Obama Skit Roils North Dakota School

Student In Blackface Portrayed Obama In Bawdy Fundraiser At State University

(CBS/AP)  North Dakota State University is investigating complaints about a campus skit in which a white student in blackface portrayed Barack Obama receiving a lap dance.

The same skit, part of a charity fundraiser held at a campus theater, also featured a depiction of cowboys having sex with each other, witnesses told The Forum newspaper, which first reported the backlash Friday.

"We're trying to find out the right approaches for accountability, but at the same time try to heal wounds that have occurred and allow the campus to move ahead," Janna Stoskopf, NDSU's dean of students, told The Associated Press on Friday.

The March 18 skit involving the NDSU Saddle and Sirloin Club was performed at the Mr. NDSU Pageant, which is sponsored by the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and raises money for diabetes research.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the club, a coed group for students interested in agriculture, have publicly apologized for their actions. The sorority, which put on the event but wasn't part of the skit, also apologized.

People who attended it said a pageant contestant from Saddle and Sirloin dressed as a woman from the Internet video "I Got a Crush on Obama" and performed a strip tease for another student, who was wearing dark makeup and an afro wig.

In the background, two male students dressed as cowboys simulated anal sex while holding an Obama sign that one student ripped at the conclusion of the 30-second performance, the Forum reported.

"That seems to be consistent with what's been described to me," Stoskopf said.

The Star Tribune reports that Josh Boschee, NDSU's coordinator of Greek life, said the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators had specifically addressed blackface among college students at its last convention.

"It is pretty typical on college campuses," Boschee told the paper. "The hard part is recognizing that the students that were a part of this, I don't believe were intentionally malicious. But the impact of their actions was malicious. It ended up affecting our community in a not-so-positive way.''

University President Joseph Chapman said the campus will work to ensure such incidents do not occur.

"The students involved have accepted responsibility for their actions and expressed deep remorse," he said in a statement.

"NDSU does not and will not ignore acts of intolerance at our institution or in our community."

The Obama campaign had no comment Friday. Obama is to speak at North Dakota Democrats' state convention in Grand Forks next week.

Josh Reimnitz, who is the NDSU student body president and saw the skit, called it "totally tasteless" and said he and other audience members were shocked.

"Honestly, I still don't know what the intention of the skit was," he said. "It was very silent, and there were some boos. People were looking at each other, not knowing how to act."

Messages left by the AP for Russell Danielson, adviser of the Saddle and Sirloin Club, and Malika Carter, an NDSU assistant director of multicultural student services were not immediately returned.

"It doesn't matter if you're rural. It doesn't matter if you're from Fargo or Beulah, N.D.," said Joy Rice, a black Fargo resident and a member of the city's human relations commission. "You still need to respect people of color, in all aspects of life. This is a form of racism, and it's really taking a step back."

The skit follows a complaint filed against a sorority at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, where guests wore Indian costumes and red paint on their faces and bodies.

"This falls into the same category," Rice said of the NDSU skit. "It's just as bad."

Stoskopf said she expected the investigation could take until May 9, the end of the school year.

"One of the issues here is how do we balance what our policies and expectations about behavior are with the issue of freedom of speech," Stoskopf said. "Where does all of that get us?"

NDSU has 10,403 undergraduates. The student body is 92 percent white, while 1.5 percent identify themselves as black or African-American.

[iceman_1960]

Wonder why Reverend Wright has been so angry for so long ?

[samthetvcat]

--"Josh Reimnitz, who is the NDSU student body president and saw the skit, called it "totally tasteless" and said he and other audience members were shocked. "Honestly, I still don''t know what the intention of the skit was," he said. "It was very silent, and there were some boos. People were looking at each other, not knowing how to act.""--


Okay, obviously the student body President is an upstanding Democrat and the skit performers were George Bush Republicans. I feel bad for all the fine Democrats in ND who now have to have their good names smeared because of the actions of a few Sean Hannitys . . .

[orsand]

When I visited relatives in the Dakota''s about 7 years ago-I was appalled and offended at the racist attitudes of the majority of the people there. And no, this was not just the older generations or the uneducated. This was a large cross section of people who are considered to be respected professionals in the community and the members of a church at a major city. The "N" word rolls off their tongue like it is the 1950''s. If I never travel through those two states again-it will be too soon.

