THE SHOT — Clearly, artist Michael Troy does not have the same feelings toward President Obama as, say, Shepard Fairey. But his image is striking for its simplicity. And, perhaps, its inaccuracy. Sure, Obama has remained silent-but-deadly on plenty of gay rights issues, but you see, Barack Obama has weighed in on equality for gay Americans: He doesn’t much care if there is any. (Click for larger)
ger
You really need to drop the ‘Free of an Agenda’ part of your masthead.
...
The clock strikes tweleve, time to post about Obama
Lee
Sorry to knock a fresh pitcher of Kool Aid out of your hands, boys, but Queerty has NOTHING to apologize for or change in their masthead.
Their agenda is a GAY one…what’s YOURS??????
Chuck
It is necessary for websites like this to stay on Obama about all his campaign promises to us. Somebody has to and the ‘net is as good a place as any- especially poignant since that’s how Obama raised all that dough during his campaign, so this medium is one he should appreciate.
This is an important issue for our time. Obama made many promises and so far has not delivered on any of them. I was thinking the other day, so far he is really no better than Bush in terms of helping the gay community. THAT is a really low mark and it’s really sad.
We all must stay on this.
dgz
@Chuck: i’m okay with him not *delivering.* i am NOT, however, okay with an apparent total lack of effort.
even if he asked us to wait and gave us a good reason as well as a future plan of action, i’d be fine. but he’s not even talking to us. apparently, iran is more fun to converse with.
(but i think the Bush comparison is a *bit* uncharitable — Bush was pushing a constutional marriage amendment, and got DOMA passed. he also never would’ve signed the hate crimes bill.)
SM
WOW….you all sure do seem to hate Obama
Obama made many promises to different groups. I’m not a one issue voter.
The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill was an Obama promise to the gay community was it not? It’s on its way to the Senate before HEALTHCARE or ENERGY.
Chill out and support the best civil rights President you all have had in years~
dgz
@SM: no one said they hated him. but i’m glad you’re satisfied with the current situation. i mean, who needs to sit in the front of a bus, anyway?
Wayne
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere – Martin Luther King Jr.
Separate is never equal and silence equals death.
(these words have been said before, but they remain as valid as ever).
Chuck
@dgz: When it comes to the civil rights of en entire population, there is no room for being charitable to someone who ran on change and many promises to the gay community. So far we’ve seen nothing. This is the first time I have ever defended Bush, who stole and election and was the worst president in history and did everything he could to ruin this nation, but DOMA was under Clinton.
InExile
This piece of ART says it all! Barack Bush
dgz
@Chuck: doma was clinton, i knew that, i’m an idiot. i have no idea why i wrote that.
but i still say its not *yet* right to compare 130ish days of bad with 8 years of horror. its comparing wormy apples with rotten oranges. so to speak. but on your main points i agree.
SM
@dgz:
Martin Luther King did not accomplish his task by throwing temper tantrums and lashing out at the President during his fight…but hey…since you all seem to know so much, you would think you all would win more battles with your tactics.
InExile
@SM: This President made promises and in return he received CASH and VOTES, in return we are getting silence. He needs to be pushed and pressured or his current silence could continue indefinitely.
Many of us are tired of waiting for equality, I think 40 years is long enough to wait.
Civil rights should be a priority above all others. And the worst part is all he needs to do is say a few words to get the wheels moving but he isn’t even doing that!
Angus
I supported Obama and voted for him. Perhaps we should all email the whitehouse and ask for our money back.
Lex
I think that picture of nothing but white people and one token un-identified light brown person accurately describes what Queerty thinks of the “Gay Community”.
Pot calling the kettle what?
Lex
Should also be noted that that depiction looks nothing like Obama, but who cares about drawing features as long as they made his skin brown. Right?
Nevermind that he’s light-skinned.
Really speaks volumes, fellas. Keep trying to use black folks and toss us away like tissues when you’re done. We’re not falling for it. No one is stupid here.
