June 19, 2020

"Respect/Empower/Include."

Murals on the boarded up windows of State Street, photographed today, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Madisonians in shorts trudge past a mural of Barack and Michelle Obama that is painted on the boarded-up window of Which Wich Superior Sandwiches:

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On the boarded-up window of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, a drooling troglodyte cop observes what might be a pile of burning doughnuts that give off smoke that reads — like a thought balloon — "Defund the Police":

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A longer view of the side of the museum featuring an ironic "Right turn only" sign:

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There's the notion that "being a revolutionary" has an element of being fun, loving, and beautiful:

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There's the grievance that you can't play your music really loud without people calling the cops:

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More Madisonians trudging along, this time past dripping letters that few will read, but I'm seeing "Tell the President/To prepare the bunker/When he flee/Because until we see/Justice you will/Never see peace!"

IMG_6836

"Yes, we can!" the old President says, as a waiter sets up an outdoor café table.

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127 comments:

Greg Hlatky said...

Yeah, nothing but racial harmony under President Fabulous.

Sebastian said...

Question: what revolutionaries have ever created a vision that is more "fun"?

Assuming repression, terror, and mass killing aren't fun.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Maybe some day the Obamas will be included among the powerful, and finally given respect, or at least all due respect.

Butkus51 said...

Im calling for Madison to become yet another chocolate city. Show them how much you care.

Michael K said...

Madison is doomed.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

I have long since run out of sympathy for Blacks.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Respect what the hivemind insist you respect, or else.

burning, looting, circle A, Antifa take-over, and BS and lies from all media and Adam Schitt.

n.n said...

Discriminate/Suppress/Exclude, albeit selective, with a diversity motive.

William said...

God help anyone who defaces these monuments with graffiti. Maybe they can find some way of protecting the images with plexiglass shields so they can be kept up in perpetuity. Most of those stores are now bankrupt anyway, so where's the harm.

Mike Sylwester said...

Barack Obama was one of the worst US Presidents.

There is no reason to put paintings of Obama onto a store. It's just strange.

Imagine you own a store, and a painting of Obama gets put onto it. That sure would not help your reputation.

Dude1394 said...

Barack Hussein Obama pulled the biggest con job on black america in history.

mccullough said...

Excellent symbols. Barack on a boarded-up business.

Like the Eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg

Dude1394 said...

What Char Char Binks said.

Not Sure said...

"Yes we can" pull down statues.

"No we can't" explain what we hope to accomplish.

Michael K said...

I have long since run out of sympathy for Blacks.<

Since 2008, they have undone 150 years of white sympathy. There was racism and discrimination, yes, but it was diminishing. We even elected a black president. And then he fanned the flames. "I am so old that I remember the time when most racists were white." Thomas Sowell.

n.n said...

I have long since run out of sympathy for Blacks.

Skin, sex, etc. are low information attributes. Reconsider indulging diversity and exclusion, including: color judgments, blocs, quotas, etc.

Jersey Fled said...

I must have missed the racial harmony that existed the day Obama left office. The jobs. The opportunities. The benevolent policing policies. Then Trump took office and immediately we had Travon Martin, Michael Brown, and Freddie Gray.

Heartbreaking.

n.n said...

"Respect/Empower/Include."

Baby Lives Matter? #BLM #Burden h/t Obama

madAsHell said...

Is Michelle modeling one of Oprah's signature wigs?

Ice Nine said...

Some of this dumpster rubbish is destined for the Smithsonian. Soon. Watch for it.

madAsHell said...

The trade-off in software development was speed, schedule, cost. Pick any two, and they mutually exclude the third.

I'm sure the same holds for respect, empower, include.

Temujin said...

It's good to be the face of a riot torn area of a once-peaceful city.

narciso said...

over in simon phoenix's neighborhood, the chaz, they couldn't even put up a simple wooden black power fist,

Phil 314 said...

Sad. I can't eat slogans and slogans don't pay the bills

Craig said...

