Barack Obama and Monkey Business!
Uh… help me with this!!!
A Barnes & Noble spokesperson claims a customer placed a book about monkeys in a window where Barack Obama books were on display. So…anybody can just come into Barnes and Noble and rearrange or add to their displays? Sounds like Monkey Business to me!
Here is an article that accompanied this picture and what Barnes and Noble had to say to resolve this matter.
Barnes & Noble would like to publicly apologize for what happened in our Coral Gables, Florida store. We believe that a customer played a cruel joke and placed an inappropriate title in the front window of our store, where we were featuring books written by or about President Obama. We want to assure our customers that the book placed by someone other than our booksellers was never intended to be included in our display and was removed as soon as we became aware of the situation. We are looking into it and are taking the steps necessary so that it does not happen again. From time to time customers will move titles from one area of the store to another. In this particular case, we do not condone whatever message may have been intended with the placement of this title in our Presidential display. It certainly was not part of our merchandising and we regret that we didn’t see the placement of this title immediately.
Unfortunately, when I first received the email with this picture in it, an apology/explanation did not come with the picture. How many people will see this and never hear what B & N has to say? I wonder if it will impact business at all. Why are people so cruel?
Holla back and tell me if you have seen this picture, how you would take it if you walked by and saw it, what you perceive the implications to be and how long it will take society to change.
Wow.. this is absolutely crazy. Wow.. this is so racist. Recently the word “Monkey” has been getting a lot of attention.. IMO. Monkey is starting to become the new age “N” word, although its still way behind in what it means. I really just cant believe this was actually allowed at all.
Although I hear the explanation B & N gave, it is hard to believe an establishment of their stature would not have safeguards in place for something of this nature.
I hadn’t seen the photo but I’m not at all surprised. I think people are beginning to let their true feelings show. I’ve noticed a lot more negative vibes regarding the bailots and though they’re not using negative racial terms, you can’t help but feel that it’s part of the underlying cause. I caught a snippet of Rush Limbaugh on TV last night…What a pig! He doesn’t care about what he says and who it’s about as long as he has an audience to hear him spew his venom. It’s that whole outspoken attitude with him and others that I believe empowers the little peons to do things like what was done at Barnes and Noble. I doubt that they as a chain will suffer much unless someone calls for a boycott of them. I think it’s an atrocity, but I also think we’d better open our eyes and ears wide and see that the issue of racism is not gone just because 44 is now in charge of the white house.
This was to be expected.
This is something interesting I saw on TV the other night. When the KKK has a small membership they are more dangerous than a large membership. This is due to the fact that less people are more dedicated and focused on the hate they spew.
What we are seeing now are your casual people who are racist at heart, but would do nothing other than protect their virgin-like daughters and count how many black friends they have. Every one in a while they are going to have public outburts like this and show their true colors.
I agree with Brian. This is why it took 200 years for this to happen. People are still trying to cover it up. They are glad they have someone like Rush Limbaugh speaking out for them.
@Monique Davis – First of all I would like to Thank God for He Is Good and worthy to be praised. The picture of the monkey book in the middle of the Obama display symbolizes and actually is a metaphor for the history of racism and ignorance in America. What I do love about America is our freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is a privilege that we all share but it is not a right. Who ever placed the Monkey book in the display was exercising their privilege to express what they thought of Obama becoming our First African American President of the United States of America. I can respect one’s freedom of speech just like I respected the lady calling Rush Limbaugh a “PIG”. She could have easily placed a book of Pigs in the middle of a Rush Limbaugh display. We all have faults and defects of character. Respect each others opinion. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Primates are very intelligent. In fact we are primates.
Ronald, I could get with you until the very end. I definitely agree with the fact that we have freedom of speech as a privilege, but I’m not sure that the extent to which that freedom is pushed was the original intent of our founding fathers. My point of disagreement lies in your statement that we are all primates. I absolutely, strongly, disagree with that. I, nor any of my ancestors, friends and even you, descended from primates. I was fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God through the first man ever created, Adam, of the famous Garden of Eden. It seems ironic that you would begin your message thanking God, but at the end refer to evolutionism. That’s quite contradictory, unless you believe that science should always prevail over biblical truths. Even Darwin, in his later years retracted the theory of evolution. That is not taught in classrooms, only through additional study of the topic. As for Rush Limbaugh and others like him, we have the ability to choose whether or not we’ll listen to those types of speeches on TV or simply turn the channel – which I did.
@Monique Davis – I did not refer to Evolutionism. I’m refering to God created everythingism. God created science, math, physics, evolution and creationism. I’m not in the business of limiting God and His unimaginable power. You can not deny the fact that God is inbetween the spaces of molecules as well as the expance of our universe. As far as the study of DNA and genetics we are primates as far as our species on this earth. God created life and life evolved. If you don’t believe in science than how do you explain a catepillar metamorphing and evolving into a butterfly. They look totally different, one can fly the other crawls around, yet they have the same exact DNA. Only my God can create that. God created the knowledge that we have of our environments, our senses, our understanding and our DNA. He is the Alpha and the Omega, The only way we even can hold a conversation about science, evolution or creationism is because God created it first before we even knew those concepts existed. I don’t limit God.
Okay. I’ll take your point. I don’t normally refer to myself as a primate, even though that term can be used for humans. When I hear that term used, my first instinct is to think “Monkey”, which would go along with the topic of discussion. When I hear or speak of evolution, it’s usually in reference to the Theory of Evolution which was concocted by Charles Darwin. I definitely believe that God is the creator of everything, is all powerful and is everywhere, and I understand the process of change that takes place within, plants and animals. However, I do not believe humans go through that same type of change. We have become smarter and hopefully wiser through time, but not the change that a tadpole makes to become a frog or any other type of example like that. Our one and only physical evolution as a species was when we were formed from the dust of the ground and God breathed life into us. Thus, we return to dust when there’s no more life in our bodies. I think you know that already, but it just didn’t come off that way at first.
If I had been the one to see this display here in Indy or in Florida I probably would have taken a pic and kept stepping.I’m not surprised.Working with the public for a number of yrs I really try to just let the ugliness sweep over me.The ugliness is everywhere!!We cannot get around it.This was not my first sighting of the “monkey business” in the media.I’d probably make a very poor foreign missionary..I’d always have suspicious feelings. Everyone is entitled to what they think and I sincerely try not to express my negative thoughts so freely. This is the world we live in. If you are a minority and you seek a level of quality life, it’s not fair but you MUST grow a thick skin.
Hi Leah! Thanks for sending me the picture and thanks for your comments!
I believe a customer may have done this. But I think some employee seen the customer fiddling around in the window messing with the display. They probably didnt care but i think they should have checked and see whats going on, and should not have let it go on as long as it did especially if it was a display about the president. Or they could have flat out seen what was going on but found humor in it so turned their back to what was going on until customers from outside came into the store and started complaining. Just because we have a black president doesnt mean peoples opinions will change about black people. For some it fuels their fires more and more and causes irrational behaviors. To some it has opened their eyes and caused change but eveyone has their own opinion and beliefs!
That’s so true!
I think it’s terrible that this happened…just another example to me that Racism is alive and well in 2009!!!