Gay rights would’ve been won by now if a appreciation for the diversity of our so called group was actually presented. People of all colors would look and see their family in the crowd. Instead you choose to be stuck on yourselves, the majority, white gays.
Good luck with that.
xiquet
@Lex: That part of the image stuck out at me as well…
Tim and Earl
We don’t like heterosexual-supremacy regardless of who is the heterosexist. We believe it’s both unAmerican and unChristlike.
Tim and Earl
p.s. Our marriage is our litmus test for who is or isn’t a heterosexual-supremacist.
After 33 years together in Love, we know that heterosexual-supremacy accent when we hear it!
The problem has the heterosexist’s name on it, so the solution must have their name on it, not ours.
Lee
@SM:
You must be an “M.”
Obama had NOTHING to do with the progress of the Matthew Shepard hate crimes bill. He couldn’t even spare two minutes with Judy Shepard. He arrived late for a White House meeting with her to “discuss” it, put his arm around her, said, “Say ‘Cheese’,” a propaganda photo was snapped and he ran to his next meeting.
GM is filing for bankruptcy, another abortion doctor has been assassinated, and an Air Frances plane is missing. They all happened after Obama took office. Ya wanna give him “credit” for those events, too?
timncguy
@Lex: What percentage of the population is black? there are 7 people pictured. One of those 7 is dark skinned. That’s a liitle more than 14%. Seems like an accurate percentage to me.
Lex
@timncguy:
First of all it’s a picture. Percentage shouldn’t matter when you’re drawing a picture that’s supposed to represent the gay community.
Where are the Asians? Hispanics? Native Americans? Blacks?
You say that person is black but he sure looks Indian to me. That’s what I meant by token unidentified brown person. His race can’t be detected, but he should thank his lucky stars to be a part of this group huh?
I don’t know what black people you know that look like that, but I’d be interested to meet them. So light he’s almost white.
Like I said that also doesn’t erase the exclusion of other races. Couldn’t be bothered to draw other people? Or is everyone in the gay community white except for one acceptable token?
Lex
Wow I just noticed you said one of those 7 is dark-skinned. LOL, oh my.
That’s light skin, Boo boo. Very light skin.
Lex
The fact that Obama is light-skinned and drawn darker(on top of looking nothing like him) should’ve tipped you off. He’s the only black person in the picture.
Forrest
Oh but Obama’s best friend, Joe @ HRC says he has a plan! But it’s a big secret! And supposedly the admin is going to roll out a bunch of proclamations to coincide with Stonewall. I will bet that none of them will actually have anything to do with important issues: Marriage Support,DOMA,DADT. But HRC and the rest of the establishment orgs will fall all over of themselves with orgasmic email blasts praising the prez and asking us to give them more money for accomplishing nothing. The more thing’s change……
Landon Bryce
This drawing looks like it was created to make voters afraid of the scary gays picking on poor Obama.
And it sure reads racist to me, with an Obama that looks a lot more like Gary Coleman, and vaguely brown dude, and the Village of the Damned token lesbian.
Ugh.
InExile
Maybe this picture isn’t meant to be analyzed so closely. Possibly the artist is not good at drawing people because the image of Obama looks nothing like him and the others in the picture do not look like anyone I know! The overall message is the important part.
Timmeeeyyy
Just to be clear, Shepard Fairey supported Obama with his iconic poster. He also is a huge supporter of marriage equality (even though he is straight), and donated his Defend Equality Love Unites design to raise both awareness and funds fighting prop 8.
And for those who would like us to just keep quiet and wait for Obama to act…
Those who are silent are not heard.
sdandy
@Lex: Um, so a ‘black’ person should have been drawn with dark black coal face, big bright red lips like Blackface? Yeah, I’m sure that would have gone over real well. Its a cartoon-ish poster. Artistic license? And oh, I don’t think anyone at Queerty was the artist…
Lex
@sdandy: You’re a moron.
sdandy
@Lex: Sorry, I just don’t understand the difference between vague cartoon characters and racial descriptions and where it becomes wrong in the other direction. Do you go and nit-pick cartoons for children whether their diverse characters are accurately or precisely your definition of racial diversity? Where is that line where the artist would be in trouble of exaggerating features of different races?
