I knew it was coming. I am only surprised that it has taken this long before they’ve stepped out of the shadows. I suspect it will only get uglier as we approach November.
Mulligan’s is a well known local tavern in Marietta, Georgia and is owned by a good ole boy, Mike Norman. He’s known for displaying his ultra conservative views the establishment’s signage like suggesting Hilary Clinton should have married O.J. Well good ole Mike is now selling “Obama 08” t-shirts with a picture of Curious George.
Yessiree Bob!! You got it!! CURIOUS DAYUM GEORGE! Racist, you say? Not good ole boy Mike Norman. Mr Norman believes it’s okay to associate a black man with the caricature of a monkey. I suppose he thinks it’s okay to call any black person a porch monkey and we not be offended.
Norman said those offended are “hunting for a reason to be mad” and insisted he is “not a racist.”
Why picture Obama as Curious George? “Look at him . . . the hairline, the ears, he looks just like Curious George,” Norman said.
He said it’s just a coincidence that the character he chose for the T-shirt is a monkey. Norman said proceeds raised from sales of the T-shirts will be donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. [Source]
Several local groups are planning to protest in front of Mulligans today, including The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Nation of Islam and the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.
What are your thoughts? Is this racist? Or…are we being “too sensitive” just “hunting for a reason to be mad“?
I Am Chocl8t 
Wowwwwwwwww… that is EXTRA!
Oh. My. God. There are no words for that.
Although, I bet the Curious George lawyers would be mighty interested to know how their tradmarked, copyrighted character is being used. I’m just sayin.’
Wait, I thought Randall took back the term “Porch Monkey” in Clerks 2?
Just kidding. This guy’s an idiot. If any politician looks like Curious George, it’s George W. Bush. Look at those ears!
No way are you too sensitive. I think it’s outrageous. I live four miles from Marietta, in East Cobb. I often feel like an outsider in my own community because of these attitudes. Cobb County has been the laughing stock of the rest of metro Atlanta for many reasons, most having to do with narrow-minded bigotry.
I am a white woman who voted for Barak. I am insulted and disgusted by this T-shirt– I’m really glad you called it to my attention.
I object to Mike Norman’s antics being described as conservative – as if being a bigot makes you a conservative or vice versa. He is a bigot, though, and an ultra idiot.
Yet no one said anything when George W was compared to a chimp for the last 8 years. Only white people can be made fun of, it appears.
Can we make fun of his Muslim name?
Can we make fun of his pissed off wife and pastor?
Can we make fun of his elitism, anti-white feelings, anti-gun views, and total lack of connection with middle America?
Frankly, can we criticize the new Messiah at all without being called racist?
How about this: I think he’s an unpatriotic, anti-gun, anti-white leftist asshole who will do a crummy job as president. Is that allowed?
I’m not looking forward to watching this sick underbelly of racism start sliding out from the good ole boy network… makes me want to scream… maybe i will….
ROACH – Sounds like the angry white man needs a hug.
BWWAAAA HAAA HAAAA!!!
I love how people never take responsibility for what they do, and just blame others for being insensitive:
“What did I say that’s rude or offensive? *You’re* the person with the problem!”
*sigh*
I am so offended by what I’m reading here! Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I’m poised to put them out of business! (I’m a white guy if that matters)
Oh, and ROACH….A Hit Dog Will Holler!! 😉
Certainly there are still idiots around of all colors and political stripes. I do think however that ignoring the idiot would be more effective. He’s getting exactly what he wants out of the deal–media coverage, exposure for his business, and personal gratification. Rather than calling attention to him he should be ostracized by the community. Sure, he’ll get a few who agree with him to eat there, but most would avoid him. Without the publicity, he’d be seeing the results of his actions in terms of lost dollars, which I’ll bet is probably more important to him than a warped political statement.
George W. Bush is an idiot. Monkey’s are idiots. Barack Obama got into Harvard as a non-legacy and he taught Constitutional law at the University of Chicago law school. How did people get the idea that he’s elitist? Just because he’s smart? He has a way of calming people down whereas G.W. Bush gets them all fired up relying on stereotypes and boogeymen. Obama is an adult. We need an adult as president after 8 years of romper room. The T-shirt is stupid.
Cartoons here: http://spinachflame.wordpress.com/
@ Paul – I agree with your statement but sometimes you just have to call some people to the carpet for their ignorance.
This guy is a mental snake (I wanted to write midget, but that sounds politically incorrect), (Sheesh, I can’t even try to cut this ignorant creep). What an idiot! Oh, and yes, he is a racist even if he doesn’t know what one is. jen P.S. chol8t, thanks for your comment… I needed that.
I believe this is very inappropriate. I am not an Obama supporter, but there is no place for this kind of stuff.
