White House Watermelons

Dean Grose, the soon-to-be-ex mayor of Los Alamitos has come under heavy fire for sending an e-mail out that depicted the White House lawn planted with watermelons, under the title “No Easter egg hunt this year.” Among the recipients – all of whom were apparently intended recipients – was local businesswoman and city volunteer Keyanus Price, who is Black.

The White House Watermelon Patch
No Easter Egg Hunt This Year

As I have commented before, sometimes an image is just image whether it be that of a chimpanzee or of a patch watermelons, bucket of fried chicken, or whatever. Such is not the case in this situation. The message in Grose’s email cannot be interpreted in any other way than as a cheap joke based upon racial stereotypes. It directly referenced President Obama and used imagery that, in that context, can have no other plausible meaning other than as a racial slur.

I should really thank Mayor Grose for providing such a good example of an actual racist cartoon or joke by way of counterpoint to the Post’s cartoon.

Mayor Grose also didn’t make matters any better when he responded to Keyanus Price’s initial complaint about the emailed image and it’s caption.

The way things are today, you gotta laugh every now and then. I wanna see the coloring contests

— Mayor Dean Grose
His response to Price’s complaint

Yes, sometimes the cries of racism are little more than a combination of people nursing age-old grievances and bitterness and the vicious and mercenary actions of creatures like Al Sharpton and his ilk. But that sad fact doesn’t mean that racism isn’t still prevalent in America, as Mayor Grose’s stupidity and bigotry clearly shows.

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4 Responses to “White House Watermelons”

  1. writestuff444 Says:

    Gotta love the watermelon seed ads on this blog post..(for a sense of humor!)
    Agreed on the Mayor’s denseness, but I also found the monkey cartoon offensive, again, I have close black friends and so perhaps I’m more easier offended on the subject. Offended might be too strong of a word…annoyed..

  2. jonolan Says:

    That’s OK, writestuff444; one of my wives is Black and she was somewhat offended by the chimp cartoon as well. We disagreed on on that one, since it struck me differently.

    My general opinion is that with the chimp cartoon your mileage may vary depending on your preconceptions and sensitivities, but with the melon image it’s pretty much a clear-cut case of racially stereotypical imagery.

  3. They Love Some Chicken | Reflections From a Murky Pond Says:

    […] America it is a racial stereotype that Blacks love fried chicken – along with greens, BBQ ribs, and watermelon. It’s not an image that can be promulgated through the media however, not without being […]

  4. Duke Says:

    This is racist of however you put it. Either way, it’s a racial stereotype no matter how you would want to put it. The image itself shows every detail about it even if it is funny or not.

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