The reference to the former president, while not very kind, does not rip him, belittle him and attempt to humiliate him for being white. AND I don’t ever recall this type of insult coming from anyone acting in an official or semi-official capacity with the Democratic Party.

Using words like “gorilla” or “monkey” when referring to anyone of African descent is racist pure and simple. There is no other way to read it. So if you think it “must be okay” you probably think all the other slimy, racist remarks, pictures and jokes emanating on a regular basis from Republican Party offices (many of them supported by our tax dollars) are within bounds because poor George Bush was called names by people who happened to recognize that he was the worst, most inept, devisive, arrogant, mendacious person to ever darken the Oval Office.

Sad, really.

As for Derek and Joe, sorry, I realize that being mindbogglingly stupid and intellectually dishonest is a membership requirement for the right wing, but calling Bush a chimp indicates that he personally is a stupid person, whereas DePass’s comment is a standard-issue attack on blacks as a race — the comparison is grossly dishonest, and your apparent belief that it can be used to excuse Randy DePass’s blatant racism is idiotic.

Needless to say, ordinary every day Black women have to deal with the same type of hatred from the ignorant and the hate-filled every day on the job, in college and graduate school, and the community in general. But certainly not on this escalated near-hysterical level.

While I truly regret that Mrs. Obama takes these hits, her presence and the reaction to her presence has revealed to the entire world the hidden sick heart of darkness in America.