Racist Chimpanzee Cartoon

[Steven E. Webster]

Friends,

Here's a link:

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/02/a_questionable.html

If you go to google news and search the words: chimpanzee cartoon, you will find the cartoon itself.

The charge is that this is an ugly, racist attack on Barack Obama. Seems that way to me. The newspaper where this originated is the New York Post owned by Rupert Murdoch, a right-winger.

Steven Webster

[Gennee]

The New York Post is a racist paper which I don't read. I'm not surprised by the attack. Black people get this all the time.

Gennee

[Rick336]

Here's a statement from the New York Post today:

"The cartoon is 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. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist."

If the New York Post wants to be given the benefit of the doubt, it seems to me that it would have been better for them to have said something along the lines of:

"The New York Post deeply regrets our error in allowing the cartoon to be published. We now realize that the cartoon may be seen as insensitive to African Americans and President Obama. We offer our sincere apology."

I mean, come on! The cartoon is NOT a "clear parody". I think it's very easy to see how it could be misinterpreted.

Rick

[BrianB]

May I ask a question? Is there any unfavorable commentary about President Obama that won't be seen as a racist attack? Bush has been portrayed as worse things than a chimpanzee. I guess we all have to walk on eggshells when commenting about President Obama.

[BruceChris]

It's usually an understatement. I find it awfully hard to say anything positive about a society that has been comatose for the last 8 years.

Bruce Chris

[Steven E. Webster]

May I ask a question? Is there any unfavorable commentary about President Obama that won't be seen as a racist attack? Bush has been portrayed as worse things than a chimpanzee. I guess we all have to walk on eggshells when commenting about President Obama.

I think there are all sorts of "unfavorable commentary" that could be made about President Obama that would not be perceived as racist---just don't include a reference to a chimpanzee in it. Can it be that hard?

Oh, and by the way, leave out nooses, burning crosses, welfare queens and the N-word.

I don't think any intelligent "unfavorable commentary" is going to be taken as racist.

Frankly, I think the implied accusation that Obama can't be criticized without there being counter-charges of racism is itself an expression of racism.

Steven Webster

[BrianB]

I think there are all sorts of "unfavorable commentary" that could be made about President Obama that would not be perceived as racist---just don't include a reference to a chimpanzee in it. Can it be that hard?

Oh, and by the way, leave out nooses, burning crosses, welfare queens and the N-word.

I don't think any intelligent "unfavorable commentary" is going to be taken as racist.

Frankly, I think the implied accusation that Obama can't be criticized without there being counter-charges of racism is itself an expression of racism.

Steven Webster
You may think what you like. I was just asking a question. Asking questions is an expression of racism? If that is racist I apologize for asking.

[Rick336]

Even if we forget about the racist connotations of the cartoon, the character representing the president in the cartoon was gunned down and killed. What kind of a sick message does that send?

The New York Post is trash.


Rick

[Steven E. Webster]

You may think what you like. I was just asking a question. Asking questions is an expression of racism? If that is racist I apologize for asking.

C'mon, get serious! Of course, asking questions is not racist. Asking racist questions is racist. If the shoe fits, wear it!

Steven Webster

[Steven E. Webster]

Even if we forget about the racist connotations of the cartoon, the character representing the president in the cartoon was gunned down and killed. What kind of a sick message does that send?

The New York Post is trash.


Rick

There is and has been a lot of fear that Obama will be assassinated, even to the extent that he's had an unusual amount of Secret Service protection since he became a candidate. Why? Because this is a racist country full of violent racists who kill African Americans and who are outraged to see African Americans in positions of authority.

What that cartoon hints at is nothing less than lynching. It is not just an attack on Obama, it is an expression of this country's hatred for its African American citizens, and our country's desire to keep them in a subordinate position.

Since LGBT people suffer from a similar (though different) cultural prejudice, I would expect that we would also be sensitive to such racist expressions. I do, think, though, that we need to educate ourselves about racism. We really need to make some effort to understand what it must feel like to be an African American seeing such a cartoon.

