There’s a very pointless fight going on in the world of American politics right now. It’s over whether or not President Obama “loves” America. See? It really is as stupid as it sounds.

It seemingly started a few days ago when Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, made statements speculating about how President Obama feels about America. He stated on Wednesday:

I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America … He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country.

When accused of being racist, Giuliani got even weirder, saying:

Some people thought it was racist — I thought that was a joke, since he was brought up by a white mother, a white grandfather, went to white schools, and most of this he learned from white people.

He also blamed America’s supposed antipathy to America on socialism. Overall, it was a weird, yet not entirely unexpected outburst. After all, in the almost ten years since Obama has been on the national stage, there’s been plenty of speculation about his beliefs, ideologies, and thoughts.

It hasn’t just stayed with Giuliani though, because now possible Republican 2016 Presidential candidate, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has jumped into the discussion. He essentially said that he didn’t know how Obama feels about America, and also doesn’t know if Obama’s Christian, because he’s never asked him.

Walker has now run in circles around those comments, saying

I assume most people in this country love America. And to me I don’t think it’s worth getting into the battle over whether he does or he doesn’t. He can handle that himself. I know I do.

And his spokesman stated:

Of course the governor thinks the president is a Christian. He thinks these kinds of gotcha questions distract from what he’s doing as governor of Wisconsin to make the state better and make life better for people in his state.

The entire thing is such a bizarre and pointless debate. First of all, any discussion of Obama’s religion again, is exhausting. Walker saying that he’s not sure what Obama’s religion is because he hasn’t asked him is ridiculous, especially after the continuous media coverage and Obama’s constant reaffirmation of his beliefs in 2008. The fact that Walker is feeding into that speculation is just as bad–remember when McCain at least corrected that one insane lady at his event who thought that Obama was Muslim?

The debate over whether or not Obama “loves America” is equally exhausting. It’s polarizing, it’s pointless, and it’s ridiculous. First of all, why does it matter that much? Should we follow this implication through and assume that if Obama doesn’t “love” America, he’s currently attempting to destroy it? That’s insane and beyond paranoid.

What it really is is a way to call Obama elitist, and different than the American ideal of country above self. It’s a debate that we’ve been having for years now, and it’s silly. I hope that in 2016, everyone will focus on getting the best person for the job, and not just silly paranoid speculation.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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It seems like every week we see a new headline about an incredibly insensitive theme party — usually involving a college Greek Life chapter. One of the greatest hits includes this incredibly racist “Mexican Party” by the lovely ladies of Chi Omega at Penn State University.

Or one of my personal favorites, this Duke University Kappa Sigma party. It was first called “Asia Prime,” but then got changed to “International Relations.”

I have good news though: racist fun isn’t just limited to Greek Life members! Check out this picture from a UConn Law School MLK Day Party dubbed “Bullets and Bubbly” back in in 2007.

These are by no means isolated incidents. When I googled “racist party” for this article, there were dozens of examples from which to choose. This is a rampant problem, no doubt, and every time a new incident makes it to the national press, I join the legion of outraged observers.

Then I stumbled across a Buzzfeed article yesterday called, “This is what American Parties Look Like Around the World.” Apparently American parties are a thing in other countries. They feature red solo cups, American Flags, popcorn, sports jerseys, and backwards hats. With a few exceptions, all pretty accurate and innocuous stereotypes. Well, except for the popcorn thing. I don’t get that. Do other places not have popcorn???

Here’s another one. They seem to like our solo cups, but I don’t think they’re using them correctly:

I found the Buzzfeed piece to be entertaining and charming. Most of the “American” stereotypes were funny. With the exception of a couple military references, nothing else, at least to me, was offensive. And then I scrolled down to the comments. Most people seemed to agree with me. They applauded the parties, and left comments about how the stereotypes are kind of accurate. A few others offered rather defensive explanations about why we use red Solo cups.

And then there were some commenters who were really offended. Some posed questions about how those same countries would feel if we poked a little fun at them. And one commenter really interested me, because he compared these parties to the very offensive ones I discussed above.

So that got me thinking, why am I so offended by Mexican, Asian, and MLK Day parties, but not really at all by the “American Parties?” And the reason is that these are apples and oranges; they are unequivocally, hugely different. And here are three reasons why:

3. We need to look at the context. 

At no point has the culture of the United States been the butt of offensive and destructive stereotypes. Part of this has to do with the relatively short history of our nation, or maybe our status for many years as a superpower. But with the very limited exception of perhaps political prisoners or POWs, I cannot think of a single instance in which an American has had his or her rights taken away simply for being American. Sure, we occasionally face prejudice or suspicion when we travel to other countries, and there are parts of this world that are not very safe for American travelers. But at no point has our culture been used to disenfranchise us.

That’s one of the main things that sets this party apart from the offensive parties above. Sure, the symbols at the “American Parties” are poking fun at us, but that’s all. I think you’d be hard pressed to see an American genuinely disenfranchised because he’s wearing a cowboy hat. That’s just not true with the symbols — sombreros, ponchos, and others — used by the girls at the Mexican Party.

2. The symbols they chose are pretty mild and pulled from pop culture. 

Red Solo cups? Basketball jerseys? Popcorn? Those aren’t historically important and engrained parts of American culture. In fact, all three of those things are relatively recent phenomenons. Fifty years from now, I bet we won’t even be using red Solo cups because we’ll have found a much more efficient and climate-friendly alternative. Contrast that with the clothing of the girls at Duke’s Asian-themed party. Those are historically-loaded garments. They have important cultural significance. Red Solo Cups, in the long run, do not. We have a silly song about them, for God’s sake. Go ahead and mock, world.

1. There’s no issue of race or culture.  

The U.S. is a melting pot. We don’t have historical clothing, one distinct religion, or defining racial characteristics. And that’s part of what makes this country great. I guess you could say that it’s also what makes us pretty hard to make fun of on a deeply offensive level.

But it’s possible. We do have symbols that are deeply ingrained in this culture, for example, the American flag. If one of these “American Parties” had cut up or degraded our flag in some way, I would probably be offended. Some of these parties do feature the American flag, but on a wall, the same way it would be in the U.S.. But that’s not what they’re doing. They’re not attacking us for the way we genetically look. They’re not making fun of the beliefs that we harbor, or historical events in our history. These parties are full of stereotypes that don’t put us down as people.

It’s doable to have a party about a nation that isn’t offensive, even if it is in jest. For example, I once attended a French-themed birthday party. It featured French refreshments, large pictures of the Eiffel Tower, and I believe we all said “c’est la vie?” and “voulez-vous couchez avec moi?” many a time. I see these “American Parties” in the same vein.

I’m not encouraging stereotyping, I’m not encouraging people to poke fun at Americans, but I think it’s important to point out that there is a real and concrete difference between malicious and innocuous stereotypes. Those first three parties, they crossed the line. Look at the girls in the first picture. In case you didn’t notice, one is holding a sign that says, “Will mow lawn for weed and beer” while adorned in a poncho and fake mustache. That’s a harmful stereotype, because it’s exactly that kind that propagates racism and prejudice in our country today.

On the other hand, this spread, from an “American Party” just looks delicious.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [hobvias sudoneighm via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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