Community Corner

'Obama Rodeo Clown' Sparks Outrage, But is it Warranted?

Officials, residents have made their voices known after a rodeo clown wore a President Obama mask at the Missouri State Fair.

Article written by Patch editor Aja Junior.

A rodeo clown wearing a President Barack Obama mask at the Missouri State Fair this past weekend has drawn national attention and statewide criticism.

Gov. Jay Nixon, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and others have weighed in on the spectacle that happened Saturday where spectators of the rodeo were asked if they want to see “Obama run down by a bull.”

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Many thought rodeo announcer Mark Ficken asked the question, but Albert S. Watkins, who is the attorney for Ficken, said the clown instead went off script and made the comment.

"The governor agrees that the performance was disrespectful and offensive and does not reflect the values of Missourians or the state fair," a spokesman said in a statement from his office.

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Sen. McCaskill said in a statement, "If what’s being reported is true, then it’s shameful and it’s unacceptable," she said. "The state fair is funded by taxpayer dollars and is supposed to be a place where we can all bring our families and celebrate the state that we love. But the young Missourians who witnessed this stunt learned exactly the wrong lesson about political discourse — that somehow it’s ever acceptable to, in a public event, disrespect, taunt, and joke about harming the president of our great nation. Missouri is better than this, and I expect someone to be held accountable."

Missouri State Fair officials have said that the show was inappropriate and doesn’t reflect the values of the organization.

"We strive to be a family friendly event and regret that Saturday's rodeo badly missed that mark," they said in a statement.

KSDK reported Monday afternoon the clown had been permanently banned as a performer at the fair.

Many Missouri residents have also taken to social media to express their views of Saturday's rodeo, but we want to know what do you think of it?

Do you think what the clown did was wrong for wearing it? What other action, if any, should be taken against him? 


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