Cobb bar protested as racist for Obama T-shirts

T-shirts sold by Mulligan's Food & Spirits show the character Curious George above Barack Obama's name.

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 gathering outside of 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'm saying out loud what everyone in this town whispers," Norman said.

Whatever residents think of the signs, organized opposition to his blunt commentaries — ongoing for 16 years — had been nonexistent. No longer, says Pellegrino, who, though familiar with Norman's politics, said he was still surprised by the stark imagery of the Obama T-shirts.

"There's a lot of people hurt by this," he said.

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.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Nation of Islam and the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials were among the organizations represented at Tuesday's rally.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/05/13/mulligans_0514.html

that showing an African American as a monkey is racist. He KNOWS.

he's appealing to an unfortunate segment of society that thinks "macaca" and other dogwhistles are "cute".

:eyes:

honestly, I just throw up my hands anymore.

Someone needs to call the health department and ask them to inspect that establishment. My daughter is a chef and there is nothing restaurants hate more than a health inspection, even if they aren't violating any health laws. The water temperature is measured in every faucet, the temperature is taken in every area of the refrigerator, cotton swabs are used to take bacteria samples from almost every surface in the place. The entire business has to be completely shut down for an inspection. And then there is the question everyone is asking: "Why was an inspection performed there? I wonder if someone got sick...."

:thumbsup:

From The Georgia Alliance Media Library:

Some have objected to Curious George for another reason. They perceive it as a racist tale. "Earnest literary types have interpreted the first book as a barely disguised slave narrative" (Miller 3). They have interpreted the man with the yellow hat as a European colonist or poacher that kidnaps helpless George (with human-like characteristics) from his home in the African jungle and ships him to America . The yellow man’s outfit is seen as the outfit that a colonial officer would have worn. George’s brown color and lack of tail are seen as further evidence of this as a slave narrative. Once in the city, George is constantly in trouble, when left by himself, and ends up behind bars (the zoo) with the other uncivilized creatures. Those that interpret the story as a thinly disguised symbolic slave account have also objected to the release of Ron Howard’s movie, Curious George, during Black History month in February.

I had not heard that before. :hi:

ok, that is the funniest thing i've read all day.

the curious george books DO promote socialism though.

Good circumstantial evidence, IMO.

Of course the authors themselves were holocaust survivors, and I doubt they had any interest in racist propaganda. And they started writing it while still in Paris, with little exposure to African Americans.

So I think the theory's bunk.

oh wait...there isn't any.

just Obama. He will use whatever passive-aggressive tactics he can to make his stupid little statements against dems. As for your comment about Hillary supporters not being outraged, that is just pure foolishness. Nobody approves of his behavior.

I know the area where this place is and it is actually in a diverse, eclectic city. This isn't some little backward place at all. I'm glad they are protesting his establishment. I wonder why I never heard anything about protests prior to now. According to the article, he has also posted signs wishing Hillary was dead and putting down spanish-speaking people. I am "shocked" about the lack of response from fellow democrats when he had those signs up... I guess he finally went too far when he turned his nastiness onto Obama and the AA community. His signs wishing Hillary was dead were apparently ignored or nobody cared enough to say anything. We're so used to that type of sentiment, that people probably barely batted an eye. IMO, this story makes it clear that people are more accepting of sexism. Regardless, I hope they shut that creep down.

and my apologies for my broad brush remarks.

how a proprietor of a public establishment could make a profit by totally insulting all of the blacks (50% of the population) and at least 75% of the whites. That only leaves less that 20% of the population to patronize his place.

I thought this country was better than it apparently is. This is damned offensive to Obama, his supporters and every person of color.

the bar owner to go out of business. He has gone over the line.

statement.

..that these bigots and their images have no power over me.