Photo of Obama is Taken Down at Peterson AFB Commissary After Complaints

[babylonsister]

Photo of Obama is Taken Down at Peterson
Submitted by Chip on Mon, 2009-02-16 18:45.

Photo of Obama is taken down at Peterson
By Tom Roeder | Colorado Springs Gazette


President Barack Obama's picture was removed this week from a Presidents Day sign at the Peterson Air Force Base commissary after customers complained that the image did not fit the holiday commemorating the birthdays of past presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

The head of the local NAACP and a commissary employee say it was blatant racism.

The picture of the first black president accompanied a sign near the entrance listing the government-run military grocery store's operating hours on for Presidents Day. The store will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Employees took the sign down after customers complained that the holiday wasn't about the current president, according to the Defense Commissary Agency, which oversees the base grocery stores.

Rosemary Harris, president of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said something more sinister was afoot.

"It bodes poorly for the progress that we hoped we would see in this country; we might have taken one step forward but we see many steps being taken backwards," she said Friday.

A cashier at the commissary who did not want her name used said pictures of past presidents, including George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, have accompanied the Presidents Day closure sign.

One customer, a military retiree, objected this year because of Obama's race, the cashier said.

"He said they're not going to have no black man on the window where he shops," the cashier said.

more...

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/39871

[Donnachaidh]

1. Simple solution -- CLOSE the Commissary

If those people have enough pull to get the President's picture taken down, then they don't need the commissary. Simple enough. WHY should we subsidize racism? Because that's what it is.

[BrklynLiberal]

4. That's the ticket. They do not want to see the President's picture....buh-bye.

[Ilsa]

26. I wish the commissary could pick and choose their customers.

Let the fucking racists go pay double or more for their groceries somewhere else.

[remoulade]

29. Yeah, they could put up "colored only" signs.

...

[babylonsister]

37. Best watch it; your racism is showing. nt

[remoulade]

2. The holiday is a conflation of Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays.

So technically they are the ones 'honored' by it. Putting Clinton's or Bush's picture up in the past was a mistake as well.

[babylonsister]

5. But the current president's pic is usually displayed in buildings on

a military base or federal facility. An exception should NOT have been made this year. :grr:

[remoulade]

8. Yes but it's my understanding the picture(s) in question are specifically referring to the holiday.

I simply commented that only the 2 former presidents in question qualify. The racist comments by some customers have nothing to do with that. Besides it's Colorado Springs...I spent a large piece of my military hitch there...it is a vile shithole of a town regardless of who the president is.

[babylonsister]

15. Regardless, the president's pic is traditionally displayed. I don't

care what day it is. This is imo disgusting.

[remoulade]

25. Where does it say the current President's picture is traditionally displayed in that

particular window of the PX/BX/grocery store? I never saw one when I shopped there a long time ago.

[whopis01]

46. This was about a picture on a "Presidents' Day" poster/flyer

Which is not even a real federal holiday.

This isn't about the traditional display of the president's picture in federal buildings.

They replaced the poster with a more appropriate "Washington's Birthday" poster - one for the actual holiday.

[aquart]

16. Nonetheless. NOBODY had the right to take that picture down.

A sitting president of the United States? I had to look at George for eight fucking years. If that asshole didn't want to see the president's picture where he shops, SHOP ELSEWHERE.

And the employee who took the picture down needs to find other work.

[remoulade]

24. The way it is described indicates it is a reference to President's Day.

And why it is closed for part of the day to observe the holiday. I simply mentioned that the day is for Washington and Lincoln...that's just historical fact. Apparently there are not pictures of the CIC in that particular window any other day of the year. It's a grocery store,
not the Base Commander's office.

I said I thought it was wrong to have Clinton's picture displayed in that particular manner...I hope you aren't suggesting an exception should be made for the current President.

[LanternWaste]

48. If the commissary did indeed display...

If the commissary did indeed display the portraits of Clinton and Bush on president Days past, then it seems the only exception being made for President Obama.

Things that make you go, "hmmmm..."

[ProgressiveProfessor]

31. Yes, but not in the commisary

[babylonsister]

33. Then why was Bush's displayed there and left alone? Why

did they feel the need to take Obama's down?

Buncha b.s., you ask me.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

34. It should not have been there either

There is not a lot of seminal material here...It would be better for ALCON if some confirmed information was gathered and everyone was not jumping on half assed statements out so far.

[liberal N proud]

3. That is bullshit

Presidents day is for all Presidents, even the asshole who ruined this nation.

Additionally Obama is the President of the United States and his picture at a military establishment is appropriate and even expected. Commissaries are government installations even though they are run by a private contractor.

bullshit!

[jmowreader]

36. Commissaries are not run by a private contractor

Commissaries are run by the Defense Commissary Agency. It's headquartered at Fort Lee, VA, and it USED to be run by a two-star general.

[liberal N proud]

42. I guess I have learned something today

I can take the rest of the day off

Thanks for the insight.

[jmowreader]

43. No problem...now I'm going to scare you a bit

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which is commanded by a major general, has been trying to take over the commissary system, plus the Navy and Marine Corps exchanges, for decades. They've got a complete plan laid out for how to do it, and they go to Congress once a year to try it.

There are only two problems: AAFES is in business for profit whereas the commissary agency is not, and they're not good at it at least compared to the Navy Exchange and the Marine Corps Exchange. Then again...perhaps one of the problems the AAFES people have is they're set up by officers' wives for officers' wives, and the Navy and Marine Corps exchanges are for the enlisted troops who can't afford to shop at downtown department stores.

[whopis01]

45. Presidents' Day is not a federal holiday nor a state holiday in Colorado

The federal holiday is "Washington's Birthday" and it is not for Lincoln, Clinton, Bush, or any of the others.