That first Which Wich picture is so SWPL. Remember that #1 on the list of SWPL was Barack Obama.

J. D. Canals said...

Will those plywood murals ever come down??? GOOD LUCK TRYING!!!

tcrosse said...

Presumably these were the canvases reserved for people of colour.

n.n said...

Excellent symbols. Barack on a boarded-up business.

Unforced optics?

TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...

The term "cult of personality" comes to mind here. Maybe all those Trump-deranged folks who insist Trump supporters are Trump cultists are just projecting their Obama cultishness.

Leftist projection? Nah. Can't be.

Lucid-Ideas said...

It's terrible, quite terrible that they don't include any prints of Obama's presidential portrait. You know, the one with the 'sperms' in it.

They could erect a shrine to his majesty on the spot.

Black America, always being promised Wakanda while delivering Thunderdome. Note I didn't say 'promising' something. They can't promise you anything, except more tyranny of low expectations.

Craig said...

Correction, Barack Obama was only #8 on the original list of Stuff White People Like (#1 was coffee). I feel like Obama's rank must have risen over the past decade, though.

Josephbleau said...

“Question: what revolutionaries have ever created a vision that is more "fun"?”

Why, the American revolutionaries of 1776 of course.

cubanbob said...

This "art" looks like the storefront owners are paying the Antifa Mob protection money. The passersby look like they are too dumb to understand the implications. What will happen to the quality of life in Madison when the vandalized areas don't recver for years?

PJ said...

All those guys in shorts must not have heard yesterday's news.

ga6 said...

Listing the house yet?

rehajm said...

How many days until historic preservation status is decreed and you're stuck looking at that graffiti forever?

narciso said...

it's going to be like beirut, in the 80s, or sarajevo,

Original Mike said...

Oh well. I don't go down there anymore anyways.

narciso said...

it's going to be like beirut, in the 80s, or sarajevo in the 90a,

Heartless Aztec said...

What? No Che?

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

I really expected more from Madison radicals. These murals look like they were painted by white angry school teachers who are still upset about Act 10. Barack and Michelle fucking Obama? Are you kidding me. Is this supposed to capture the imagination of today’s leftist anarchists?

Dust Bunny Queen said...

None of this is going to end well.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Believe it or not, I voted for Obama once, because I mistakenly gave him credit for killing Osama.

LA_Bob said...

My my, how colorful State Street has become! All that eye-candy from door to door!

"There's the grievance that you can't play your music really loud without people calling the cops:"

So this is why the jackasses want to defund the police! That does it! I'm against it!

Francisco D said...

Isn't it wonderful that the Obamas ushered in a period of racial healing?

Dave Begley said...

Yes, we can fix institutional racism during our eight years as the first Black president.

What the hell did Barack really do?

Inga said...

What about the way they were walking made it seem like they were “trudging”? Of course I wasn’t there, but from the photos it looks like they are simply walking.

Michael said...

"Being a revolutionary is about creating a vision that is more humane."

The French revolutionaries created the Terror and the Napoleonic Wars.
The Russian revolutionaries created Gulag and starved the Ukraine.
The Chinese revolutionaries created the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.

Where is your more humane vision? Two hundred years of broken eggs, but no omelet.

Laslo Spatula said...

Not quite Skid Row yet, but give it time.

I am Laslo.

Inga said...

“This "art" looks like the storefront owners are paying the Antifa Mob protection money. The passersby look like they are too dumb to understand the implications. What will happen to the quality of life in Madison when the vandalized areas don't recver for years?”

How do you know that the passersby are “dumb”? Althouse and Meade were passersby also.

walter said...

Managing the decline.

walter said...

Mayor of Madison
@MayorOfMadison
·
Jun 18
BREAKING: #SCOTUS blocks Trump from ending #DACA in big win for 800,00 #Dreamers. Dreamers we stand with you and celebrate you on this momentus day. Now Congress must act.
http://ow.ly/sOqb50Abzd7

Clyde said...