I will however comment on your previous post by Jim Moyer here. I think the Jeremiah Wright situation should be handled with as much wisdom as you have used in bringing up this issue. I personally think Jeremiah Wright’s comments, words, and church policies are as racial and anti-American as Mike Norman is. Everyone keeps saying that they have taken the comments out of context, but none of those who are using that defense have listened to the entire sermons, which is available to purchase through the church.
Their church policies such as a commitment to the “Black Value System” is alarming to me, for which they have removed from the website once it was brought out in the public. Why not a commitment to the “Bible Value System?” If all men are to be treated equal then we should stop dividing it amongst racial lines “White Value System”…”Black Value System”…”Hispanic Value System.” Why not a “People Value System?” Isn’t that we are?
I saw a bumper sticker today that said, “Stop the Killing!” “black against black crime.” – I would like to see killing ended amongst “White against black crime…black against white…any color against any color…” So I think in your correct response to Mike Norman, a fair assessment on Jeremiah Wright is appropriate as well. Jim Moyer did not do so, he is a liberal biased reporter, who misled through many statements that have public documentation verifying his inaccuracy, such as the statements about McCain seeking out an endorsement from Pastor Hagee…McCain did not seek out that endorsement, as well, McCain did not sit under Hagee’;s preaching for over 20 years.
There is a problem when Oprah left the church because of the “hate” messages of Wright. Apparently she got it right, but people still refuse to see or accept the truth. Just my two cents. Great Post!
when one has nothing to say about the other then they make this kind of racist statements . It is a shame that a man is attacked by his color .
I feel Paul too. Yes the shirt is rather childish. I just think that nowaday people like the Mulligans guy do it more for attention and publicity than actually making a meaningful statement. I grew up in Alabama as the only black at my catholic grade school. But, when I went home there was only one white family in my neighborhood. I guess my skin is thick know that I am thirty and have heard or dealt with every insult you could imagine. I just can’t wait till Barak wins. I love how upset it makes Hannity and O’Reilly (and Mulligan)… HAAAAAAAA!
come on people, he’s the first black man to run for president. How is that statement not racist? Why does that fact need to be pointed out except that we acknowledge that there is a difference between blacks and whites. (and there is no difference between white and white.)
We have been expecting somewhat racist ideas the whole time.
Also, i have to agree with Roach, if we did it to Bush than not to do the same to Obama would be racism. in two ways really:
One, saying that blacks are better than whites.
Two, saying that Obama can’t handle it, because he is black.
I think that Obama will be big enough to not worry so much about some back hill liquor store owner.
So Hillary should have married O.J. huh. O.J. would have been a better man for it. Our country would be lucky and I would be honored to call Obama my President. No T-shirt will ever change my opinion about that! I fell sorry for people like the bar’s owner, what was his name, something insignificant wasn’t it?
@ NCARNES…You’re two cents are welcome anytime!! 🙂
Now, here is my extra nickel….LOL
Rev Wright’s comments were racist and comes from deep seated anger.
Do I understand the anger? YES. Why? I was raised by parents who grew up under Jim Crowe and when they turned 18 it wasn’t legal for neither my mother, nor father to vote. My father served in the military during the Korean War but still was treated not even as a 2nd class citizen. I understand from whence the anger comes.
Do I condone him preaching it from the pulpit? NO.
Would I have remained in his congregation? NO.
Are white preachers who espouse equally hateful messages persecuted to the degree to which Rev Wright was? Again, NO. The double standard cannot be ignored.
Again, thanks for stopping by and don’t be a stranger!! 🙂
Unfortunatley the protests are going to give him and his establishment more publicity. It will boost his clientele and sale of the shirts. If he doesn’t have a website, he soon will then he will sell the Tees online. I think if they would have ignored him, he and his shirts would have faded away into obscurity where they belong. Now, I’m not so sure.
My blog – Midnight Ramblings
chocl8t…
I totally agree. White or Black, such preaching (or ranting) in my opinion is a prostitution of the pulpit and the position.
Keep the pulpit preserved for preaching about Jesus, and share opinions elsewhere. I’ll definately visit the blog again! 🙂
There is no way to avoid the racist undertones of that image.
I have been hearing what Rev. Wright said in Hip-Hop for 20 years (Chuck D, X Clan, et al.). It is nothing new, and if you look closely at the full context of the statements, instead of the sound bites we have been spoon-fed, you will see that what he said was not racist or vile. He was merely expressing what many people feel.
Mike Huckabee defended Reverend Wright, for Jah’s sakes!
rocketrefund–
Sorry, but it is a historical fact that Obama is the first black with a legit shot at becoming president. That cannot be ignored and referring to him as the first to run with a realistic chance of being elected (he isn’t the first black to run–there were several prior to Obama from both the left and the right) isn’t a racist statement, its a statement of fact.
