Obama Joker artist unmasked: A fellow Chicagoan

Obama Joker artist unmasked: A fellow Chicagoan

latimesblogs.latimes.com

Click here to find out more!
Top of the Ticket
Politics, coast to coast, with the L.A. Times

« Previous Post | Top of the Ticket Home
Obama Joker artist unmasked: A fellow Chicagoan
August 17, 2009 | 6:29 pm

Firas-alkhateed

When cryptic posters portraying President Obama as the Joker from "Batman" began popping up around Los Angeles and other cities, the question many asked was, Who is behind the image?

Was it an ultra-conservative grassroots group or a disgruntled street artist going against the grain?

Nope, it turns out, just a 20-year-old college student from Chicag

(visit the link for the full news article)

Remember how the media was claiming this was racist and it was probably made by a racist, white, conservative? Turns out its a liberal Palestinian from Chicago, named Firas Alkhateeb! Although its clear from the article that the pressured him to back off the "socialist" label. Saying "whats wrong with socialists?

How surprising that the media was completely off base and instigating racial tensions. I hope you can detect my sarcasm.

latimesblogs.latimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

When someone made a joker poster of Bush43 I don't remember the media going after the artist like he (or she) was a criminal. But they certainly are going after this guy ....

Originally posted by Wimbly
Remember how the media was claiming this was racist and it was probably made by a racist, white, conservative? Turns out its a liberal Palestinian from Chicago, named Firas Alkhateeb!

Firas Alkhateeb may be the originator of the joker image itself but as this article states:

Then the counter exploded after a still-anonymous rogue famously found his image, digitally removed the references to Time Magazine, captioned the picture with the word "socialism" and hung printed copies around L.A., making headlines.

So, this really doesn't solve the whole mystery of who and why.

reply to post by EnlightenUp

So, this really doesn't solve the whole mystery of who and why.

I can answer why for you, because its they're right to. Why the fevered search for who made it? Does the MSM want to publicly excoriate him?

Originally posted by Wimbly
I can answer why for you, because its they're right to. Why the fevered search for who made it? Does the MSM want to publicly excoriate him?

Yes, it's their right to do so. Perhaps the MSM does wish to excoriate someone. The search continues (or should).

Whoever actually made the poster itself could be a right wing extemist racist nutjob freeper, or it could be a lefty wanting to add to anti-right wing sentiment or anything else at this point. Who knows. I suppose I'd like to know just out of curiosity. I have no ego invested in a particular outcome.

The irony and one of the points I am trying to make, when it was Bush, Condi, Rumsfeld and Cheney enhanced and tampered pictures circulating all over the net, none were banned.

Different times different strokes, Is better to play the racist card than admit bias, I guess.

I've always found it strange how people can't often accept that images like this can be made by normal people, spread by that person to normal people, and then those normal people continue to spread it.

I mean, I'm friends with the guys who made the Steve Irwin flash game a week after he died that was fairly controversial. Just two guys who drink a lot of beers who know each other from a website who put it on that website.

Things like this don't have to be backed by anything other than people.

I love the fact that the entire story was based on racism.
This new administration is something else.

I'm willing to bet it was a setup from the beginnning.

I wonder if the news paper owes me money?
I cracked that story 2 weeks ago...right here on ats...
i told exactly who made the picture.
read if ya don't believe me.
www.abovetopsecret.com...
khateeb88's user name.....

isn't that called plagiarism or something?IDK lol
I gutted this story long before the news did..WOOOT i own.

and what's sad i got 3 flag's for my hard work....here on ats.

So feel they stole my hard work of investigations....SOB ive been done in batman!!!!!



[edit on 18-8-2009 by TheAmused]

[edit on 18-8-2009 by TheAmused]

Originally posted by Wimbly
Why the fevered search for who made it?

why the thread naming the person?
why do you care if people want to know who made the poster and why?
why does the person who made and posted the actual poster remain anon?

there were many parodies of bush and the bush admin but i don't remember any of them when the person creating the parody was afraid to be known.

I'd like to find the guy myself. I'd like to buy him a few drinks and get him to autograph a copy of the poster. The media doesn't want to "publicly excoriate" him, they want to target him for the fringe factions of the Democratic party. The Obama administration doesn't even need to get involved. They know that there are enough kool-aid drinkers out there who will get this guy without having to be told.

Just look at the Ohio CYA drone who ran the background check on "Joe the Plumber".

I am steaming i feel that latimes stole my hard work.

I posted a thread here on ats with all the detail's of who painted the picture.

God i feel violated...it took me awhile to find the guy that made it too...
all in vain..
screwed by bigtime media...

I posted a thread 11days before Latime wrote this story..11 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!

dang sorry but this eats me up.

[edit on 18-8-2009 by TheAmused]

I don't really care who did the picture. I'm not a Batman fan, so I don't understand the reference. But I do understand why the authorities and the media want to investigate and find the people behind it. It's only common sense.

The chances of assassination of this president are right up there with Kennedy and MLK. Of course they're going to be extra vigilant and investigate anything that looks suspicious. And they're going to look at the racial motive. It's common sense. This is the first time we've had a black president. He's wearing a bullseye on his forehead because of that fact.

Unfortunately, there are many people in this great country of ours who would dearly LOVE to see Obama taken out, SIMPLY because of his race. It's a sad fact, but it's true. And anyone who doesn't see that is being willfully ignorant. It's not because the Obama Administration is pushing anything or setting up anything, it's because there are some really ignorant people in this country with a HISTORY of HATRED, violence and murder, based on race. DO any of you know the history of this country???

