Notorious Marietta bar parodied on MySpace
July 13, 2009 at 4:57 pm by Andisheh Nouraee in NewsMulligan’s, the Marietta bar that brought shame on Georgia last year when its owner began selling t-shirts depicting Barack Obama as the cartoon monkey Curious George, has inspired yet another online parody.
Behold, Mulletguns:
We keep a mind-numbing stream of hateful garbage comin’ at ya, along with nasty food and piss beer. If you thought racism was dead, think again! We are the foremost in the racist dining experience! Don’t forget to try the Ku Klux Klams!
July 13th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Looks good. It’s time we exercise our freedom of speech and let Mr. Norman know that he is no longer welcome in Marietta. I’ve started an online petition to oppose Mulligan’s and the owner’s hateful views. Please sign the petition, share it with others in the community, and let’s get this dump closed down:
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/shutdownmulligans/
July 13th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
the mor atenchun we git the mor we like it
July 13th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Cobb Against Mulligan’s:
You want to use your freedom of speech to deny someone else’s? Norman is ignorant, and that’s his right. It’s also his right to broadcast his ignorance. I find his views repugnant, but I’d sip some of his piss beer before I’d work to close him down. He’s a marginal figure that influences no one. There will always be racists, and we’ll always have to tolerate them. That’s how it should be.
July 13th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
And by tolerating them I mean making fun of them, calling them ignorant and bad-mouthing them at every turn — but never, ever forcing them to shut up. (And I grew up in Cobb — back in the 80s when people were still having their Sunday dinners at Aunt Fanny’s Cabin.)
July 13th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
atlmalcontent,
You should revisit your Constitution, as it appears you hold an all-too-common misunderstanding of what it entails. The Bill of Rights refers to protections against government intervention. Our sacred freedom of speech, as guaranteed by the First Amendment, deals only with measures taken by the government–it is a restriction against government action taken to restrict certain points of view. However, the guarantee does not apply to actions taken by individuals and communities to enforce standards in their neighborhoods. Freedom of speech does not enjoin a community to tolerate hateful garbage like the hateful nonsense posted daily by Mr. Norman. This is why communities are able to come together to preclude certain businesses from even opening in their towns and to shut down businesses that exist already.
Therefore, it is entirely within our rights as residents of Marietta to petition and protest Mulligan’s with the expressed intent of shutting it down. None of this entails a denial of Mr. Norman’s right to believe and even say whatever hateful garbage he desires. He can do so–elsewhere.
That said, I wholeheartedly encourage derision as well.
July 14th, 2009 at 7:57 am
I’d rather have free speech to prove idiocy.
July 14th, 2009 at 9:41 am
I’d rather have anarchy to prove lunacy.
July 14th, 2009 at 9:47 am
atlmalcontent,
Too bad Aunt Fanny’s cabin is gone… I love going to that place as a kid
July 14th, 2009 at 10:25 am
@ Cobb = welcome to a seemingly small club who actually understands the First Amendment (and the others as well).
July 14th, 2009 at 10:32 am
So what did you mean by “let’s get this dump closed down” if not closure through government action? The owner seems unlikely to close the bar merely because of public pressure. (On the contrary, he seems to enjoy the pressure.) Unless he leases the property and perhaps the owner could be persuaded not to renew (unlikely), I don’t see any non-governmental way that you are getting this bar shut down.
If you shut it down using government intervention such as denial of a business license, zoning, etc. you are going to face a pretty strong first amendment argument that the government has imposed a content-based restriction on Mulligan’s. Those are almost never upheld. It is one thing if a town imposes a seemingly neutral restriction prior to a business coming into existence, but any governmental action taken now will be obviously in specific response to this one bar with a history of putting racist crap on its sign. Good luck winning that legal argument.
I can’t stand what Mulligan’s has done or the owner’s individual views, but I think the legal situation is not nearly as cut and dried as you make it out to be.
July 14th, 2009 at 10:57 am
I did not mean to make the legal situation sound cut and dried. I meant merely to demonstrate that Mr. Norman’s freedom of speech would not, in any way, be violated by a robust community campaign to rid Marietta of his restaurant’s existence.
As for what I intended by comment, I meant getting the dump shut down. The goal can most assuredly be realized absent any intervention by the government. It won’t be easy, but the residents of Cobb ought to come together in solidarity to oppose racism and bigotry, even if Mr. Norman relishes the attention. I think it is better to make our collective opinion known through petition and protest than to sit idly by, suggesting to all of our neighbors and all passersby that Cobb County sees nothing objectionable in Mr. Norman’s provocations. It is embarrassing to tell people that I hail from a town in which no one raises a finger or a voice against a man who posts hateful and incendiary sentiments on his restaurant’s sign every day.
