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Comments

1. #1
   On July 13th, 2007 at 2:35 pm, spidgy said:

   Although we retain the right to decline art that is chosen under this program, we do not plan to remove art from this display until its normal rotation ends in November of this year.

   Ah, so they can decline artwork but in the face of public protest will not take it down. How nice for the folks in Portland to see their tax dollars so hard at work.

   Imagine an airport hanging artwork protesting American involvement in Europe in 1943. Nice job PDX.

2. #2
   On July 13th, 2007 at 2:41 pm, Independent Conservative said:

   Our goal with this temporary, rotating display, as with all of the art at PDX, is to show our support for the arts and to offer opportunities for the public to view various art forms.

   In other words:

   “In the name of Arts, we encourage and support all the artists who hate America and we are offering opportunities for the public to view various forms of expression of hate towards this country.”

   Customer Relations
   Portland International Airport

3. #3
   On July 13th, 2007 at 2:41 pm, Pulchritudinous Patriot said:

   I wonder if they would stoop so low as to display the ( I hate using this word, so I won’t) PI$% Christ?

4. #4
   On July 13th, 2007 at 2:48 pm, The Raging Republican said:

   Our goal with this temporary, rotating display, as with all of the art at PDX, is to show our support for the arts and to offer opportunities for the public to view various art forms.

   Do they not have museums in Portland? Why does an airport need to display alternative points of view? What a great way to welcome people flying into our country from Asia…..’Welcome to America…..We hate us too’ INSANE!

5. #5
   On July 13th, 2007 at 2:56 pm, Brian Paasch said:

   Anyone want to take a guess at what they’d do if one of the students created a derogatory piece characterizing Mohammad or Islam?

6. #6
   On July 13th, 2007 at 2:57 pm, freaksloan said:

   Just one question, would they put up a piece of art work depicting Mohammad?

7. #7
   On July 13th, 2007 at 2:57 pm, Kokonut said:

   Let’s get an art exhibit showing Mohammed for the airport to have and hang on their airport walls and see if they can use the same excuse “our intention to offend anyone” regarding art that is “inherently subjective and can be provocative and thought provoking” for Islamic fascists.

8. #8
   On July 13th, 2007 at 2:58 pm, Kokonut said:

   correction:

   Let’s get an art exhibit showing Mohammed for the airport to have and hang on their airport walls and see if they can use the same excuse “it is not our intention to offend anyone” regarding art that is “inherently subjective and can be provocative and thought provoking” for Islamic fascists.

9. #9
   On July 13th, 2007 at 2:58 pm, reppac122 said:

   Wasn’t Portland the airport that Mohammed Atta flew out of to Boston early in the morning on September 11, 2001? If so, this makes this “art” display even more vile.

10. #10
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:07 pm, Craig said:

    Freaksloan….you’re onto something.

    Somehow I doubt it.

11. #11
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:10 pm, englishqueen01 said:

    Just one question, would they put up a piece of art work depicting Mohammad?

    No.

    But remember, America is not the only thing insulted in the name of “public art”. There have been many pieces of crap “artwork” that have not only insulted, but blasphemed the Christian religion (”Piss Christ” or the dung-covered Virgin Mary).

12. #12
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:14 pm, LC said:

    Can I get the artist’s name? I would like to write him (or her) so that they may know how much proud Americans appreciate are digusted by the poor taste of this “art.”

13. #13
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:20 pm, Al in St. Lou said:

    Rick Moran (IIRC) wrote that this looked like it came from a middle school. That’s what I thought too, and now it seems to have been confirmed. Unfortunately, I’m not sure whether that makes it better or worse. Is it better because it wasn’t done by an adult? Or is it worse because the moonbat teachers are teaching our kids to (not)think in ways that result in faux art like this?

14. #14
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:21 pm, ajmontana said:

    LC, I think the fartwork is an original Pelosi……

15. #15
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:37 pm, Regulus said:

    As a former resident of the Portland Metro Area, I’d mentioned in the last thread on this topic that Portland’s moonbat roots run very deep. They extend into the city government, and no doubt into the administration of the airport.

    I’m certain that, given the attitudes of the locals, messages complaining of the offensive nature of the “art” in question only reinforced the determination to keep it there: i.e., “There’s no way we’re going to be censored and intimidated by a bunch of wingnut brownshirts!”

    I’m equally certain that any such artwork portraying the USA in a flattering light would draw howls from the moonbat crowd, and that the offending exhibit would have quickly been removed.

    That’s just the way things are in Portland. As I said, it’s a great place to be from.

16. #16
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:38 pm, traveler49 said:

    I noticed they didn’t even sign their name. Some faceless bureaucrat. I do know the manager of the customer relations dept. is Suzanne Miller.

17. #17
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:50 pm, LC said:

    traveler49, can you find and post her office number or business email address?

18. #18
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:50 pm, josetheguerilla said:

    I bet they would have refused a painting of Mr.Allah akbar.

19. #19
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:52 pm, Evenstar said:

    haha, so it WAS in fact made by some “kid”. of course.

20. #20
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:52 pm, foxforce91 said:

    I doubt very seriously that the kid who did this is officially a Moonbat. He/she is most likely just trying to get into art school and get good grades; this is how you do it.

