Barack: Stop Playing with the Monkey God

Why is Barack Obama carrying all sorts of $&%# in his pocket for good luck?

It makes him look like Dennis Kucinich…

Caption from Time: Amongst the things that Barack Obama carries for good luck are a bracelet belonging to a soldier deployed in Iraq, a gambler’s lucky chit, a tiny monkey god and a tiny Madonna and child.

“Tiny monkey god”? That’s Hanuman, who, in the Hindu scripture the Ramayana, led “a monkey army to fight the demon King Ravana and rescue a kidnapped princess.”

Which, by my count, makes Obama Christian, Muslim, and Hindu…

Got it.

Hanuman’s making news for other reasons, too.

He was just “named official chairman of the recently opened Sardar Bhagat Singh College of Technology and Management in northern India.”

Yep. You read that correctly.

The position comes with an incense-filled office, a desk and a laptop computer. Four chairs will be placed facing the empty seat reserved for the chairman and all visitors must enter the office barefoot, said Vivek Kangdi, the school’s vice chairman.

…

“When we were looking for a chairman for our institution, we scanned many big names in the field of technology and management. Ultimately, we settled for Lord Hanuman, as none was bigger than him,” Kangdi said.

This means the invisible, non-existent monkey God gets more perks in his profession than you do in yours.

Probably gets paid more, too.

Maria shares my own feelings on the matter:

You might think that I, being Indian, would be embarrassed for my home country. Nope. Not me. Why should I care that an institute of higher learning in India is sabotaging its duty and keeping flocks of young Indians mired in ignora–…. AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! YOU STUPID BASTARDS! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?

Sorry.

Why is this bothering me so much? It’s just a monkey, after all.

Of course!

Monkeys like bananas. And bananas are an atheist’s worst nightmare!

My world has come full circle.

Everything makes sense now…

[tags]atheist, atheism[/tags]

Siamang

Isn’t it time we had a reality-based person running for president.
Paul

When we were looking for a chairman for our institution, we scanned many big names in the field of technology and management. Ultimately, we settled for Lord Hanuman

Translation: “No one else would work for peanuts.”
Richard Wade

Uh, all that quick diversion to the Hanuman-led business college didn’t distract me from the astonishing revelation that Barack Obama is apparently more superstitious than a professional baseball player. That is very disappointing. The fact that McCain carries a lucky penny, a lucky nickel and a lucky rubber band doesn’t make it okay.

We have nothing to laugh about at the business college in India if we’re still electing people with childish superstitions who will have their fingers on the nuclear button.
Brian E

led “a monkey army to fight the demon King Ravana and rescue a kidnapped princess.”

Sounds like the latest Super Mario Brothers game. Nintendo should steal this.
Tom

Too weird. I would have preferred Clinton, analytical and calculating, not supersticious. Anywaym wrote about the business school thing on my blog as well: tomhcanderson.com
hoverFrog

His hands are very long aren’t they? I’m not sure that a typical banana would fit perfectly.

also why is he depriving that soldier in Iraq of his lucky bracelet? Doesn’t the poor chap need it to provide some emotional comfort?
Jeff

Well if he ends up winning the election, then those lucky charms will have worked. 😉 Of course you can say the same thing about the other guy.
Richard Wade

His hands are very long aren’t they?

Yeah and those silly, superstitious good luck trinkets cover up the life lines, fate lines, heart and head lines on his palms so we can’t get a reliable indication of his fortune and future. Darn. Stupid, silly superstitious good luck trinkets.
Kevin

Whoa, now I want a Hanuman charm.
amiable

trying to think positively: maybe they are gifts from people…

have you also read about mccain’s lucky charms?
hoverFrog

Why did they get him to empty his pockets anyway?

Did anyone else follow the link and see McCain’s lucky penny? There’s a guy with big, meaty hands. Honestly they’re like spades. He’s got banana fingers too.
Christophe Thill

I didn’t know he was such a big fan of Madonna.
wwyoud

Apparently, Obama thinks it’s safe to let his superstitious side out – check this story:
Christian leaders meet privately with Obama
http://www.wral.com/news/political/story/3023125/
Kristopher

I’m not sure who is going to win this election, but I already know who the losers are … us.
midwestatheist

Long time lurker, first time commenter here! WOOT!

I doubt very highly that Obama believes that these charms that he carries in his pocket are going to bring him luck and help him to become president. The more likely scenario is that they are symbols to him of what he wants his campaign and hoped-for presidency to be about. Perhaps they represent ideals such as maintaining respect for and dialog with others despite differences of religion, philosophy, race, etc. Maybe they are reminders of the real people who gave him the trinkets, people whose lives may be personally impacted by the decisions Obama would make as president. I don’t think carrying around these “lucky charms” is any more of a superstition than wearing a wedding ring or labeling your blog with a scarlet letter A or having framed photos of your children on your desk at work or getting a tattoo. Obama is not in a position to wear or display the symbols of what is important to him, of goals that he wants to be always mindful of, so carrying around those reminders in his pocket seems like a really great solution. I’d like to think that, despite the chaos of the campaign trail, anytime he puts his hands in his pockets (and I’ve seen more than one photo of him doing so) it reminds him to stay grounded and focused on the goals and ideals — his and the country’s — that he wants to realize as President of the United States.

Just my $0.02.
Richard Wade

midwestatheist,
That is a wonderfully positive take on these peculiar objects in Obama’s pockets and until I have conflicting evidence, I’m going to adopt that as the best explanation.

Your $0.02 is worth quite a lot. Please continue to de-lurk and comment frequently.
midwestatheist

Thanks Richard!

Even online I am a little bit shy, as ridiculous as that is. I appreciate the encouragement to comment more. Perhaps someday I’ll even work up the nerve to attend one of the meet-ups in Chicago, since I’m in the area. 🙂
watthe

What a bunch of sore losers you christian bigots are???? I feel sorry for you small brains.

“He was just “named official chairman of the recently opened Sardar Bhagat Singh College of Technology and Management in northern India.”
”

Here is hinduism one on one. Hinduism is attribute worship.Now compare to the notion that bigoted freaks believe even for a damn minute that their christian God is running the whole world and dictating who goes to hell and who goes to heaven.(pretty much retarded notion but neverthelss)?…Now Hanuman is revered as a manifestation of power and devotion. Remember i said attribute not person. Lot of great sages have been revered throughout the ages not only because of what they were(prince or a beggar or whatever) but also because of the qualities they possessed. Hanuman was symbolically made Chairman( and it takes a little intellect to wade beyond the literal sense of it) to give the credence to the idea that the institute would follow the path of service to people and devotion to knowledge. Now can your peasized brain get that??? I really pity your common place comprehension and sheer lack of identification which other cultures which let me tell you are much more assimilating than yours. It’s a shame that you have to carry the curse of being a blinded by your faith.
andy

I love the fact that he carries different amulets, open mind=intelligence. Doesnt matter what he believes this object do or not. Maybe is all marketing, trying to reach out to all other constituents, i guess a great majority of Catholics are (were?) republicans? btw i also believe atheist are one of the most open minded = intelligent people, but theres more to live than science. I personally appreciate the artistic value of all these pieces.

Here is the video of the casual press conference he held on an airplane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D22-dzp-g5U and also the LUCK charm http://metalmorphosisinc.com/search_results.aspx?Type=QuickSearch&Entry=luck#_top
Hoffy

Knowing that he has a pocket full of superstitious nonsense really makes me feel confident of his presidency, yep real confident………………..