Just goes to show that one person’s villains are another person’s heroes.

walter said...

Good news for Union Terrace:
"UW-Madison students and employees, Wisconsin Alumni Association members, Wisconsin Union members and active-duty U.S. service members can make a 1½-hour reservation for free. Others can buy a $5 day pass to make a reservation for up to six people.
Only same-day reservations are accepted, which can be made through OpenTable beginning at 9 a.m. the day of the visit. The spaces will be available from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., weather permitting."

I eagerly await Freedom Inc's arrival minus RSVP or membership card.

RobinGoodfellow said...

“Blogger Mike Sylwester said...
Barack Obama was one of the worst US Presidents.”

One of the worst?

No. He now bears the asterisk, formerly attached to Jimmy Carter’s name, signifying the worst in the list of US presidents.

Birkel said...

Where is the mural that expresses the fervent desire to murder political adversaries?

wild chicken said...

Someone over at reddit said that Mexico defunded their cops 30 years ago. And the results are in.

Anyone know anything about that?

Francisco D said...

Inga said... How do you know that the passersby are “dumb”? Althouse and Meade were passersby also.

They were wearing shorts!

Do I have to explain everything to you?

Gk1 said...

I enjoy the child like qualities in the slogans and composition. Perfect for the liberals in charge of these areas. Too bad they will become a hideous mishmash of graffiti and tagging in a few weeks. But they deserve to have their town look like a garbage heap.

narciso said...

remember the dark knight rises, there wasn''t much graffiti, but it was a how to manual to how these lawless states work or don't

FullMoon said...

Unimaginative. Safe. Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, Cream of Wheat guy armed and costumed as angry BLM Antifa a more interesting message.

BTW, Hollywood Ca. replacing Washington statue with statue of Kathy Griffen holding Trump's bloody head.

Josephbleau said...

Just because you are a revolutionary does not mean that you can't dress pretty.

FullMoon said...

When the smoke cleared early Sunday, two people were Tased and seven were arrested, including four adults and three juveniles, according to police.

“I hope every one of the people who threw a bottle, fired a handgun, threw fireworks at us, and most importantly beat that poor guy within inches of his life get what they deserve…in this life or the next,” wrote the Cincinnati cop, who wished to not be named. “I felt like I had to tell the truth and get the word out there from one of the men on the front line. We as an American Society and Cincinnatians need to get our s–t together because these types of interactions are going to increase. I say it again, this stuff is increasing not only here at home but across the country. We need to come together and fight back.”


https://nypost.com/2015/07/06/bystanders-laugh-at-man-beaten-to-a-pulp-in-chilling-video/

Wince said...

This is why we can't have good stuff.

Martin said...

It seems appropriate to see Barack Obama, who never missed an opportunity to inflame racial animsity in a way that gave him deniability, on plywood board-up in a riot zone.

Browndog said...

All those statues they're tearing down?

This is what replaces them. Plywood and spray paint.

*ART

Hell, they couldn't even do an MLK statue for Christ's sake.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

what are the Silent Minorities™ saying about this childish drivel?

Would, say, a Korean shop owner say "We're too busy for that shit"?

Bilwick said...

You've heard of folk art? Behold, Idiot Art.

Clyde said...

Dave Begley said...
...
What the hell did Barack really do?


He made a lot of contacts so that he could get extremely wealthy when he left office, as grifters are wont to do. And he provided a lot of evanescent self-esteem for some people.

Howard said...

Inga: anything these Trump cultists don't understand or are confused by, they reflexively call it stupid. Eg wearing masks indoors is stupid.

Gk1 said...

It won't take long for these to get defaced, believe me. I know a property in Alameda that spent money hiring local artists to create a mural for Cesar Chavez and it was defaced by taggers within 3 weeks by some dirt bag gang bangers. You think these birds have any reverance for any of these liberal martyrs of the month? You have chosen decline and have chosen poorly.

walter said...