I think you are equally a moron.
edgyguy1426
@SM: @Lee: I’m not a one-issue voter,either, but this IS a one-issue blog so you have to factor that into your critique.@Lex: “You say that person is black but he sure looks Indian to me” well how do you know that that image represents a guy? I know a lot of women that shave their heads… … I don’t think we should read more into it than the message…I don’t care for this kind of stylized work myself but it’s the message that’s important.
Of course, the name-calling always helps to prove one’s point.
Lex
@sdandy: That’s nice.
Lex
@edgyguy1426: Any idiot who starts referencing black face doesn’t deserve a response. What don’t you get about that?
schlukitz
Actually, if one includes the president who is also black (okay, mulatto for you picky types), that makes 2 out 8, which is more like 25% of the total population. So, what’s the problem?
And, if you take into consideration all the ethnic groups we have in our country, then 8 people would not be a sufficient number to give representation to all of them.
Apparently, some people are missing the point of the cartoon altogether, which is that Obama is not addressing the LGBT community.
Stay on topic.
Lex
@schlukitz: If you had bothered to read my post you’d know I had pointed that out. You didn’t read though and I’m sure that’s too much to ask of the typical Queerty poster.
Apparently you missed the point altogether. There are more people in the “gay community” than just white people.
If it makes you feel better to stomp your feet and throw a tantrum because you aren’t getting everything you want RIGHT NOW then go right ahead.
The President can’t and won’t change everything overnight. We’re in a recession, we’re at war, there are much more important issues to face right now. Grow the fuck up.
glennmcgahee
I’m so sorry for all of the Obama apologists. They’ve invested so much energy into the worship of their man that they can’t see the forest for the trees.Its exactly what he was hoping for. Obama had secret meetings before his election with the evangelist crowd where he told them he opposed abortion and “The Gay Agenda”. He assured them that he would represent their interests too. Looking at his actions, I’d venture to say he’s not a Democrat. He’s backtracked on so much of his campaign’s rhetoric it has my head spinning.He knows he will not have the Progressives undying support like he did this year in the next go round. Just like he has always done. He’s working toward the next election. Only this time he wants and will need that church vote. Besides the gay issue, did you ever think that he would continue the Warrantless Wiretapping of Americans, the “Preventive Dententions” (this is the most surprizing of all his policies to me with him being a Constitutional Lawyer) and the expansion of Bush’s Faith Based Initiatives and men, we are still in Irag, expanding the war into Afganistan and Pakistan (The War on Terror/a war that will never end because it cannot be won, the enemy hasn’t a name or country). These are all Republican creations that he campaigned against to get your vote. What will it take before you open your eyes? Don’t shoot the messenger, Queerty is just giving you the facts that the Corporate media will not.
Lex
@glennmcgahee: You couldn’t be more wrong. In fact you sound like one of the Obama worshippers if anything which explains your crybaby disappointment.
I’m of the more adult “Wait and see.” group. He hasn’t even been in office for a year. Maybe you should learn a little more about politics and stop stuffing your face with dicks long enough to know what you’re talking about.
Voting someone into office doesn’t mean things will change even during their run. All he can do is try to lay the ground work and hope someone else will come along to build upon it. Get real.
InExile
@Lex: What ground work has he done since he was elected? Is SILENCE ground work?
Some of us are tired of waiting and our new President is not giving us any reassurance that he remembers his own promises.
