Welcome to the World Wide Web, where anyone in the world has an equal opportunity to be an idiot.

I thought that picture appeared on prisonplanet, but maybe pp just hotlinked to the Chinese site.

Stormfront is disappointed.

Google is just being consistent.

Lots of offensive images of politicians and their wives can be found on the nets. Its despicable.

There are now, supposedly, more Chinese web stuff than American. Amazing the number of websites that have popped up all over the world. It should be noted that IME people in east Asia can be quite racist, or at least have a completely deaf ear to what us in the West consider socially unacceptable behavior.

Just by the title of this post I know I never need to look at that picture. Disgusting.

The image is offensive, and in this case I think it should have been removed. Censorship doesn't have to be a slippery slope. Google practices it daily in its advertising business.

Maybe they should have added it to the SafeSearch filter (for users who have it enabled). Sounds like their ranking algorithm may need a little tweaking too. Why would some obscure blog be coming back as anywhere near the top result?

I have to side with Google on this one. If there was no reason to remove photoshopped pictures of Bush to make him look like a monkey, then there is no reason to take down the same type of picture of Obama.

re: #9 fish

I agree with you on being resistant to the outright removal of the image, but the purpose of Google's Image Search is to return the image(s) the end user is most likely after. Unless the majority of folks who are searching for Michelle Obama images are after racist caricatures, the web application is behaving sub optimally in this instance (and it's likely then in Google's interest to improve it).

re: #9 fish

I have to side with Google on this one. If there was no reason to remove photoshopped pictures of Bush to make him look like a monkey, then there is no reason to take down the same type of picture of Obama.

Maybe I'm an old-school gentleman, but I think there should be exceptions for women and children...

Just not cricket or fair-play - in short, asshatism.

Google is just a tool; tools are neutral. Should we reroute the interstate just because it passes a strip joint?

I don't think it's googles job to censor anything not hosted on any of their servers. I wonder if they've changed their minds because I did the appropriate google search using all 3 settings of the "Safe Search" option and I'm not seeing it on there any longer.

Racist, offensive, tasteless. I'm glad it's not from anyone I know.

re: #11 ryannon

Or at least, for people who are not politicians themselves. After all, how many pictures of *Laura* Bush as a monkey are circulating out there? Though I guess in a world where the President's 11-year old daughter gets called a ghetto whore, this picture falls within our new bounds of tolerence. *Facepalm*

re: #12 Gearhead

Google is just a tool; tools are neutral. Should we reroute the interstate just because it passes a strip joint?

I agree. I don't understand how people can turn this into a "Google problem". Google can remove the photo from their image search if they wanted to, they have the right to do that, but I don't understand why Google's taking any heat over it. Their search engine finds popular results. For better or for worse.
The picture is disgusting, by the way, but that isn't really the point of my comment.

Who was that asshole cartoonist for the Guardian who always portrayed George Bush to resemble some sort of monkey or chimp? Bell, I think. Can't remember his first name.

re: #9 fish

I disagree, respectfully. The pictures of former president Bush were distasteful, but a white man as a monkey does not have the sad history of the portrayal of blacks as apes. Both are wrong, but I can not agree that they are the same in offense.

re: #4 Racer X

Google is just being consistent.

Lots of offensive images of politicians and their wives can be found on the nets. Its despicable.

Sadly, Google is not being consistent. I wish they would be, and would start applying their hand-off approach to the information they present to countries like China. Instead, they grab their ankles and work with the Chinese government to apply Draconian censorship measures that stifle the free flow of information to the most populous nation on earth. And there have been rumors of far worse behavior, such as aiding in the persecution of Chinese citizens who manage to work their way around China's firewalls by turning over IP addresses and associated names to a country which maintains rigid control over all of it's IT resources, making locating the offenders trivial.

Google is evil.

re: #18 abbyadams

Maybe not, but they are both still human beings being compared to apes. It's worse for Michelle because she's a volunteer. Nobody elected her. Compare this with Laura Bush as a monkey. That's a more fair comparison. I'd say that was pretty harsh too, white or not, no? Laura Bush as monkey is more acceptable than Michelle as monkey somehow? I don't think so.

re: #20 Claire

Are there actually pictures of Laura Bush as a monkey out there? When I posted that, I was saying that I hadn't actually seen any such pictures.

Wow. This reminds me of the Mohammad cartoon controversy.

re: #20 Claire

Maybe not, but they are both still human beings being compared to apes. It's worse for Michelle because she's a volunteer. Nobody elected her. Compare this with Laura Bush as a monkey. That's a more fair comparison. I'd say that was pretty harsh too, white or not, no? Laura Bush as monkey is more acceptable than Michelle as monkey somehow? I don't think so.

It's not more acceptable. Both kinds of pictures would be offensive.

HOWEVER. There is definitely another whole dimension to portraying Michelle Obama as a monkey. It's pure, indisputable racism. Is that worse than portraying Laura Bush as a monkey (which I've never seen, by the way)?

Yes, I think it is worse, because it brings racial hatred into the situation, whereas picturing Laura Bush as a monkey would be insulting but hardly racist.

...aaand the tu quoque team is now on the field!

re: #19 SixDegrees

Sadly, Google is not being consistent. I wish they would be, and would start applying their hand-off approach to the information they present to countries like China. Instead, they grab their ankles and work with the Chinese government to apply Draconian censorship measures that stifle the free flow of information to the most populous nation on earth. And there have been rumors of far worse behavior, such as aiding in the persecution of Chinese citizens who manage to work their way around China's firewalls by turning over IP addresses and associated names to a country which maintains rigid control over all of it's IT resources, making locating the offenders trivial.

Google is evil.

