OMFG check this out...I am pissed at this, you probably will be too

[Pierre.Suave]

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1094037&pos=breaking

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is considering legal action against a Georgia tavern owner selling T-shirts depicting presidential candidate Barack Obama as the Curious George monkey character.

In a statement, the Boston publisher, which owns the book rights to Curious George, said today the firm finds the T-shirt “offensive and utterly out of keeping with the values Curious George represents.”

[hippywife]

1. No, I'm not pissed.

They own the copyright to the character and, quite frankly, life's too short and there are many, many other things to set my blood boiling that are of greater importance. :hi:

ETA: Well now that the pic has been posted I do find it offensive but I'm still too mellow tonight to be pissed at the level expressed in the OP.

[Pierre.Suave]

6. I am not pissed about the lawsuit.

I am pissed that someone would be using such a blatant racial slur towards Obama.

I encourage the lawsuit.

[hippywife]

8. Well, yeah...

there is that! Bigotry of all kinds does suck.

[harmonicon]

17. that's what I thought at first

..but I find the picture to be just kind of adorable, so I'm strangely not that angry. I knew that people were dumb enough to try something like that already, but I like that their attempt failed and ended up producing something that brought a smile to my face.

[Dr. Strange]

19. See, that's my problem.

I like Obama. And I (and my kids) like Curious George. So it's kinda hard to get angry.

Of course, if I knew the guy who made the shirt, and what a racist ass he is, that might make it easier.

[harmonicon]

21. yeah

I also like Obama (I highly doubt that anyone on this website actually dislikes the guy - I don't think he's our saviour or anything, but I'd love to have him be our next president), and grew up with Curious George - I loved those books. The utter failure of the racism makes it funny, and I think I can ignore and sort of like the shirt in the way that people like the poorly worded English signs from foreign countries.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

31. You don't think

that anyone on this website actually dislikes Obama? You must not get over to GDP very often. :eyes:

[harmonicon]

44. No, I don't think they do

People follow politics like sports teams, and I think it's sick. I also don't think people actually dislike the quarter back from the football team that is the rival of the team that they support. If people do dislike the guy in any kind of quasi personal way, I think they're on the wrong website.... but anyway, I don't need to bring this debate into the lounge!

[RubyDuby in GA]

47. Some of his other gems from his restaurant sign:

I wish Hillary had married OJ
Hire Americans - Not Criminals. Finish the Fence and Hurry.


What a loser.

[ismnotwasm]

52. He's a sick fuck

I hope that goddam restaurant gets shut down. Am I reading folks seeing a shirt comparing a black man to a monkey and excusing it because of childhood nostalgia? Oh God.

Anyway, I did sent a couple emails about this.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

30. You don't find

depicting a black man as a monkey offensive?

Wow.

:eyes:

[hippywife]

38. Read the further messages

before you judge, k? :eyes:

[bicentennial_baby]

2. Which part are you pissed about?

The suit or the shirt? :)

[Pierre.Suave]

4. the shirt

Clearly the shirt. I encourage the lawsuit.

[bicentennial_baby]

9. Whew! I was worried for a second!

RonnykMarshall had a thread in GDP today about pressuring them to sue. w00t!

:)

[ronnykmarshall]

64. Glad to see they might do it.

I hope our e-mails to them helped.

[KamaAina]

3. We're all pissed -- about the shirt itself

some us were calling for his head yesterday, hood and all.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3278980&mesg_id=3278989

[Pierre.Suave]

5. I did not see that

thanks, I guess once again I am behind the times here on DU.

The guy that is proudly holding that shirt makes me sick. I hope he gets sued right out of business.

[Orrex]

7. Holy shit

At a glance, it's really hard to believe that America is anything other than a cesspit of racism and reality tv voyeurs.

[Wetzelbill]

25. we have an ugly reputation

because people see an idiot like that and they think we're all like that.

[RainDog]

10. sue the shirt off his back

and give the money to a worthy cause

[Lex]

11. It seems like you are pissed about the lawsuit

instead of the offensive shirt.

[Pierre.Suave]

18. You would be wrong...

[QueenOfCalifornia]

34. jasonc

the wording of the OP was/is confusing - :hi:

but it's okay 'cause I knew what cha meant.

[Xipe Totec]

12. I resent the association of Obama with Furious George W. Bush nt

[orleans]

13. i hope they sue the asshole. n/t

[crimsonblue]

14. Come on guys... I think he just got his words mixed up...

he obviously meant "Bush in '04" .. he's just a little slow...

[grannylib]

15. That shirt is disgusting. Besides, it does look much more like

Incurious George than it does the dignified and presidential Barack Obama.

[Critters2]

16. Unbelievable! What century is this?

I hope they sue him for every penny he's worth! And then some!

[Danger Mouse]

20. what racist trash.

[terrya]

22. It's kind of like

Someone posting a pic of the Special Olympics...and laughing about it. And refusing to apologize for it.

[EstimatedProphet]

26. Yeah, it's a lot like that.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

41. .