21. #21
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:57 pm, feralcat said:

    “reppac122 said:

    Wasn’t Portland the airport that Mohammed Atta flew out of to Boston early in the morning on September 11, 2001?”

    Never heard that before. It would have been a very long flight. If it was Portland, it would much more likely have been Portland, Maine.

22. #22
    On July 13th, 2007 at 4:00 pm, LC said:

    While I agree that he may not be a moonbat (what middle age student watches the news and keeps up with current events on a regular basis?…surely not I) but it’s plainly evident that his/her parents (parent, perhaps?) are full-grown moonbats. Mom probably thinks exploiting her children for the sake of disgracing her own country is a novel idea. It’s sad to see more than anything else…expecially considering the years of work it’s going to take to reverse the thinking of this young, obviously impressionable, child. This is how liberals are born.

23. #23
    On July 13th, 2007 at 4:01 pm, huggybear said:

    Whether or not you like the piece, the fact that it is generating this much debate and has received this much attention only serves to advance the artist’s goal - which is to have his/her art seen and evaluated. I know this isn’t MM’s intention, but right now some no-name artist is getting exposure on one of the most popular blogs in the country. And I’m sure there are people looking at this piece right now who like it [And no, I'm not one of those people. The word "juvenile" comes to mind].

    Art isn’t always about looking pretty, it should also stir up emotions - good, bad, or otherwise. In the art world, there is no such thing as bad publicity. And this person just got a bunch of it - for free, I might add.

    The best response to art you don’t like: don’t look at it.

24. #24
    On July 13th, 2007 at 4:12 pm, On-my-soap-box said:

    Please be assured that it is not our intention to offend anyone(unless they are Christian).blockquote>

    Fixed it for them. Just keeping it honest.

25. #25
    On July 13th, 2007 at 4:14 pm, feralcat said:

    huggybear - “The best response to art you don’t like: don’t look at it.”

    I have better art than that in my litter box. You are right thought: it is best not to look at it.

26. #26
    On July 13th, 2007 at 4:28 pm, walterc said:

    I wish these moonbats would get off the “No Blood For Oil” campaign and look at it realistically.

    Of course it’s all about oil. The entire world economy depends on oil to operate. And particularly the U.S. economy runs on oil. Without oil the power plants stop operating, the trucks, trains, ships etc that deliver the goods to the local walmart, the gasoline to get workers to the factories to manufacture the goods, all come to a screeching halt.

    Without it the entire economy collapses. And without oil, the federal government would be unable to operate the public works projects, finance unemployment benefits, welfare, food stamps etc to keep our country (much less the rest of the world population that depends on us) from a massive catastrophic social collapse, starvation, crime, jungle survival of the fittest society. (sorry about the run on sentence).

    We have to look at reality, that until we find and produce enough viable alternatives to oil, gas and coal, we have to locate and extract as much as we can to keep our society going.

    And to claim othewise by suggesting that we walk to work and hang our clothes outside to dry is ludicrous at best. Even if we all walk to work, it’s a bit unrealistic to expect a truck driver to carry his load on foot by pulling a wagon with two oxen. We can’t expect our merchant marines to revert back to coal fired or ships with sails to bring us our “made in China” trinkets that we love so much.

    And if conguering the Middle East is the only way to insure that our economy keeps moving along, then so be it.

    And to teach our children that war for oil is a bad thing is naive at best and disaterous at worse.

27. #27
    On July 13th, 2007 at 4:31 pm, reppac122 said:

    Yep, I was right….from wikipedia:

    September 11, 5:53 A.M. 2001: Atta and al-Omari board Colgan Air/U.S. Airways Flight 5930 from Portland, Maine to Boston, Massachusetts. Flight 5930 was where Mohammed Atta made final preparations for the attack.

28. #28
    On July 13th, 2007 at 4:49 pm, feralcat said:

    #27 That is not the same Portland as the one that has the “art”.

29. #29
    On July 13th, 2007 at 4:50 pm, feralcat said:

    Actually Portland in Oregon would have been named Boston if a coin toss had gone the other way.

30. #30
    On July 13th, 2007 at 5:25 pm, Rick Moran said:

    WalterC:

    If I may correct your otherwise excellent analysis I would say that it is not only “oil” that is the lifeblood of industrialized civilization but “cheap oil” that makes our society run.

    I made the point on the previous post that cheap oil is as important to the west as food is everywhere else. One of the best kept secrets of our foreign policy is that we’re giving North Korea $50 million in food aid a month. And that’s because with one exception - Carter’s grain embargo after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan - we have never used food as a weapon. The food we’re sending to North Korea is part of a grant program where OxFam takes care of the logistics and we just pay for the food (or sometimes donate it from government stocks).

    The point being cheap oil should be viewed exactly the same as food as far as a vital necessity to life in the west. But because of the fact that “Big Oil” makes money off of it, it’s seen as evil.

    If China ever had a failed rice crop, see how fast they’d invade neighbors to fend off starvation. And while we always use our military in the Middle East not to take oil but rather to maintain the free flow of it and to see that it remains in the hands of people who won’t use it as a weapon against us, this is seen by most of the world as bad behavior.

