Here we go again. “A Monkey, Obama. Is there a difference?” is the question a road sign in Paulding County, Georgia, is asking. The sign that draws the comparison between presidential candidate Barack Obama and a monkey is also drawing a lot of complaints from residents. Here’s a link to that video. A family who saw the sign while heading to a bike ride on the Silver Comet Trail told Channel 2 the sign is offensive and should be removed. But the man who put it up said he has no intention of doing that.
A woman going on a bike ride said she found a sign that says, “A monkey. A Obama. Is there a difference,” hateful and disturbing. “Just shocked. Just shocked basically, saddened by it,” said the woman who did not want to be identified.
So, who is the genius who did this? Patrick Lanzo, the owner of the Georgia Peach Oyster Bar, put up the message on his sign. He said he has no regrets or apologies. “They’re still entitled to put their own sign up. I mean, if it offends them, fine, but in the United States we still have free speech and it’s the only thing that hasn’t been taken from us,” said Lanzo.
Channel 2’s Tom Regan asked Lanzo if he was racist and he said he wasn’t. He did say he allowed the Ku Klux Klan to use the property behind his bar for rallies but added that a gay rights group was also invited on one occasion. I rest my case!
Lanzo had a framed photo of a sign he posted about the Michael Jackson acquittal – which used the “N” word. That sign drew protests from the NAACP and unsuccessful demands for authorities to have it taken down. “I believe in your right and my right or anybody else’s right to say what they want without being criticized as being a racist,” said Lanzo.
It is really shameful that people resort to such distasteful and really ignorant behavior just to prove a point. It is okay if you don’t like Barack Obama or even vote for him, but why is he continually denigrated because of the color of his skin? The sad reality is that many of the racists who spew this hatred can never dare to walk in this man’s shoes, let alone hold a lucid conversation with anyone.
Filed under: Barack Obama, Georgia Peach Oyster Bar, Michael Jackson, Patrick Lanzo
Black Political Thought 