Cobb bar protested as racist for Obama T-shirts | ajc.com
Marietta tavern owner Mike Norman says the T-shirts he’s peddling, featuring cartoon chimp Curious George peeling a banana, with “Obama in ’08” scrolled underneath, are “cute.” But to a coalition of critics, the shirts are an insulting exploitation of racial stereotypes from generations past.
“It’s time to put an end to this,” said Rich Pellegrino, a Mableton resident and director of the Cobb-Cherokee Immigrant Alliance. It was among the organizations planning to gather outside Mulligan’s Bar and Grill Tuesday afternoon to protest the “racist and highly offensive” shirts. “There’s no place for these views, not in this day and age,” he said.
Just down the street from Marietta’s famous Big Chicken, Mulligan’s has carved a provocative niche in an increasingly multicultural area, thanks to its owner’s ultra-conservative political views. If you live in Marietta, it’s impossible not to know what’s on Norman’s mind, as he posts his views on signs in front of Mulligan’s.
Among his recent musings: “I wish Hillary had married OJ,” “No habla espanol — and never will” and the standard “I.N.S. Agents eat free.”
I believe it was one of Rush Limbaughs’ minions who started this nonsense, so its a case of monkey see monkey do. As tasteless as this is, we still do support free speech, right?
#58–Warden==I tried to listen to Limbaugh once and only lasted about 10 minutes. What a buffoon. You really listen to his show?????
So, I had to admit I didn’t know if Rush was a racist or not. The first entry on my google search indicates racism is not central to his show, he only exploits racial prejudice from time to time. A distinction of the type Rush himself like to overlook in his diatribes?
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2549
Thank god someone knows what the hell they are talking about. That goes out to you Smartalix.
The shirt is racist and its intent is clear. Calling people that belong to a political ideology names is not racist. Calling the president a chimp is not racist. Calling Republicans knuckle draggers is not racist. Those issues are not race related.
Oxford English defines it as a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race. Hey that is kind of like when Mr Mustard said Jews are pushy and have big noses. I guess you only dislike Jews and that racism is OK.
#57 OFTLO,”But I don’t want to bury the insult… I want the brazenly racist to be on display for all the world to look down its nose at.”
I agree with you 100%. I was just offering a cause/solution to eliminate that particular stigma. In the meantime, Mike Norman is an insensitive shithead.
bobbo – If my post was too “vague” for you to comprehend, then you should not have replied. Instead, you put your mouth ahead of your brain, as you have throughout much of this thread.
As for your denial of racism, it’s fairly typical for people to deny racism even after making a blatantly racist assumption such as yours. It’s calling implicit racism and it means you’re too thick to know you’re a racist. Good luck coming to terms with that.
As for staying on topic, my first post expressed my feeling about the topic and I’ll stick with that. Had you simply stated that you disagreed, we might have had a reasonable discussion. Instead, you tossed a senseless accusation and tried to derive some personal characteristics about me from my name. I have to assume that either you are dumb as a post and a racist, or a troll. Which is it, bobbo?
#64 – JimR… Sounds like you and I have a job to do… Let’s go to Mike Norman’s “eatery,” sit down, and not order anything.
61 succinctly explains it
where have you been smartalix
JimR, the implied racism comes does not come from religious beliefs. Your ‘solution’ to have everybody thinking of themselves as apes is equally ignorant. I suppose you think the solution to diffuse the word “nigger” is to just simply state the fact that it’s a variant of the word “negro”. Equating a monkey to a black person is short hand for calling them a savage, an animal, less than human. Which is how black people were treated in America for centuries and some would argue continues today.
Read my lips, people: Humans DO look like apes and monkeys! Often times black people more than others look like apes and monkeys. We are related! They are our cousins. Accusing people who point out this similarity of being “racists” is regressive. When we come to terms with our origins we will have made real progress.
69 i see what you’re saying, but it’s just not realistic to expect everyone see it that way. people like rush limbaugh simply exploit that by playing innocent on the one hand while holding a noose in the other.
