Wednesday, May 14, 2008

A Bigot, A Hate Monger or Just a Sad Man


As I savored a yummy chew treat last night, I saw on TV a story I can only describe as disturbing about a strange man in my home state who believes portraying an African American as a monkey is his duty to country. This man -- and I use that term loosely -- is named Mike Norman. He owns a bar in Marietta, Georgia and is selling t-shirts with a picture of the character Curious George with a banana and the words "Obama in '08" under the shirt. He calls the t-shirts a marketing tool and that Mr. Obama had a likeness to the character.

Well, as Dad ranted about the story and the "ignorance" and "bigotry" it showed embedded in our state, I began to think on a positive of the situation. You see, I'm a "glass is half full" rescue pup. Hell, I was days away from gas so I always look at how things can be better. Unlike Mr. Norman, I do not fear a man's color or the way he talks or looks (have you seen Mr. Norman and some of his defenders -- now that's some scary stuff). No, I think "how can we use Mr. Norman’s ‘sadness’ as a positive.” So I thought "the best way to solve this problem of hate is to show that we are above this type of behavior. So, I implore all of those who do not think they have a voice to speak up on Mr. Norman’s actions to send a donation to Obama or Hillary. Would that not be classic! Mr. Norman and his hate-filled defenders having to watch Obama or Hillary as their leader for the next four years -- classic!

At 63 and a southerner, Mr. Norman is a white man who is part of a group who has always had all the power. Well times have changed and the differences in each of us, should and will make us a better country. Mr. Norman, however, does not seem to care about the strength in our diversity. At his age and apparent lack of intellectual “curiosity”, he is unlikely to ever change his views and is stuck in a self-made state of mistrust and ignorance. And what is even sadder is that his children and grandchildren are victims of his ignorant influence.

Yes, I suppose Dad did accurately describe Mr. Norman as a bigot and hate-monger. And other Dad referred to him as a POS (Piece of...). But I could only call him a sad man. He really believes this to be a way to talk about and label another human being. That's sad people. This liberal dog believes a prayer (yes, a liberal who prays) is best for Mr. Norman. So remember this "sad" man in your prayers. And pray he sees the error of his ways. And if we are really lucky, the GOP will ask him to follow Anne Coulter on the stage at this summer's Republican Convention. Good night all!!

4 comments:

James said...

Your comments are on the money.

It is astonishing to me that this white man prints up t-shirts comparing Obama to a monkey and then stands all innocent in front of the TV camera and wonders what all the fuss is about. When the protester (on the video) wanted to talk to him rationally, the white bar owner told him to get off his property. Some of this guy's supporters who posted messages on the channel 11 site can't even spell. I think it is pretty obvious that this is an uneducated bunch of low class morons. The bar owner will now probably get great business off of this, pulling other low class morons to his bar from all over the region to suck down liquor and yuck it up like a bunch of fools. Such is life. The dumb and uneducated will always be around, I suppose. Don't ever let them stop progress.

john b moore said...

Yikes! This is why I have to tell friends I live in "Atlanta" and not Georgia.

BillG said...

Amen, Sister.......

Unknown said...

Arlie, you are a bright, bright rescue dog with a good heart. It just underscores what folks are missing when they don't let a rescue dog into their lives. I am proud to be your fellow liberal.