Racist Jokes Aren't Funny, Even in Arkansas

By: Suzi Parker | Posted: June 16, 2012 at 12:20 AM

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images

In a blog post for the Washington Post, Suzi Parker says that being a Southern white woman doesn't mean she'll ever hear a racist joke without demanding an apology.

Last weekend, the annual Ozark Tea Party rally was held in Mountain Home, Ark., on the Baxter County Fairgrounds. According to local news reports, more than 500 people attended the event, where Ozark Tea Party board member Inge Marler told the joke, captured on audio, about a black child asking his mother the definition of democracy.

Marler: "Well, son, that be when white folks work every day so us po' folks can get all our benefits. But mama, don't the white folk get mad about that? They sho do, son. They sho do. And that's called racism."

The crowd erupted in laughter. And as the local newspaper wrote, "There were no objections to the 'joke' from the floor and no one spoke with disapproval or objection to Marler's comment except those pursued for comment by the Baxter Bulletin."

Oh Baxter Bulletin, where do you get this stuff?

Read Suzi Parker's entire piece at the Washington Post.

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