Vanity plates

“Kike” is a derogatory slur used to refer to a Jew. From Wikipedia:

According to Leo Rosten, the word kike was born on Ellis Island when Jewish immigrants who were there were also illiterate (or could not use Latin alphabet letters), were asked to sign the entry-forms with the customary 'X,'* refused, because they associated an X with the cross of Christianity, and instead made a circle. The Yiddish word for 'circle' is kikel (pronounced KY-kul), and for 'little circle,' kikeleh (pronounced ky-kul-uh). Before long the immigration inspectors were calling anyone who signed with an 'O' instead of an 'X' a kikel or kikeleh or kikee or, finally and succinctly, kike.

I found myself behind this blue Cadillac Escalade at a stoplight in Jonesboro last evening. And I found myself wondering why in the world the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration – the issuing authority for Arkansas license plates – allowed it.

I went to their web site where you can try out different texts for vanity plates and discovered they block all of George Carlin’s list of prohibited words along with most other racial and ethnic slurs.

But these gems are apparently available:

• DIRTBAG
• HIMMLER
• KUNT
• YABOS
• SCHEISS
• DICKHED
• MORON
• HOTWIFE
• MOONBAT
• NOBAMA
• LEZBO
• ASLEEP
• DOZING
• MISSING
• TEXTING
• WARZONE
• GAYBEAR
• ALCOHOL
• NOTSANE
• METHHED
• KILLYOU
• KILLME
• PMS
• PMSING
• FUKIRAN
• POOPING
• PEEING
• HAZMAT
• SNARKY

Well, you get the idea.