A little bit of background here. In my non-writing incarnation I do lots of events including fairs. And it is a DEFINITE FACT that fairs are places where people of all ages, races, colors and political persuasions go for fun. Fairs don’t take editorial positions on politics or have entertainers act out what they’ve seen on their favorite political TV show or heard on their favorite talk radio station in entertainment segments. And if an entertainer does stray into the political realm, they do so gently — in a quick visual or quick reference.
Fair boards and the tireless volunteers who pour their guts into making the days of a fair come out as perfect as they can know it’s a “given” that entertainers won’t suddenly throw in political humor that critics may consider laid on with a big shovel. As the comedy coach Greg Dean has noted, humor is based on a shattered shared assumption. Political humor is based even moreso on a shared assumption. Which is why the case of the rodeo clown who donned a Barack Obama mask, the announcer who asked if the audience would like to see Obama run down by a bull, and the folks who by some accounts poked at the Obama mask’s lips did what fairs do NOT condone — and in this case the Missouri State Fair acted swiftly in a way that anyone who has performed at fairs knew they would do. The Huffington Post:
The Missouri State Fair on Monday imposed a lifetime ban on a rodeo clown whose depiction of President Barack Obama getting charged by a bull was widely criticized by Democratic and Republican officials alike.
Note that again REPUBLICANS have criticized it as well because the main issue in the media has been respect for the office of the President. But Republican rank and file and talk show hosts (such as Glenn Beck) have been defending it using a perfect example of — I hate to use the phrase — false equivalence. The issue here is not just Obama and the Presidency:
The issue is what fairs do and how they operate to create a fun place where all of their guests can enjoy themselves and forget about the hassles of the outside world. MORE:
The rodeo clown won’t be allowed to participate or perform at the fair again. Fair officials say they’re also reviewing whether to take any action against the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association, the contractor responsible for Saturday’s event.
The entertainment during the bull riding contest featured a clown wearing a mask of Obama with an upside down broomstick attached to his backside. Spectators were asked if they wanted to see “Obama run down by a bull.” Many in the audience responded enthusiastically.
Numerous Missouri officials denounced the act after video and photos were posted online. Some Democratic Missouri lawmakers suggested Monday that there should be financial consequences for the fair.
And that’s how it has always been: fairs get their money from governments. It’s not money given so that entertainment can appear to diss one political party or a political party’s agenda. It’s to provide a memorable and pleasurable event for all who visit. If there’s a bit of political humor it is generally done gently.
The fair said in a written statement announcing the clown’s ban that he had engaged in an “unconscionable stunt” that was “inappropriate and not in keeping with the Fair’s standards.” The fair’s press release did not identify the clown.
At least one person defended him. David Berry, a Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association member who was at Saturday’s event, described the clown as a friend and said there was nothing offensive or unusual about his actions. Berry said the Obama character was meant to look like a dummy and that rodeo clowns have long performed such acts, often imitating sitting presidents.
“The joke is not that it was the president,” Berry said. “They drag out this person dressed like a dummy and all of the sudden this dummy just takes off running. That’s what’s funny.”
Fair enough. But was the general public including those who might not feel that way abou9t Obama in on that kind of joke? How did it look to them? Are those who are defending it aware that the real parody was of a rodeo clown dummy, and not a statement about Obama? You can bet the house the answer is NO.
Read Harold Maas’ balanced take on this controversy at The Week.
But other rodeo professionals said the Missouri fair stunt appeared to go too far.
“It’s not unheard of for a rodeo clown, depending on how he reads his audience, to play politics a little bit,” said Jim Bainbridge, the senior public relations coordinator at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, based in Colorado Springs, Colo. “But this crossed a line. Clearly, when you’re suggesting that the president should be injured, it kind of gets to a level of hostility that is inappropriate.”
It gets down to the concepts of:
1. Fair performers can’t cross the line and assume everyone will agree with their political jokes.
2. Humor is a shattered shared assumption and if there is one thing not shared in America today it is political “givens” and perceptions of political figures.
