Wednesday, December 12, 2007

"Chimpie" Is Retired

Regards and props to Dumb Drum Guy for spurring me into posting again. It's good to know you're out there. Thanks, man!

Now to bidness, as they say in Crawford, Texas.

After receiving the following letter accompanied by the photo of its author at home, above, I wish to offer my sincere apologies to the simian brother- and sisterhood for any offense. I am deeply, deeply sorry that I was so thick-headed that I could not see the obvious problem with the term "Chimpie." Here's the letter:
Dear Mr. Rotkohl,

First, let me say that I am a fan and, although I only rarely post comments, I keep your blog on my bookmarks list and check it regularly. Even my wife finds you amusing at times, and even informative now and then. However, there is a matter that I can no long keep my silence over, and now that you have my photograph, you may understand why.

I do recognize the resemblance between my species and the president, but while it may seem to be a comic reference in some contexts, it begins to wear rather thin, especially after nearly seven years of increasing criminality, incompetence, and dishonesty coming from this White House. Now, whenever I see "Chimpie" in your posts, I cringe to think that anyone would begin to think that we are somehow responsible for this particular simian dunce in the Oval Office. It's true we share nearly 99 percent of our DNA with your species, but that gives no license for you or anyone to slander us or any of the other great apes with responsibility for having produced this specimen.

This is not an issue of political correctness, as I hope you will see having received this letter. I doubt you have had much contact with chimpanzees on a close, one-to-one level, so I hope that it is only an oversight and a failure of your otherwise compassionate nature to make this nickname a handle for the president.

But don't stop hammering these people! They have fucked up our world too, you know.

Keep it real, Dude!

Sincerely,

Arthur M. de Saussure, PhD
Washington, D.C.