Limbaugh, Shanklin and now Saltsman would like to convince you that the parody calling our next President a “Magic Negro” is merely good-humored, lighthearted, innocent satire.
I have used satire myself in several of my writings, but none of them makes fun of or ridicules someone’s race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.
I also looked up the definition of satire in my trusted dictionary. It defines satire as: “the use of ridicule, irony, sarcasm, etc., to expose folly or vice or to lampoon an individual.”
Pardon me, but how does calling our next President a “magic negro” expose folly, or vice, or lampoon Barack Obama?
Oh wait, perhaps in “etc.” we might find included “the use of prejudice, intolerance, racism” to expose folly or vice or to lampoon an individual.
If that’s the case, Mr. Saltsman needs to inform dictionary and thesaurus publishers to expand the definition of “satire” accordingly.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.