Steven Webster

[BrianB]

C'mon, get serious! Of course, asking questions is not racist. Asking racist questions is racist. If the shoe fits, wear it!

Steven Webster

You can keep your shoes. I'm not a racist.:mad:

[Alecto]

The word "racist" often activates heavy defensive reactions. It offends our sensibilities to be compared to violent cross-burners. It shouldn't necessarily, though. We're raised in a racist society, and sometimes that gets reflected in our thoughts words or actions. The sooner we're able to own it and examine it instead of running away because we're not violent cross-burners, the sooner our society will improve. That said, I don't think it's necessarily racist to ask the question you asked, brian. I think it's possible that you're literally ignorant (unaware of) some of the common slurs and racist imagery that face the black community.

Criticizing a gay person by evoking images of bestiality is never ok. Criticizing a black person by comparing them to a monkey is never ok.
I've seen plenty of criticism of Obama that happily left his race out of the equation, that focused solely on his policies, and I haven't heard people jumping to call it racist. So to answer your question, yes it's possible.

[Steven E. Webster]

Thanks, Alecto, for your more calm analysis.

Here is a link to a comment today from Andrew Sullivan.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/02/the-rhetoric-on.html

Steven W.

[tdogg]

It was a disgusting cartoon and I saw no humor in it. When brought to task, the paper refused to do anything, although later it apologized to 'some' who might be offended.

It's racist if the reader perceives it to be. I am a white female, I found it racist and disgusting. I found nothing funny in that. I would never read a paper that felt it was ok to approach an issue that way.

Everything about the chimp incident was a tragedy. I thought it was doubly inexcusable to use something about that incident, especially in a racist way.

[originalgrissel]

The cartoon aside, I think that the point that Brian B. was trying to make (and Brian, correct me if I am wrong) is that there unfortunately are a lot of people that feel that any criticism of President Obama (regardless of what kind of criticism it is) automatically must come from a racist point of view. You can dislike Mr. Obama's politics and his choices and believe that he has made mistakes without that having anything to do with his race. However, there are many people in this country that support him so vehemently that even criticism of his voting record can be met with accusations of racism.

Prior to the election there were supporters of Mr. Obama that expressed the view that if people were not voting for Barack Obama it must be because he is a black man and they were racist. So, I think Brian B. makes a good point because for some people this president can do no wrong simply because of his race and that is sad. It's sad because people should be judged for good or ill on their own merits not on their gender or their religion or ethnicity or sexual orientation and until we start doing that racism will continue to be perpetuated in this country.

[BrianB]

I agree that the chimpanzee slur was not appropriate. It was also not appropriate the assasination thing. At first I thought it was all about killing the bill...not the President. After further reflection it is an offensive cartoon. The point of killing the bill could have been made in any number of ways that would not be racist.

[Steven E. Webster]

The cartoon aside, I think that the point that Brian B. was trying to make (and Brian, correct me if I am wrong) is that there unfortunately are a lot of people that feel that any criticism of President Obama (regardless of what kind of criticism it is) automatically must come from a racist point of view. You can dislike Mr. Obama's politics and his choices and believe that he has made mistakes without that having anything to do with his race. However, there are many people in this country that support him so vehemently that even criticism of his voting record can be met with accusations of racism.

Prior to the election there were supporters of Mr. Obama that expressed the view that if people were not voting for Barack Obama it must be because he is a black man and they were racist. So, I think Brian B. makes a good point because for some people this president can do no wrong simply because of his race and that is sad. It's sad because people should be judged for good or ill on their own merits not on their gender or their religion or ethnicity or sexual orientation and until we start doing that racism will continue to be perpetuated in this country.