3. Anyone performing at a fair would leave their politics at the door when they do their show and if they did a political bit, they’d do it gingerly.
4. The role of a government supported fair and what it and the dedicated people who work all year long to bring it off work to achieve.
Here’s a cross section of blog reaction:
—Ed Kilgore:
There are signs the “so’s your old man” machine is warming up with conservative comparisons of this taxpayer-funded event with the depiction of George W. Bush’s head on a pike on Game of Thrones, complete with assertions that “the same people” outraged by the Missouri stunt thought HBO’s slur of Bush was “funny.” This is how the false equivalence game works.
Kilgore is CORRECT: a fair has a special mission and those who run it and perform in it know that. You often see political party booths and candidates pressing the flesh or handing out materials. But entertainers at fairs tread not at all or very lightly when it comes to politics.
–-New York Magazine:
It’s easy to see why announcer Mark Ficken, president of the Missouri Cowboy Rodeo Association and Boonville School Superintendent, assumed that no one would have a problem with him taunting a clown wearing an Obama mask at a Missouri State Fair bull riding competition on Saturday night. Most of the crowd appeared to be delighted when Ficken asked if anyone wanted to see “Obama run down by a bull,” and declared, “We’re going to smoke Obama, man.” However, thanks to one offended spectator, Ficken has learned that joking about the president being trampled isn’t considered all-American fun elsewhere in the nation.
Spectator Perry Beam posted photos of the event online after attending the fair with his wife and a student from Taiwan. “It wasn’t clean; it wasn’t fun. It was awful; it was sickening,” Beam said, “It was racist.” After the images went viral, State Fair officials said it was “inappropriate” and the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association issued an apology.
You’re going to say I’m letting down the side, but I’m inclined to save my full outrage for other things.
In part, it’s because I went to the Minnesota State Fair two years ago and saw several Michele Bachmann-bashing artworks in the seed art display (yes, art literally made with seeds and grains), as well as quite a few pro-Obama pieces.
The seed art at the Minnesota fair has leaned liberal over the years — birther-bashing, gay marriage-supporting, Occupy-supporting, Paul Ryan-bashing, Bachmann-bashing (again), Cheney-bashing, etc., etc., etc.
…I’m inclined to let this slide because getting upset about it only invites right-wingers to dredge up every time any liberal or Democrat has said or done anything even remotely comparable (already they’re invoking the head on the pike in Game of Thrones that was modeled after George W. Bush).
So I think this is a distraction. Best to denounce it briefly and just move on.
Right wing racism just keeps getting more and more overt. Here’s the latest absolutely disgusting example..
—American Thinker’s Rick Moran:
Liberals are so upset about Obama the Clown that they forgot to protest the mistreatment of animals at the rodeo where the clown appeared.
As for misuse of taxpayer dollars, is he serious? Clowning is a performance art and the last I looked, free expression was still part of the Constitution. After all, the taxpayers funded “Piss Christ” some years ago and I don’t recall the argument being in widespread use on the left that Robert Maplethorpe’s execrable piece of “art” shouldn’t have been protected just because the taxpayers footed the bill.
One can argue if the performance of the clown was in good taste. It wasn’t. It was horrible. But I find it laughable that liberals are complaining about how Obama is portrayed as a clown when his predecessor was often depicted with clown make-up (a few examples here).
And no, it wasn’t “borderline illegal” either. That’s nonsense. Any criticism of Obama could give the mentally unstable ideas. Jay Leno gives nuts ideas of harming the president. Should he be arrested too?
This is a big deal because liberals and the press pressured Republicans to denounce it. More evidence that free speech is under attack in America and that any criticism of the president can be twisted and construed to mean anything.
A cross section of Tweets::
Rush Limbaugh Blames Obama for Missouri State Fair's Racist Rodeo Clown http://t.co/seHs7TRbHv via @politicususa
— Ruby Andrews-Lester (@RubyAndrewsLest) August 13, 2013
The difference between Obama and the rodeo clown is that the guy in Missouri distracts the bull and the guy in DC diffracts the bull.