[erichsh]

When I visited relatives in the Dakota''s about 7 years ago-I was appalled and offended at the racist attitudes of the majority of the people there."

Posted by orsand

I have no reason to doubt you. But I do have to wonder if you were equally appalled by Obama''s pastor''s white-hating remarks. Racism cuts both ways.

[l8c6]

In the 1930''s during the great depression tasteless right wing elite useless snotty brats made fun of the plight of many americans on american college campuses hosting events such as "hobo day" where these disgusting useless right wing brats dressed up like the unemployed homeless roaming america during that era.

These same useless antisocial steaming piles of waste have emerged again in the latter days of the right wing Reagan era as america is beginning to unfold from the right wing fascist economic meth orgy that has divided america in a most destructive way.

The assaults on the concept of "political correctness" have only proved to be a desire on the part of republican right wing fascists to "freely" spread their message of hate, division and bigotry.

[erichsh]

I''d add hate and divisivness to that list. I wonder what his idea of the perfect government would be?

[bilbocatuzzi]

Wow finally some actual racism for FoxNews to talk about!
Even Hannity must be getting sick of playing Rev Wright''s sound bites and finding new ways to pretend they are racist.
Thats right, Rev Wright''s comments are not racist. Divisive, paranoid, kooky, unpatriotic, maybe - but nothing Rev Wright has said has suggested any inferiority of, denigrated, nor demeaned any ethnic group in any way.
Gotta love it when folks like O''Reilly and Hannity complain about how unfairly white folks are treated by these supposed "black racists"

[kissamaarse]

There are racists everywhere, operating gleefully from their brain stems. The rest of humanity only wishes they would develop a frontal lobe.

[orsand]

I have no reason to doubt you. But I do have to wonder if you were equally appalled by Obama''''s pastor''''s white-hating remarks. Racism cuts both ways.
Posted by erichsh
------------------------------------------------------

I am sorry but I have a hard time comparing the bigotry and hatred that I saw in the Dakota''s that was based SOLELY on a persons color of skin with the righteous indignation of Rev. Wright. It seems to me that the anger that the pastor was expressing was because of the overt racism that people of color are still facing in the US. To compare the statements of arrogant bigots, who enjoy all the benefits of being in the majority, with the anger and disgust that minorities express when they don''t appreciate being treated like they are "less than" seems like comparing apples and oranges. I''m causcasian and I was so taken aback at the some of the ignorant and illogical i heard to the point where it made me physically ill.To think that people are still stuck in that mindset was nothing short of shocking. I can only imagine what a person of color faces if they try to live or work in those states. God forbid if they are married to a caucasian.
If I had to face that sort of hatred in my life on a daily basis and my home/life/work/relationships were negatively affected simply because of the pigmentation of my skin I think I would be damning the US also.

[getcentered]

Apostacy!! Being Republican has lost all meaning. It%u2019s construct was simplified into talking points which eventually became meaningless. The polarization of our nation began peaking during when Karl Rove was in power. He was able to frame Democrats so simplistically it rang with the base they had formed. It still rings today%u2026%u2026%u2026..the rhetoric is outrageous!!!!

One reason I like Obama so much is that he sets a different tone%u2026%u2026.and he is a Democrat. My own values fall well within the construct of the Democratic Party.

Our problems aren%u2019t just "liberal", they are capitalist and diplomatic, and infrastructure and war and death and terrorists..............remember...... this country is made of Americans, made of people and ideas of all kinds.................over a vast land.

"%u201CGod bless America.%u201D This phrase is used correctly when it conjures an image of God helping people cope with the great losses they have incurred, when it pulls members of the nation together to help and serve one another, and when it asks for the healing of our brokenness that only God can offer. This phrase is used incorrectly when it implies that God should bless our nation at the expense of others, that the United States should enjoy special privilege in the sight of God, or that the lives of Americans are inherently more valuable than the lives of any other people in the world."

[it_oldtimer]

There is very little in this world that I find as ugly, as disgusting, as repulsive, as selfish and as callous as the typical ignorant redneck Republican.