There is a anti-Hillary group called “Citizens United Not Timid”. I didn’t see tons of comments on news sites when that one went around. I always thought W looked more simian. Except he would be Incurious George. Hey, really though, why do 90% of black people vote for Obama? Isn’t everyone a bit racist? Or is “positive” racism cool?
67,
I’se been busy, boss, yassuh.
61 Smartalix et al. Let me help you along here. You are right in what you have to say, but you don’t go far enough to be right enough.
In view of the fact that a Black(ish) man may about to be a president of the United States, it is completely uncool to refer to a current president on the opposing team as a monkey. Because it so naturally produces an obvious and unneeded stereotypical & racist backlash by cretins. Similarly, you would not continuously highlight that Clinton is niggardly, be that as she may indeed be.
RBG
#66, OFTLO, Yah! That’ll show him!
73,
RGB,
At least I know you’re not ignorant.
Sadly, being disingenuous looks the same, as you’re the only one who really knows you’re not stupid. Defending idiotic logic like that is a sure way to create the wrong impression in people’s minds as to the level of your intelligence.
I personally think Clinton is a harpie, a dirty player, and a megalomaniac barely restrained by her recognition of reality. “Niggardly” would mean she was cheap, and she is many things, but parsimonious she is not.
You need to find better handles to grab or buttons to push to impress me with your lame-ass arguments. We both know exactly what message is being conveyed here, and to pretend otherwise insults us both. You more than me, though.
Howard Cosell was fired from MNF for saying, “Look at that little monkey go!” And he was not in the least intimating racism, it was just a remark on the running style of Redskins WR Alvin Garrett.
‘[Bar owner] Norman said those offended are “hunting for a reason to be mad” and insisted he is “not a racist.”‘
I can’t imagine what he was thinking, but it looks like no one will give him the benefit of the doubt. Just another looney-tunes trying to make a buck selling T-shirts.
I wouldn’t buy the shirt.
Oh, thanks Alix, for your comment, on target as usual.
>>Hey that is kind of like when Mr Mustard
>>said Jews are pushy and have big noses.
Or when I said that Italians use their hands when they talk.
Oh yeah, I’m a virtual Rush Limbaugh, aren’t I?
75. Smartalix. Oh For The Love Of Mr. Gawd Almighty, Smartalix. You can try better than that. First take some deep breaths.
What does “niggardly” have to do with Hillary Clinton other than being a made-up example to illustrate a point about sensitivity? So you got me there, she’s not. And now I suppose that invalidates my post, huh?
The logic is partly based upon a 600 year old proverb roughly “Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”
Your more important point: “We both know exactly what message is being conveyed here.” Assuming you mean the headline, well, of course we do. All the more reason for my core point about the need for the specific sensitivity I speak (write)of. How in the world can that be difficult to understand or accept? Worse, conveniently manipulated into racism should you instead be referring to my post.
(And here, I’ve honestly just self-censored myself out of sensitivity.)
RBG
Howard Cosell was called a racist for saying look at that little monkey go. It was wrong to call him a racist, and this tavern owner probably isn’t either. This idea of letting people decide what speech is unacceptable to be said about them is getting out of hand.
# 77 Mister Mustard
“Oh yeah, I’m a virtual Rush Limbaugh, aren’t I?”
In a different kind of way Yes! I am glad you are honest with yourself.
Obama does kind of look like Curious George. I think it’s hilarious. I’d vote for Obama if he’d wear one in public.
>> As tasteless as this is, we still do support free speech, right?
Of course. But this kind of speech should have social consequences.
>>I am glad you are honest with yourself.
And I’m sad that you are not, “J”.
#78, RBG,
What does “niggardly” have to do with Hillary Clinton other than being a made-up example to illustrate a point about sensitivity? So you got me there, she’s not. And now I suppose that invalidates my post, huh?
The logic is partly based upon a 600 year old proverb roughly “Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”
Now you have really confused the issue. As you allude, “Niggardly” means miserly. Spending tens of millions of dollars, of her and other’s money, to achieve her goal is not niggardly. That has nothing to do with “making up” (inventing) an incident as proof for an argument. Clinton has enough in the public eye to comment on without making up more shit.
