The New York Post Cartoon; Racist Reference to President Obama?
New York Post Cartoon Being Called Racist
The cartoon, featured on the New York Post website as well, shows two police officers shooting a chimp. The dialogue between the two officers is controversial because of this line, "Now they will have to find someone else to write the stimulus bill."
The chimp image comes from a news story that broke about a chimpanzee attacking a Connecticut woman. According to CNN.com, Carla Nash was attacked by her friend's chimp, and is hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. The chimp, Travis, was Sandra Herold's pet and even was referred to as her "child". Travis, the chimp, was a star in Coca-Cola and Old Navy commercials. It is unclear as to why the chimp attacked the woman. The attack is described as brutal, and the police responding to Herold's 911 call had to shoot the animal.
The New York Post cartoon is tasteless to say the least. The chimp attack on Carla Nash has been described as horrifying by both Herold and the police officers at the scene. The victim, Nash, is said to be fighting for her life. There is really nothing to laugh at when it comes to this situation.
The dialogue between the two officers pictured is controversial because it suggests two things;
1. That whoever wrote the stimulus plan was as dumb as an animal, a monkey. There are supporters and opponents of the new stimulus plan. It has been signed into law by President Obama, even though some politicians strongly opposed it.
2. That the monkey reference is racist because the President is an African-American.
Reverend Al Sharpton has issued a statement, which was posted on TMZ.com. Sharpton issued an attack on New York Post, describing the cartoon as racist because of its "historic racist attacks on African-Americans as being synonymous with monkeys." Sharpton claims that the cartoon is a racist reference to attacks on African-Americans.
No comments were available from New York Post.
References:
The controversial New York Post cartoon is available online at the NYP website.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/17/chimpanzee.attack/index.html
http://www.tmz.com/2009/02/18/al-sharpton-monkey-cartoon-obama/
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12 Comments
Post a Commentsince when is a black person supposed to be represented by a chimpanze? I have never heard of this. Do people make this stuff up just to support claims for racism? Give it a rest. Monkeys are very smart and they will rip your face off if you dont watch out. Thats the reference here the stimulus bill was written by persons who are very smart and will rip your face off. WATCH OUT AMERICA!!
he should be fire and hopefully don't get any job at all every president deserve respect no matter if your black or white, so yes he should be fire and l hope he never gets another job.
I don't think he should be fired. I don't think it would need to go to that extreme. Maybe more sensitivity in the future though.
sheesh it was just a cartoon! I have seen numerous ones depicting controversial things in the world... the artist does not deserve to be fired cause people cannot take a comic stip like they were meant to be taken- humorously, don't like it, don't read it.
Only a racist could view that cartoon as being racist.
I agree Lena. It's tough to look at NYP the same way after this. I'm guessing that they will lose subscribers to their newspaper.
I will never buy a copy of the New York Post. Enough is enough with racial statements of that nature. You knew what you were implying and who it reflected. "Why do you at the Post just keep your "white sheets'" on and not remove them after your nightly meetings? Hit them where it hurts. In the pockets. We did it with the bus strike!!!!!Yes it is that serious!!!! I'm white, too! No there are really no white anything, were all a part of one another! I'm American
The Post need to exercise better judgement. Freedom of speech is one thing, immature nonsense is another. This cartoon falls in the category of the latter.
I can run with what Rodney said Still - It's funny how people fight for freedom of speech (not that I'm for the worst forms) and then make a big deal about choosing which stuff offends. I didn't see that any cartoon about President Bush was off limits! Good coverage, though.
This cartoon is a complete waste of newsprint, as well as the Post-readers' time and money. It is racist. It promotes violent attack against one's political opponent. It demonstrates a complete lack of empathy for parties involved in the tragedy to which it alludes. It is on a par with the artwork of a second-grader. It reveals the absence of any editorial judgment whatsoever. Who buys this rag, anyway?