What a reeking slime-pit the entire Republican party has degenerated into.

[ivandrago]

I wasn''t sure if they were Republicans or Hillary supporters.

[sblake63]

Lmao and this made the news? Would have been even more hilarious if the student dressed up as a terrorist. It would have accurately depicted Obama. Keep in mind is full name is Baraq Hussein Obama. Only a nutcase would cast a vote for somebody like that.

[singingrick]

I guess it''s getting hard for Republicans to hide their racist tendencies.

[grammawhamma]

This is in regards to an article under "politics" where the comment section has now been removed. It is titled:

Obama: I might have left church.
(if Pastor Wright hadn''t retired)

Why does it remind me of the title of OJ''s book "If I did it"?

Sorry people I just can''t trust Obama since Rev Wright surfaced.

As for this article...reverse it, and have black kids painted white doing a skit on Bill Clinton and Monica it would have been just as distasteful but probably not termed racist.

[iceman_1960]

Barack Obama promises to return to the wise foreign policy of the Elder Bush.

(I"m not making that up !!)

GREENSBURG, Pa. - Sen. Barack Obama said Friday he would return the country to the more "traditional" foreign policy efforts of past presidents, such as George H.W. Bush, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

[Take note: Bill Clinton was omitted from the list]

At a town hall event at a local high school gymnasium, Obama praised George H.W. Bush - father of the president - for the way he handled the Persian Gulf War: with a large coalition and carefully defined objectives."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080329/ap_on_el_pr/obama_bush

[sevenveils]

What a bunch of stuffed Prudes. What ever happened to free expression and slapstick comedy? If these actors used a Greek theater style mask painted black would that have made the skit more palatable?

[grammawhamma]

Why is this article focusing only on the "black" part of the skit? Why are they not focusing on the "gay" bashing part of the skit? Geez people...there are much bigger problems in this world to worry about...lighten up a little.

[orsand]

I think the movie Fargo was about the best depiction of the people from North Dakota. The results of decades of inbreeding and never traveling more than 50 miles from where they were born and raised. They are raised with a think tank mentality and the rigid expectation to conform and ultimately adopt the illogical and outdated politics of their illiterate parents.

You end up with the totally clueless such as the bloggers "Truth-Hurts, Sevenveils, and GrammaWhamma". Picking their teeth and saying "Golly gee, I just don''t get what all the fuss is about." If their cross eyed blank stares wasn''t so *** funny...it would be scary.

George Bush should run for Governor of North Dakota after he leaves the white house-it''s a match made in Heaven. He speaks their language. Oh wait, that is the state where a nuclear missle was "accidently loaded" on a plane that flew over the US. Must have been missle number #11 and the guy responsible for counting the missles ran out of fingers and toes.

But since "Truth-Hurts, Sevenveils, and GrammaWhamma" don''t see what the "fuss" is about when other people are being made fun of -I''m sure they will get a good laugh over the stereotypes used to make light of them.

[obama8years]

When I visited relatives in the Dakota''''s about 7 years ago-I was appalled and offended at the racist attitudes of the majority of the people there. And no, this was not just the older generations or the uneducated. This was a large cross section of people who are considered to be respected professionals in the community and the members of a church at a major city. The "N" word rolls off their tongue like it is the 1950''''s. If I never travel through those two states again-it will be too soon.
------------------------------------------------
Amzing how the n word rolls off the hip hop community as well

[alicerea1]

Obama should step down

[crater7]

AHHH SHUCKS FOLKS! NO HARM INTENDED HERE. JUST A BUNCH OF TYPICLE WHITE KIDS HAVING SOME FUN. JUST HAVING AN OPEN FORUM ON RACE IN THIS COUNTRY, BRINGING IT OUT OF THE SHADOWS OF OBSCURITY.

GOD "BLESS" AMERICA. NOT " G D AMERICA."

[alicerea1]

This was a skit. Pastor Wright and his flock at the Trinity United Church of Christ was not.

Neither was a rally of 20,000 people held in Chicago last month from the Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan.

Those were not skits. That is something to be talking about.

Educate yourself on the 10 bylaws of Obama''s church and the Nation of Islam.

