SOME RACIST TWIT IN PARIS thinks that the Uruk-hai in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings look like American Indians.

As someone of Native American descent, I’m deeply offended. So is reader David Emigh, who writes: “As a Cherokee brought up in New Mexico I can think of NO Amerind that looks like the Uruk-hai.”

All my relatives are tusk-free! A guy who sees a resemblance to American Indians in the Uruk-hai is like a guy who sees a resemblance to black people in chimpanzees.

UPDATE: Ed Driscoll emails that Jonah Goldberg has made this point in response to similar comments in the past:

Okay, yes, it’s true. Many of the Orcs (and the super-Orcs) are dark-skinned and have slant-eyes. They are also — how shall I put this? — Orcs! Ya frickin’ idjit!
One is tempted to ask who is the real racist here? On the one hand we have people — like me — who see horrific, flesh-eating, dull-witted creatures with jagged feral teeth, venomous mouths, pointed devilish ears, and reptilian skin, and say, “Cool, Orcs!” On the other hand we have people, like Mr. Yatt, who see the same repugnant creatures and righteously exclaim “black people!” Maybe he should spend less time vetting movies for signs of racism and more time vetting himself if, that is, he free-associates black people with these subhuman monsters.

What he said.