Remember, after we elected Barack Obama, everybody was twittering about the end of racial barriers in America? Yeah, not so much. Today, the New York Post published a cartoon referencing Obama and the stimulus package, offensive even by the Post’s disgustingly low standards.
Where to begin? On matters of fact alone, the cartoon is grossly inaccurate. While it is true that Obama is the public face of the package, he’s not the author and never purported to be. More problematic though is the imagery. Depicting a black man as a monkey while two police officers stand over him with a smoking gun? Not cool and incredibly racist. Instead of apologizing for publishing this nonsense, the NY Post blamed the furor on all those whiny, over-sensitive minorities.
Col Allan, the Post’s editor-in-chief, said the cartoon “is a clear parody of a current news event.”
“It broadly mocks Washington’s efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist,” Allan said in a written statement.
I love that we’re so past racism, we don’t even need to acknowledge it any more. It’s nice living in post-racial America.
UPDATE: Here are ten more disgusting cartoons from the loathsome cartoonist Sean Delonas.
-Indira
2 responses so far ↓
annapiontek // February 19, 2009 at 1:41 pm |
This isn’t parody and I can’t believe the NYP is even pretending that this cartoon can be seen as anything other than it appears to be. Representing an African American (OUR PRESIDENT, no less) with a chimpanzee is one of the most racially charged images in the book. Consciously or unconsciously, this drawing is channeling centuries-old imperialist/Western/American imagery for our uncivilized Other. (Sorry that I am so fond of the term Other, but it just comes up so often…)
Indira // February 19, 2009 at 10:28 pm |
Yeah, combine the monkey aspect with the fact that police shootings of black men is the reality for many, and you have one of the most (mainstream) racist cartoons ever. What makes it particularly horrific is the obliviousness of Republicans to the problem with depicting a black man as a monkey.
You should head over to the Sample Gates blog and read through some of the Republican responses. One guy had the gall to compare the situation to when liberals juxtapose images of George Bush with a monkey. He was like, “why isn’t that racist??!!” My response? Bitch please.