More Monkey Business at Barnes & Nobles

Reaction to a Barnes and Nobles’ display window photograph mimicking the NYP’s cartoon’s racist theme proves imitation is not always the highest form of flattery. Blacks, whose backs are burdening an upsurge in racism, were pissed like cotton-picking slaves when a picture surfaced on the Internet of a Barack Obama commemoratives’ display injected with more monkey business – this time, a book with a monkey on its cover infiltrated the bookseller’s publication shrine to the 44th U.S.President.

Feeling as though I’d been slapped twice by the same hand tightly wadded my panties, and when text didn’t accompany the depicted vulgarity, I called the store in Coral Gables, FL, an affluent enclave of “Living La Vida Loca” Miami, the next day. I calmly expressed my concerns to the manager on duty, an overly apologetic woman whose dialect conveyed Hispanic heritage. Although the incendiary incident occurred two weeks ago, complaint phone calls have been non-stop, according to the B&N representative. When I asked if the guilty party had been hogtied, she merely advised that an unidentified customer was the suspected interloper.

Though it’s not the first time a customer has disrupted a retail display, B&N management also bears blame for its lax in ensuring store windows promote products positively. In this day of consumer tightwads, brisk traffic certainly isn't a feasible explanation for quality assurance neglect.

With the election of the first H.N.I.C., we knew this was coming. We knew that with a climatic historical event, a swell in ignorance was bound to accompany it. We also knew that a deepening recession wouldn’t be enough to distract white supremist mindsets. No matter the degree to which the lives of blacks and whites collide by rising unemployment and home foreclosure commonalities, there will always be change resisters who strive to divide. Every picture tells a story, even those we may least expect.