Focusing on his skin color is as short-sighted as focusing on Clinton’s gender or McCain’s skin color. Rather than looking at the outside, people should be considering his political policies. I will not be voting for him but not because of the color of his skin. There are many blacks, whites, Hispanics, and others that I’d be happy to vote for.
I won’t be voting for him because of his policies. If you vote for him because of his policies, that’s great as far as I’m concerned. IF you vote against him because of his policies, that’s great too. If you vote for or against him based on his skin color, you’ve got some issues to deal with. We’re voting for the president, not a skin color.
And as far as portraying Bush as a monkey, that was out of order and in poor taste. Those acts don’t justify other improper acts. One of the things our society is losing all too quickly is civility. Just because I disagree with him or anyone else doesn’t mean I’m justified acting like a jerk.
The media is being political correct by saying that Obama can’t get the rural poor working white vote since that is just code for they are racists. There is a certain segment of the population that will just not vote for a black man no matter what and we need to open this up to more discussion if this nation wants to move on from it’s past.
Mr. Roach said…
“How about this: I think he’s an unpatriotic, anti-gun, anti-white leftist asshole who will do a crummy job as president. Is that allowed?”
It is allowed but besides maybe the anti-gun (pro-gun regulation) part that statement would be untrue. Now me calling you a ignorant and idiot of a bigot would have more truth to it.
You need to know the difference between criticism and criticism with racist overtones.
ncarnes said…
“Why not a commitment to the “Bible Value System?””
You need to read your Bible more since there are many values taught in it’s pages that are incompatible with anybody’s value system. The Bible seems to sanction slavery and even Jesus himself was silent on it. Scripture was even used to justify slavery pre-Civil War era.
“…such as the statements about McCain seeking out an endorsement from Pastor Hagee…McCain did not seek out that endorsement”
Sorry, try again. McCain did seek out the endorsement of Hagee for over a year just like most of the other Republican candidates.
Is it racist? Of course, it is.
But did you know that Abraham Lincoln was portrayed as a monkey with a stove-pipe hat in political cartoons of his day? He was.
So, Obama is in pretty good company on this one.
@ MJ “revoltinpawn” I believe I know the scriptures pretty well. Where was Jesus silent on slavery? Where was he confronted with slavery or asked? He summed up the commandments into two, and it is pretty evident he would be against slavery.
Greatest Commandment as given by Jesus, “Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind.”
Second Commandment, equal to the first, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
You cannot love your neighbor if you have them as your slave. Maybe it is you who should examine the scriptures more. The Bible only speaks of slavery in the Old Testament, many times with Israel, and it was usually due to their disobedience and failure to follow God. This was done away with in the New Testament and you see it no more. The law was done away with and Grace was given to all men.
Just because men misquoted and misused scripture does not make it wrong and irrelevant. That is my problem with Mr. Wright. There are many things he used the Bible for to defend his personal views and opinions and he was wrong, the same goes for those who used scripture to defend slavery.
As for McCain seeking out the endorsement of Hagee, he did not seek it out as was portrayed in the video. Yes, every candidate seeks endorsements especially from large religious groups, just as they have all asked for the endorsement of the Southern Baptist Convention, whether they are Baptist or not. He accepted it the endorsement, but as I pointed out in my initial comment, he did not sit under Hagee’s preaching for over 20 years either. I don’t believe Obama agrees with everyone that he has been endorsed by, but the difference to me is the fact that he was influenced by Wright for over 20 years. To me, there is more than an endorsement there, there is influence. Regardless, that situation is slightly different than this one. Mike Norman is not influencing McCain, Clinton, or Obama, he is just spewing hate and ignorance, which is wrong from any standpoint. Whether it was towards Obama or any of the white candidates.
I just sent an email to Houghton Mifflin publishing company, who owns the Curious George trademark. If you want to write them, the address is: trade_permissions@hmco.com
I really hope they sue that bar owner for damages. (Working in the legal field, I know they probably won’t – they’ll just send a cease-and-desist letter – but a girl can dream. I’d love to see that jerk put out of business.)
Apparently, black skin is thin skin.
Yep, lots of people looking for reasons to be offended. Get over yourselves and get a life. There is no Constitutional right to not be offended.
OMG get over it. it’s just a joke. yall have nothing better to do than complain.
I am Big Time anti Obama. I think he would do terrible damage to this country.
That said – Mike Norman is an idiot. He is part of the minority vestige of ignorant assholes in this country. He does nothing but legitimize the racist rebuttal of the Left and damages the quest of conservative and libertarian populus.
He has tried to legitimize his view by exclaiming self deprocation of his fat fuck, Nascar, tractor pull lovin’ redneck status. That does not change the fact that he is saying that Obama is a monkey.
