And just when you think this once great nation couldn't get any more stupid...well...
The guy in the Obama mask is rodeo clown Tuffy Gessling. Okay, instantly, I'm intrigued. Except for the beagle dog that lived in our household for a glorious eighteen years, I never knew anybody else with the name Tuffy. Nevertheless, take a good look at him in this photo. You will probably never see him again.
This all happened at the Missouri State Fair. There was some sort of hayseed event where the crowd was asked a simple question.
"Who wants to see Obama get run over by a bull?"
There was a wild cry of "yes" by a bunch of folks who may have just seen how much their health care premiums will go up in 2014. I assume at that point that Tuffy the rodeo clown did his time-tested act and then the fair moved on to hog calling or steer wrestling or whatever else they do in Missouri for fun during the summer.
But, naturally, in 2013 America, nobody lets this end there. Tuffy is now out of a job and learning how high COBRA payments can get. Officials at the Missouri State Fair are resigning fast than you can swallow a deep-fried turkey leg and there is hand wringing all over the place.
How can you make a mockery of President Obama like this?
WHAT????
The words "here we go again" come in mind. In a land that boasts freedom and liberty, we are seeing each day our country feature less and less of those two qualities.
Admittedly, the Obama/bull gag is a stupid idea. I've never seen a rodeo clown perform before. I likely will never see a rodeo clown perform in the future. And the odds that I will actually ever set foot in the state of Missouri are probably a million to one. But, I certainly understand the rights of my fellow Americans who enjoy this type of entertainment. If this is what floats your boat, by all means, set sail. From what I have been told, Presidential masks have been used by rodeo clowns for years going back to Tricky Dick Nixon.
There is something more sinister at work here, though. It's yet another sterling example of the humor police at work. Nothing has killed this country more than political correctness. And those who decide what is offensive and what isn't.
Presidential humor has been a hallmark of our democracy. Go back over the 20th Century and see how it has always existed. Think about entertainers like Bob Hope and Johnny Carson. A major part of their monologues always involved poking fun at whoever was living in the White House at the time. Hope and Carson were equal opportunity offenders. Whether the Pennsylvania Avenue occupant was Democrat or Republican, they got playfully skewered by the comics.
So, I think about Bob Hope and Johnny Carson and wonder how they would manage today. Would this President be off limits just because he happens to be.....somebody with skinny legs? Well, not that. You know what I mean. I don't dare say it here. I don't want to have my income tax audited for the past five years.
But, this President is sacred apparently and for no good reason. I mean, let's face the fact. He was elected to the highest land by a majority not once, but twice. And this monumental accomplishment was achieved despite the fact that Obama is...somebody with skinny legs.
He is revered and idolized. A single word against him prompts charges of racism. And those folks who took issue with some two-bit rodeo clown are the ones here who should be in question.
Of course, when anything of this ilk pops into our moral lexicon, you can always count on the NAACP jumping into the fray. They didn't miss their opportunity in Missouri.
“The activities at the Missouri State Fair targeting and inciting violence against our President are serious and warrant a full review by both the Secret Service and the Justice Department,” said NAACP State President Mary Ratliff. “Incidents involving individuals acting out with extreme violent behavior in movie theaters, schools, churches, political appearances, and outdoor events in general speaks volume to the irresponsible behavior of all the parties involved with the incendiary events at the Missouri State Fair.”
What the fuck????
The outrage is inexplicable but, then again, it is the NAACP who is still pissed that it actually gets dark at night. This is an organization whose business model crumbled years ago when America actually became mostly a non-racist nation. How else can you keep your jobs but to continually bring back the 1960s?
Meanwhile, if you want to discuss racism, the NAACP should really examine the words in their organization's name. I thought nobody was supposed to use the words "colored people" anymore. Personally, I find that offensive. Either they simply want to remind us of our uncomfortable pass or perhaps the NAACP is just too damn cheap to order new letterhead and business cards.
This nonsense just keeps coming and coming and coming, gang. And we just let it.
Obama is hands-off. Don't say a discouraging word. Bow down and kneel whenever you can. And, by all means, never ever refer to his...skinny legs.
Of course, you can do what you want with all the other Presidents.
For instance, it was totally okay for the bank robber characters in "Point Break" to don Presidential masks when they were doing their crimes.
It was perfectly acceptable for Bill Maher to get on his HBO snoozefest and call George Bush a chimp.
It was completely fine for some Hollywood filmmakers to make a faux documentary entitled "The Assassination of President Bush" while the guy was still in office.
Of course, it is. This is America. We should be free to do all of that. I didn't like "Point Break." I despise Bill Maher. And I was no real fan of George Bush. But I defend them all.
And it should be the same way with this President and any Chief Executive that follows. Skinny legs and all.
But, apparently, it's not. And that, my friends, is how America comes off the tracks for good.
When an organization like the NAACP can get all up in arms over a rodeo clown and not look at the big picture is absolutely disgusting. Perhaps you saw that viral You Tube video a few weeks back? Where, on a school bus in the South, three Black kids were shown beating the shit out of a 13 year-old White boy.
No comment from the NAACP? I didn't think so.
You know, the President himself could end all this rodeo clown nonsense. By coming out and acknowledging that it's all totally silly and not worth anybody's time. After all, he should assure us. He's only a President, not a god.
But he doesn't.
Hmmmmmm. There might be an even bigger problem at hand.
Dinner last night: Grilled chicken sausage, baked beans, and cole slaw.
1 comment:
A country where you're not allowed to poke fun at its leaders is a country in trouble.
It's part of American Presidential history that the Commander-In-Chief gets a steady ribbing from comics, columnists, and TV hosts. Until now.
The change is all about race. No jokes about the first black President. Or his wife. Why not?
It's part of a deeper ban on making fun of blacks. Don't you dare. Can blacks joke about whites? Yes. A double standard used all the time.
The flawed but vigorous tradition of everyone in America making fun of everyone else is dying if not dead. It was smothered by political correctness and thin-skinned minorities.
It's not funny.
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