Journal Sentinel Columnist McIlheran: African American Comparison to Monkey Not Racist! Just “Provacative”
Go and listen to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s conservative columnist try to explain away why it’s “just being provocative” when a racist idiot sells a t-shirt with a picture of the “Curious George” monkey with “Obama in 08″ beneath it. 
The sad thing is that as the race for President moves on we’re going to be seeing a lot more of this subversive racism popping it’s ugly head up because certain people in this Country just can’t stand the thought of a black person as President. They’re uncomfortable with that possibility, which is why they’re bigots and racists…
What’s really starting to become troubling is the constant drumbeat of those on the right, like McIlheran, who try in vain to explain this behavior away as anything other than what it really is. It’s not “rude” and it’s definitely not “provocative”.
It’s racist. So stop defending racists.
Just when I don’t think I can become any more offended by the Journal Sentinel allowing McIlheran to keep his job, he goes and spouts off nonsense like this again.
It’s insulting and embarassing to Milwaukee that this person gets to use the State’s largest paper as a platfom to proclaim his tolerance of racists.
I want to start off with a couple caveats; 1) I believe this shirt is inappropriate, stupid, and worst of all racist, 2) I really don’t believe that McIlheran is defending racism or this shirt in particular.
Saying that, I also believe that the J/S is an equal opportunity hirer of offensive and insulting writers. So to point McIlheran’s comments and not the likes of Eugene Kane is somewhat disingenuous.
Well, being “insulting” or “offensive” would certainly qualify as provocative. And to be frank, I have no problem with such activity. People can hurl insults or speak harshly all they want and I could care less – as long as it’s not based in inherent or physical traits over which one has no control, like one’s race or gender.
Which is why the monkey thing is completely different, and the links provided in McIlheran’s article as examples of similar comparisons by Bush detractors ignore the incredible social significance of the context in play here. He acknowledges the usage of “monkey” as a racial slur, yet his links seem to be an effort to immediately side step said acknowledgment. I don’t get what he’s trying to accomplish by doing so, and he kinda undermines his own implied sincerity by doing it.