Essay 578

The Monday Morning MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Mickey Mouse is dumping Mickey D’s. After a decade of cross-promotional partnering, Disney has decided against renewing its exclusive contract with McDonald’s. One major reason is Disney’s desire to stay clear of fast food and the issues of childhood obesity. “There is value” in fast-food promotions, said Pixar Animation Studios honcho Steve Jobs. “But there are also some concerns, as our society becomes more conscious of some of the implications of fast food.” Heaven forbid we should also criticize the implications of directing movie-based merchandising to kids in general.

• Rap mogul Suge Knight testified at a federal bankruptcy hearing to discuss his debts of over $100 million. Damn, that’s a whole lot of bling.

• Employees at the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles allegedly use Internet search engines, slang dictionaries and input from drug and gang experts to check requests for vanity license plates. “More people are opting for personalized plates, so (off-color plates) are going to go up from that alone,” a BMV official said. “People are always trying to slip things by.” One Ohio resident thought UZADIME was code for drug dealers, but a BMV spokesman says it actually refers to a good-looking woman.

• Last January, Dale G. Caldwell was elected president of the Eastern Section of the United States Tennis Association, becoming the first Black to win the title. But the victory is being challenged in a lawsuit filed by the losing opponent, who happens to be White. The suit claims the election was invalid because certain votes were not properly counted. Some argue it’s another example of racism in professional tennis. Others deny such charges. “I don’t think the motive for the lawsuit is racism, despite tennis’s history of exclusion,” said Harry Marmion, the 1997 president of the tennis association. “They are fighting for position, programs and power.” OK. That stuff has nothing to do with racism.