That is something to be upset about. Not the skit.

[alicerea1]

Obama has deceived most of America by ignoring questions about his family and his religion.
If this information were available at the beginning of the primaries many Americans would have not supported his decptions.
Be grateful that race is an open issue and his own words will end his running for President.

[grammawhamma]

Is Rev Wright''s "God *** America" politically correct? No, it isn''t and I find it very offensive...but no one cares because I am a white person offended by something a black man said.

I do not judge people by race, gender, religion, sexual preferences, or political party etc...I judge them by their character and their actions.
---------
God "BLESS" America

[hdinsight]

Yes, the skit was in very poor taste. Shall we send the kids to Gitmo? If yes, please send JAY LENO to Gitmo as well. His SEXIST jokes against Hillary Clinton have been heard by millions. If yes, please send DAVID LETTERMAN to Gitmo for being AGEIST against McCain. If yes, please send the entire membership of YOUTUBE to Gitmo for allowing all sorts of racist, sexist, ageist and other offensive material to be played all across the world.

BETTER IDEA! Let''s publize the stupidity of a couple of immature kids & use the skit to pump up the Obama machine. Talk about "cherrypicking" -- the media scours the BEHAVIOR of 350 million Americans so they can take ISOLATED INCIDENTS & make it an INTERNATIONAL EVENT. Given the state of the world, this is treason. Go to Gitmo, please!

[orsand]

Alicerea1 -
Don''t you have a sheet to sew into a new hood or don''t you need to run down to the store and get some more lighter fluid for the next cross burning? Because you''re comments seem to suggest that you might be just a teensy weeny bit nutty and more than a little paranoid.

I am guessing that you have formed opinions that have mysteriously transformed themselves into facts simply by them rolling around in your deluded mind. And I am guessing that you don''t want to be confused with the facts that contradict your conclusions/statements (something that an average 3rd grader could have found with simple Google fact checking).

But then maybe you heard God''s spoke with Oral Roberts again? Or is your source the reliable Dobson, Hannity, or the drug induced Limbaugh? They also never met a lie they didn''t like if it created some media crisis and boosted their ratings.

"Be grateful race is an open issue?" Well, as a white woman-I was until I discovered that there are a lot of rocks that are currently overturning and what has been living underneath is crawling out for the sole purpose of preventing any meaningful dialogue between the races by spewing their hatred and prejudice.

[mcvet]

Is Rev Wright''''s "God *** America" politically correct? No, it isn''''t and I find it very offensive...but no one cares because I am a white person offended by something a black man said.

I do not judge people by race, gender, religion, sexual preferences, or political party etc...I judge them by their character and their actions.
---------
God "BLESS" America


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Posted by GrammaWhamma at 06:22 AM : Mar 29, 2008
+ report abuse

You fascist have a very hard dealing with this don''t you? The WEDGE didn''t work, Obama came out and explained his position on Race to the American People and they, like I, understood what he was saying. I know you don''t have much to run on but that''s not the fault of the Senator from Illinois. YOU and your "Party" had 6 years where you controlled everything. It''s no ones fault but your that the only thing you have to show for the entire 6 years is one failed oversight after another... well unless you want to count the emergency session where the fascist called the entire government of the US back so they could attempt to allow a Religious Extremist Leader to impose his will on the family of a Brain Dead Florida Woman. Sieg Heil Bush

[skyk-2009]

Alicerea, you sound awlful desperate here. What is it with you? I heard the Speech Obama gave as did most American''s. Now you can either agree with him or disagree with him but you seem to want to ignore the condition of this nation and the COMPLETE failure of the other party to govern. You want to ignore the fact that McSame wants to change nothing with the economics and not much at all with the policy of this nation in other countries. That''s rediculous and continuing to beat this horse will do you little good. What the students did was WRONG plain and simple. It was wrong in 1964 and it''s wrong today. Those of us who went through those days with the Terror and Hate know all to well how wrong this is and any attempt to make it right is going to fall on deaf ears.

