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpps/news/dpgonc-niggardly-obama-sign-causing-controversy-mh-20100331_6850877

[Heidi]

1. It's a bigoted double entendre.

And not a particularly clever one.

[asphalt.jungle]

8. because his right wing critics definitely don't accuse him of being tight with the money

in fact they say he just loves to spend. so it was all about using the word niggardly, even if it didn't apply to the subject.

[rasputin1952]

77. Precisely...

and I have to say, people who think they are "clever" in using things like this are about as stupid as sticks...:grr:

[sharp_stick]

2. I bet the asshole that put those up

thinks he's being so cute with language too. Kind of like "Oh no, I don't mean anything racial by it wink wink".

Now if only the moronic prick actually knew what the fuck the word niggardly meant he may have been able to use it in a way that made more sense.

[NoNothing]

3. Obvious bait

I'm guessing they hope to be persecuted so thay can claim ignorance on the part of their accusers. Set mode=ignore.

[tyne]

11. Exactly.

And that's what the right-loons are doing on the lib/con board I belong to.

Now they're pissed because no lib will bite. Whackos.

[slackmaster]

45. Yes, too obvious, and it's a shame so many people are taking it hook, line, and sinker

:nuke:

[AngryAmish]

4. troll

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Are you calling ME a troll?

Huh?

[aikoaiko]

10. Je'cuse!

That's the way it is on DU. No more benefit of the doubt.

[Lautremont]

37. Point of order: it's "J'accuse."

[aikoaiko]

40. whoops. thank you.

[AngryAmish]

18. nononononono

You, my friend, are certainly not a troll.

The person that put up that sign is...they are trying to get a rise out of people.

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. Ok. Thanks

[SwampG8r]

5. thanks for the definition

i knew the word but it isnt in popular useage
i doubt the sign maker knows what it means though
its pretty damn sad

[activa8tr]

71. I'm SURE the sign-maker doesn't know what it means, when did I last

meet a Republican who had passed his SAT's with 700 or above?

[Xithras]

7. Someone should point out that the Thugs are the party of niggardly politics.

Niggardly = stingy. It also means "small and inadequate"...which also fits them well.

[Hepburn]

9. Some little town outside Stockton, right?

Geeeeeez, what an asshole thing to do. And sooooooooo stuble...NOT!

:puke:

[Garbo 2004]

12. Last night a citizen drove up with a ladder & took the signs down. Local news was there

at the time. The reporter on the 11 pm news said the person was someone who thought they were inappropriate. The person didn't want to be interviewed or go on camera, just took the signs down & left.

KCRA article from earlier yesterday evening: http://www.kcra.com/news/23019610/detail.html

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. Good job!

[Hepburn]

20. Applause...

...:applause: :thumbsup:

[boppers]

73. Nice!

Maybe vandalism, maybe civil disobedience, but sometimes such a thing is acceptable to society.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

14. The sign-makers intent is clear

The war on the word "niggardly" is usually a moron party, but this instance has nothing to do with the actual word niggardly.

The speaker is using the word for the sole purpose of causing racial offense.

And niggardly does not mean "a word that sounds like nigger useful as a means of offending people."

Calls the mind the stock comic political accusation that your opponents wife was a Thespian in college.

[aikoaiko]

15. Free speech isn't always pretty.

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. Despite what the word really means, we know what is meant by the sign

particularly in that Obama's policies are generally thought by the right of being too extravagant with taxpayer money, not too tight.

[DirkGently]

17. What a bunch of homos

apiens.

Morans.


:D

[paulsby]

19. doesn't ANYBODY remember history

i strongly suggest this is probably also a tongue in cheek reference to the "niggardly" incident...

iow, it's geeky referential too
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/williams/williams020499.htm
D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams said yesterday that he will rehire a former top aide who resigned last month because some city employees were offended that the aide used the word "niggardly" in describing how he would have to manage a fund's tight budget.

Williams, whose quick acceptance of David Howard's resignation last month led to a national debate over racial sensitivity and political correctness, indicated in a statement yesterday that he had made a mistake and "acted too hastily" in allowing Howard to resign as head of the city's constituent services office.

The mayor said that an internal review had "confirmed for me that Mr. Howard did use the word 'niggardly,' but did not use a racial epithet" during a Jan. 15 discussion with two employees of the Office of the Public Advocate. "Niggardly" means miserly and has no racial connotation.

Williams said that one of the employees, identified by Howard as Marshall Brown, interpreted Howard's remark as a racial slur. Brown has declined to comment on the incident.

[Lilyeye]

23. You're giving those idiots to much credit lol.

[paulsby]

25. i don't think so

this was ALL OVER the media, especially the rightwing press

[Lilyeye]

29. You might be right,

but I put nothing pass the idiot teabaggers.

[paulsby]

32. it just seems the MOST likely explanation

i am not saying it is THE explanation, but when one thinks "niggardly", one thinks of that incident. it was major national news, and it was all the rage at every website that concentrates on PC excesses etc.

recall this guy had to RESIGN (later offered his job back) because some ignoramus claimed he was "Racist" because he used the word "niggardly" in a meeting

[road2000]

47. I was going to bring up that incident, Paulsby...

and you beat me to it. I remember being convinced at the time that the guy who resigned truly meant no subtle reference to a racial slur. I felt sorry for him.

