actually, there was another local case a few years earlier that the ACLU had gotten involved in that pissed me off and this just seemed to be the icing on the cake. the picture is pretty disgusting - - of course the artist has a right to paint whatever he chose, and it's unfortunate the situation played out the way it did. As I recall, originally it was just shown in a showcase of student work within the school, and it was only planned to be on display for a few days, and not available for public viewing.
It just seemed to me that emotions were running pretty high at the time, and the painting was not originally supposed to be part of the exhibit anyhow, but the student who painted it and a few of his friends hung it anyhow, and then started agitating about their "rights to free speech" when the school requested it be taken down. A friend of mine was an administrator at the School of the Art Institute at the time, and she said many of the museum staff felt the painting should not be exhibited beyond the original scope of the student showcase, but that there was a bit of a power play going on between the museum and the school.
Looking back now, I'd probably see it the other way, although as I recall, the comments of the artist did nothing to engender any sympathy or support, and my attitude was influenced by that as well.