So, in addition to all the other reasons that someone might want to do harm to the president, we have a huge number of people who know and care nothing about his policies. All they know is that there's an "N-word" in the White House. And they want to be the "hero" who does something about that.

I firmly believe that most of the attacks against Obama having to do with his birth certificate, his religion, his country of birth, etc., are backed by racial fear and hatred. Maybe not by the regular people like you guys, but the seed of doubt suspecting foreign birth was planted by someone or a group of someones, who didn't want a black man near the presidency. And SO many people just ate it up. Some more willingly than others. It's sickening.

Because there is NO OTHER REASON to suspect these things of him. Do you even know where George W Bush was born? Do you care? No. No one cares where Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, Ford, etc. were born. Why? Why all of a sudden, was this man's birthplace questioned? Because it would feed the fear, the ignorance, the suspicion, the hatred of him being "different". Congratulations for dining at the mouth-watering buffet.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Dear lord you are dramatic today, BH.

Did you worry this much about Bush hatred?

It was just as vile.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

I don't really care who did the picture. I'm not a Batman fan, so I don't understand the reference. But I do understand why the authorities and the media want to investigate and find the people behind it. It's only common sense.

How is it common sense to track down American citizens, who are expressing their 1st amendment rights? I do not recall any calls to find out who made the "Kill Bush" t-shirts or any outrage over the various other assasination related attacks on Bush. Why the inconsistent response? You claim its common sense, yet it wasn't common sense during Bush?

reply to post by Stormdancer777

It was just as vile.

I'd say the treatment Obama is getting is pretty tame compared to the utter vitriol Bush was given from the very start of his presidency.






[edit on 18-8-2009 by Wimbly]

reply to post by TheAmused


As I stated in your own thread that picture was very well known and it's creator also. There probably wasn't that much research or plagarism involved with the story considering how well the maker was known.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Unfortunately you are right on what you said, sadly one president can not change the face of America overnight or the sentiments of Americans and what they feel even if he just changed history.

Racism is real and is true, but should the rest of the nation that careless about Obamas skin color have to endure everything that they do because Obamas policies and stand been look at as racist?

I thing we are in a time in our nation that most damage can be done that already have not been done by previous administration as long as it hides under the veil of racism.

Tricky an dangerous times we are living right now, as a believer of conspiracy theories and NWO take over, Obama has fallen right in the hands of those that seek to destroy our nation from outside, not from inside.

Oh, enough with the rant, Still I agree with you one hundred percent my friend.

Originally posted by Stormdancer777
Dear lord you are dramatic today, BH.

I can understand why it appears that way.

Truth is, I've wanted to post my feelings on this particular aspect of this presidency for a long time and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Did you worry this much about Bush hatred?

No. Bush is a straight white man. He doesn't belong to a group of people who have historically been hated and killed for some aspect of their person or appearance. A gay president or female president would arouse the same concerns.

Originally posted by marg6043
Racism is real and is true, but should the rest of the nation that careless about Obamas skin color have to endure everything that they do because Obamas policies and stand been look at as racist?

What is the rest of the nation having to endure? Being suspected of being racist? How does that really hurt anyone? I've been called racist many times and it never hurt me. It's a word. I don't see what is so terrible about being suspected of being racist. Yeah, it doesn't feel good, but it's on a different scale than being the victim of violence or being murdered. So what if someone says you're racist? What's the damage?

Or are you talking about his policies? Regardless who's in office, you're going to have to endure their policies. That's just the way it works.

I thing we are in a time in our nation that most damage can be done that already have not been done by previous administration as long as it hides under the veil of racism.

Obama is the president. He'd be doing what he's doing no matter what color he was and people would be hating him for it. But because of history, the media and the authorities and watching a lot more closely. That's all it is.

Still I agree with you one hundred percent my friend.

I'm not saying it's how it should be or that it's right. I'm just trying to explain WHY it's the way it is.


[edit on 18-8-2009 by Benevolent Heretic]

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

No. Bush is a straight white man. He doesn't belong to a group of people who have historically been hated and killed for some aspect of their person or appearance. A gay president or female president would arouse the same concerns.

First of all, white does "white man" even mean? White people of various cultures have been persecuted, enslaved and killed for some aspect of their person or appearance. If you didn't know that, I suggest you open a history book. Even early US history involved persecution of certain "white" cultural groups.

This is a poor and very predictable deflection technique being used attack Obama's critics. I find it ironic that the left apparently chose a candidate they knew they could use the race card with. His critics don't care about his skin color, but oh boy do his supporters!

Whats your problem with white people BH? Do not tell me "I'm white", because I've sen more than a fair share of self hating white folks in my life time.

What is the rest of the nation having to endure? Being suspected of being racist? How does that really hurt anyone? I've been called racist many times and it never hurt me. It's a word. I don't see what is so terrible about being suspected of being racist.

Its dehumanizing and a way of attacking someone's character. Its become a racial slur against whites over time. Which is why you see such a back lash against it now. People are tired of being railroaded by a racial stereotype of white people. I doubt you feel the same way about others words. I'm sure you've got all kinds of reasons for why THOSE are different.

Obama is the president. He'd be doing what he's doing no matter what color he was and people would be hating him for it. But because of history, the media and the authorities and watching a lot more closely. That's all it is.

No, they're using the presidents skin color to attack his critics in to shutting up.