Originally Posted by
Verain
Google...
george bush monkey
About 5,480,000 results (0.20 seconds)
barack obama monkey
About 11,800,000 results (0.25 seconds)
I'll posit that the difference in results here is ONLY a result of Bush not being president anymore. Note that both presidents here have very pronounced ears, a trait that is (a) not racially linked and (b) actually kind of common with people in power, as many "disarming" physical traits tend to be. You'll notice this on, for instance, some actors of any races.
So I don't buy that someone calling Obama a "monkey" is being racist, especially given that the more direct meaning of that term, someone who flings filth and shit and acts like a wild animal, possessing only base instinct and not intellect, is the sort of invective people would throw around at a politician whose views they disagree with.
Now, I'm sure some of those tweets ARE racist, but any article using the term "hate speech" is pretty biased to start with. And I don't think it's a surprise that the south would be more racist- that's literally where there is a higher percentage of racists.