Kansas mayor wins prize for dressing in blackface drag: ‘All this PC is bullshit.’
Kansas mayor wins prize for dressing in blackface drag: ‘All this PC is bullshit.’
The Wichita NAACP blog reports that Mell Kuhn, mayor of Arkansas City, KS, appeared last weekend in a beauty pageant fundraiser wearing a blackface drag costume. Appearing at the event to support Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a group helping abused and neglected children in court, Kuhn dressed as a character named “Smellishis Poon.” During the talent portion of the event, he even had backup dancers called his “Red Hot Puntangs.” In an interview on Tuesday with the Arkansas City Traveler, Kuhn defended himself:
All this PC is bullshit. We go around walking on eggshells all the time, we don’t get anything done.
At the fundraiser, Kuhn won awards for “most creative talent” and the overall Ms. CASA 2008. He has insisted he didn’t intend his costume to be “blackface” because he “can’t do a black accent.” Since that time, under pressure from the NAACP and other organizations, Kuhn has apologized for actions.
(HT: Pam’s House Blend)
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Heckuva job Kuhnie!
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:01 pmGod, Dorothy, I’m so glad we’re not in Kansas anymore…
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:01 pmHoly friggin’ crap – !!
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:01 pmAhhh…..Kansas. Or Kansass?
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:05 pmummm….TP, you might wanna fix the spelling of the mayors name… ‘Koon’ is a bit freudian.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:06 pmSorry to say I’m from Kansas, but then Arkansas City is practically in Oklahoma.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:06 pmAll this PC is bullshit. We go around walking on eggshells all the time, we don’t get anything done.
What I don’t get is why you WANT to be a racist assh0le because it some how achieves something that you oddly consider valuable? WTF is wrong with you to think that this kind of behavior is fun?
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:07 pmummm….. pre-defending my post for post-edit readers. One instance of “Kuhn”’s name in the entry as it is now is “Koon”
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:08 pmEven without the “blackface” this is extremely insulting to women.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:09 pmHillarious. Maybe next year he can lose a butt load of wieght and go as a Concentration Camp Jew. That would bring the house down with side splitting laughter.
the Republic party has some inner demons they need to deal with
Geesh !!!
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:09 pmIm all for out there offensive comedy but
a. elected officials should show some modicum of class
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:10 pmb. “Smellishis Poon.” isn’t funny
c. i can’t tell if he’s in blackface or making fun of tanning salon idiots. The latter would actually kind of be funny.
Gotta love those heartland values! Such moral superiority over them darned elitist coastal types in Californ I A and New York City!
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:11 pmShayne Says:
Even without the “blackface” this is extremely insulting to women.
________________
It’s insulting to anyTHING that walks on two legs, Shayne.
Wow… just… wow…
I think the Dems should take that picture and run it non-stop between now and Nov 4, w/ the caption, “Is THIS what you want running YOUR country?”
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:11 pm“Koon dressed as a character…”
Freudian slip much?
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:12 pmdeebaser Says:
c. i can’t tell if he’s in blackface or making fun of tanning salon idiots. The latter would actually kind of be funny.
___________
Yeah, yeah… that’s it… he’s making fun of John “Cry Me A River” bOOOOOOOner.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:13 pmI’m not always right on this, but my Gaydar is off the charts on this one…
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:13 pmWhat wasn’t shown was after the party, he and Giuliani got together and started making out in a booth a Waffle House, with Mark Foley recording the whole scene, and Larry Craig waiting in the bathroom for his turn.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:16 pmConservative Christian Family Values….nuff said.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:17 pmCaption:
WHEW, RELIEF !! For a minute there I thought that that was Pit-bull Palin.
¶ AIO
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:17 pmbob hussein lablah Says:
I’m not always right on this, but my Gaydar is off the charts on this one…
_____________
I’m thinking more along the lines of beastiality w/ this one, bob.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:17 pmAs the local sheep would say, Mell is a ba-a-a-a-hd man…
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:19 pmWhat exactly did the good mayor “get done” by cutting through all that “PC bullshit”?
What vital civic function was stymied by all that “PC bullshit”?
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:20 pmThe best you can say is that Mell Kuhn didn’t say he was dressed for Halloween as Michelle Obama.
Yeah, that’s the best.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:21 pmIs this Tracy_5’s black friend?
Apologies in advance Tracy-5, I couldn’t help myself….
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:24 pmYeah, all this PC stuff is bullshit! And all of you sexists LEAVE SARAH PALIN ALONE!
-Smellshish Goon
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:24 pmralph the wonder llama Says:
What vital civic function was stymied by all that “PC bullshit”?
___________
uh… the God-given right of a flabby, pasty-faced, not-too-bright white male to humiliate himself, and his party, in the public limelight?
