The problem with this is he found Casey, who wasn't part of the local actor pool.

This is a very astute observation. Exactly why did Pete go to this effort for Casey specifically? I think it's somewhat obvious why on the surface, but how deep this goes is certainly coming.

This is almost the exact phrasing that D.W. Griffith used when asked why he cast white actors in blackface for "Birth of a Nation" (as if that movie's content wasn't off-putting enough to say the least). And the comments by the actors here... sheesh. Being full of prejudices against the characters is never a good condition. This comic actually works well as a commentary of that era because yes, stuff like this actually occured pretty much the exact same way. And you once replied to a comment you lost followers over this comic... I'll never get people who can't see that depiction within a story is not endorsement, especially when the overall context is so obviously attacking the practice.

PS: Also note the subtle wording of the squirrel.

Some of it might simply be the desire to retreat from serious issues and indulge escapism: FA is decidedly a haven for that in spades. It does reflect badly on the people that do so upon the moment an issue comes up, and makes you wonder about them as people.

Nicely done commentary. =)

Sounds a little racist to me, man. =P

That's probably why Casey dropped them a little hard in the next comic.