— Dennis Miller Show (@DennisDMZ) August 12, 2013
Banning rodeo clown wearing the #Obama mask is an example of race hustling in case anyone was wondering.
— Scott Barbour (@drscott_atlanta) August 12, 2013
The Missouri rodeo clown who appeared in an Obama mask says he doesn't see how it's racist. "Is appearing in blackface racist?"
— Top Conservative Cat (@TeaPartyCat) August 12, 2013
The GOP can't be bothered with that Obama rodeo clown. They're much too busy trying to make sure that clown doesn't get health insurance.
— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) August 12, 2013
When u see that Obama rodeo clown video, sort of settles a lot of the “it’s really not because he’s black” defense.
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) August 12, 2013
“They mentioned the president’s name 100 times. Sickening. It was feeling like some kind of Klan rally.” http://t.co/hu9BrDGhII
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 12, 2013
NOW: Politicans outraged over MO rodeo clown dressed as Obama *GOP Lt. Gov *Sen. *US Rep. *State Rep. *Co. Dem Party http://t.co/OARXrQ0xaF
— NewsBreaker (@NewsBreaker) August 12, 2013
That bull is like Obama, he's black and he's white, he just doesn't know what he is #rodeo #clown #WV
— McCall Griffith (@McCallGriffith) August 8, 2013
If he had gone with the Hillary Clinton mask then the bull would have run away completely. http://t.co/7wGlaIQEl4
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) August 13, 2013
Obama-masked rodeo clown BANNED FOR LIFE from fair. Give me a break! After all the disrespect dished out to Bush… http://t.co/JdfPBlLa25
— Sharon Hekman (@Sharon_Hekman) August 13, 2013
WHINY LIBERALS … WHINY DEMOCRATS … Mo. State Fair bans rodeo clown who mocked Obama #impeachobama http://t.co/G4VaT9b8nK
— keith (@americankeith) August 13, 2013
Only in a totalitarian country would a rodeo clown making fun of the country's leader become a national political issue. #tcot #p2
— Central Kittenizer (@icanhasbailout) August 13, 2013
Place your bets —–> rodeo clown will be dead within 75 days (before Xmas) .. in a car wreck or '' self inflicted gunshot '' .. #teaparty
— Federal Spy Guy (@FederalSpyGuy) August 13, 2013
OBAMA RODEO CLOWN makes debut at state fair & folks are MAD as hell! What were they thinking! http://t.co/muoKh0MCCI
— BlackMediaScoop (@BlackMediaSCOOP) August 13, 2013
Rodeo clown unemployed.. Democrat Grope clown still has his job #BobFilner
— S.M (@redsteeze) August 13, 2013
the MO. rodeo mask disgrace helped highlight a sad strain of RW Obama haters, like @dailycaller's @jtLOL http://t.co/9YZBZlptaC #issues
— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) August 13, 2013
McCaskill condemns state fair 'Obama' clown: 'Missouri is better than this' http://t.co/OvA6oEBRy7
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) August 12, 2013
RT @Kerryepp Wish these #democrats would get as upset about #Islamic #terrorists as they do a clown mask. #mostatefair
— Jay Gildersleeve (@Sleevetalkshow) August 13, 2013
Some Democrats are truly pathetic; uproar over a Halloween mask of #Obama on a Rodeo Clown. Doctors killing babies+you real clowns; silent.
— Karl G. Smith (@nevergiveup_kgs) August 12, 2013
Missouri Fair clown draws criticism for Obama mask… Democrats are petrified that the pent up hate America has for Obama will be released
— Paul Izzo (@PaulIzzo2) August 12, 2013
ALL CLOWNS SHOULD USE OBAMA CLOWN MASK!!! @DLoesch: On the #MissouriStateFair controversy: http://t.co/xubOPUnCAv #MO #tcot #teaparty
— Prudence (@dennygirltwo) August 12, 2013
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Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.