think this cartoon is incisive political satire. I had not heard about the woman and chimpanzee in Connecticut, so when I saw the cartoon, I saw it as the Post's attempt at making a joke about murdering the president.
(And then there's the disgusting chimpanzee symbolism--racists have used that image to denigrate the black man all through our disgusting history. When people have the image of a chimpanzee (a sub-human image) they tend to treat people in a sub-human way.)
The Democratic Party authored the Stimulus Package, and Barack Obama is the head of the Democratic Party. How else would one read this cartoon except as a incentive to murder the president, the person who signed the Stimulus Package?
They can't defend this--no matter what the racist pigs try to say to justify their treason.
10 comments:
"And then there's the disgusting chimpanzee symbolism"
You are very right on this. Except that there is precedent established from the previous 8 years where it is OK to call the President a chimpanzee.
dmarks.
Tone deaf once again.
There is a lengthy history of comparing Blacks to apes & cimps etc. This is profoundly racist. Of that there is no dispute. This cartoon is at best extremely insensitive and tone-deaf. At worst, racist.
Comparing a white, moneyed Eli & Harvard MBA to a chimp contains no racial aspect whatever.
That's the difference.
Thank you, Arthurstone, for explaining to dmarks why comparing a privileged white scion of an elite family to a chimpanzee is NOT the same as comparing a black person to one.
Tone deaf is correct.
African-Americans have been compared to chimpanzee and other primates for the sole purpose of dehumanizing them.
No one on Gawd's green earth ever mistook George W. Bush for an African-American.
"Comparing a white, monkeyed Eli & Harvard MBA to a chimp contains no racial aspect whatever. That's the difference."
I concede your points. Both types of chimp insults are lame, but directing it at Obama is much worse for these reasons.
Back to the cartoon, any idea who the cartoonist is? I would not be surprised if he/she has done ones like this before. This smells of support for assassination, and should be treated as such.
I don't recognize the cartoonist. Personally I think it's an unfortunate and misbegotten effort. Not racist in my view.
But a nationally syndicated cartoonist should be a little more on the ball.
It makes me sick. I'm afraid we'll never move past racism. People in this country just refuse to grow the f up.
It is true that we have compared W to a monkey with that goofy look and jug ears and his chimp-like antics- I have been guilty of it myself.
But, the worst cartoon I've seen of Bush portrayed him as a man with chimp ears and mouth in a suit and very much alive.
More than the inference of this drawing (I refuse to taint cartoonists by calling this piece of crap a cartoon) that our President is an ape, is the disturbing image of the ape lying dead having been shot by police - like burning an effigy.
I seriously doubt the entire editorial staff of the NYP is secretly racist. The cartoon conflates two events; the stimulus bill and the attack by a chimpanzee on a woman.
After all, President Obama didn't write the stimulus bill. David Obey did (the House version).
With hindsight, I imagine that they would not have run the cartoon. But I suspect that it didn't occur to them that the cartoon might be offensive. Or perhaps they underestimated their audience.
Actually, comparing w to a chimp is insulting to the species. The species of ape, of course.
But indeed, I expect that like Geo Will, being forced by economic necessity to produce something in print forces a lot of otherwise decent humans to produce schlock.
Post a Comment