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:26 pmEverything else that’s wrong with this aside…that picture on the left is going to give me nightmares for a very long time…
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:27 pmThe ignorant leading the ignorant. Idiot.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:28 pmI t’ink you folks all need to cut Mell some slack here.
He’s just expressing himself, ‘n gittin’ in touch w/ his “inner stupid”. Thas all.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:28 pmI just saw this on Fox and they had a (D) next to his name…teasing…
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:28 pmdbadass Says: Is this Tracy_5’s black friend?
Funny. We haven’t seen Tracy is a long time. I’m guessing that even he is too embarassed to come here and defend Bush/McCain any longer.
Even one of the crazy brain-dead trolls is talking about voting for Obama because he’s not convinced Sarah Palin is qualified…
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:28 pmsmellishis poon….meaning coon. and to land the cherry with puntangs….alright fatass peckerwood. and the beat goes on. good job kansas for electing another kkk to the long list of others in this beauty of a country.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:28 pmThe blackface is pretty bad.
The “Red Hot Puntangs” is just as bad.
Way to go Mell, denigrating women, blacks, drag queens, your party, and your city all in one evening. Quite an accomplishment.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:29 pmAlso in Mell’s defense…
He prolly didn’t realize how offensive this might be to women, seeing how he hasn’t been able to get near one, at least one you don’t have to inflate, for the last couple of decades…
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:31 pmThis is just the usual way of Republicans. They really do want to return to a simpler time of Massa resting his feet on the back of his darkie and his wife in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant. And they wonder why 80 to 90% of blacks vote Democratic.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:32 pmNOT seriously defending Khun (I know nothing about him, and the undertones don’t bode well for him), the NAACP article linked above DID state that “We met for about an hour and discussed the performance, his rationale, the context, the history, and the outrage, in some detail. And while I don’t believe that his antics were born of racial hatred or animus…”, the author continued to note that there do appear to be racial discrepancies in the district, and Khun agreed to be involved in a program (the link is above, and my paraphrasing is not so good) looking into some of these things (actually following up is another matter, but for time to tell). It just seems that this MAY have been a matter of insensitivity based on honest ignorance… maybe. (Arrrgghhhh… don’t throw rocks at me… I’m just sayin’…). And while he initially insisted that he would not apologize, after the NAACP meeting he DID apologize. That’s a step forward, even if it was under pressure (I mean, people ignore subpoenas from Congress and state judiciaries these days and get away with it: he COULD have stuck to his guns and just not apologized).
And he was in drag because the CASA fundraiser traditionally holds a drag show. Tasteless? Yes. But no more tasteless than any drag show (or costume) that is not actually comprised of lifestyle drag queens.
I’ll go away for awhile… at least until everyone runs out of rocks….
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:32 pmHe was going to be McCain’s VP pick until John found out that you CAN’T see Africa from Kansas.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:32 pmHe’s either Pat Roberts’ Son or Jim Imhofe’s daughter.
And what’s with these town names? Arkansas City, close to Oklahoma is in Kansas?
Reminds me of an old song Woody Guthrie may have sung…
‘If you see Arkie tell him Okie got a job, picking up grapes down in Southern California.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:34 pmCageyCretin Says:
I’ll go away for awhile… at least until everyone runs out of rocks….
____________
No need to throw rocks at ya…
The pictures speak for themselves. What poor Mell doesn’t seem to understand is that pictures on the Internet are FOREVER.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:35 pmThis is not a heartland value and it has nothing to do with “PC” only with being a decent human being. Such behavior makes me shudder.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:36 pmMaybe this is Sarah Palin’s gay friend.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:36 pmExcellent point, TRoS. That is one civil right that should not be infringed.
In fact, I don’t know that it ever could be infringed. Not-too-bright white males are gonna do what they do, right?
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:38 pmIt IS funny. Good one dbgadass. But Tracist was in the hizzowse yesterday afternoon, as a matter.
It was fun as always.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:39 pmThe Republic of Stupidity says:
…pictures on the Internet are FOREVER.
Hmmmmmm… very good point…. perhaps he ought to have considered that……
Then again, McCain doesn’t believe that there are devices out there that can record and replay things he said yesterday that contradict what he is saying today. Those doggoned internets tubes….
Side note: that is some HORRIFFIC drag, girlfriend…..
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:41 pmAnother coffin nail for Righty.
Thanks, mister, and – stay away from my kids’ boy scout troop.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:46 pm…bit of a John Wayne Gayce lookin’ feller, ain’t he?
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:46 pmJust doing his part to remind rural America that there’s a black man at the door.
All of this subtlety will give way to brash attacks very shortly. A few race crimes in the south ought to get the tensions flaring.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:50 pmWhat the heck is a “black accent”? Is it the same as the one for people who are for voting for McStupid?
