7/8/2014
Meanwhile here's what Huffington Post is saying:
An Independence Day parade in Norfolk, Nebraska included a float depicting President Obama's presidential library as an outhouse, sparking outcry from residents as well as the state's Democratic Party.
The float, which did not identify its sponsor, featured an overall-clad dummy standing in front of an outhouse. Nailed to the structure were wooden signs reading "Obama Presidential Library":
According to the Omaha World Herald and the Lincoln Journal Star, many Norfolk residents were upset by the float, with some decrying the display as a racist attack on the president.
“I’m angry and I’m scared,” Glory Kathurima, a Norfolk resident who is originally from Kenya, told the Journal Star. “This float was not just political; this was absolutely a racial statement.”
Kathurima says she wrote to the town's mayor as well as the Chamber of Commerce expressing her concerns with the float.
State party officials offered similar criticism.
“We have seen many times when Nebraskans disapproved of the President, but this clearly crosses the line.” Nebraska Democratic Party executive director Dan Marvin said in a Saturday statement.
“There is a level of respect for the office of the Presidency which should not be crossed. It's beyond disappointing the City of Norfolk, it’s officials, and citizens would allow such a thing.”
The presidential library outhouse comparison has become somewhat of a conservative meme in recent years. A similar structure was on display at Montana's state Republican convention in 2012. And last fall, an outhouse with a "presidential library" sign drew criticism in a small New Mexico town.
Rick Konopasek, a member of the Norfolk parade committee, defended the float, comparing it to a political cartoon and noting that multiple parade judges awarded it an "honorable mention."
"It's obvious the majority of the community liked it," he said. "So should we deny the 95 percent of those that liked it their rights, just for the 5 percent of people who are upset?"
source: http://is.gd/BYIjwf
source: http://is.gd/DqB2iH
NORFOLK, Neb. — A float comparing
President Barack Obama's future presidential library to an outhouse has
drawn criticism from some after it appeared in the Fourth of July parade
in Norfolk.
It featured a wooden outhouse labeled "Obama Presidential Library" and a figure in overalls standing outside the structure.
"I'm angry and I'm scared," Norfolk resident Glory Kathurima told the Lincoln Journal Star. "The float was not just political; this was absolutely a racial statement."
Kathurima, an immigrant from Kenya, is raising her 9-year-old daughter in the northeast Nebraska community of roughly 24,000.
Parade organizers with the local Odd Fellows lodge said the float was the most popular one in the event and received an honorable mention award.
Parade committee member Rick Konopasek said he didn't think the float was any more offensive than a political cartoon, and organizers didn't want to limit what they considered a political viewpoint.
"We don't feel it's right to tell someone what they can and can't express," he said to the Journal Star. "This was political satire. If we start saying no to certain floats, we might as well not have a parade at all."
Konopasek said most of the crowd enjoyed the float. "So should we deny the 95 percent of those that liked it their rights," he said, "just for the 5 percent of people who are upset?"
Norfolk City Councilman Dick Pfeil told the Omaha World-Herald that he was unhappy with the float, and he wanted to make clear the city had not approved it.
"The city of Norfolk doesn't condone that," Pfeil said.
Kathurima said she is having a hard time explaining the float to her daughter.
"My daughter keeps asking me, 'Why?' and I don't have an answer for her," she said. "We made this place our home, but right now it doesn't feel like it. It's shameful."
Parade organizers plan to meet within the next week to discuss the float and whether any policy changes should be made for the future.
Currently, the only restriction on parade floats is that morally objectionable entries won't be permitted. Konopasek said that generally translates into a ban on sexually explicit messages.
It featured a wooden outhouse labeled "Obama Presidential Library" and a figure in overalls standing outside the structure.
"I'm angry and I'm scared," Norfolk resident Glory Kathurima told the Lincoln Journal Star. "The float was not just political; this was absolutely a racial statement."
Kathurima, an immigrant from Kenya, is raising her 9-year-old daughter in the northeast Nebraska community of roughly 24,000.
Parade organizers with the local Odd Fellows lodge said the float was the most popular one in the event and received an honorable mention award.
Parade committee member Rick Konopasek said he didn't think the float was any more offensive than a political cartoon, and organizers didn't want to limit what they considered a political viewpoint.
"We don't feel it's right to tell someone what they can and can't express," he said to the Journal Star. "This was political satire. If we start saying no to certain floats, we might as well not have a parade at all."
Konopasek said most of the crowd enjoyed the float. "So should we deny the 95 percent of those that liked it their rights," he said, "just for the 5 percent of people who are upset?"
Norfolk City Councilman Dick Pfeil told the Omaha World-Herald that he was unhappy with the float, and he wanted to make clear the city had not approved it.
"The city of Norfolk doesn't condone that," Pfeil said.
Kathurima said she is having a hard time explaining the float to her daughter.
"My daughter keeps asking me, 'Why?' and I don't have an answer for her," she said. "We made this place our home, but right now it doesn't feel like it. It's shameful."
Parade organizers plan to meet within the next week to discuss the float and whether any policy changes should be made for the future.
Currently, the only restriction on parade floats is that morally objectionable entries won't be permitted. Konopasek said that generally translates into a ban on sexually explicit messages.
The Gazette
Obama float at Nebraska parade sparks controversy
http://gazette.com/obama-float-at-nebraska-parade-sparks-controversy/article/1522519#WHJZ1DOs4wUqzMcM.99 … pic.twitter.com/DMIK0Gynak
Meanwhile here's what Huffington Post is saying:
An Independence Day parade in Norfolk, Nebraska included a float depicting President Obama's presidential library as an outhouse, sparking outcry from residents as well as the state's Democratic Party.
The float, which did not identify its sponsor, featured an overall-clad dummy standing in front of an outhouse. Nailed to the structure were wooden signs reading "Obama Presidential Library":
According to the Omaha World Herald and the Lincoln Journal Star, many Norfolk residents were upset by the float, with some decrying the display as a racist attack on the president.
“I’m angry and I’m scared,” Glory Kathurima, a Norfolk resident who is originally from Kenya, told the Journal Star. “This float was not just political; this was absolutely a racial statement.”
Kathurima says she wrote to the town's mayor as well as the Chamber of Commerce expressing her concerns with the float.
State party officials offered similar criticism.
“We have seen many times when Nebraskans disapproved of the President, but this clearly crosses the line.” Nebraska Democratic Party executive director Dan Marvin said in a Saturday statement.
“There is a level of respect for the office of the Presidency which should not be crossed. It's beyond disappointing the City of Norfolk, it’s officials, and citizens would allow such a thing.”
The presidential library outhouse comparison has become somewhat of a conservative meme in recent years. A similar structure was on display at Montana's state Republican convention in 2012. And last fall, an outhouse with a "presidential library" sign drew criticism in a small New Mexico town.
Rick Konopasek, a member of the Norfolk parade committee, defended the float, comparing it to a political cartoon and noting that multiple parade judges awarded it an "honorable mention."
"It's obvious the majority of the community liked it," he said. "So should we deny the 95 percent of those that liked it their rights, just for the 5 percent of people who are upset?"
source: http://is.gd/BYIjwf
source: http://is.gd/DqB2iH
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