Yes, this is a free speech area. Remember though, your right to swing your arms ends at my nose.
It might not be logical but the right wing nuts do have a penchant to make things up in order to deflect attention and criticism of their own screwed up objectives and predilections.
No, but it does invalidate your example and the comparison. In order for you to continue your line of argument you must provide a more apt comparison so we can discuss this on a level playing field. If you say this chimp t-shirt is to Obama what other criticisms are to Hillary, you must first provide another example as the one you provided sucked.
Now, if you pointed out mysogynistic comments about Hillary I would give you the point. However, there hasn’t been any t-shirt made yet that I have seen showing Clinton as a female stereotype. This t-shirt is in extremely bad taste and alludes to race, not intelligence. (As I pointed out to the cheap seats earlier, there is a difference, and an obvious one.)
#79, Lyin’ MikeN,
Howard Cosell was called a racist for saying look at that little monkey go. It was wrong to call him a racist, and this tavern owner probably isn’t either.
Cosell wasn’t a racist. His “monkey” comment most definitely was taken as a racist comment and his denial that he had even said it (until shown the tape) only added to the umbrage. His later explanations and apologies were unheard. ABC were also aware that they did not need Cosell (and his huge salary) to sell a good product.
On the other hand, the tavern owner proudly and blatantly doesn’t care if this is seen as racist. His insensitivity to others is what sets him apart as a racist.
84, 85. Mr. Gawd Almighty, Smartalix.
It would be so easy for me to chalk this up to my failure to communicate and move on, but I really don’t think this is the case here. I actually believe you folks are so blinded by your faith to liberalism that it may be impossible for you to see the neutral point I am trying to make. Or maybe you’re just yanking my chain, I dunno.
Take Clinton out of it. (Now this is getting painful for me.) My point works on McCain or some mythical presidential contender. No one should be calling them monkeys, or niggardly, or anything else remotely racist or ambiguously suggestive in the context of a Black presidential opponent. Do you understand why? Do I still need to be more clear? Because I’ll keep going if I have to as part of a perceived duty to humanity.
And please don’t answer “define mythical.”
RBG
RBG, start making sense. My eyes are rolling around in my head trying to make sense out of what appears to be nonsense.
The guy who owns the bar is a self-proclaimed “ultra conservative” (i.e., maybe he belongs to the Klan), and he’s pimping a t-shirt with Obama portrayed as a monkey. You know, like the “porch monkeys” that were once popular among participants in lynchings? If you really don’t see the racist nature of this t-shirt, I’m downgrading you to “imbecile” status.
And the whole red herring thing about Hillary being “niggardly” is completely nonsensical. Other than the fact that the word contains “niggar” (snicker, snicker, which might be misinterpreted by those without dictionaries), if there’s a point to be made with that argument, it’s so vanishingly small as to be nonexistent.
#87–RBG==add me to the list. I re-read your posts and the only thing that makes sense to me is not worth the time to read it. Surely you meant more than people shouldn’t call each other names? You did didn’t you????? —what was that deep meaning that escapes the rest of us chimps?
For your further consideration, you say: “It would be so easy for me to chalk this up to my failure to communicate and move on.” /// From the mouth of babes. Your subconscious speaks loud and wise.
# 83 Mister Mustard
“And I’m sad that you are not, “J”.”
I am sorry you are sad but I am very honest with you.
Please do everyone a favor. Stop pretending that you are not a racist. Agreeing that this shirt is offensive and say things like It is OK to call Asians Orientals and Jews are pushy with big noses is very hypocritical. Not all Italians talk with their hands either. As a matter of fact it is common for many different races of people to do that. It has more to do with human expression than race.
# 87 RBG
Dude. You are way off your rocker
“J” -=-=== Pfft. You’ve just dropped off my radar.
Find me an Italian who is insulted by the notion that they talk using their hands, and maybe you’ll have a point.
In the meantime, stop being so pushy.