New York Post cartoon
This past Wednesday, the New York Post printed this comic which has sparked great controversy throughout the week.
controversial cartoon
The controversy lies in fact that President Obama appears to be the shot, bleeding chimp in the picture. The NY Post says the picture is supposed to reference the story of the woman in Connecticut who was mauled by a crazed chimp which had to be shot and killed by police.
What troubles me, and seems to be the problem that most people have with this cartoon, is the caption. The caption reads, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” If the editors at the NY Post meant to make this cartoon strictly about the chimpanzee incident, why would this caption accompany it? Clearly, the person writing stimulus bills is Barack Obama, making this cartoon blatantly racist. They are portraying Obama as the age-old racist monkey stereotype and not only that, they portray him being shot in a violent manner by two white cops.
The Post has since offered apologies saying the comic was simply meant to mock a poorly written stimulus bill and its meaning has been taken out of context. The paper has made it clear that it meant no harm, but I still have problems with it.
How could the editors not have known people would take it as a racist reference? Monkeys have symbolized the racist stereotype of African-Americans for way too long for someone at the paper to fail to refute the cartoon’s publication. Aside from that, the cartoon is violent as blood drips from the dead chimp on the sidewalk. Adding to the racist stance is the fact that two white cops have shot the chimp. With all the problems with the police and their alleged racial profiling, wouldn’t this point have raised some red flags to the editors?
Furthermore, I thought cartoon were supposed to be funny. Even if it is supposed to reference the chimp attack incident, what is funny about this cartoon? It’s violent and offers no comic relief whatsoever. What is the point of an unfunny cartoon?
I was certainly appalled when I saw this and I really cannot understand how a newspaper could have published this. Personally, I think the Post has to do more than just offer a few hollow apologies to the public for the unfortunate publication of this comic. Oh, and where’s the apology to Obama? I’m sure the NY Post will be greeted by large numbers protesters outside the building continuing into this week.