(No need to loot us!)
(shoo)
23 hrs ·

🌞 (shoo) Sidewalk Sale! 🌞
THIS WEEKEND ☀️ FRI 6/19 - SUN 6/21
Savings on styles up to 70% off!!!

walter said...

Meanwhile, Tommy Thompson becomes interim UW president.
Strange days.

AllenS said...

Sympathy is exactly like respect, you have to earn it. You can't be affirmative actioned into it, promoted forward to reach it, you have to earn it.

Rick said...

The image of Obama under "include" presumably means for those with different ideas to sit in the back and shut up, right? It's a universal understanding among left wingers that inclusion means "you're invited to agree with me".

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-tells-republicans-to-sit-in-back

FullMoon said...

Looks like the Kathy Griffin statue holding Trump's bloody head was rumor started by last of the boogalo boys in attempt to solicit funds from progressives.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Gonna be cold in those shops come winter.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Well now... an adult voice

https://videos.whatfinger.com/2020/06/19/this-message-from-louisiana-law-enforcement-officers-to-antifa-is-the-best-thing-you-will-hear-today/?utm_source=whatfinger

GingerBeer said...

Am I right in assuming that these storefronts belong to the store owners, but only the muralists get to decide how other's businesses are decorated?

Yancey Ward said...

Have any glass windows and doors been replaced on State Street?

RK said...

Madison's new ghetto.

RK said...

This is not the State Street other Wisconsinites will be expecting when they visit Madison in August with their college-bound children.

Michael said...

3rd World stuff. Looks like parts of Managua

Greg the class traitor said...

So the picture of "respect, empower, include" has no whites in it.

Indicating that the Left has no respect for whites, doesn't want to include them, and wishes to deprive whites of any power they might have

Then the Left will be really upset when whites pay attention to this, and vote for the Right

RK said...

The "Power" one with the image of the northern Bangladesh woman is missing a word: "Responsibility".

policraticus said...

There's the notion that "being a revolutionary" has an element of being fun, loving, and beautiful...

The quote is attributed to Astata Shakur, who is currently on the FBI Most Wanted List for the "fun, loving, and beautiful" capital murder of a NJ State Trooper. Among other things.

Inga said...

“Inga: anything these Trump cultists don't understand or are confused by, they reflexively call it stupid. Eg wearing masks indoors is stupid.“

Indeed they do. I expect nothing less from them.

gilbar said...

we got black skin, so we can't be hired

SO TRUE! just this week, a Black man, Charles "CQ" Brown applied for a staff position at the United States Airforce... And they told him; "No WAY Dude! y'all be a darkie!"

Oh, wait; that's Not Quite what happened.
On June 9th (4 star) General Brown was assigned as Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force

rhhardin said...

It's amazing how stupid blacks are willing to present themselves as, in political rhetoric. You'd think somebody would spot it. Hey fellows, this makes us look stupid, and they're just not saying anything because they're afraid of PC police. But they still think we're stupid.

Nancy Reyes said...

Missing: Asians.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Howard. anything these Trump cultists don't understand or are confused by, they reflexively call it stupid.

I understand the concept private property. Also understand protecting my livelihood from looters, defacement and appropriation. I understand why the 2nd Amendment exists. I also understand threats, blackmailing by violence, strong arming and what Brown Shirts in Nazi Germany did are the exact equivalent of what is happening now in Madison, Seattle and other urban hell holes.

Black Lives Matter and the Antifa Marxists should get their own billboard space for their propagandist advertising. But Noooo they want other people's property.

Drago said...

Howard: "Inga: anything these Trump cultists don't understand or are confused by, they reflexively call it stupid. Eg wearing masks indoors is stupid."

I don't understand how anyone could be so moronic as to have believed in the russia collusion hoax, hoax dossier, transparently false rape allegations against Kavanaugh, etc.

I think those transparent lies were stupid.

I also don't understand how opposing confederate statues means Gandhi and Churchill and Washington and Lincoln and Jefferson statues must come down.

I think those actions are stupid.

