I am not usually one to use the term "racism" lightly, nor do I always believe that opposition to Barack Obama has necessarily anything to do with the color of his skin. But I have pondered this cartoon and cannot come up with any other reason to use that monkey then as an Obama effigy, which they then depict as having been shot by the POLICE no less.
I am completely at a loss as to how they could not have realized just what message this would send to African Americans, Democrats, and Obama supporters.
I am completely at a loss as to how they could not have realized just what message this would send to African Americans, Democrats, and Obama supporters.
Nobody is that stupid.
And this is not the first time that the image of a monkey has been used in a derogatory manner to depict our 44th President. Do you remember this?
In my opinion this cartoonist should be reprimanded, and at the very least issue a public apology. His editor should be fired.
OMG Gryphen, I just posted this "cartoon" (which means it's supposed to be funny, so I can't call it that right now!) on my blog and am enraged that the New York Post can't see what the hoopla is all about.
ReplyDeleteA-holes.
One of my readers is extremely upset and did manage to leave this comment tonight (he was so upset about the cartoon that he said he couldn't come back and comment tonight!):
New York Post - Public Relations Director - Howard Rubenstein - 212-843-8000
Also the name of the artist is Sean Delonus
Gryphen,
ReplyDeleteI agree, especially as I've been compared to simians more than once in my 50+ years of living in the south. It has never ceased to amaze me that people who compare a race of people to simians have little/no sensitivity about how they make members of that group feel and are quick to disavow the intent of their actions by providing inane, insufficient justifications for their actions, always after the fact. What they fail to realize is that these types of portrayals are extremely offensive to many Americans, not just to African Americans. Totally clueless just about decribes their actions in this arena.
This cartoon is incredibly disrespecful, offensive, disgusting.
ReplyDeleteIt's also dangerous and inflammatory.
I can't believe anybody could have thought it was a good idea to publish it!
I agree this political cartoon is offensive on so many levels that the Post owes all Americans and our President an apology. Sean Delonus needs fired period. Parody my ass!
ReplyDeleteHey what do you expect.. the Post is owned by none other than Rupert Murdoch..owner of Fix News...
ReplyDeleteand the post's new explanation of it insults the intelligence of ALL americans, calling it:
ReplyDelete"a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut. It broadly mocks Washington's efforts to revive the economy. "
that doesn't even make sense! yes, some woman had kept a pet chimp for years apparently without incident, then this week he "went bizerk" and attacked her friend, basically ripping the other woman's face off the bone, so the police shot and killed him.
this happened, it's true and topical -and it has ZERO to do with the stimulus bill, did not occur in washington, and is in all other ways TOTALLY unrelated to the artist's text caption on his depiction of it -unrelated unless you assume the person most responsible for the stimulus bill is a chimp. and who is that person? oh, yes, a black man OUR PRESIDENT!
this is beyond unacceptable, way beyond! i was going to write something about how outraged people would have been had something similar happened with g.w. bush in his first hundred days, but i can't. do you know why? because there is no historical tradition of mockingly portraying white people as a certain animal and thus as less than human.
the cartoonist should be fired and the post should run a front page apology. and people shouldn't need to be black themselves to grasp why this is so, all they need is to know american history.
"But I have pondered this cartoon and cannot come up with any other reason to use that monkey then as an Obama effigy, which they then depict as having been shot by the POLICE no less."
ReplyDeleteThey used a monkey because in Stamford, CT a few days ago there was a well-publicized incident of a monkey attacking and nearly killing his owner and eventually having to be shot by police. That said, for people not in New England or not aware of the incident, they probably should've thought about how this came across. (Or even in light of the incident, it's still pretty questionable.)
Well, I was in my car and listened to a talkshow about this very topic.
ReplyDeleteWhen a female (I cannot say she was a woman! :( ) called in, she said she was 'a liberal' (yeah, RIGHT!!! :/)... anyway, she said that this was payback for the 8 years of calling the other guy 'chimpy', and posting him a 'incurious George', and that it was not meant to be racial, etc, etc. .