I agree that Obama's picture at a military establishment is appropriate and expected - but it should also be display appropriately and this was not the right way to do it.

What they should have done was take down the "Presidents' Day" sign, replace it with a "Washington's Birthday" sign (as they did - without a picture of Obama) and then gotten a proper, official nicely framed big-ass photo of Obama and stuck up high on the wall above all of that.

[KansDem]

6. "He said they're not going to have no black man on the window where he shops,"

Then shop where the rest of us shop, you f*cking POS! Maybe you'll think twice when you pay more because it's not subsidized by us...

[RagAss]

44. Amen

[Cleita]

7. This is blatant racism. He is the President of the United States and his

portrait should be in all federal buildings and places funded by tax payers' money.

[nashville_brook]

9. so, our military objects to the commander-in-chief -- who here doesn't smell

the rot of right-wing screamers behind this?

[geckosfeet]

10. Ok. The folks who complained, and those who complied need to be

investigated as subversives. If it is tradition to display the current presidents photo, then demanding a government facility to NOT display the photo amounts to sedition.

It is one thing not to like the man, but the man is also the holder of the office and that is what you respect regardless of your tiny mined racial views.

[Donnachaidh]

11. at the very least they should have their commissary priviledges pulled

And whoever took the picture down should be busted back to private. It's unbelievable in this day and age to even hear of this shit happening in the military.

[Retired AF Dem]

39. Bust who to private?

There is no military working in the commissary. The Store Director, store Administrator, front end manager, grocery, meat and produce managers are all civilians.

[Donnachaidh]

40. then they should be FIRED. n/t

[Retired AF Dem]

41. Wont happen

The union is to strong.
This is from Petersons Commissary website
HOLIDAY & UPCOMING SALE
THE COMMISSARY WILL BE OPEN ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2009, WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY HOLIDAY, REGULAR HOURS
http://www.commissaries.com/stores/html/store.cfm?dodaac=HQCMCE&page=news

I bet you dollar for donuts if you could go back into the office area you will find a triangle of pics, the chain of command pics, it would contain President Obama on top, the General of DeCA below him, the store director and so on. I say maybe the Commissaries need to grow a pair and tell some of those whiny customers to fuck off. My wife who is a Commissary Store director would love to. But as I keep telling her it's only four more years to retirement.

[whopis01]

47. What the hell is wrong with you?

You want to label someone as subversive because they took down a "Presidents' Day" poster after someone complained? It isn't even a federal holiday. It was inappropriate to begin with. It should have been "Washington's Birthday" (the actual holiday). Of course they should not have had Clinton's or Bush's picture up on past signs either - but get real... You really want to start calling someone a subversive because they corrected something to more accurately represent a national holiday?

[TheCowsCameHome]

12. Then shop somewhere else, you useless old fuck.

You're a disgrace to good military people everywhere.

What a load of shit this guy must be.

[babylonsister]

13. I'm really pissed they even listened to him. Commissaries aren't

usually that obliging.

[TheCowsCameHome]

22. Stuff like this makes my blood boil. My apologies for the language

I seen more than a few of his type before.

Probably struts around like Mr. BigShot everywhere he goes, thinks the world owes him a huge debt of gratitude, all the while he's nothing but a cowardly bigot that ought to have his privileges taken away.

ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!

[BR_Parkway]

14. Those who criticize the CinC during Wartime are traitors - those who do

it while drawing a government check are something even worse.

Isn't that what we all heard from the Freepers and Dittoheads for 8 long years?

[EFerrari]

17. So, what is the contact information citizen journalists can call to find out

if the commissary really took down the CIC's picture on a national holiday? :evilgrin:

[babylonsister]

19. Thanks for asking! Contact info here (Public Affairs should work):

http://www.peterson.af.mil/main/contactus.asp

[EFerrari]

21. Thank you! I will call these geniuses in the morning.

:hi:

[blaze]

30. Thanks for that link!

Email sent!

[Donnachaidh]

18. FOUR complaints triggered the removal of the photo?

From the article -- FOUR complaints? You've got to be frigging pulling my leg. How many people shop there on a regular basis? WHO were the complainees?

[haele]

23. It's got to be bigger than the Commissary in Albuquerque -

When I went there over the Holidays with my mom to shop for dinner, there were a good 50 - 70 cars in the lot at 10 on the Friday two days after Xmas. And that was after their first "snowstorm" in a while, so even fewer people would have headed out.

San Diego's Navy Base Commissary is always packed, I've never been there when there was less than 50 shoppers at any one time, any time of the day, any day of the week.

4 complaints would rate a polite sneer at most bases. Unless it was a flag officer or his or her dependent, then, they might consider it. And I suspect that's what the racist old SOB who made the complaint was, some weenie that sucked and strutted his way up to flag.

Haele

[spanone]

20. took down the Commander-In-Chief's picture??? racists, racists, racists

[Ilsa]

27. Who the fuck is responsible for taking it down? Tell the whiners

to go shop somewhere else. Fuck them.

[Bluenorthwest]

28. Racist bastards

That is what it is and nothing else. Sickening.

[blaze]

32. I sent a link to the news director of the Denver NBC affiliate

The email, besides the link, said:

"I think this is incredibly disrespectful of our Commander in Chief. Will you report it? Or will your corporate sponsors forbid it?"

edited to add: I also sent a link to Rachel, who would probably be more likely to report it.

[blaze]

35. Response from News Director

"We’ll look into this. I don’t know any corporate sponsors nor have I ever spoken to anyone who advertises at 9News. We are not influenced by who buys ad time on our station.

Patti Dennis
VP/News
KUSA/KTVD"

[Ilsa]

38. Is the picture of the CiC going back up tomorrow? It better. nt