19 replies to this topic

[Red Frog]

So lately there's been a lot of conversation over this cartoon, which ran in the NY Post.



Some people are convinced that this is the most blatant racism, based on historic portrayals of african americans as monkeys or apes.  They contend that it is an attack on Obama.  (Vehemently argued here: http://www.cnn.com/2...toon/index.html)

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Too bad the leadership of the New York Post didn't follow the lead of the president in admitting that an editorial cartoon they ran today by Sean Delonas was offensive, careless and racist.

If you haven't seen the editorial in question, it shouldn't take you long to figure out that the subtle message was clear: comparing President Obama to a chimpanzee.

In the cartoon, a cop is holding a smoking gun and, with another officer, looking at a bullet-riddled body of a chimpanzee. The caption reads: "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill."

The other side says, hey, remember that chimp attack?  That's what this is about.  I'm inclined to agree with this side.  I don't think that every single time there is ever a monkeyt in something, we have to assume that it's a racist profile.  No one got up in arms over Far Side cartoons.   I also can't believe that the NY Post would run a cartoon that intended to show not only the president in the crudest possible stereotypes, but also being gunned down by police officers.

In Martin's article, he asks

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What could be seen as silly humor if President George W. Bush were in the White House has to be seen through the lens of America's racist past, as noted by the leaders of the New York Association of Black Journalists, who also are demanding an apology from the Post.

"How do you think the Jewish community would feel about the use of rats in any depiction of them? How do you think the Italian community would feel about being generalized with mobsters?" the organization said in a statement.

I feel like there is absolutely nothing to connect the black president with this chimp other than the note about the stimulus bill (which he didn't write).  Even so, the more relevant news story is the chimp attack.  Obviously, I'm not as close to this as some, but I think that if everything has to pass a test of completely arbitrary associations, nothing would ever get done.

Thoughts?

[Hezalin]

What does the stimulus bill have to do with chimps?  I dunno, this cartton is  jsut dumb, confusing, and not thought out

[Mary]

Hezalin said:

What does the stimulus bill have to do with chimps?  I dunno, this cartton is  jsut dumb, confusing, and not thought out

Exactly what I was thinking...

I don't think people would've associated this image with Obama at all if it weren't for the stimulus mention.  What did they expect?  He's been traveling all over the country talking about the stimulus package for weeks, it's like, the #1 news story every day...of course people were going to think this was some kind of jab at Obama, whether the cartoonist meant it that way or not.

Really poorly executed as editorial cartoons go, I think.

[Red Frog]

Hezalin said:

I dunno, this cartton is  jsut dumb, confusing, and not thought out

I guess that's the point as much as anything.

All editorial cartoons should have big signs all over them so you know exactly what's going on.

[Driver Eight]

The New York Post is a conservative tabloid and part of the Murdoch publishing group. My first read on the cartoon was much like yours, Frog, thinking of the members of Congress as the "dumber-than-chimps" who wrote the stimulus. But it didn't take but a minute or two to see where many people could read it the other way and see it as suggesting of harming the president, which is unthinkable. I think the Post would have been wise not to have published the cartoon, and I think they'd be wise to apologize.

[stiperules!ok]

Yes, it doesn't take too much of a step in some people's imaginations to think that they're calling Obama a chimp.

[Kelly A]

I have to say I thought it was racist at first glance. I see now that it was probably just as Hez said.

[petruchio]

I think the cartoon is poorly thought out and have a hard time believing that people that approve editorial and cartoon content for a living at the Post did not see how this could be interpreted as racist or inflammatory.

[Driver Eight]

stiperules!ok said:

Yes, it doesn't take too much of a step in some people's imaginations to think that they're calling Obama a chimp.

A better tagline would've been, "Well, guess they'll have to find someone else to run the investment bank now." That would've been more fitting, especially given that the incident happened in a rich New York suburb peopled with Wall Streeters.

[mnkcarp]

There had to be better "dumber than a..." imagery to use than a monkey.  Unwise choice.

Donkeys are considered pretty dumb, yes?

[stiperules!ok]

Christratton2007 said:

A better tagline would've been, "Well, guess they'll have to find someone else to run the investment bank now." That would've been more fitting, especially given that the incident happened in a rich New York suburb peopled with Wall Streeters.

LOL!

mnkcarp said:

There had to be better "dumber than a..." imagery to use than a monkey.  Unwise choice.

Donkeys are considered pretty dumb, yes?

Actually, I think they're pretty smart - ever tried to get one to do something it doesn't want to?

[zack2sb]

Red Frog said:

So lately there's been a lot of conversation over this cartoon, which ran in the NY Post.





In Martin's article, he asks



I feel like there is absolutely nothing to connect the black president with this chimp other than the note about the stimulus bill (which he didn't write).  Even so, the more relevant news story is the chimp attack.  Obviously, I'm not as close to this as some, but I think that if everything has to pass a test of completely arbitrary associations, nothing would ever get done.

Thoughts?

Living in the New York area, reading the NY Post on occasion, and knowing the history of "monkey" and "ape" references to Black people, and looking at the cartoon again, there is absolutely NO DOUBT, that this is an extremely racist cartoon. There can be no other connotation, than that Obama is an ape, and these police could not tell the difference between the chimp in the news, and Pres. Obama. Based on American history and experience, this can be seen in no other light. Either the cartoonest was unaware of the associations and therefore, it was a sin of omission, or it was a definite racist connotation. The Post published it and, therefore, they must assume the responsibility for that.

[zack2sb]

To make it even worse, looking at the cartoon after  talking about it with a friend earlier on the phone, it is even worse. It is a definite implication to assassinate the first Black president. And a political cartoonist is schooled in political and social references- this is his language and milieu. This is definitely a racist cartoon, no way around it!

[stiperules!ok]

zack2sb said:

To make it even worse, looking at the cartoon after  talking about it with a friend earlier on the phone, it is even worse. It is a definite implication to assassinate the first Black president. And a political cartoonist is schooled in political and social references- this is his language and milieu. This is definitely a racist cartoon, no way around it!

Couldn't have put it better.

[DericksHam]

looks very much like an attack on obama.  but i think i would compared dubya with monkeys too. or birds. if obama was running a commie country, the whole newspaper staff would be shot for trying  convince people to assassinate the prez.

[isilida 32]

i really don't think it's racist at all. just not well thought out. i think they're trying to connect monkeys being dumb and the monkey attack with the stimulus bill and those that wrote it. unfortunately, they get lost somewhere along the way.

stiperules!ok said:

LOL!



Actually, I think they're pretty smart - ever tried to get one to do something it doesn't want to?

yes. they're real jackasses.

[mnkcarp]

There's lots of this stuff out there:

[zack2sb]

mnkcarp said:

There's lots of this stuff out there:

While that may very well be true, it doesn't have the added weight of a long history in the US of racial references to Black people as "monkey," "chimps," and "gorillas." Also, they don't show two policemen assasinating the president, when you have a long history of police being used to enforce racist policies and to intimidate Black Americans. And this is implying an assasination of the first African/American president, as well.

[isilida 32]

i really don't think it's implying anything than a monkey was shot because he went nuts like that monkey that attacked someone. we can anything we want into it, but that doesn't make it true. people have done that forever and always will. what's so bad about this that's not bad about the original planet of the apes and the remake? i would think the latter would be worse.

[dariusjag]

Racism smacism.  The budget appeared to be written by a bunch of monkeys. Only a racist would jump to a conclusion that the monkey represents a black person.