From the Left: A Barnes and Noble bookstore in Coral Gables, FL recently came under fire for a window display featuring various book titles with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michell Obama. Prominently featured in the center of the window display was a book on monkeys.The implication is clear and clearly intentional.
After the ensuing outrage, Barnes and Noble issued a mea culpa claiming their hands were clean. They blamed a nameless, anonymous customer for adding the book on monkeys to the window display without their knowledge.
This episode is just the latest in a string of vicious, racist attacks on Mr. Obama and his wife. The Rupert Murdock owned NY Post got in hot water over a cartoon featuring a chimp being shot by police under the headline “stimulus package.” This was followed by the disclosure the mayor of Los Alamitos, CA had distributed a cartoon showing the White House lawn covered in brilliant green watermelons.
Sorry folks, but I’m just not feeling this post-racial America thing now that we have an African American president. If anything, the signs and images of racism have increased. It’s as if the election of Barack Obama has given every racist clown Carte Blanche to crawl out from under their rocks and don their Klan robes. Racism in America is alive and well, and sadly, even the election of our first Black president has failed to tamp it down.
LSB: While I am somewhat inclined to believe B&N (Why would a major corporation act so irresponsibly? Oops, think Wall Street and banking industry), this was more likely an employee acting alone, and not a customer. (How would a customer get access to this display? Aren't they usually behind their sales counters?) Whatever, the point that racism is still rampant in America is a sad commentary on how far we have yet to go as a civilized nation.
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