In a sad attempt to explain away the criticism he gets for selling soaps named “Kolored Kids” and “Darkie” (complete with sambo imagery), among even more harshly titled brands the local news channels won’t repeat, Indiana shopkeeper Gary Dewester says he “doesn’t believe in political correctness.” And even though the owners of the Noblesville’s Logan Village Mall, where his vendor stall is located, are threatening to pull his lease, Dewester maintains that because this country was “built on racism,” his scented soaps are perfectly reasonable.
“How about gay people in our country,” he asks “Would they be offended by ‘Gay Johnny’ and ‘The Fairy Soap.'” Uh yes, we would. Oh, you sell those too, Mr. Dewester? “This is free publicity,” he tells Fox 59, “and I hope it makes every channel, because people will come in here.” The soaps, which he scores from a Florida vendor, are four bucks each.
[WTHR]
~R~
Sorry, sir, but your basis for peddeling these soaps is unjustified. This is sick! Sad.
JasonYeb
Why are hetrosexual people so dumb? No seriously, what is it about many of them that is just “off” in the head?
RomanHans
I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but I wash with Braindead Whitey myself.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
You just know this guy has those black jockey statues on his front lawn……….
Andrew
I’m so sick of people banging on their chests while spouting some shit about not being PC as though they’re oh so brave and daring. What they call being politically correct the rest of us just regard as basic decency.
shannon
All of the soaps in that crate are historical reproductions. Who cares.
One of the CA 36,000
Why am I not surprised that this douchenozzle lives in *Indiana*, and he’s sourcing the racist soap from *Florida*?!
Oh well– cracker is as cracker does, I always say.
Stupid old white guy Teabagger (and you KNOW he’s a Teabagger, don’t you?!).
Ryan
He is horrible.
I kind of want some gay johnny soap though.
BB
@One of the CA 36,000: You know, fighting racism with more racism isn’t helping promote anything good? “cracker” is an offensive term and doesn’t help race relations.
Not to mention, he also made homophobic actions well publicized that is equally sickening.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@Ryan: Thanks me too, I don’t feel so bad any more…….. :p
Jockey145
Hate to stir the pot, and I think it’s horrific that this guy is making money off racism, but is he actually breaking a law?
And aren’t there drag queens and stand-up comics and filmmakers making money off racism all over the place?
Again – I think what he is doing is deplorable, but why throw stones at him and not everyone else making money off it?
tjr101
Typical Republican teapartier. Look on the bright side, at least he’s old, he’ll croak soon!
Queer Supremacist
@BB: Fuck that cracker breeder goy. Cut off his Medicare so he dies quicker.
reason
@Jockey145: He isn’t breaking the law but the owner of the building wouldn’t be breaking the law by kicking him out. The media wouldn’t be breaking the law by running him out of business and exposing him all over the country. Cartoonist would not be breaking the law by making disturbing likenesses of him. Lawyers wouldn’t be breaking the law by targeting him for lawsuits and trying to destroy his finances. People in the town wouldn’t be breaking the law by slurring him anywhere he goes. He has a right to be a jerk, but so does everyone else.
Jake
I can see why some people would be offended by some of those soaps, but just about every gay I know has one of those “Have you a little fairy in your home?” tin signs in their kitchen or bathroom. I’d buy some gay johnny soap too.
It's not a matter of being PC - It's a matter of having some class
Oh yes, this nitwit probably wishes we could all go back to a time when people of privilege could use pejorative words that applied to other people with less social power as freely as they liked without anyone raising an eyebrow. Truly, that was a golden era if you were white and straight and Christian and a guy, and totally awesome because you didn’t have to think about the implications of your slurs.
SamIndy
@jasonyeb, Why are heterosexual people so dumb? What does sexual orientation have to do with being smart or dumb? So are homosexuals smarter? Do you have IQ test scores to prove this?
JAW
Time for another BOYCOTT!!
