It was fairly obvious that Arkansas City Mayor Mell Kuhn was going to be pit roasted for his portrayal of Smellishis Poon at Sunday night’s Men In Tights Under the Lights competition.
He issued an apology through the NAACP Thursday.
Just a day after Kuhn was named Miss CASA 2008, David A. Seaton, assistant general manager for Winfield Publishing Company, was already going on about Kuhn’s choice of name and the fact that Kuhn darkened his skin.
From what I hear, David A. was loaded for bear as he spoke with Kuhn and Linda Groth, CASA’s director. Kuhn told our reporter, Judy Welch, he was sure he’d be grilled in the paper just based on the tone of the interview.
Seaton wanted to know if Groth knew what Poon meant (it’s slang for a certain part of the female anatomy.) He asked Kuhn why he chose to perform in black face.
The NAACP caught wind and suddenly Kuhn was burning at the stake.
But if you happen to have the ear of David A., you might ask him this question: Why has no one has ever raised a stink over the CASA pageant in the past?
Let’s start with my character in 2004 ? the Hispanic bombshell ChiChi Grande, winner of the talent competition. Ask any Spanish speaker about the name and they’ll tell you it translates into English as Big Boobs or something saltier and not exactly politically correct.
My fellow competitor Randy Emerson performed as Randalyn Emerson Bigguns ? which is at least a little crude.
And my ChiChi character is not the most ethnically sensitive. With a thick, barely-understandable Hispanic accent and lots of over the top sequins and a sombrero ? it’s obvious I played more to stereotypes than real life.
So what’s my point?
I worked for the Winfield Courier back then and the paper sponsored me. It was a sash with the paper’s name on it that hung from my shoulder as I marched across the stage in the Winfield High School Auditorium. The senior Dave Seaton even sent me a Hibiscus plant ? which I still have by the way ? in appreciation of my performance.
Big Dave mentioned to me that my character is one I probably got away with portraying mainly because I happen to be of Hispanic heritage ? which took some sting out of it. I agreed.
No one at the paper, or anyone else for that matter, ever held my feet to the fire, everyone mostly laughed.
It’s this type of selective skewering that has always been my concern with the editorial policies of many in the media and others who endeavor to police our social conduct.
Which brings us back to Mell Kuhn.
Certainly Kuhn is among the more cantankerous, out-spoken ? some would say loud mouthed – local politicians we cover. He’s not politically correct and he knows it and is probably proud of it ? not unlike a number of other people around these parts.
As Mayor of a city his need to toe the line of political correctness is certainly more necessary than it is for others.
Picking another name and toning down his tan would have been a good idea. Or, if he was sticking with the name Puhn, he could of at least made sure it was spelled correctly on promotional materials in a way that made it clear it was a play on his name.
But in this instance, at the CASA pageant, he did nothing that had not been done before at an event where men get dressed up as women and push the bounds of good taste. He pushed the envelope to be sure but it was an edge that was already way out there. I can tell you there is some pressure, real or imagined, to shock or go over the top with the act for a laugh.
It happens time and time again.
And let’s be realistic, if we assume ? just for the sake of assuming ? that Kuhn really is a bigoted, dirty old man, is it rational to think an apology produced by some arm twisting from the NAACP is going to all of the sudden provide him a Eureka moment? I highly doubt it.
I’ll admit, the name Smellishis Poon caused my head to turn and my jaw to drop when I first heard it Sunday.
Of course I have one of those moments nearly every year at the CASA show. One past contestant showed up in a costume that left little to the imagination on the backside ? his cheeks were bared for all to see.
It’s when I first knew this was a fund-raiser different than most.
If the NAACP is really intent on wringing apologies out of those who have offended in the way Kuhn did Sunday ? then they are taking on a load of work that may have no end. I should probably be in line and so should Winfield Publishing for "condoning" my insensitive behavior.
This time, I prefer to cut Mayor Kuhn some slack.
