Thursday, February 19, 2009

Let's talk about it: The NY Post's [dumb racist] chimp cartoon

Yesterday, the NY Post ran a cartoon of police shooting a chimp with the caption "they'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill".

Um, what does Travis the chimp have to do with the stimulus bill? Did he have some input into it? I must've missed that memo. Or are they trying to say that the stimulus package was written by a chimp? Can chimps even write?

OR are they insinuating that our President is a chimpanzee? Is he hairy? Does he like to swing from trees? I did not notice- maybe I missed that memo, too?

OR is the NY Post staffed by a bunch of hillbilly racists? I think thats the most likely reason this piece was ran and it makes me SICK. I am sick not only that someone would draw such an offensive cartoon but also sick that it got approved by the editors and publicists and anyone else who saw it before it hit the presses.

Yes, racism is alive and well in the United States and it makes me sick to my stomach and embarrassed to be an American.

Am I wrong? Can this "cartoon" be anything other than racist? Is there some correlation between Travis the Chimp and the stimulus bill????????????????

IS THERE ANY OTHER EXPLANATION????

Mr Bold adds-

The NY Post is a Rupert Murdoch rag, and he can't give that crap away. No really. I get hit up for a free month of daily propoganda from these people at least once a week.

The cartoonist, Sean Delonas, has a history of tacky cartoons that only racists and homophobes could love.
GLAAD:NY POST PUBLISHES YET ANOTHER GRATUITOUS VULGAR ANTI-GAY CARTOON


And this might be a good time to review "How To Tell People They Sound Racist."

11 Comments:

at my desk said...

It's incredible to me that they would print that trash. Travis the psycho chimp has absolutely nothing to do with the stimulus package. It was a thinly (and inadequately) veiled racist comment about our president.

S. City said...

I dont feel like it was even thinly veiled. It seems pretty blatantly racist (and moronic) to me. thats the most sickening part of the debacle, imo.

I have digested the entire stimulus package yet but it seems well thought out to me and I think its a great idea to reward banks for issuing afforable mortgages- esp to those of us who owe 80% or more on our mortgages since we need the most help.

S. City said...

I meant i havent digested the whole package yet, duh. I am so fired up i am typing too fast!

S. City said...

in response to Bold's add:

well good, hopefully they will go bankrupt soon if they cant give the rag away.

but then, the publicity this piece is generating for the rag could help sales to backwards hillbillies- but that assumes that they can actually read. so maybe not?

MrBold said...

Call me a wackadoodly liberal S. City but I think you need to add a little nuance to your view of hillbillies. These are New Yorkers that read this crap. The subscribership consists of low brow Yankees fans and the news crew at FoxNews.

S. City said...

its my midwest experience. what term crosses all geographies but means the same thing: uneducated, backwards, racist, sexist, homophobic??

hmmmm...

S. City said...

damn, that link to how to tell people they sound racist is blocked by surf guard:(

MrBold said...

About the video-

Basically the upshot is to focus on the racist behavior or remark instead of the individual. Instead of saying "You're a racist" you should "What you said/did was racist." When you go into the "you are a racist" argument, the behavior that started the argument gets obscured. That's why whenever you challenge a racist on something they specifically did they say, "But I'm not racist!"

The trick is to not fall into the trap of trying to prove what is in elese's mind.

It's a good video and worth finding a PC to watch it on.

S. City said...

Oooh, like using I statements? "I feel embarrassed when you publish racist cartoons"?

It makes sense to address the behavior and not the individual, esp since I think many of them think that because they dont go around bashing and killing blacks, that they arent racist. "But i let them live! See, I am not a racist!"

or something.

Anonymous said...

I actually received this morning an email from the friend of a friend on face book that defended this cartoon claiming that the cartoon was a parody of a situation in CT. So I read about the story in CT, thinking to myself how interesting it was that a chimpanzee in CT had written a stimulus bill, and if he had, then what were republicans doing about it? Imagine my shock when I realized that no; there was not a clever chimp nor a republican in CT. Sad to say, Murdoch's 'cover story' for his pg. 6 cartoon is blown. For as long as the history of stupid, uninformed and hateful people has been written down in this country, there has been the derogatory and symbolic use of the monkey as a stand in for African Americans. The juvenile nature of this comment doesn't bother me the most however. There are ways that media can incite riots. There is a watchdog principle and harmonious code of ethics that usually hinder such recklessness. Obviously, Murdoch doesn't care what he puts out there so long as it comes back with a check attached. I want people to acknowledge that what this man has done is make a threat on the life of President of the United States of America. Calling it anything less is foolish. See it for what it is. Any organization that chooses that method of 'lobbying' is out of my life. It would be exactly the same if the life of George Bush were treated that way. There is an unspoken rule that the President may be impeached, slandered and so on in the name of political agenda. Inciting assassination is going over the line. If this country will not hold Murdoch accountable, we, the consumers can. Murdoch owns more than the 'Post'. Nothing he touches will enter my life again until such time as he has written a full and formal apology. -carolyn hazelwood (who has forgotten her password)

MrBold said...

Yeah I agree.

Someone on the craigslist RnR in NYC board asked about all the comparisons between Bush and a chimp. I asked which photo depicted cops shooting the chimp while referring to Bush legislative initiative. I also asked what affect 150 years of the old "the neegras are apes!" trope would have on a reasonable American's interpretation.

All I've gotten is crickets in response.

I'm glad you posted Carolyn. Don't be a stranger. And do get your blogger account working. That you can subscribe to this thread.

 

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