Geez Mike – you really missed a great opportunity to have a turbin on the head of Curious George. Oh! I probably gave you a great idea.
What a dumbass.
Skin color is not the issue. Obama’s past and character are.
Check out the Jeff Rense interview of Reverend Manning.
uhm, in the bay area that guy selling those shirts would get sh*t kicked out of him. actually, he’d be happy to get the sh*t kicked out of him, cause that means he didn’t just get shot instead.
disgusting.
Hey peeps… 8 years of GW Bush caricatures, and Obama’s supporters expect that their Messiah will escape unscathed by virtue of the Arcane Shield of Politically Correct Ethnicity?
Bush monkey art… As required college project
keep up the good work mulligans where can i get a shirt
Unbelievable….
ncarnes…
You don’t find it odd given that slavery was common in Jesus day that he did not address it directly? Someone had to to bring up the subject of slavery for him to comment on it? I guess it was just not that important to him. Not that it matters since the Bible is just one of many ancient books claiming to be the word of God and this is off topic anyway.
No idea what video you are taking about but it is common knowledge that McCain was seeking the endorsement of Hagee. In a NY Times magazine interview Hagee himself acknowledged that McCain had sought his endorsement.
“…but the difference to me is the fact that he was influenced by Wright for over 20 years.”
If you had read either of Obama’s books or have heard him speak there is no doubt that he is nothing like the Rev. Wright.
matt said…
“I am Big Time anti Obama. I think he would do terrible damage to this country.”
What are these terrible things that Obama would do to this country? I assume you had predicted the terrible things that Bush has done to this country prior to his election?
This is way over the edge, but in a free society we should not and cannot silence peoples voices. I think alot of people are over the edge. If it is acceptable to some who are we to stifle free speech. If the owner of the CG copyright wants to take action — that’s a legal issue and would take precidence over free speech…but nobody should be pressured to keep their mouth shut about any of their views. This is called TOLERANCE.
: shrugs : Youre a better perosn than me Choc… I’d have deleted all these shyt talking bytches.
rather disgusted actually.
I can’t believe this guy made CNN.com’s homepage with his ridiculous T-shirts. Wow, you’d think people would shun that kind of crap. The south scares me.
Cartoons here: http://spinachflame.wordpress.com/
Keep doing great work Chocl8t…it’s wonderful to see how your blog community has grown by leaps and bounds.
Mo’Kelly
Mo’Kelly, coming from you…that means more than you know!! Thanks for the encouraging words!!
For all you undercover racists’ and colon cowboys (especially u roach) I’m gonna say what the host won’t say because she’s too much of a lady..”SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GO DRY CLEAN UR SHEETS U REDNECK COUSIN FUCKER” Thank you in advance.
yeah.. id love to see someone brave enough to wear that shirt on the other side of town… Go ahead if you’re bad. Go ahead with your freedom of speech…
…. you’ll find out quick, Freedom of speech can also grant Freedom to get your ass kicked
OH.MY.DAYUM….I love my brothas!!
:RAWRRRR:
I’d love for some of these fools to come over to http://www.ohellnawlblog.com. Doubt they could handle it though. Choc is apparently a saint. lol
My honest opinion – people are too sensitive about this. People are too sensitive PERIOD these days – on both sides of the fense. I understand completely why people are offended, but dayum, there are bigger and better things to be concerned about than some random nobody making t-shirts with cartoon characters. Racist or not, wtf does it matter? Yes. I think sometimes we ARE just looking for reasons to be mad. Including those folks who are mad that people are mad.
Well Im mad about folks being mad about folks being mad at mad ass folks.
Thanks for posting this, now let’s get into the nitty gritty. First of all I am tired of all these closeted racists always claiming we should be quiet and not get upset when stuff like this occurs. I’ll have more respect for someone who says they hate my guts to my face then some of these “fake the move” folk who do some of the most subtle racist !@#$ behind your back and then smile in your face.
As a brother who was and still is offended by the vogue cover feature Lebron in an angry gorilla like pose I too find this t-shirt and it connection to Obama to be just as, if not more then offensive. People who don’t know or read about our history in this country will not understand why any association of blacks to monkeys is HIGHLY offensive. At the turn of the last century this is how they tried to prove our inferiority to THEIR superiority by saying our brains and mannerism were similar to monkeys. I take a high offense to any reference of my brothers and sister being referred to as animals of any kind let alone monkeys.
Please don’t let me catch a case with some ignorant fool who wishes to wear such rubbish.
Whew! I think I said enough…thanks for the post.
Nice blog. Thats all.
nice, where can i order one?
James Frederick Fayard III (his 7th great-grandmother is African-American) and Laurence Herman “Gus” Versluis (his 9th great-grandmother is African-American) are black men with white skin are rolling over there graves due to offensive nature to people of African descent.