Fairy soap has been around for years it is a brand owned by Proctor & Gamble… guess we need to launch a BOYCOTT for a brand that has been around since the US Civil War… Google it.
Gay Johnny cowboy soap is also an oldie… I think it is funny… I surprised all the Johns in the world have not fought years ago to get the name jonny removed from the toilet… they are the ones to be offended not us Gay guys
I agree that the other soaps are pretty nasty and should be pulled… but when you google them you see a history behind them.
The ads for the soaps and some other items are pretty bad also.
Queer Supremacist
@SamIndy: We have Alan Turing. They have Ron Popeil.
We have Alexander the Great. They have George Custer.
We have Cole Porter. They have 50 Cent.
We have Sir John Gielgud. They have Tony Danza.
We have Vincente Minnelli. They have Michael Bay.
We have Graham Chapman (of Monty Python fame). They have Carrot Top.
We might have Abraham Lincoln (and I hope to god the rumors were true). They have the 42 other deadbeats who occupied the Oval Office, including the current homophobe-in-chief.
Advantage: gays. Quality over quantity.
@It’s not a matter of being PC – It’s a matter of having some class: I know what the implications of my slurs are. That’s why I use them. I want to hurt southern white trash crackers, breeder boys, and goyim because of what they are and what they do in the name of what they are. Slave-ownin’, woman-rapin’, gay-bashin’, traitor-flag-flyin’ white trash. God bless William Tecumseh Sherman.
You know what to do with crackers: Break ’em.
ron
He is not doing anything illegal, you sniveling liberals. Being politically incorrect cannot nullify a lease. I bet you loony leftists would have no problem with soap mocking Sarah Palin.
Michael
One man’s novelty is another man’s trash. Somebody here, I’m sure, will take offense in my thinking plastic pink flamingos used as yard art are in poor taste. Ditto for those little iron statues of black horse jockeys I’ve seen at some people’s front doors.
theharshtruth
Can someone please tell me where I can buy some of this?
Kevin
Actually, there have been studies and, consistently, GLBT persons do score higher on standardized IQ tests than their heterosexual counterparts. Your average heterosexual has an IQ of 100, whereas your average GLBT person has an IQ if 121. Just Google +gay +iq
Scott
Yikes. I’m sure a lot of people buy those soaps out of irony! He’s not breaking the law. Even though it is offensive and quite mind boggling that somebody would sell something like this, was it really worth the time for a news station to do a report on it?
damon459
@Jake: Really I’ve never seen anything that distasteful in any home I’ve ever been in and I’ve been out since I was 12 yrs old and have many gay friends.
Tessie Tura
I have a repro metal sign that advertises Fairy Soap. So it evidently did exist at one time. Slogan: “Have you a little fairy in your home?”
BHCA
You same silly queens crying about this would still buy it as a joke gift.
RomanHans
Here’s proof gays are smarter than straights: we’ve got two straight-sounding idiots trolling here (#20, #27). How many gays do you find hanging around right-wing or religious sites? We’ve got better things to do.
Barbie Read
In response to the “cracker” comments…FYI.
I happen to know the Florida based company which supplies this soap and they are actually born and bread northerners. Isn’t there something more important to cover in the news in this day and age?
Steve
Look, I can make ridiculous comparisons as well.
We have Mother Teresa, you have Father Thomas Paul Adamson. Go ahead, look him up.
Your generalities about this man being a Christian and a racist are just as dumb as generalizations about gays being promiscuous and unfit to be parents.
Danny
I’m gay and live in Cincinnati and am so taking a road trip to buy some of these soaps. I think they are freaking funny!!
jacknasty
Um I think Gay Johnny soap sounds awesome! I would totally buy it for my guest bathroom and all my buddies would get a kick out of it. Also I would say the majority of my black friends would find Darkie soap a hilarious stocking stuffer…but that is because my intent in giving it would be subversive and ironic humor, not because I’m nostolgic for a time when using that language wasn’t considered offensive.