Washington Post Cartoon (house, albums, Paul McCartney, exploited, Jessica Simpson)

WWWP · 02-20-2009, 12:51 AM

Quote:

NEW YORK – A New York Post cartoon that some have interpreted as comparing President Barack Obama to a violent chimpanzee gunned down by police drew outrage Wednesday from civil rights leaders and elected officials who said it echoed racist stereotypes of blacks as monkeys.

The cartoon in Wednesday's Post by Sean Delonas shows two police officers, one with a smoking gun, standing over the body of a bullet-riddled chimp. The caption reads: "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill."

The cartoon refers to a chimpanzee named Travis who was killed Monday by police in Stamford, Conn., after it mauled a friend of its owner.

Some critics called the cartoon racist and said it trivialized a tragedy in which a woman was disfigured and a chimpanzee killed. Others said the cartoon suggests that Obama should be assassinated. Many urged a boycott of the Post and the companies that advertise in it.

"How could the Post let this cartoon pass as satire?" said Barbara Ciara, president of the National Association of Black Journalists. "To compare the nation's first African-American commander in chief to a dead chimpanzee is nothing short of racist drivel."

State Sen. Eric Adams called it a "throwback to the days" when black men were lynched.

The Rev. Al Sharpton called the cartoon "troubling at best given the historic racist attacks of African-Americans as being synonymous with monkeys."

The cartoon set off a furious response against the Post. Its phones rang all day with angry callers. Protesters picketed the tabloid's Manhattan offices, demanding an apology and a boycott and chanting "shut the Post down."

Col Allan, editor-in-chief of the Post, defended the work.

"The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut," Allan said in a statement. "It broadly mocks Washington's efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist."

The cartoon drew hundreds of comments on the Internet including at the liberal Huffington Post, where columnist Sam Stein wrote: "At its most benign, the cartoon suggests that the stimulus bill was so bad, monkeys may as well have written it. Most provocatively, it compares the president to a rabid chimp."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs declined comment.

"I have not seen the cartoon," he told reporters aboard Air Force One as Obama returned to Washington from Arizona, where he announced his plan to deal with the foreclosure crisis. "But I don't think it's altogether newsworthy reading the New York Post."

It is not the first time that Delonas, the longtime cartoonist for the Post's Page Six, has raised eyebrows with a heavy-handed caricature.

An earlier Delonas cartoon made fun of Paul McCartney's ex-wife Heather Mills for having only one leg, and another compared gay people seeking marriage licenses to sheep lovers. In a cartoon last month, an enormous Jessica Simpson dumps boyfriend Tony Romo for Ronald McDonald.

I was hearing about this all day on the radio but hadn't seen the picture, so by the time I got home and looked it up I was expecting something a lot worse. It's pretty fucked up, but I don't know that it's as big a deal as the media's making it out to be.
I don't think that it's racist as much as I think it's just in really poor taste, but either way I think someone's going to lose a job over it.

Thoughts?

WWWP · 02-20-2009, 12:51 AM

Related story:

Travis the Chimp

FireInCairo · 02-20-2009, 01:04 AM

Waaaay uncool

The Robot Hunter · 02-20-2009, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayfarer

"Another word is 'offense'. It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that,' as if that gives them certain rights. It's actually, quite simply, a whine - no more than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning, it has no purpose, it has no reason to be...respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that,' well so fucking what?"
- Stephen Fry

I think people are a little too sensitive sometimes, but the "so fucking what?" is that people are boycotting the post (apparently) and the post could lose money, that's why they (probably should) care. I think it's offensive [/whine] but I didn't think it was even very witty. Kind of a lame cartoon to print for how much trouble it's causing them - not worth it.

**Janszoon** · 02-20-2009, 05:13 PM

Meh. I think people are getting worked up over nothing here. It's a dumb cartoon directed at Washington in general, not the president specifically. If anything it's directed at congress since they're the authors of the stimulus bill.

Kamikazi Kat · 02-22-2009, 08:16 PM

I feel like people are actively looking for racism these days or something. I look at the cartoon, I see the author comparing the president (or maybe even like Janszoon said, Washington in general) to a monkey. My first assumption is "He must think that the president is stupid." What do others think when they see this cartoon? "He's comparing the president to a monkey, he must think that black people are as dumb as an ape. Racist!" If the same exact cartoon would of came out while Bush was in office, but the stimulus thing replaced with a different issue, I bet nobody would really be offended and would just think "He thinks the president is stupid."

I don't see how its worth all of the media attention though. To me, it just looks like a crappy cartoon.

joderu95 · 02-22-2009, 08:26 PM

I thought it was a pretty timely and clever editorial cartoon. The combination of the timing of the chimp attack and the signing of the bill made for a ripe situation to be exploited.

TheBig3 · 02-22-2009, 08:31 PM

i think, rather than be offended, persuade people not to buy the Post. Its a p.o.s. rag anyhow but even if you got an apology, so what?

What I suspect apologies are these days is an "I won, so my way of life is correct" admission. I say hit them in the wallet and force them to admit defeat.

Today the apology is a get out of jail free card and I think its worse than no apology at all. At least the key is kept there.

**Janszoon** · 02-22-2009, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBig3KilledMyRainDog

i think, rather than be offended, persuade people not to buy the Post. Its a p.o.s. rag anyhow but even if you got an apology, so what?

But make sure you don't confuse it with the Washington Post like the OP did in the title of this thread.

WWWP · 02-23-2009, 12:50 PM

Lol.

02-20-2009, 01:04 AM	#3 (permalink)
FireInCairo Later on... Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,235	Waaaay uncool __________________ O G MUDBONE: Only You can prevent forest fires.

02-20-2009, 05:13 PM	#5 (permalink)
Janszoon Mate, Spawn & Die Join Date: May 2007 Location: The Rapping Community Posts: 24,593	Meh. I think people are getting worked up over nothing here. It's a dumb cartoon directed at Washington in general, not the president specifically. If anything it's directed at congress since they're the authors of the stimulus bill. __________________ A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man Time & Place 25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die last.fm

02-22-2009, 08:26 PM	#7 (permalink)
joderu95 Music Addict Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Washington Posts: 93	I thought it was a pretty timely and clever editorial cartoon. The combination of the timing of the chimp attack and the signing of the bill made for a ripe situation to be exploited. __________________ Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? ~Pink Floyd

02-22-2009, 08:31 PM	#8 (permalink)
TheBig3 killedmyraindog Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 11,172	i think, rather than be offended, persuade people not to buy the Post. Its a p.o.s. rag anyhow but even if you got an apology, so what? What I suspect apologies are these days is an "I won, so my way of life is correct" admission. I say hit them in the wallet and force them to admit defeat. Today the apology is a get out of jail free card and I think its worse than no apology at all. At least the key is kept there. __________________ I've moved to a new address

02-22-2009, 08:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
Kamikazi Kat Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 329	I feel like people are actively looking for racism these days or something. I look at the cartoon, I see the author comparing the president (or maybe even like Janszoon said, Washington in general) to a monkey. My first assumption is "He must think that the president is stupid." What do others think when they see this cartoon? "He's comparing the president to a monkey, he must think that black people are as dumb as an ape. Racist!" If the same exact cartoon would of came out while Bush was in office, but the stimulus thing replaced with a different issue, I bet nobody would really be offended and would just think "He thinks the president is stupid." I don't see how its worth all of the media attention though. To me, it just looks like a crappy cartoon.