I also don't understand how anyone could be so moronic as to believe the Park Police used tear gas to clear Lafayette square when none of the police were wearing gas masks.

I think anyone who thinks they did use tear gas has got to be just about as stupid as one can be.

I think those that said tens of thousands of leftists protesters/looters/rioters/molotov cocktail tossers were a wonderful thing and that the virus won't affect them because their cause is "just" is really really stupid for attacking Jewish children going to school and siccing the police on Jewish mothers and their children in playgrounds as well as attacking beachgoers and anti-lockdown protesters who were also outside.

I'm Not Sure said...

I'm sure it's quite respectful, empowering and inclusive but I don't see anything there that would encourage me to make an effort to visit the place. But then, that's just me.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

For White Progs, the Obamas are Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima. Vaguely benevolent familiar Black faces that evoke a fuzzy smugness.

Michael K said...

My son just got home from their trip to check out colleges.

No, they didn't check out Madison.

They loved northern Arkansas. They stayed with friends who live on a small farm outside Bentonville. His wife's best friend is the rep for Johnson & Johnson to WalMart. Gorgeous place. Went to Texas. Austin and Waco are dumps. Liked Houston but lots of BLM types. His daughter wants to see Alabama. That will be this fall. Mobile Bay is not that far and gorgeous. Leaving California soon.

Nancy said...

Four legs good! Two legs BAAAAAAAD!

Larvell said...

It’s a good thing that painting is of a white guy - draw a minority looking like that and your life would be ruined, you obvious racist.

Original Mike said...

Blogger GingerBeer said..."Am I right in assuming that these storefronts belong to the store owners, but only the muralists get to decide how other's businesses are decorated?"

I'm sure the business owners know what's good for them. Now the property owners (I imagine most of the businesses are lessees) …

FullMoon said...

When things calm down, I will peruse Craigslist free section for 3/4 and 1" plywood. You can never have enough.

roesch/voltaire said...

Interesting that Althouse ignores the powerful mural on the corner of the Overture that was designed by a black artist in prison and painted by white artist Phil Solamone and others, too complex in its message perhaps.

Lucien said...

They were “trudging”? Because they were wearing shorts? Ann could do a recurring feature juxtaposing pictures of people in shorts and call it the “Trudge Report”.

Rabel said...

Isn't the City of Madison paying people to paint the murals? I wonder what they paid for the drooling cop art.

Narayanan said...

I see

Boomer Geezer is striding

GenZ'er is sludging - slouchandtrudge

Jupiter said...

"I have long since run out of sympathy for Blacks."

Me too. But Blacks didn't destroy those businesses. That was Whites. Whites suffering from a lead deficiency.

Bilwick said...

Inga: anything these Trump cultists don't understand or are confused by, they reflexively call it stupid."

Statism is stupid, Howard. And at this point in human history, you're still a State cultist, you're pretty stupid, as your posts and Inga's posts constantly demonstrate.

Ann Althouse said...

"Interesting that Althouse ignores the powerful mural on the corner of the Overture that was designed by a black artist in prison and painted by white artist Phil Solamone and others, too complex in its message perhaps."

Yes, that is so interesting. Complexity! Maybe some day, I will learn to deal with it.

Michael K said...

oward said...
Inga: anything these Trump cultists don't understand or are confused by, they reflexively call it stupid. Eg wearing masks indoors is stupid.


Howard keeps making these silly statements that he thinks are so clever. Inga is very impressed, as is R/V. If you want to see a cult, Howard, look at your local BLM riot.

M Jordan said...

The BLM movement will fail ultimately by boring us to death. They need the riots.

Michael said...

RV
Fill us in on the complex, need I add nuanced, message from prison delivered by white painters?

Anxious to hear. Never to late to learn.

John henry said...

Blogger RobinGoodfellow said...

No. He now bears the asterisk, formerly attached to Jimmy Carter’s name, signifying the worst in the list of US presidents.

I disagree. I supported Obama twice, although I could not vote for him. And I never give money to politicians.