I got so incensed, I had to turn off my radio and stop at the side of the road to calm down...
That "cartoon" is no more a parody than the comments of Rush Limbaugh are a parody.
ReplyDeleteIt is, purely and simply, a political statement -- vile, dangerous, incendiary, and worthy of investigation by the secret service.
Anonymous at 4:46, yeah I know about the incident with the chimpanzee. And when I said I pondered it that was part of what I pondered.
ReplyDeleteI tried to understand how that incident was in any way related to the stimulus bill. It isn't.
But using a monkey to portray a person of African American descent is something that has often been done in the past as a racial put down so sadly it does make sense.
Ugly hateful sense.
As a AA woman this cartoon represents what some racist have been thinking about our President for a long time. Just because he got elected does not mean racism is dead. Racist will just go a different way to express themselves. This cartoon is one of those ways...and of course they will hide behind "humor" or "parody" instead of hiding under their white sheets.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ennealogic. This qualifies as racist, threatening hate speech. I would love to hear the cartoonist defend the "key points of satire" of this despicable drawing to the Secret Service and in a court of law.
ReplyDeleteThat is not a cartoon or parody. It is pure racism, no way around it.
ReplyDeleteGGGRRRRR, AARRGGGHHHHH, what you all said. This is dispicable. Uncalled for. Disgusting. The gall, This cartoonist should be charged with a hate crime or something. There is absolutely no reason to do this at all. Just shocking and saddening to think ppl in this day and age thinks like this. Thank you Sarah Palin for teaching and passing and mentoring on dispicable behavior like this. This behavior is taught and learned from their parents. I just pray everyday for these stupid ppls. Thanks for letting me vent.
ReplyDeleteThis folks are still trying to make a buck off of the monkey idea.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sockpoliticians.com/
Members of the American Taliban are now saying that there is ZERO violence in this "cartoon"!
ReplyDeleteThis comic is insane..I would urge any subscribers and advertisers to boycott this rag owned by Rupert Murdoch.
ReplyDeleteI can't even find the words to describe how I feel about this - I aqree with the above comment, this rag needs to be boycotted
ReplyDeleteso far, this appears to have pissed off:
ReplyDelete*black americans
*americans of all colors who hate racism/understand history
*people who support president obama
*people who think any allusion to shooting any law maker is a bad thing
* people who think any allusion to shooting the president is an extra bad thing
*people concerned about police violence
*police officers themselves, and their families
*people concerned with the keeping of exotic pets, pro and anti
-oh, and for good measure (gag)-
*people who are pissed off that anyone else is bothering to be pissed off, "can't you take a joke?" "are you just looking for something to protest about to get attention?"
this will not fade away quietly. i'm very curious to see if it will lead to some genuine conversations about some of the issues above. and how long it takes for murdoch's paper to apologize (or just what will happen if it doesn't.)
Thanks for posting this on your site. I have lived in the South all my life and can attest that racism is alive and well. As GinaM said, it will be expressed in new ways now (as well as the old ones).
ReplyDeleteIf anyone is interested, there is a wonderful organization that fights to protect civil rights by tracking hate groups, suing white supremacists and others, and publishing tolerance education programs. Here is a link to the Southern Poverty Law Center:
http://www.splcenter.org/index.jsp
They are aware of the racist backlash:
"President Obama may have smashed the ultimate political barrier to African Americans, but his presidency and the deepening economic crisis are creating the perfect storm for white supremacists intent on swelling their ranks.
Racist extremists have been energized by Obama's election, hoping to exploit an Obama backlash among whites who resent having a black man in the White House."
It is good for the public to be aware of what's going on in our country. While these racist sentiments may not be expressed in your city or town, they are held by some.
Here is a link to an article about existing threats to Obama as of Jan. 21, 2009: http://www.splcenter.org/news/item.jsp?aid=361