Sick racist. Never has there been a greater need to drive these backwards idiots out of office.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:51 pmWaiiiiiit a minute…. isn’t that the same dress Cheney made Rove wear around the office?…… Just askin’…..
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:51 pm… yeah, but there’s also a bit of Dennis Rader in him. And not just ’cause he’s from Kansas.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:53 pmDidHeJustSayThat Says:
Just doing his part to remind rural America that there’s a black man at the door.
Awww, hell!!! Can I take back my earlier post? Please? That makes sense and gives what WOULD have been, possibly, an ignorant mistake, a much more typical Neocon agenda. Damn! Fooled me. I forgot… the machine keeps rolling and they need the “Base” as fired up as possible: they need to rig and steal as many votes as possible, raise the panic and fear levels as much as they can, and they ARE desperate at this point. I hate having to think “political” so much….
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:58 pmOk, some people should not do drag.
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:00 pmOkay, CageyCretin, you can take it back. Although you made a lot of sense before.
But you seem an okay sort. Hang around some.
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:01 pmThanks, Ralph the wonder llama. But don’t get your expectations up too high… I AM a cretin. :) Or a “Pervect” (see Robert Asprin). Take your pick.
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:06 pmChrisSEA Says:
Ok, some people should not do drag.
_________
We’re lookin’ at YOU, Rudi Giuliani…
Sheehs… I’d hafta say you folsk ain’t showin’ dis thread, and topic, the proper respect it deserves. If I didn’t know better, I’d say yer all makin’ fun o’ poor Mell.
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:12 pmWow. This dude was built when meat was cheap but brains sold at a premium.
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:17 pmliberal traitor Says:
Way to go Mell, denigrating women, blacks, drag queens, your party, and your city all in one evening. Quite an accomplishment.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:29 pm
_______
Pfff, that’s nothing. Watch me denigrate the crap out of Arkansas City – show y’all how it’s done…
I mean seriously – Arkansas City, Kansas? I mean, if the town founders wanted to be in Arkansas so much, why didn’t they build their city there?
Or was it just a typo in their first “Welcome to Kansas City” sign? I bet the town was too poor to get their sign fixed, so they just changed their name instead. Good plan, Arkansas City!
Hey – how many Arkansas Cityans does it take to screw in a lightbulb? None! They probably leave the lights off so they don’t have to see Arkansas City!
And it’s no wonder the mayor is a racist – this is the same town that had a pool built under the Works Progress Administration in 1939, but for whites only! African-Americans had to go to the “black pool.” Great history, there, Arkansas City!
Heck, maybe they’re just embarrassed to be in Kansas. I mean, Kansas City certainly is – that’s why they’re in Missouri. Can you blame them? I wouldn’t want anything to do with that science-denying, art-hating, backwater, pissant shithole of a state!
Take THAT, Arkansas City!
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:32 pmHere is the phone number and email address for the Arkansas City Chamber of Commerce
620-442-0230 ac-aa@arkcitychamber.org
Here’s the address and phone number of the Arkansas City Council.
Arkansas City Hall
118 W. Central Ave.
Arkansas City, KS 67005
(620) 441-4400
Let know that America knows what kind of Americans they really are.
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:38 pmBLACK FACE OR JUST A FAT ASS WHITE GUY WITH TOO MUCH TANNING CREAM???
OR IS HE A INSULT TO FAT ASS WHITE GUYS WHO LIKE TANNING CREAM?
OR MAYBE A CLOSET TRANSEXUAL???
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:06 pmHonestly, I thought he was parodying Rudy Giuliani!
Okay, I’m totally lying.
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:17 pmGood God, who let this cretin out of its cage?
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:23 pmI dont even know what to say. The lack of common decency is astonishing
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:35 pmSeriously though, what does this tell us about Kansas City and Kansas as a (ass)whole?
That the mayor has the personal and political confidence in his city constituents that his calculated (not off-the-cuff) would be and is appreciated and acceptable, that his confidence extends to the entire State of Kansas and that in a highly communicative and connected nation almost instantaneously-informed about almost anything but most especially in the present about the words and deeds of politicians he doesn’t give enough of a damn to even pretend that he made a mistake or misspoke or even that the spectacle he made of himself was “taken out of context” and he’ll be damned if he’ll be dictated to by another other groups of Americans who by majority opinion and in practice hold his views justifiably in contempt.
If the majority of Arkansans defend him or just laugh this off then I think the rest of us, the majority, can fairly describe Arkansas as the Confederate throwback it has long been and chooses to be and I for one would encourage Arkansas to become a nation to be left ot its own devices.
