Cowboys and Iranians Poster Controversy




(Katy, Texas) About 30 years ago, local restaurant owner John Nonmacher mounted a poster on the wall of Nonmacher's Barbecue ostensibly in response to the 1980 Iranian hostage crisis.

The poster's message is anti-Iranian and, after three decades, someone noticed, sparking controversy.

Mr. Nonmacher is not perturbed.

"This is still America. If they're not happy here, then they should go back to Iran," said John Nonmacher, owner of Nonmacher's Barbecue on Mason Road.

Among the many joking posters and other signs on the walls, one poster depicts a group of cowboys lynching what appears to be a Middle Eastern man. One member of the lynch mob wears a shirt that reads "Iranians Suck" and the caption at the bottom declares, "Let's play cowboys and Iranians."

Nonmacher says his regular customers are not affected by the controversy. However, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) expresses displeasure.

“This is not an issue of freedom of speech, as Mr. Nonmacher claims, but rather an issue of hate speech. I’m confident a court of law would agree with that assessment,” said NIAC Community Outreach Director Nobar Elmi.

Arguably, there's veiled threat of a lawsuit. What happens next is unknown.


[Update 11/7/11]
It's now reported that protesters and supporters have been demonstrating in front of Nonmacher's BBQ.




Heh.