Early Monday, it appeared that a Barack Obama sock monkey created by a West Jordan couple and criticized as racially offensive was never actually going to be distributed. Both the contracted manufacturer, Binkley Toys Inc., and TheSockObama LLC apologized and claimed on their respective Web sites that it would not be manufactured.
"We are very apologetic to all who were upset by our toy idea," an apology appearing on TheSockObama company's Web site says. "We will not be proceeding with the manufacturing of this toy. Thank you."
Bishop said in his apology that he hadn't initially made the "racist connection." He was also initially surprised by the outcry, "but when viewing the toy again, I could see how people could make the connection."
They also issued a long news release that defended the monkey as a victim of double standards and unfair censorship.
"Having led a moderately quiet lifestyle until now; our social calendar suddenly filled up with vivid and creative death threats,"
clipped from: www.deseretnews.com