'Not about to start censoring' floats, Spanish Town parade board member says in response to outcry

Baton Rouge’s signature Spanish Town Mardi Gras Parade provoked controversy for the second year in a row, with critics saying its risqué style of humor went too far this past weekend.

This year’s most offending culprits were jokes about race, as at least two floats parodied the “Black Lives Matter” movement with “Pink Lives Matter” slogans, which reference the parade’s pink flamingo mascot.

One float featured a drawing of a flamingo being beaten with a police baton. The flamingo had an “I can’t breathe” sign strung around its neck, mimicking the words of Eric Garner, whose 2014 New York City death at the hands of police officers sparked protests about police brutality and helped kick off the nationwide “Black Lives Matter” demonstrations.

“It’s very easy for people who may not be enduring the weight of these types of incidents to make light of it,” said Donney Rose, one of many black writers who said this year’s parade crossed too many boundaries. “But when you belong to a group or demographic to where that could be your reality at any point in time, you don’t find the humor in it, you don’t find the satire.”

The Spanish Town parade has become known for its crude humor and not-exactly-family-friendly atmosphere during its 36 years. Floats often poke fun at politicians and hot-button issues, often with sexual humor thrown in the mix.

“We’re aware of what’s going on, we’re sorry if anybody’s offended, but we have no official position at this time,” said Doug Cossman, a board member of the group that oversees the Spanish Town parade and ball, the Society for the Preservation of Lagniappe in Louisiana. “And we’re not about to start censoring anybody’s free speech rights.”

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