wtf. Curious George.

Marietta tavern owner Mike Norman says the T-shirts he's peddling, featuring cartoon chimp Curious George peeling a banana, with "Obama in '08" scrolled underneath, are "cute." But to a coalition of critics, the shirts are an insulting exploitation of racial stereotypes from generations past.

 

"It's time to put an end to this," said Rich Pellegrino, a Mableton resident and director of the Cobb-Cherokee Immigrant Alliance. He was among about 15 people who protested outside Mulligan's Bar and Grill Tuesday afternoon against the sale of the "racist and highly offensive" shirts.

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Whatever residents think of the signs, organized opposition to his blunt commentaries -- ongoing for 16 years -- had been nonexistent. No longer, says Pellegrino, who, though familiar with Norman's politics, said he was still surprised by the stark imagery of the Obama T-shirts.

 

"There's a lot of people hurt by this," he said.

 

Norman said those offended are "hunting for a reason to be mad" and insisted he is "not a racist."

 

Norman said he sees nothing wrong with depicting Obama as Curious George. "Look at him . . . the hairline, the ears, he looks just like Curious George," Norman said. He said he did not design the shirts himself but bought them through a Web site.

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 "Mulligan's is promoting and selling racially offensive T-shirts, and Marietta and Cobb County residents and taxpayers abhor and cannot condone, any longer, this type of divisive and incendiary behavior in our community," said Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of GALEO.

 

Oh snap. There might be a lawsuit:

 MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) — The publisher of the popular children book's series "Curious George" is considering legal action against a Georgia bar owner for selling T-shirts that link Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to the inquisitive monkey.

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"Houghton Mifflin Harcourt did not nor would we ever authorize or approve this use of the Curious George character, which we find offensive and utterly out of keeping with the values Curious George represents," said Richard Blake, the company's spokesman. "We are monitoring the situation and weighing all of our options."

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http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hSsuRlm1gQzFuWR2WalQ1guBSzVgD90LJPBO0