The California incident, however, is so blatantly racist that even a moran can see it. The biggest surprise is that the offender spelled the word correctly.

[paulsby]

49. right

i'm not saying the sign maker isn't racist

i'm saying he/she is probably referencing the "niggardly" incident for effect. iow, knowing the hoopla that ensued over the use of this word in the past he's trying to rope people in to accusing him of racism for the use of that word, although he's doing it INTENTIONALLY whereas the DC councilmember imo did not have that intent.

iow, the signmaker is using past experience (of others) to try to set his own trap

clearly, the word "niggardly" is NOT racist in any wAY, shape or form. and he knows that

those who don't know history are condemned to repeat it, etc.

[Name removed]

55. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[paulsby]

56. i am using basic game theory and logic that goes back to "the art of war" and beyond

and many others here are ignoring it

it is a common conceit here that people on the other side of the ideological fence are necessarily idiots and/or not clever, with the occasional exception

it's hubris that so often leads to downfall. hubris is a word from the greeks and this sort of arrogance goes back to their days and before

like i said, some people NEVER learn from history. they just engage in a circle jerk of arrogance that makes them FEEL good, instead of thinking critically and giving the opposition credit

underestimating the opposition is one of the grossest errors a general can make in war.

the godfather knew it, sun tsu knew it, but the ignorati here do not

occam's razor works here too.

niggardly is an obscure word. a word that was the subject of a quite celebrated PC speech case.

and i'm supposed to assume that the sign maker WASN'T referencing it, when he used this obscure "SAT" word in his sign? riiiiiiiiight

[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[paulsby]

60. you are deluded

if you think that underestimating (and i use the term "estimating" loosely since it is not based on empirical evidence) the opposition benefits you.

just because somebody is racist does not mean that they are an idiot

is david duke stupid? hell no. he's quite bright. and that makes him far more dangerous

what is ALSO dangerous is underestimating the opposition, but again you are more interested in feeling good than thinking critically and applying game theory/logic etc. to these tasks

it's the same mentality that keeps so many here unable to WATCH or READ opposition texts because it makes them feel uncomfortable. again, it's about FEELINGs not logic. and then they miss out critical references and thought processes because they are just assuming ignorance.

sorry, but sun tsu and other philosophers have known what i am saying, and i am clearly not going to be able to explain to you how the real world works.

go ahead and assume the racist poster maker clearly couldn't have known about such a well discussed speech case as the "niggardly" case and JUST HAPPENED to choose that word.

it's illogical, it violates occam's razor, common sense, etc.

but it makes you FEEL good

and god forbid anybody deprive you of your comforting cloud of convictions (thanks bertrand)

[Paladin]

67. Let Me Put This In Terms You Might Understand:

You are not General George Patton, and Mr. Niggardly isn't Erwin Rommel.

This whole Respect For A Shrewd Opponent thing you're so desperately spinning doesn't work unless your opponent in fact shows signs of actually being shrewd. The operative word here is "discernment" (use the Latin translation of the word if it makes you feel more important). You're applying absolutely no discernment in this ugly little tap dance you've been carrying out for some time here at DU---if somebody exhibits anti-Democratic Party sentiments and/or actions, that alone seems to be enough for you to go to bat for them. Over and over and over. No one is fooled, with the very possible exception of yourself.

I'm going to do you a huge favor and terminate my portion of this dialog, based on my discernment that you're an unworthy opponent (Sun Tsu agrees with me). If you want to keep digging that hole you're in, feel free....

[paulsby]

68. you can ignore the real world and evidence

all you like. it makes you FEEL good.

keep wallowing in your comforting cloud of convictions that surround you like flies on a summer day.

[kurtzapril4]

72. I agree with you, Paulsby

Underestimating the opposition is a bad mistake to make.

The sign was surely made to whip up people who think the word "niggardly" has something to do with race, i.e., the sign maker surely knew that most dumb-asses would think it had something to do with the race of the president.

This was done with some malice aforethought, by someone who knew what the hell they were doing. They were not dumb.

[Paladin]

74. There Sure Are A Lot Of People Turning Up Who Are Easily Impressed. (n/t)

[road2000]

58. Yes, I was agreeing with you. n/t

[Gidney N Cloyd]

24. Reminds me of the dumb boss who fired the trainer because he didn't want...

...his employees involved in pedagogy.

[paulsby]

26. lol i was

busy masticating when i read your post and almost choked

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

27. Were you having chicken?

[paulsby]

30. no

my famous pesto, egg, tomato, gouda, schiracha quesadilla.

so, i was not "masticating my chicken"

but i was masticating my pesto!

