Houston, we have
a problem...
The Story About Nonmacher's BBQ
The poster above, which depicts an Iranian being lynched as a man nearby sports a t-shirt with the words "Iranians Suck", is currently being displayed at Nonmacher’s BBQ in the Houston suburb of Katy, TX. It was put up in 1979 by owner John Nonmacher in response to the horrific Iranian hostage crisis that occurred for 444 days under the Carter administration.
Nobody complained about it for over 30 years... until November 2011.
After a public outcry that resulted in both immense support and protest, Mr. Nonmacher still refuses to take down the poster and cites his First Amendment right to free speech at a private establishment.
I want to make something perfectly clear:
Mr. Nonmacher, I recognize and understand your right to free speech and to hang (no pun intended) whatever you want at your own restaurant. It’s what makes America such a beautiful, wonderful, and unique country. I understand that the Iranian hostage crisis led to a lot of anger among Americans at the time, including yourself.
However, as the Nonmacher’s BBQ poster controversy continued, I began to notice 3 things:
1) Bigotry and hatred towards Middle Easterners exist in Houston, and it’s a big problem.
2) Many Houstonians confuse Iranians and Iranian-Americans with the corrupt Islamic republic, and they think both groups support it.
3) Many of Nonmacher’s supporters publicly support his “First Amendment rights” because they privately hold hatred towards Middle Easterners.
Wow, those are some pretty bold statements. How did you come to these conclusions?
Just by reading comments from Facebook pages, local Houston news websites, and on websites like Yelp and Urbanspoon. Since November 4th, I mysteriously watched the nature of the comments shift from outright, blatant hatred to arguments appearing to be more sophisticated.
Below are comments that I've put together since November 4th.
Read the type of comments getting “Thumbs Down” in local Houston news websites
Regardless of constitutional rights -- which in my opinion is not the real issue, anyway -- the poster is tacky, crude, and displays an aura of ignorance and lack of education on Mr. Nonmacher’s part.
It also makes Texas look very backwards.