A little reminder for Glenn Beck, assorted racists, and impotent, cowardly Democrats

One of the stories that I keep thinking of in the last few weeks of the Park 51 controversy is one you may have read or heard of already. But if you haven't, it's worth repeating. It's a story about how, a few decades ago, an angry, right-wing mob of ignorant white people were furious that a minority wanted to stand out in America. It's a story of how they tried to harass that person, offer "compromises" about how she should just "move away" because it was so "offensive" to "real Americans" that she had the audacity to exist. And it's a story about the importance of telling ignorant racists, publicity-whoring book burners and right-wing extremists to shut the hell up because we're not going to listen to your small-minded ignorance. So here, once again, is the story of how Martin Luther King Jr. saved the first black woman on the U.S.S. Enterprise.

One of the organizers came up to me and said that there was someone who wants to meet you; and he says that he's you're best, biggest fan and I'm thinking it's a Trekkie! [laughs] and so I said certainly and I got up and turned around and maybe 10 or 15 feet coming towards me I see Dr. Martin Luther King and I remember thinking whoever that little fan is, he's going to have to wait, because here's Dr. King, who walks straight up to me with this big, magnificent smile on his face and says, "I'm the fan!" because I'm sort of looking around for someone else, and he says, "I am your best fan, I am your biggest fan!" and I... I was at a loss for words, and if you know me, I am never at a loss for words.

I just couldn't say a thing and he began to tell me how important my role was, what an inspiration it was. And you have to understand we were in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, people were regularly being attacked by dogs, and marchers were being hosed on the television every night, real life things, and here I am in this futuristic thing on TV and he was so complimentary, he told me "I was so important and the way you have created this role," and I am just looking at him and looking at him and I remember I just kept hoping he'd never stop talking. Because his voice is just... you know the voice. And I finally just start saying, thank you so much Dr. King and I am shaking his hand and still shaking from nervousness and I said thank you so much and I am really going to miss my co-stars.

And at this his face totally changed, and he said "What are you talking about?!" and so I told him I would be leaving the show, because; and that was as far as he let me go, and he said, "STOP! You cannot! You cannot leave this show! Do you not understand what you are doing?! You are the first non-stereotypical role in television! Of intelligence, and of a woman and a woman of color?! That you are playing a role that is not about your color! That this role could be played by anyone? This is not a black role. This is not a female role! A blue eyed blond or a pointed ear green person could take this role!" And I am looking at him and looking at him and buzzing, and he said, "Nichelle, for the first time, not only our little children and people can look on and see themselves, but people who don't look like us, people who don't look like us, from all over the world, for the first time, the first time on television, they can see us, as we should be!

As intelligent, brilliant, people! People in roles other than slick tap dancers, and maids, which are all wonderful in their own ways, but for the first time we have a woman, a WOMAN, who represents us and not in menial jobs, and you PROVE it, this man [Gene Rodenberry] proves and establishes a precedent that validates what we are marching for because three hundred years from today there we are, and there you are, in all our glory and all your glory! And you CANNOT leave!"

And I did not leave.

-Nichelle Nichols

They will never stop as long as you let them continue. How this is unlearned after forty years sickens me.

Oh hi computer

There is a fan-made RPG based on The Room.

You require no other sustenance today.

I am truly not this interesting

So I came back from work today and couldn't help but notice that I had the largest amount of traffic to my blog than any other day of the eight or so years I've been blogging. Also at least two or three people who have won Pulitzer Prizes have emailed me. It's been a weird day. So if I can't repond to everything or acknowledge everyone who linked to me offering support regarding this Mike Lester thing I apologize, but I do appreciate all the kind words and offerings of support.

That said I just felt becuase of some of the emails I received and comments I read that I should say something. While almost all of you have been super supportive and like minded in taking this for what it was- a very silly and baseless attempt to bully me that backfired hilariously- I've seen and read the occasional comment that alludes to making direct attacks on Mike Lester and I don't support that at all. There are also some people who are repeating personal information about him that is not really relevant to this incident at all and that's not cool. I think he has terrible, ignorant viewpoints and will continue to evoke my First Amendment right to say so, as I imagine many others have now been inspired to as well, but I have no desire to, nor do I support, any attempts to hurt Lester, his career or his livlihood. I imagine, hell for his own sake I hope, he feels incredibly embarrassed about this and I'm perfectly happy leaving it at that. I have no desire to ruin a man's career for the equivalent of being a drunk guy at a bar who fell on his face and passed out when he tried to get up to threaten to kick my ass.

Ultimately I reposted the email not for publicity but two reasons: one, because the best way to respond to a bully is to point out that his fly is open, and two, because I truly found the email in no way actually threatening but utterly hilarious. Which I suppose is ironic considering what I think of Lester's cartoons. But seriously, "we are in posession of previous blog posts?" If I can have LOLcats saying that this weekend I will consider myself having finally made a lasting imprint on our culture.

Mike Lester just threatened to sue me

Mr. Pollack,

re:

http://www.someguywithawebsite.com/blogarchive/week_2010_09_05.html

Please be aware that your comments are being monitored. Like all our readers, you are free to disagree w/ my cartoons. However, should you libel and or slander me or my newspaper publicly, we will seek legal remedy. We are also in possession of previous blog entries.

Sincerely,
ML

Mike Lester
Editorial Cartoonist
Rome (Ga.) News Tribune
www.mikelester.com

Since Mike says he's monitoring all my comments, I suppose I can just post my response here:

Mr. Lester

re: your hilarious and insane threat to sue me

I appreciate your alerting me that my comments are being monitored. I am not sure if you are aware of this, but that is generally what people hope happen to their comments when they are posted on a website on the internet. I am glad to hear you are also in possession of previous blog entries. I too have internet access.

As a professional courtesy, please consider spelling my name correctly when delivering any future baseless and ludicrous threats because your feelings were hurt. As a personal favor, please stop making racist, ignorant and illogical cartoons.

-August J. Pollak

Laborious

New strip next week. Enjoy your Labor Day weekend as your humble artists uses holiday vacation time to work on the next book.

Mike Lester continues to be both very clever and not at all racist

I guess I'll fill in for Matt Bors this week on shitty cartoon commentary since he's busy over in Afghanistan trying to not be completely ignorant about people who are different than him. Okay, let's parse this treat, shall we?

Ah hahaha, see it's funny becuase all Muslims do is kill people. Especially American Muslims, who Lester claims don't contribute to this country at all, like the 9/11 hijackers, who weren't American. So this cartoon not only isn't racist and moronic, it also totally makes any sense whatsover.

Oh, and thanks to exactly 2 minutes and 17 seconds on Google, I discovered that contributions made by American Muslims to our (and, you know, their) country include making us laugh, inspiring America through exceptional athletic ability and activism, designing one of the tallest buildings in America and dying to defend the right for Mike Lester to be a fucking idiot.