Sock Monkey Update

[When Sock Monkeys Attack] The Park City David Lawson says he's not, repeat, not the same person marketing the allegedly racist sock monkeys. Apparently, the blogosphere (ulp, that word again) has come down hard on the poor guy. What with being a Mitt Romney supporter and a real-estate agent, he's had enough trouble this year already, so I hope the blogosphere goes easy on him.

Park Record reporter Patrick Parkinson tells me he's requested an interview with the real-estate agent, and it looks like the story might end up in the paper's Saturday edition.

A whois registry search for the domain TheSockObama.com returns the name of a Canada-based custom plush toys manufacturer:

domain: thesockobama.com
owner-name: Binkley Custom Products
owner-address: 163 Beach Rd.
owner-address: L8L4A4
owner-address: Hamilton
owner-address: Ontario
owner-address: Canada
admin-c: RB306-GANDI
tech-c: RB306-GANDI
bill-c: RB306-GANDI
nserver: ns1.binkley-toys.com 209.61.241.75
nserver: ns2.binkley-toys.com 209.61.241.76
reg_created: 2008-04-16 15:40:19
expires: 2009-04-16 15:40:19
created: 2008-04-16 17:36:03
changed: 2008-04-16 17:36:03
person: Robert Bishop
nic-hdl: RB306-GANDI
address: Binkley Custom Products
address: 163 Beach Rd.
address: L8L4A4
address: Hamilton
address: Ontario
address: Canada
phone: +00.19053128962
fax: +00.19055474245
e-mail: 05c43f8e6866b140a554983f9c2a5a23-rb306@contact.gandi.net
lastupdated: 2006-09-19 17:11:13

(Brandon Burt)

Obama Sock Monkeys: Racist or Just Cuddly?

[Campaign '08] So, are the Barack Obama sock monkeys marketed by David J. and Elizabeth A. Lawson of West Jordan racist or just cuddly? [Update: The Mr. T sock monkey at right is not the sock monkey in question.]

They're causing quite a stir in the blogosphere. (Ulp. Excuse me. That word "blogosphere" always makes me throw up a little.)

But the answer all depends on the Lawsons, doesn't it? They'd be crazy to fess up and unlikely to anyway, since bigots in Utah tend to have that "kinder, gentler" form of passive-aggressive "Golly, it's really too bad Heavenly Father made you people inferior, isn't it?" bullshit racism.

And, if it's some kind of reverse-psychology "wind up the liberals and watch their guilt instincts kick in!" trick, it won't pay to invest too much emotional energy in it anyway.

Evidence That the Sock Monkeys Might Be Racist:

• They're from Utah. Duh.
• They're from West Jordan. Duh.
• A Park City real-estate agent named David J. Lawson donated money to the Mitt Romney campaign. If this turns out to be the same David J. Lawson as the one selling sock monkeys, bzzt! Gotcha!
• If there are any Democrats in West Jordan, they have too much white guilt to do something like this.
• Republicans are incapable of subtle irony.
• The Website reads that the monkey stays "true to his root," an obvious reference to reconstruction-era "lock up the womenfolk!" stereotypes.
• It also reads "Fall in love with your chosen candidate all over again" [emphasis added], not "our chosen candidate," as it would if the authors were Obama fans.
  

Evidence That the Sock Monkeys Are Just Cuddly:

• The Lawsons say so.
• Sock monkeys are adorable.
• So are Democrats.
• So what could be more cuddly than a Democratic sock monkey?

My money's on racism, but split 50-50 on "ignorance" and "malice" as motives. (Brandon Burt)