The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

As usual, I skimmed through the Columbus Dispatch letters-to-the-editor today. I'm not even sure why I do this any more. Perhaps I want to believe people in central Ohio suddenly brightened up over night. Perhaps these "letters" are my daytime talk shows, and after reading them, I pull out my Stuart Smalley card and say, "I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And doggone it, people like me." Perhaps I'm just a masochist. In any case, I stumbled upon another "winner" of a letter today. The  piece  was written by one Peggy McDonald of Powell, and entitled, "‘Redskins’ name for team is an honor, not a slur." Yes, it only gets better from there. Here's the letter: "Regarding the campaign to change the name of the Washington Redskins: First of all, I have the utmost respect for Native Americans. However, this name-change idea has just gone too far. I’ve lived a long, wonderful life and some of the most outrageous things are...

Last night, I ran across a picture on Facebook posted from an old acquaintance of mine in high school, which almost prompted me to unfriend him. The picture showcases a very young looking Ronald Reagan, who appears to be providing a monkey with milk from a bottle. Underneath the photo are the words, "Rare photo of Ronald Reagan babysitting Barack Obama in early 1962". I've included the link to the picture if anyone is curious to see it for themselves. Once I clicked on the photo and skimmed through the commentary, I'd say that roughly 3 out of 4 commentators bashed the photo, while the other 1 out of 4 said to lighten up and that it was just a joke. I love how racists attempt to mask their prejudices through jokes and telling people to not take matters so seriously - to lighten up. No matter how the original poster of this photo wants to think of it, the picture is racist. It's not even borderline racist. It's flat-out racist. The term "monkey"...