    So be it. I’d rather be villified than freeze to death during a Chicago winter.

31. #31
    On July 13th, 2007 at 5:28 pm, blues said:

    “It’s not our intention to offend anyone”…..So take it down,because people are offended.Not hard to figure out.

32. #32
    On July 13th, 2007 at 6:10 pm, johncgaiser said:

    Though I disagree with the premise/ message, it is a nice piece of art.

33. #33
    On July 13th, 2007 at 6:13 pm, puhiawa said:

    So pissing on this picture would be just another form of art, right?

34. #34
    On July 13th, 2007 at 6:29 pm, downwithabsolutes said:

    Blues,

    I’m offended by smiley faces. Under your ridiculous logic, any public place displaying smiley faces should take them down, as well. Anyone can be offended by anything. Whether one has the cajones to simply move on is the real judge of character.

35. #35
    On July 13th, 2007 at 6:46 pm, Uplander said:

    I’ve had enough of this, let’s all go to Chicago and eat Chinese Food.

36. #36
    On July 13th, 2007 at 6:53 pm, katieanne said:

    They don’t support the troops and have anti-American leanings. It’s obvious and has been for a long time. And they mind offending those who do support the troops and our country. You won’t be catching us in any of the West Coast States on our vacations.

    I wonder how anti-military and anti-American these moonbats will feel when the Islamic war comes again to the US mainland, and it will. Will they care? Did they care about 9/11?

37. #37
    On July 13th, 2007 at 7:09 pm, reppac122 said:

    #28

    Oh jeez..my bad. See, I might be an east coast snob!

38. #38
    On July 13th, 2007 at 10:20 pm, reine.de.tout said:

    The airport officials said:

    Please be assured that it is not our intention to offend anyone.

    Not their intention, but they’re gonna do it anyway.

39. #39
    On July 14th, 2007 at 12:04 am, DaveC said:

    Just a reading between the lines of their letter and what they mean..

    Please be assured that it is not our intention to offend anyone.

    unless you are a christian, white, and republican. Or, (In MM’s case) someone pretending to be white..

    Art is inherently subjective and can be provocative and thought provoking.

    With the knowledge that just about anyone from the center (and even a few barely left of center) to the right over would object to this, this line is dropped in to help CYA.

    Also, because of such a ‘provocative and thought provoking’ work of art, they are more ‘intellectual’ than the people protesting whom they see wanting to ban freedom of expression.

    We understand how it can affect people in different ways

    this is a response to anyone asking to have it taken down. In their minds, by asking to take this down, you are a pro-American right winger gun nut who will no doubt start to burn books and prized artwork like the one in question..

    and we regret that this one has affected you negatively.

    you are a closed minded bigot who can’t see true truth and beauty right before your eyes.. it has affected us positively, making us more ‘enlightened’ than you people in those fly over states..

    that’s is.. sorry if some of it rambled on… it’s super late for me

40. #40
    On July 14th, 2007 at 12:08 am, DaveC said:

    I think there is a place for it.. not in an airport.. I’m sure Barbra Striesand would be happy to pay top dollar for something like that..

41. #41
    On July 14th, 2007 at 11:47 am, DaleC said:

    If this anti-American garbage is accepted as art by these people , I would like to know what art they are retaining the right to decline ..

42. #42
    On July 14th, 2007 at 12:33 pm, greenfairie said:

    It infuriates me we have so many enclaves in this country filled with people who actively despise it. And they’re often the ones who have benefitted the most from America’s wealth. I bet those folks have nice houses and shop at places like Whole Paycheck, er, Whole Foods for their pricey organic produce and artisan cheeses. I bet they have nice stock portfolios for their retirement. I bet the moonbat kid who made that artwork lives in a nice suburb or gentrified part of town and his parents are patting him on the head for being a free-thinker.

    Then you meet people who don’t live like that and maybe don’t have as much, and they’re as patriotic (and frequently conservative to some degree) as can be. Go figure.

43. #43
    On July 14th, 2007 at 2:01 pm, SirKnob said:

    So let me get this straight. If a student paints it, they will display it, regardless of public emotion?

    So, if a student should paint a picture of say ‘Jesus’ they would display it without any qualms, regardless of public opinion?

    Bull, this is just another liberal ploy at diversity as long as you agree with them.

44. #44
    On July 14th, 2007 at 8:38 pm, ammonrae said:

    I’m sorry Michelle. I am for free speech. I am too libertarian.

45. #45
    On July 14th, 2007 at 9:54 pm, general company said:

    They, along with the colleges involved, review and select the art based on its artistic merit, not on its content

    How is one separate from the other? Just more dribble from the one who are not intending to insult anyone…..Good grief

46. #46
    On July 15th, 2007 at 2:06 am, fuseman said:

    On July 13th, 2007 at 2:57 pm, Kokonut said:

    Let’s get an art exhibit showing Mohammed for the airport to have and hang on their airport walls and see if they can use the same excuse “our intention to offend anyone” regarding art that is “inherently subjective and can be provocative and thought provoking” for Islamic fascists.

    use this one