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

42. As long as you weren't choking on the chicken, then....(nt)

[Lautremont]

33. I have heard that Obama is actively trying to interest the nation's children in philately.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

34. Decent citizens must stamp that out now!

[sarge43]

21. Of course, it was meant as a racial slur albeit a clumsy one.

For the record, niggard(ly): stingy, small, meager derives from Old Norse. Niger is Latin for black. The only relationship the two words have is both are Indo-European based.

I thought these jackasses were up in arms because President Obama was spending all their money; therefore, accusing him of stinginess rather defeats their argument.

Oh well, we know what teh stupid does.

[Mira]

22. OKAY so I gave it recommendation five in great disgust.

These things should not be allowed to stand...yeah, I know. Freedom of speech. But what kind of sad, deluded, hate-filled, scared people would do that?

[Earth Bound Misfit]

54. Why, a sad, deluded, hate-filled, scared republiCON, of course. n/t

:shrug:

[snake in the grass]

31. Too ignorant...

...to be a proper racist. Really pathetic.

[HughMoran]

35. Pretty pathetic attempt at calling the President a N____r

This is the kind of thing I thought was funny when I was 11 years old. Just like prank calling Mrs. Cunt gives a juvenile boy the giggles. :eyes:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

36. Maybe know people will get my point that niggardly can be used in a racist manner.

This being an example.

[h9socialist]

38. You don't have to work too hard to figure this one out!

UGLY!

[Teaser]

39. everyone knows why this was done

.

[slackmaster]

46. And it's working

:argh:

[Paladin]

41. Context Is Everything In This Instance.

Look at the crude quality of that sign and its intended target. Those of you who are making light of this need to get a grip on present-day reality. This is a snotty, smirky, barely legible piece of racist trash. At this point in time, the word "niggardly" is the linguistic equivalent of the Confederate flag: any polite or historical value it might have had has been permanently erased by the ignorant shitheads who now claim it......

[frazzled]

43. Does the signer really believe Obama is "grudging on spending"?

To quote John Boehner, "Hell, no!" Of course, the anti-Obama crowd (and the reference to hurting small business confirms this is coming from the uninformed right, not the left) thinks Obama is spending us into oblivion. Ergo ... the use of the word, which has the aural quality of the "n" word, can only be racist. It can't be taken at literal, face value.

[slackmaster]

44. Everybody knows that proud2BlibKansan is a pedagogue

:hi:

[zulchzulu]

48. Aw geez, what he meant to say with the sign is that America needs...

...more white skinheads controlling the highway system...

:crazy:

[CreekDog]

50. O Lord, Stuck in Lodi again...

[greencharlie]

51. it's just a juvenile back-handed slap. nt

[JoePhilly]

52. Its one racist WINKING at other racists ... nothing more.

[Arkana]

53. All I can think of is Clayton Bigsby.

[KingFlorez]

57. That was put up to stir trouble

It means stingy and the right-wing mantra is that Obama is spending to much. No one on either side would really hold not spending a lot against a politician, especially not in California. Whoever put that up wanted to get a certain response.

[BlooInBloo]

61. It's always cute when white folks put thin veneers over their race-trolling with that word.

[political_Dem]

62. What gets me about the entire right wing movement

is the fact that they feel pretty free with the racial epithets now that a Black President is in office. In fact, it seems like every day someone from the Teabagger camp is putting their toe in the water and shooting their mouth off with racially charged speech while whining that whenever a person of color fights back, "They shouldn't complain because America has Obama as its leader." The conservatives don't believe that this type of behavior is odious. What is even worse is that they continue to put down liberals and other folks who are conscious of racial discrimination as being "uncivilized, angry and voiceless".

That's why the RNC and their followers of filth, the Teabaggers, deserve the middle finger. :grr:

[scheming daemons]

63. It's the first word they've ever actually spelled correctly on one of their signs...

...imagine that.

[Mike K]

64. The best way to deal with such silliness -

- is to simply ignore it.

[grantcart]

65. A red neck supporter of Paul Krugman

[Ikonoklast]

69. lulz

As if the words 'Keynesian Economic Theory' just came to them in a fevered dream.

[BlueMTexpat]

66. The amazing thing is that the word is spelled correctly!

Of course, those who "agree" with the sign either don't understand what the word actually means or the word is a misspelled version of the word that is so clearly - and nastily - meant.
I agree with the poster upthread who said that the word appropriately describes the GOP. The "grudgingly mean" part is especially appropos. Unless, of course, the spending referred to is for waging war, developing expensive weapons programs or otherwise enriching the haves at the expense of the have-nots.

[Cha]

70. Says everything about the asshole

who put the sign up and absolutley nothing about the President.

[Old Troop]

75. I think it is the intent of the words

that make them offensive.

[walldude]

76. Yeah except these idiots think that FUCk is offensive

But Ni**er is not. :crazy:

[rasputin1952]

78. Back in the 19th Century, there was a big dust-up because one

candidate stated that the other's wife, an actress, was a "thespian". Back then, the language was far more intimate, but the "suggestion" was taken as "lesbian". Sadly, this stuff is not "new".

Could you imagine if this individual had put up, "Obama Jewed me out of my business!"

Bigots run rampant throughout this world, and they are rarely "clever".