Social change does not happen simply by detesting something and hoping that it disappears. Change happens because people get off their asses and start agitating for it. Change is easier when assisted with government action, but government action is not necessary.
Be creative. Be persistent. It’s time to bring this community together in opposition to a restaurant that would scarcely receive any toleration whatsoever in countless communities across the nation. Marietta is better than our silence suggests. It’s time to stop being indifferent to bigotry, lest we give others the impression that we condone it. I most definitely do not.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Cobb against Mulligan,
I hate to be a downer here but im not so sure that the majority of Cobb county is even against such a place existing. This is the same county that is too backwards for mass transit.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
edgewood adam,
Sadly, I think you’re right. I was born and raised in Cobb County, so I am all too familiar with its prejudices. But the area’s history and perhaps current status is no reason to throw up one’s hands and remain silent.
The Cobb County of today, however conservative and prejudiced it may be, is dramatically different from the Cobb County of 20 years ago. Moreover, the area is increasingly diverse and multicultural. According to the Census, the percentage of whites in Cobb County has dropped nearly 20 percent since 1990. In that same time, the percentage of blacks has more than doubled, and the percentage of Hispanic has more than quintupled. Simply put, this isn’t the same ol’ Cobb County.
Whether the native white population of Cobb County welcomes or bemoans the changing makeup of the county, it is a reality. Those of us who are more liberal-minded and who would like to see a more civil and respectful atmosphere for our neighbors should make our voices heard.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Where was Aunt Fanny’s Cabin? I spent my formative years in Cobb and I don’t remember it.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Getting it shut down can be achieved in numerous ways, and it does not need to require government intervention. As someone pointed out, this can be difficult and maybe impossible. But it can be also shut down through lack of revenue and business. If residents choose to avoid eating there and more people are made aware of this protest, then a lack of business can force the restaurant to close or change its ways. Other local businesses who supply this restaurant with goods may not be aware of its racial actions. If these suppliers are made aware of the owner, maybe they will stop supplying the restaurant. And so on.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Thomas — I think Aunt Fanny’s was south of Smyrna in the very southernmost part of Cobb. I was born in Marietta (as were my parents) and grew up in the East Cobb suburbs during the 70’s & 80’s and I never even heard of the place until it closed when I was an adult.
I was fairly disgusted to learn a place like that was still in existence in my lifetime and near me. I’d feel the same about Mulligan’s if I still lived up that way. I’m in the Midtown bubble now, God bless it.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
“It is embarrassing to tell people that I hail from a town in which no one raises a finger or a voice against a man who posts hateful and incendiary sentiments on his restaurant’s sign every day.”
Hard to argue with that.
“This is the same county that is too backwards for mass transit.”
Even harder to argue with that.
I say we break into the place, trash the office, and make off with the records and say it was industrial espionage.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Aunt Fanny’s Cabin was in Smyrna. They served the best chicken, buscuits, and southern veggies around. Instead of having printed menus they would send around a little black child carrying a chalkboard around his neck. The child would recite the menu and a waitress would come take your order.
It was a great place to eat… such a shame that it is gone now.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
link to info about Aunt Fanny’s Cabin
http://www.smyrnahistory.org/_welcomecenter.htm
July 14th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Cobb against Mulligans,
I wholehaertedly support your cause and if i lived there would be pettioning too. Come join us in the city, you will be welcomed with open arms.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
edgewood,
I appreciate your support and invitation to the city. I wish more in Marietta were as supportive, but I can’t abandon them for it. Part of me is proud to hail from Marietta, and that pride compels me to do my best to make Marietta a better place.
Carlos,
Too true. Cobb isn’t the most progressive place in the world, to say the least, but I think most can agree that racist and inflammatory rhetoric are unacceptable and intolerable. Either way, I think silence is worse than being forced to accept the reality that there really isn’t much support out there for civil discourse. I would like to think that it’s a better place than our collective silence suggests, but if it isn’t, I’d rather the community be more forthright about it. Confronting the issue head-on will allow Marietta to show its true colors.
July 14th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
I believe they only serve Pabst Blue Ribbon. Anyone know who the local PBR distributor is? Seems like lobbying the distributor to take away their lone beer supply wouldn’t be good for business.
July 14th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Mike,
Good thinking. That’s the sort of avenue we need to pursue. I’ll see if I can find out who the distributor is for the area.
July 15th, 2009 at 7:22 am
I think everyone here is missing the deeper point in this parody. The question we all should be asking is “who are the genius minds who created this website?” And furthermore, “how can I buy the new mulletguns CD?” Seriously, this stuff is great!!!
July 15th, 2009 at 7:41 am
I heart The Mullet Guns.
July 17th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
aunt fannys cabin was on campbell road, between atlanta rd and spring rd.
maybe half a mile from campbell high school (now campbell middle school).
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:21 am
What does Aunt Fanny’s have to do with anything?