No, it isn't. The Chinese people know damn well what their laws are and what the consequences of breaking them are. It's pretty simple, really. You don't go against the party (the "people").

re: #22 Boogberg

Wow. This reminds me of the Mohammad cartoon controversy.

My thoughts exactly. Where does this stop? I'm sure those cartoons are just as offensive as the Michelle-monkey image is. More. There were riots over those. Over a hundred people died. Did Google remove those cartoons?

What's next. Obama in Joker make-up? Some people think that's racists. Piss Christ? Who makes these decisions. If enough people boycott or die, I guess Google will remove anything. How about all images of pigs. Once you start down this road, where exactly do you stop?

But then Google is a private company and there are other browsers. But then they can be pressured, too.

re: #3 Sharmuta

Stormfront is disappointed.

Probably not as much as HotAir.

re: #26 HelloDare

My thoughts exactly. Where does this stop? I'm sure those cartoons are just as offensive as the Michelle-monkey image is. More. There were riots over those. Over a hundred people died. Did Google remove those cartoons?

What's next. Obama in Joker make-up? Some people think that's racists. Piss Christ? Who makes these decisions. If enough people boycott or die, I guess Google will remove anything. How about all images of pigs. Once you start down this road, where exactly do you stop?

But then Google is a private company and there are other browsers. But then they can be pressured, too.

Yeah. I think Google gets a pass here.

What a model story. It occurs to me that if someone not Chinese were doing this it would be hard not to discount the apology and consider them racist. I really wish all misunderstandings played out this way instead, with no harm done and explanations taken at face value.

re: #23 Charles

It's not more acceptable. Both kinds of pictures would be offensive.

HOWEVER. There is definitely another whole dimension to portraying Michelle Obama as a monkey. It's pure, indisputable racism. Is that worse than portraying Laura Bush as a monkey (which I've never seen, by the way)?

Yes, I think it is worse, because it brings racial hatred into the situation, whereas picturing Laura Bush as a monkey would be insulting but hardly racist.

Respectfully, I disagree. The picture of Mrs. Obama is offensive and sophomoric, but with so much offensive and sophomoric imagery out there, why would we say that this one is worse than the others and worthy of censorship or other action? Look at the countless photos on Zombie's website. Most of these are just as offensive and I believe many are much more offensive. And many of Zombie's photos are of folks taking offensiveness to new levels by real people in broad daylight in public places. It's all disgusting, but I can't see why you would say that one of these atrocities is worse than another because there is a perception that one atrocity plays to race more than it does to some other characteristic of the victim. In no way am I defending the stormfront jpg. My observation is that it is not worse than all this other crap, so I can't see why we would circle our wagons for this and not rest.

re: #25 Boogberg

No, it isn't. The Chinese people know damn well what their laws are and what the consequences of breaking them are. It's pretty simple, really. You don't go against the party (the "people").

Sure. That's not evil at all.

re: #31 SixDegrees

Sure. That's not evil at all.

You know their system doesn't allow dissent and so do I. But a billion of them don't give a fuck. They know damn well that internet traffic is monitored and censored by their party (the "people").

This shit is law in their country. I know you don't criticize Google for NOT breaking the law in a country where they do business, do you?

A billion Chinese people not knowing any better (or caring) doesn't make their system any less wrong, in my humble opinion.

But it's not our place to change it. The will to change has to come from the Chinese people themselves, and although I don't see that will manifesting itself anytime soon, it's the only option there is.

re: #11 ryannon

Maybe I'm an old-school gentleman, but I think there should be exceptions for women and children...

Just not cricket or fair-play - in short, asshatism.

I'm sure Sara Palin's children would have appreciated that respect.

You know what my first thought is?

How many Bush = Monkey pictures are there?

re: #25 Boogberg

No, it isn't. The Chinese people know damn well what their laws are and what the consequences of breaking them are. It's pretty simple, really. You don't go against the party (the "people").

All it is is a multinational corporation obeying the laws of the respective countries it happens to be in. We have free speech in America. They don't have free speech in China.

Simple as that.

re: #16 bosforus

I agree. I don't understand how people can turn this into a "Google problem". Google can remove the photo from their image search if they wanted to, they have the right to do that, but I don't understand why Google's taking any heat over it. Their search engine finds popular results. For better or for worse.
The picture is disgusting, by the way, but that isn't really the point of my comment.

They are taking heat because there are idiots out there who see the big fat Google logo and the boxes and boxes of pictures and automatically assume that Google must have put that picture there on purpose.

re: #35 Hengineer

You know what my first thought is?

How many Bush = Monkey pictures are there?

There's a gigantic difference between picturing Bush as a monkey and picturing a black woman as a monkey. And I don't see why I should even need to point that out.

While expression of racism hurts everyone and is always ugly no matter the target, the author is the only fool. An apology is nice to see.

I agree, is not for Google to censure idiocy.

Can't help but thinking of the sickening collective hatred expressed by "intellectuals" and others during the Bush's years. Plenty of horribly explicit photo-shopped pictures are still all over the Net, implying the worst. I remember seeing in souvenir shops all kinds of tasteless gadgets ridiculing Bush. Never saw any apology in that regard of course.

re: #38 Charles

Agreed, making a black woman a target of racism is beyond despicable, no matter how powerful the woman may be.

I thought the same thing as # 35.

I am sure there are a lot of racist offensive pictures that can be Googled. Either you have free speech which can sometimes be offensive, like those "offensive" Mohamed cartoons, or you don't. Michelle Obama as a monkey is as offensive to some as the so-called prophet wearing a bomb for a turban. So who should decide what should be censored? Blacks? Muslims? Gays etc.? Or maybe we should just grow a thicker skin and move on.

Sorry if some are offended by my comment, but that's life!

google's apology made it to Drudge!!
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