I think Obama will eventually be recognized as one of our great presidents. I supported him because I agreed with Lenin "Worse is better". Had Obama not so totally fucked things up we would have just slid along with a Hilary or a Romney or the like.

Precisely because he did such a horrible job of presidenting, we got President Trump.

I didn't dare hope that we would get someone as good as Donald Trump, but I was pretty sure voters would eventually say "ENOUGH!!" and get someone in who would, as the saying goes, drain the swamp.

I am ecstatic that we got PDJT.

I don't know whether Obama was incompetent or was a mole. I've gone back and forth on that over the years.

It really doesn't matter whether he brought us PDJT via stupidity or plan. The only thing that matters is that we got him.

Eight more years! Trump/Pence 2020 & 2024.

John Henry

John henry said...

Is President Trump "included"?

What about us supporters? Are we included too?

John Henry

John henry said...

Do I need to wear a mask to be included?

John Henry

rhhardin said...

Yes, that is so interesting. Complexity! Maybe some day, I will learn to deal with it.

It's simplification that women don't find interesting. Complexity is a more-the-better thing.

Sebastian said...

"Respect/Empower/Include."

Time for an inclusion BS tag.

n.n said...

The BlackLivesMatter movement

Some, select, BlackLivesMatter movement is campaigning for Republicans. #BabyLivesMatter

n.n said...

Isn't the City of Madison paying people to paint the murals? I wonder what they paid for the drooling cop art

They are bigots (i.e. sanctimonious hypocrites) who rely on liberal license to socially justify indulgence of diversity (i.e. color judgments).

William said...

If you seek their monuments, look not to the murals but to the closed and bankrupt shops. That's what will endure...There's lot's of affluent college kids that need coffee and cool clothes and interesting places to hang out. I suppose some of the stores will re-open, but there will be a few broken or missing teeth that will ruin the smile. But there will be a there there. Not like Detroit. That was the masterpiece. No coming back from that riot. Maybe eventually Baltimore will top it, but for now Detroit is their crowning achievement.

JML said...


I don't understand how anyone could be so moronic as to have believed in the russia collusion hoax, hoax dossier, transparently false rape allegations against Kavanaugh, etc.

I'm pretty sure they are against free speech...

Craig said...

"Yes, that is so interesting. Complexity! Maybe some day, I will learn to deal with it."

Ha! The left's focus on defining people by their racial/gender identity is about the simplest, most reductive thing there is.

Bunkypotatohead said...

I remember seeing some streets in Baltimore and Philly that looked like that, back when they were still safe for white people to walk on.
They're just ghettos now.

Original Mike said...

I can't believe nobody linked to this:

To trudge. "Chaucer: To trudge: the slow, weary, depressing yet determined walk of a man who has nothing left in life except the impulse to simply soldier on."

wendybar said...

Congratulations Michelle and Barack!!! Your life work has come to fruition!!! You were hoping to divide us, and you did the BEST JOB EVER!! You will forever be the President (and his angry wife) who set us back 50 years. Thank You so much!!!!

Chuck said...

Ignorance is bliss

bagoh20 said...

Not one original thought, or even an old proven one - just the same old mindless blather soaked in today's racism. What art looks like under a totalitarian regime: singular, didactic, cultish, and prostrate. In a place like Madison, it reeks of fear, guilt and groveling.

bagoh20 said...

Just imagine this whole leftist movement as a toddler having a tantrum, and it makes perfect sense. It shows you what happens when you give them what they demand. Now imagine you left that toddler do whatever they wanted around the house unimpeded. Look familiar?

Thomtum said...

Isn’t “SĂ­, se puede” “Yes, you can”? “Yes, we can” would be “Si, podemus”. Anyway, I’m thinking that when when we appropriate another language to signal our virtuous multicultural bonafides, shouldn’t we at least get it right?

Nicholas said...

I wonder, is all the paint that has been used ethically and sustainably sourced? Or was it made in capitalist factories and sold for profit? Better tear down those murals, just in case.