[skyk-2009]

BETTER IDEA! Let''''s publize the stupidity of a couple of immature kids & use the skit to pump up the Obama machine. Talk about "cherrypicking" -- the media scours the BEHAVIOR of 350 million Americans so they can take ISOLATED INCIDENTS & make it an INTERNATIONAL EVENT. Given the state of the world, this is treason. Go to Gitmo, please!


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Posted by hdinsight at 06:25 AM : Mar 29, 2008
+ report abuse

It is embarrassing when people are THIS bigoted! To this small minded person the "Media" went out and look as hard as they could to find this event. They completely ignored or couldn''t understand how it came up and what the purpose of the report was. These are they people who gave us the WORST President in our History. It''s this kind of blindness that allowed them to be hearded into the voting booth by "marriage amendments". This is going to be a very UGLY Election for sure because as the months go by people like this very unintelligent human will get more and more desperate when they find their bigotry and hate NOT working. Very ugly indeed.

[skyk-2009]

Mcvet
As well as being a liar about your service record you are also an a-s-s-h-o-l-e. You still haven;''''t learned that yoiur seig heil is an afront to every American citizen and to every veteran. If your so fond of a Nazi state why don''''t you find one and go live there.


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Posted by ranger1948 at 06:47 AM : Mar 29, 2008
+ report abuse

How is he a LIAR about his service record? That you are very wrong about. I was there at the same time and he IS NOT lying about that record! I spent a year and 26 days with at MAG-13 in Chu Lai, I''ve talked to him, still do almost every night, you are LYING sir plain and simple.. YOU ARE A LIAR!!

[ranger1948]

truth hurts
Don''t speak too soo, it could happen yet.

[ranger1948]

ersand
Haven''t you heard. A black lady on another web site stated that blacks cannot be racists because they are a minority. Since it came from a black lady it must be true.

[grammawhamma]

Well Mcvet: We will see what happens if your Obama becomes president but in meantime I prefer to end my comments with God "BLESS" America instead God "D..m" America or Sieg Heil for that matter.
------
God "BLESS" America

[grammawhamma]

Well Mcvet: We will see what happens if your Obama becomes president but in meantime I prefer to end my comments with God "BLESS" America instead God "D..m" America or Sieg Heil for that matter.
------
God "BLESS" America

[grammawhamma]

Well Mcvet: We will see what happens if your Obama becomes president but in meantime I prefer to end my comments with God "BLESS" America instead God "D..m" America or Sieg Heil for that matter.
------
God "BLESS" America

[ranger1948]

skyk
He stated he served as a ranger in nam in 68 at 20 years of age, thennclaimed he served in Iraq as a ranger. Too much time lapse. When i asked him about it he didn''t answer back just snuck away. The next day he was on another site claiming he was a retired marine sergeant. That is why he is a liar.

[grammawhamma]

sorry for the multiple posts

[ranger1948]

skyk
Did you serve with mcvet anywhere ?

[ranger1948]

skyk
I am familiar with Chu Lai, but what is mag-13 ?

[crater7]

MCVet:

WHAT IS IT IN THE STATEMENT BY GrammWhamma at 06:22, THAT MAKES YOU SO UPSET, AND WHAT PART OF THE STATEMENT DO YOU OBJECT TO?

IS IT THE FACT THAT HE/SHE OBJECTS TO THE RACIST REVERNED''S RANT''S AGAINST AMERICA ?

OR IS IT THE FACT THAT HE/SHE DOSEN''T JUDGE PEOPLE BY RACE, GENDER, SEXUAL PRACTICES, OR POLITICAL PARTY?

WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING THESE BELIEF''S? ISN''T THIS THE SAME BELIEF''S OF MR OBAMA? HE CONDEMNED THE "STATEMENTS" OF THE RACIST PASTOR, REV WRIGHT, AND SUPPORTS THE THEORY THAT PEOPLE SHOULD NOT JUDGE PEOPLE BY RACE, GENDER, SEXUAL PREFERENCES OR POLITICAL PARTIES. RIGHT?

GOD "BLESS" AMERICA. NOT "G D AMERICA."

