Saintless

Judging by the comments on the latest article I’ve seen on the Deseret News story on TheSockObama, people are a bit confused on some of the basic facts about this story. So, I thought I’d do the world some good, and point out a few things along the way. (After that, can we all get on to the really exciting stuff, like Al Gore finally endorsing Obama?)

First, David Lawson, of West Jordan, not Park City, owns TheSockObama Co and was the designer of the offensive “Obama Sock Puppet” toy depicting Barack Obama as a monkey.

Binkley Toys is a custom toy manufacturer, and made the toys for TheSockObama Co.

When we (local grassroots Obama supporters) first got wind of the “toy”, early Thursday, June 12, we discussed it amongst ourselves (grassroots), and decided to ignore it. (Side note: West Jordan - that’s where they’re trying to ban toy guns, toy bows and arrows and sling shots, right?)

Friday morning, local news outlets had decided to cover it.

First was Lisa Riley Roche, of the Deseret News. I got a call from her, and said basically that I didn’t know the makers, so I couldn’t know their intent, but that the “doll” was obviously a racist depiction, and if they truly didn’t intend any offense, they would surely remove it from their web site. Here’s the quote from me in her article:

“When I saw something like that going on locally, I was a little bit upset,” said Misty Fowler of Utah for Obama. But then she decided the sellers either have a misguided sense of humor “or are someone to be ignored.”

Asked if the item was racist, she said, “It could be taken that way.” Or, Fowler said, “It’s entirely possible somebody couldn’t see how it could be offensive. I’m not worried about it.”

Either way, she said, the product shouldn’t be seen as representing all Utahns’ attitudes toward race. “There are people like that everywhere, so I don’t think it is a reflection on the average Utahn,” Fowler said.

Now, understand my perspective. I can’t stand racism, and it really baffles me to think of the ignorant hatred behind it. But, this stupid little doll was turning into a distraction from the Obama campaign. While I am very offended by it, I didn’t want to give the makers the attention they were receiving, and presumably, adding to their income. My goal is to get people to pay attention to what Obama is doing and saying. So, yeah I prefer to ignore it, instead of validate it.

Next up was Brent Hunsaker, of ABC 4, who called Nikki Norton. Nikki called me, and I ended up doing an on-camera interview with him in front of my house. (Side note: I told them I’d be home at 6:30, hoping to get there 15 minutes before then and primp. When I got home at 6:15, they were waiting, and I had no idea how badly I needed to primp, much less prepare what I wanted to say…)

While doing that interview, Arikka Von of Fox 13 (side note: when she emailed me, I almost “spammed” it without reading the email because the sender showed as “Avon”) called, left voicemail, and emailed me, hoping for an interview.

At this point, I was getting seriously disturbed, for what turned out to be pretty good reasons. This story ran as headline news on every local channel. I wanted to diffuse it, ignore it, and get the attention back on Senator Obama vs. John McSame, where it belongs.

I decided not to do the interview, because I just didn’t have the time. So, I started calling everyone I knew who I could trust to give a good perspective on the story, mostly grassroots Obama supporters, and who I had already discussed it with. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out so well. It was Friday evening, and I didn’t have much luck. Finally, I decided to call Rob Miller. The only reason I didn’t do that in the first place is that I figured he wouldn’t be too happy to be asked (he’s really busy on Jean Welch Hill’s Attorney General campaign), but I’m glad I chanced it. Rob did great in his interview, and was happy to be of help (LOVED the Buttars comment that he threw in, and the resulting discussion, btw!).

In the middle of trying to find someone for Fox 13, Robert Gherke, of the Salt Lake Tribune, called. Since it didn’t involve a camera, I discussed the story with him, expressing my views about it. I was very pleased with him using the quote he did:

Misty Fowler, the chairwoman of the grassroots group Utah for Obama, said she doesn’t believe the portrayal of Obama represents the average Utahn’s views.
“The sock monkey as Senator Obama is obviously a racist thing, but whether their motivation was a racist one or is unintentional naivete, I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve talked to quite a few other Obama supporters here locally, but it’s something we’re just trying to ignore because it’s not worth our time.”

So, Monday morning, the story is back on. Lisa Riley Roche called again, and told me that Binkley Toys had pulled the product and issued an apology. We were playing voicemail tag, so I called her back and said basically that I am glad they’ve removed the product and issued the apology. As far as I’m concerned, this has been a needless distraction from the real issues. I think that Utahns are much more affected by Obama’s economic policy than by some ill-conceived idea for a toy. My attention is on his speech today about how he will use education and technology to establish energy security, and put America back into a respected global leadership position.

I want to make it clear that during this time, I’d have loved to have had input from the Barack Obama campaign, so I could address this issue in the way they wanted me to. However, this isn’t the kind of thing that I can be a spokesperson for them for, or that they would want me to be. The views I expressed to the media, and here in my blog, are my own. Occasionally, I do get “insider” information, or am given direction on how to talk to the media. Voter Registration, for example - I got a list of “Do’s and Don’ts”. The “Don’t” list included something to the effect of “Don’t present yourself as a represenative of the campaign”. The “Do” list included something like “Do register anyone and everyone who wants to be (as long as they qualify to vote, duh), regardless of any party or candidate preferences they may express”.

So, I was on my own. And really, I’m glad that I was only representing myself, and not the campaign. I’d hate to ever have that job. I always feel like the media is trying to trip me up or get something “juicy” out of me, so I can’t imagine what it would be like if they really tried…

Then I got a call from Tom Grover, of KVNU’s For the People, asking me for an interview after 4. Now, I’m not BFFs with Tom, or anything, but I’ve talked to him via email and on blogs, and I was pretty excited to be doing his show (Jeff is next). I’m about 10:30 in for hour 1. I think this was the first live interview I’ve done, but it wasn’t nearly as nervewracking as the ones I know they’ll cut my screw-ups out of, because I was comfortable, and got the chance to say all of what I had to say, and not just a little part.

Anyway, in reading the latest article, TheSockObama Co sent a letter to the Deseret News that was appalling on every conceivable level. Or maybe I just need to “grow up and get off the internet” as Tom said. Anyway, as one commenter pointed out, the letter may qualify for some sort of ‘Worst Writing Ever’ award, for the poor grammar, typos and finger pointing at everyone else. Some of the commenters seemed to be confused over the difference between the toy’s inventor and it’s manufacturer. Some were obvious Chris Buttars allies. Some were outraged at either the racism, or conversely, the supposed “anti-Americanism” of shutting down the toy. I rarely read comments, because there isn’t much intelligence behind them, and that held true for this article, too.

So, now that all the facts are out there, the toy has been pulled, the manufacturer has apologized, and the inventor is having some sort of breakdown, can we all go back to the real issues? Like how exciting it is that Al Gore has finally endorsed Barack Obama? I was so close to actual doubts about Gore, but it’s all ok now. Anyone think that Detroit will help themselves and help America by going green with their cars? Barack’s speech:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw2gbiW1Oqs]

This entry was posted on Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 11:57 pm and is filed under 2008 election, Barack Obama, Uncategorized, Utah. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.