
A New Jersey business owner and self-described “political independent” has drawn criticism after setting up a display that includes a picture depicting President Barack Obama as a “witch doctor.”
“Call it what you want, I’m not taking it down,” Bill Skuby told WABC-TV regarding the display, which also has Obama’s picture on a tombstone above the words, “I told you I was sick,” an apparent reference to the Affordable Care Act.
Skuby said he has also custom-ordered hats saying “F.Y.B.O,” believed to be an acronym for “Fuck You Barack Obama” to be sold at his clothing store in Spring Lake.
He insisted to both ABC News and the New Jersey Star-Ledger that his display has the support of most of the community.
“A lot of people feel the way I feel, but are just afraid to say it,” he told the newspaper. “It always comes down to the race card.”
Skuby also told the newspaper he doesn’t believe he is a racist, on account of his son marrying a woman with a biracial child and raising it as part of their family.
But according to Northstar News editor and publisher Walter Fields Jr., Skuby’s argument doesn’t hold up.
“People use the notion of a blended family as an excuse for their racism,” said Fields, a former New Jersey state political director for the NAACP. “You can love your family member and still be a racist, because your family member isn’t a threat to you. African-Americans in a position of power are certainly a threat to some people. So it doesn’t wash that because [Skuby] has a biracial grandchild, he cannot be a racist. That is too simplistic of a rationale. You could harbor feelings that you’re not even aware of because you’re blinded by your racism.”
WABC-TV’s report on Skuby’s store can be seen below.
[Image via Agence France-Presse]
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