And that
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:39 pmHey, Arkansas City! I’ve got a joke for ya:
Wait, wait – I’ve got another one:
Okay, one more:
OH YEAH, A-K-C-T! There’s a lot more where THAT came from!
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:40 pm5th Estate Says:
Seriously though, what does this tell us about Kansas City and Kansas as a (ass)whole?
If the majority of Arkansans defend him ….
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:39 pm
______
Just a small correction, 5th Estate – it’s not Kansas City, Kansas – it’s Arkansas City, Kansas! The city so stupid, they got their own name wrong!
Hey – maybe we should pitch that slogan to their Chamber of Commerce!
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:43 pmCould this be what Slim Pickins was referring to in Blazing Saddles?
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:43 pmRUCerious Says:
Good God, who let this cretin out of its cage?
Hey!….. I resemble that remark (or was that personal?)….
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:51 pmLooking at the picture, I’m not sure about whether that is blackface or not. However, knowing certain implications of the slang Punt / Poon, I’m somewhat surprised that this would be associated with a child welfare group (CASA).
As such, once again, the repubs have managed to cheapen the hard work of a huge number of volunteers.
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:56 pmGood Lord that is just grotesque.
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:57 pmAnd now we know why Sarah Palin seems like such an intellectual to these folks.
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:15 pmhyssein toasterhead: Just a small correction, 5th Estate – it’s not Kansas City, Kansas – it’s Arkansas City, Kansas! The city so stupid, they got their own name wrong!
They have two cities?!! Well I’ll be hornswaggled!
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:23 pm5th Estate Says:
They have two cities?!! Well I’ll be hornswaggled!
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:23 pm
_____
I know, right? Can you believe that many people actually live in Kansas – by choice??
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:27 pmHey, some of Kansas is not that bad. If you have to come here, visit Lawrence,KS. Great town, good local beer.
What’s weird in this case, Arkansas City is not pronounced ARK-kan-saw City, (like the state). It and the Arkansas River (as long as it runs in Kansas) are pronounced ar-KAN-sas (like Kansas with an AR stuck on the beginning). I’m serious. Weird, huh?
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:54 pm:::::shaking head in wonderment::::::
This assclown managed to pull a twofer…insulting african americans by appearing in blackface and degrading women with the name.
October 2nd, 2008 at 4:04 pmAh, the good ole days of blackface and crossdressing. I’m not the newer images are less scary.
October 2nd, 2008 at 4:12 pmCappy Says:
Hey, some of Kansas is not that bad. If you have to come here, visit Lawrence,KS. Great town, good local beer.
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:54 pm
_______
Pfff – bunch of friggin art-haters! Or did you forget Lawrence commemorating International Dadaism Month on 4 February, 28 March, 1 April, 15 July, 2 August, 7 August, 16 August, 26 August, 18 September, 22 September, 1 October, 17 October, and 26 October of 2006?
October 2nd, 2008 at 4:16 pmSince when is Mel spelled with two L’s. Either way he can still kiss my grits…
October 2nd, 2008 at 4:17 pmhussein toasterhead Says:
Pfff – bunch of friggin art-haters! Or did you forget Lawrence commemorating International Dadaism Month on 4 February, 28 March, 1 April, 15 July, 2 August, 7 August, 16 August, 26 August, 18 September, 22 September, 1 October, 17 October, and 26 October of 2006?
Actually, I had forgotten about that! (I know Boog, one of the instigators). If you know about Dada, you know how appropriate it was! I thought it was a hoot, myself.
October 2nd, 2008 at 4:33 pmCappy Says:
Actually, I had forgotten about that! (I know Boog, one of the instigators). If you know about Dada, you know how appropriate it was! I thought it was a hoot, myself.
October 2nd, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Yeah – that was brilliant, I must admit.
Okay, so I’m granting Lawrence an exception in my blanket lambasting of Kansas – how’s that?
October 2nd, 2008 at 4:55 pmHow can you tell it’s prom night in Arkansas City?
All the tractors lined up at the car wash.
How can you tell it’s prom night in Arkansas City?
All the guys wear coverbundts on their sheets.
How can you tell it’s prom night in Arkansas City?
October 2nd, 2008 at 4:59 pmThe brothers give their sisters corsages.
hussein toasterhead Says:
Okay, so I’m granting Lawrence an exception in my blanket lambasting of Kansas – how’s that?
Much obliged.
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:07 pmI love how when one single racist, sexist piece of shit from Kansas says or does something asinine, everyone responds, “Well, what do you expect from KANSAS?” like one person’s behavior is indicative of the behavior of an entire state’s worth of people. I’m afraid that makes you as small-minded as the original asshat causing the controversy. It doesn’t make you funny. It just shows how little you know about Kansas.
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:14 pmWas he being a racist? I thought that was Oprah.
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:29 pm