An Obama flag design has been debuted by the President’s 2012 campaign, and reaction is pretty much as expected on the internet. Basically somewhere between nuclear war and cancer; maybe like if nuclear war could get cancer, then we might begin to understand exactly how transgressive the Obama flag is.
The Obama flag controversy just seems like the latest in a long line of rote criticisms of the President, most of which end in “he’s UNAMERICAN,” most of which in turn seem to stem from the fact that, unlike previous presidents, Obama is black.
The Obama flag controversy, for instance — can you imagine it happening with Bush or McCain or even if Mitt Romney used flag-like imagery in his campaign materials? The Obama flag, like every single campaign sign or symbol ever is red white and blue; that in and of itself is not very divisive.
But the Obama flag goes a step further, overlaying the stripes portion on the continental US, and then, where the stars would be, the Obama campaign symbol is located.
Okay, if Obama was trying to actually make this the flag , it might seem a bit egotistical. Why don’t you just use a hammer and sickle and be done with it, O’Bummer! But he’s not: It’s a promotional image to sell as a print to supporters to support his big for re-election and a nice, subtly patriotic one at that. Chill out, people.
As you can imagine, the chilling out has yet to come. Fox News was good enough to capture only the angry sentiment off Facebook, and many Obama dislikers have taken to social media to complain about the Obama flag. They huff:
“This is so offensive … I don’t know why I’m shocked, but I am. This stoops to new lows.”
“Once again, very shameful. This is a disgrace.”
“And just what was wrong with the flag with the stars and stripes? … Why must Obama create his own flag?”
Although, to be fair, it looks like Obama’s campaign referenced the flag, rather than actually creating his own flag. Another dissenter moans:
“A good number of my family, including me and my twin sons, have served under the flag … This is so far beyond insulting. I can’t imagine anyone who considers themself a patriot voting for Obama. Who does he think he is?”
Yeah, who does he think he is? The President or something?
It seems apparent reading the complaints that dissenters have the same problem they always have with Obama, that they just don’t respect his legitimacy as president. Are you bothered by the Obama flag, or do you think it’s another big to-do over nothing?