Thus far we have silence, Rick Warren, delaying DADT, and no mention of anything else. None of us have the vision to look deep into his soul to know what his intentions are. If actions speak louder than words, we are in big trouble!
schlukitz
@Lex:
From your comment No. 15
“one token un-identified light brown person”
Is this what you said or isn’t it???
dgz
@SM:
SM, find where i’m lashing out in any of my posts. go ahead. quote and cite me.
i understand arguments for giving him more time, and his difficult political predicament. but if you think *my* posts show hatred of any kind, then either you haven’t read them, or you think the prez should never be subject to criticism. if the latter, then i can point you to a dozen totalitarian regimes where you’d be much happier.
Marlena
This image doesn’t even really make sense. Tape over someone’s mouth indicates that someone is forcing THEM to be silent, not that they’re being silent of their own volition.
schlukitz
Could we have a discussion about the composition of the tape covering Obama’s mouth?
I mean, it could be toxic, you know? And, if it proves to be, then the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Ecology should be notified immediately.
Jebus. Can’t anyone stay on topic these days?
Here’s the headline.
“How to Sum Up the Gay Community’s Feelings Toward Our New President?”
It’s a really simple question.
Do you like him….or NOT?
Who gives a shit about the artist’s “technique”, the colors he used or the frigging mouth tape?
Now you see why SSM and gay civil-rights should NOT be put up to a vote!!!
Tony
Any cartoon depiction of Obama will be called racist by the Obamabots.
Any critique of Obama will be deemed a racist remark.
Any person who states that Obama is anything less than the best friend the LGBT Community has ever had will be deemed a racist.
Didn’t you get the memo?
Praise Obama and pass the Kool-Aid.
Tony
Oh, an accurate cartoon depiction of Obama would be one with his head up his ass. That’s what I think of him.
Tony
@Marlena
Marlena
“This image doesn’t even really make sense. Tape over someone’s mouth indicates that someone is forcing THEM to be silent, not that they’re being silent of their own volition.”
This is why I stated:
“..an accurate cartoon depiction of Obama would be one with his head up his ass. That’s what I think of him.
edgyguy1426
Although there were more vital things at stake than gay marriage, I wonder what would have been the reaction to LBJ or JFK if they had made the statement: “We’re in a recession, we’re at war, there are much more important issues to face right now. Grow the fuck up.” well you know, except that last part…
edgyguy1426
glennmcgahee : Did Pres. Obama really make that statement about opposing the Gay Agenda to conservatives? If it is so, then I think he deserves everything that Queerty is throwing at him AND more. This isn’t the only site where people are getting on Obama’s case, the posts to the Advocate are very similar as well.
edgyguy1426
Ugh here we go..Lex:.”Maybe you should learn a little more about politics and stop stuffing your face with dicks long enough to know what you’re talking about.” WTF? Is this really necessary? I can’t think of any reason why discussion would sink to this level, though it seems to get there rapidly enough here.
Tony
@Lex:.”Maybe you should learn a little more about politics and stop stuffing your face with dicks long enough to know what you’re talking about.”
For all Lex felches about racism here, his blatant self-hating homophobia is really illustrated by this quote. Not okay to even critique members of some groups, okay to hatefully bash gays with anti-gay slurs. God Lex, you need therapy as well as an education. Geez.
SM
@Angus:
Wow…Not only do you all hate Obama and expect him to accomplish his entire agenda in 3 months you all act like straight people are not donating to help out YOUR EQUALITY ISSUES and VOTING FOR YOU.
You all crack me up.
AHR
Pretty shitty “art.”
edgyguy1426
We all do?
Brian Miller
Martin Luther King did not accomplish his task by throwing temper tantrums and lashing out at the President during his fight
Yes. Rather, he shut down government institutions, churches, businesses and entire cities with nonviolent disobedience.
If gay people pursued a King-like strategy to address Obama’s cowardice and mendacity on gay rights issues, Obama’s perpetual apologists would be even angrier and shriller. It would be a sight to behold!
Schumenauer
WOW, APPARENTLy the gay community is a bunch of emaciated white boys and girls and a token black person. Otherwise you know, someone might find this ad to be in bad taste