First of all, the topic of this thread is a racist cartoon. No one seems to be denying that the cartoon is racist. It is not racist because it is a criticism of Obama's stimulus bill. In fact, it makes no rational criticism of Obama's stimulus bill. It only says that the uppity black man that wrote this awful bill is an ape who should be shot. Now that does not seem to me to be any rational criticism at all, but a pure expression of racism.

I'm not offended because this is an attack on Obama. I'm offended because it's an irrational, hateful, racist attack on black people generally. I think that's the reason most people find the cartoon racist, and it's why the New York Post did, eventually, issue an apology of sorts.

So far, no one has come forward with an example of a perfectly rational criticism of Obama being dismissed as racist. (There may be such an example, but no one has brought one forward.) There's just a kind of general, whining, belly aching that supposedly no one can criticize Obama without being called a racist, but no evidence is presented that that is really the case. Given that the topic of this thread is a real, racist cartoon, dismissing the topic of this thread as just another instance of supposed suppression of criticism seems to me to be drastically missing the point. Or worse, it's an attempt to dismiss the reality of racism itself--such a dismissal of the seriousness of racism would itself be a racist act, in my opinion. (I admit, I don't really know what anyone's intentions really are, I'm just explaining my reaction.)

Seems to me there's a lot of GOP congress people who are having no problem standing against Obama's stimulus package, and I see no evidence that the GOP in Congress is doing this because Obama is a black man. There are decent, smart people in the GOP who know that the image of their party is being harmed by the kind of racism that is expressed in this cartoon.

By the way, I appreciate Alecto's calm and balanced approach to the controversy in this thread. Racism just get's me hot under the collar, just like homophobia and any other injustice. (Sorry, Brian, if I misunderstood you.)

One more thing, I'm offended that by expressing a concern about the racism in this cartoon, I'm being pidgeon-holed as someone who won't tolerate any criticism of Obama. That's just not true. I fully expect Obama to have feet of clay like every other President I've known for forty years. I have hopes. I agree with some of his program (and disagree with some of it). I don't know that he will succeed, but I'm convinced that he's someone who has never let a thing like racism keep him from doing his very best.

Steven Webster

[originalgrissel]

Given that the topic of this thread is a real, racist cartoon, dismissing the topic of this thread as just another instance of supposed suppression of criticism seems to me to be drastically missing the point. Or worse, it's an attempt to dismiss the reality of racism itself--such a dismissal of the seriousness of racism would itself be a racist act, in my opinion. (I admit, I don't really know what anyone's intentions really are, I'm just explaining my reaction.)

Yes, the topic of the thread was initially the cartoon (which I agree, is very offensive) but when Brian B. posted his comment and asked if any criticism of President Obama would not be seen as racist you replied with several posts explaining how you felt his very question had a racist connotation which took the thread a bit far afield and those were the remarks I was responding to. So, my dismissal of the original topic seemed appropriate since my remarks were in response to the question Brian B. had asked.


One more thing, I'm offended that by expressing a concern about the racism in this cartoon, I'm being pidgeon-holed as someone who won't tolerate any criticism of Obama.

I've read all the replies to this thread (including my own) and I don't reccall one post in which you, personally were being pigenonholed as anything of the sort. My comments regarding the views of some staunch Obama supporters were not directed at you personally and I'm sorry if you thought they were. I was referring to people that I have encountered myself who felt that way and sadly there have been a few.

[Alecto]

I do agree with Bruce that the dismissing of the blatant racism to talk vaguely about how charges of racism are overused is a racist (in the sense of a socialized response and coming from a privileged position) action. It happens in the relevant lj groups often enough that most have specific rules about derailment. Hopefully, we can continue to be a little more casual about that here at soulforce. The point is, while conversationally on-topic, because it happens so often it's important to make a deliberate effort to not redirect conversations about racism (or heterosexism, or any other kind of oppression).

Within context, it would seem that the point Brian was originally trying to make is that this cartoon is a criticism of Obama and not racist, a point which he has since changed his mind on.