:thumbsup:

[Sheets of Easter]

50. What kind of a cruel fuckstick would do that??

Oh...

[Pierre.Suave]

53. Oh, I bet you are...

someone elses sock puppet. I wonder who...

[La Lioness Priyanka]

56. just cause you are well-disliked doesnt mean the persons a sock puppet

[Pierre.Suave]

61. ...

[La Lioness Priyanka]

57. just cause you are well-disliked doesnt mean the persons a sock puppet

[Wetzelbill]

23. well, that picture in a nutshell explains how the fuck we got to this place

in our history.

[stuntcat]

24. just when I think my opinion of people can't be any fycking lower

:banghead:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

27. Somebody probably owns the image of Alfred E Newman

Yet his likeness is associated with our current beloved leader. And there's no suit.



But I see what you mean. It's low and racist.

[Coyote_Bandit]

28. Disgusting

I don't care much for Obama. He simply does not represent my interests and priorities. But the hatred and vile behavior of some people toward other people no longer surprises me. If anything, I'm surprised I haven't seen something like this already.

Glad the idot is getting sued....

[La Lioness Priyanka]

29. haven't we mocked george bush as a chimpanzee for years now?

i feel a bit hypocritical getting all up in arms now.

ofcourse the racial stereotyping is unacceptable but i have been calling the president a chimpanzee for years now.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

36. You don't see

the racial slur?

For centuries the black people of the world have been compared to monkeys and apes. This has been done to dehumanize them and to make it acceptable to sell them into slavery.

To compare Bush to an ape is only insulting to the ape.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

37. sometimes not being from this culture, makes me somewhat unaware

of things like this.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

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[BeachBaby]

35. Jason.....

If you had ANY idea how much racism pisses me off, you'd probably want to pay my airfare to send me down there to kick somebody's ass. You know what they say...."Hell hath no fury, like a woman scorned". It's kinda like that.

While I'm thankful that you informed us of this latest racial bias, I can tell you right now - I could feel my blood pressure go up when I saw the picture.

I have no time for racists; and it appals me that in THIS country, which has been a cultural melting pot for centuries, we have to contend with the shallow-mindedness of these morons. It's sickening.

Sorry - getting off the soapbox now. :)

[Pierre.Suave]

42. You AND Skittles can go down there...

and KICK SOME RACIST REDNECK ASS!

[edbermac]

39. Why is everyone so surprised?

This is par for the course for these morans. Believe me, they're just getting warmed up. It will get a LOT worse.

[Zavulon]

40. So let racist jerks be seen for who they are.

This shirt is offensive because it's meant to be. The people intending to offend you, me and Obama are pond scum, but now they're advertising that fact. Fine by me.

Free speech sometimes sucks, but it's better than the alternative. Let assholes be assholes and just move on.

[Pierre.Suave]

43. You do make a good point

that by giving these people attention, we give them what they want.

At least free speech is good at letting the morons identify themselves...:P

Now, get the lawsuit going and sue this jackass right out of business.

[Zavulon]

58. I make no other kind of point.

;) :P

(Thanks, BTW) :)

[BarenakedLady]

45. That's horribly offensive racially.

My love for chimps is well known. I hate that they are used as a racial insult.

[Pierre.Suave]

48. I hate that people feel the need to insult others

because of their race.

[BarenakedLady]

49. Well, yeah

:eyes:

[Pierre.Suave]

51. Jesus Fucking Christ

WTF is the eye roll for?

[Brigid]

46. Yes, I'm mad.

Too bad I'm not surprised that something like this has happened. :(

[Inchworm]

54. Doesn't bother me in the slightest

Once Obama is president he will be the Man. It's just my nature to pick on the Man.

:crazy:

[hiaasenrocks]

55. Not really. Sorry. Got bigger things to worry about than a frigging t-shirt.

[bertha katzenengel]

59. Curious George represents values?

He's a character, fer godsakes. :eyes:

[Bucky]

60. I, too, am insensed at this megacorporation going after some guy making a political statement

Free speech means free speech for people you don't like, too.

[Dogtown]

65. Bucky,

His freedom of speech is not threatened, this is not governmental sanction.

Actually, it's been pointed out in another thread that H-M will probably lose the suit, due to the image's "satiric" use.

I have to concur, but I hope the legal fees bankrupt him.

Time unfairness worked for *our* side.

[eppur_se_muova]

62. I'd like to see a new Hallmark card: "Congratulations! A Black man is your President!"

Mail them out to every racist redneck who manages to get his name in the news for dumb shit like this, postmarked before midnight on 4 November.

[drmeow]

63. I don't know what this says about me

but the racist part never even occurred to me until I read the responses here. My first thought was, "but GW is the one who is like Curious George, not Obama." I never thought about Obama being black - I thought about Obama being competent vs GW being incompetent. Of course, not that my eyes have been opened is is extremely offensive and I do hope that the lawsuit costs him HUGE amounts of money. Unfortunately, he'll probably start a very successful legal fund to fight it/pay for any damages.