It was just supposed to be funny!

By: Sarah Harl

In its November 9th edition, the Murfreesboro Post allowed an opinion column to be run by humor columnist Stephen Lewis.

Shortly thereafter, Michael Pirtle, publisher and editor of the paper, was issuing a formal apology for the racist and narrow-minded humor that was published in the Lewis column.

The column, entitled "Ode To Obama" includes a song written by Lewis which I was warned I wouldn't "get" because I was under the age of 30.

And he was right. I didn't get it. In more ways than one.

First, apparently you need to be familiar with the television show The Jefferson's to fully understand the reference, which I decidedly am not.

And the second reason that I didn't get it is that there is never under any circumstances warrant to make racist remarks about anyone, but specifically not about the man who has been chosen by a significant majority of this country to be our leader.

It is never appropriate to refer to the White House as a "pimp pad." I don't care if the occupant is black, white, or Hugh Hefner. It is the home of our president, and just as I would expect anyone to treat my home with respect, so we need to treat his with respect.

Also, regardless of anyone's feelings on Sarah Palin, she does not deserve to be referred to as a "cute, cheap thrill."

And apparently Lewis does not restrict his ridiculous comments solely to blacks and women. He also refers to newly elected Tennessee state representative Dr. Rishi Saxena.

Lewis is adamant that Dr. Saxena should learn to talk with a southern accent. Or at least make "y'all" and "fixin to" a part of his vocabulary.

The fact that we don't need our state senators furthering the use of horrible grammar in this country is even beside the point in this situation. The point is that the south has continued to be seen as a safe haven for racists for so long because they have been resistant to change.

And now that there are people in place who can possibly transform the ways of some southern racists, a story like this gets run in the Murfreesboro Post, taking us right back where we started.

You can disagree with someone on policy. This is perfectly acceptable, and even necessary within the framework of the United States government.

But it is inexcusable to disagree with someone because they are not a white male. Most of the country has been able to move beyond that, and its time that Tennessee join us.

As long as columns like this continue to be published, the south will continue to look like a bunch of uneducated hicks, and the Republican Party will continue to be seen as inherently intolerant, since, unfortunately, many of these narrow-minded, ignorant people align themselves with this party.

So shame on Stephen Lewis for writing this article, and shame on the Murfressboro Post for running it. Issuing an apology after the fact reeks of irresponsible decisions in editing. Saying that the article was written in humor doesn't help the cause either, because it wasn't funny.

When you print something, people are going to read it, and when you print something asinine and racist, people are going to talk. And whether or not you believe it should reflect on your newspaper as a whole or not, it does.

I bet it's not so funny anymore.