[mcvet]

Whoa! I seem to have struck a nerve here! You can always tell when you do with bootlickers. They NEVER address the issue you raise but revert back to the most basic vein of Fascism, attacking the messenger. Again I repeat for all you Bootlickers, it is not MY senator''s fault, yes I''m from Illinois, that you have NOTHING to run on. If I''m wrong on that point PLEASE point it out. Now IF I gave any of you fascist the illusion that I care in the least what you in the Reich think about me, let''s clear that up here and now.... I do NOT. The entire world, including the nation of Germany, calls the present day Republican Party and Bush a fascist, and until they change we should salute them the same way the Republican Party in Georgia does each other after a rally... SIEG HIEL!!

[skyk-2009]

skyk
I am familiar with Chu Lai, but what is mag-13 ?


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Posted by ranger1948 at 07:03 AM : Mar 29, 2008
+ report abuse

MAG-13?? You say you are a vet and YOU don''t know what that stands for. NOW I''m questioning YOU actually being honest here. Any grunt knows what that means. Anyone who has been in a fire fight or has needed Close Air Support knows what that means. There are things that EVERY vet who has been there, little things that the general public does not know. Any vet who has served in that Country knows another vet who''s served there. It just sounds like you don''t like what Sarge has to say or his opinions and you want to discredit him. If that''s the case shouldn''t you do it with facts and rebuttal to his position.

[ranger1948]

McVet
If you were a German citizen i would accept that explanation. But you are an American. We fought against the nazi''s and what they stood for. To use their language against other Americans i find offensive. Both as an American and as a vet.

[runningralph]

I always enjoy a good skit. Am I the only one that watches Leno and Letterman? It''s a JOKE, people.

[skyk-2009]

McVet
If you were a German citizen i would accept that explanation. But you are an American. We fought against the nazi''''s and what they stood for. To use their language against other Americans i find offensive. Both as an American and as a vet.


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Posted by ranger1948 at 07:09 AM : Mar 29, 2008
+ report abuse

You COMPLETELY miss the meaning of Sarges position don''t you? Have you ever been to a Klan Rally? I know all to well of what he speaks because in this part of Kentucky it''s all to well know. When they end a rally or when they start one, they will give the Nazi Salute... the SIEG HEIL. They worship Hitler, have pictures of him everywhere. The groups that have supported Bush in the past and still do have very strong ties to this organization and a lot of "Republican" Rallies out in the country side of Georgia and Alabama end the same way as Klan Rally''s do. The Southern Poverty Law Center has documented the Nazi influence very well if you care to follow up with them.

[ranger1948]

skyk
I did use facts. I also was not a grunt. I was assigned to MACV/SOG. I WENT ON MISSIONS WITH WATER, AMMO AND WEAPONS FOR THE MOST PART. I NEVER WORKED WITH THE INFANTRY. THE HEAVIEST EQUIPMENT WE CARRIED WASM A RADIO AND WE ONLY USED IT IF WE NEEDED IMMEDIATE EXTRACTION.

[skyk-2009]

skyk
I did use facts. I also was not a grunt. I was assigned to MACV/SOG. I WENT ON MISSIONS WITH WATER, AMMO AND WEAPONS FOR THE MOST PART. I NEVER WORKED WITH THE INFANTRY. THE HEAVIEST EQUIPMENT WE CARRIED WASM A RADIO AND WE ONLY USED IT IF WE NEEDED IMMEDIATE EXTRACTION.


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Posted by ranger1948 at 07:14 AM : Mar 29, 2008
+ report abuse

Well now that''s the point isn''t it? Sarge not only knew that it stood for Marine Air Group - 13, he knew the insignia''s on the F-4''s we flew. ONLY a grunt would know those things now wouldn''t they?

[ranger1948]

SKYK
i HAVE NEVER BEEN TO A KKK RALLY. bUT I STILL SAY USING THIS LANGUAGE I FIND OFFENSIVE AS AN aMERICAN AND AS A VETERAN. i KNOW THOSE WHO FOUGHT IN WORLD WAR ii WOULD ALSO.

[slim1h2o]

I think someone needs to get over themselves. Censoring these college kids is the 1st step,,pretty soon,, we won''t be able to say ***= S E X,, on CBSnews.

What''s this country coming to. We have people fighting over a silly little skit, yet we can''t seem to come to grips about immigration,,the economy,,etc, , etc.

Get over it people.