Is this cartoon racist?
posted by Mr. Carlisle at 10:37 AM
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
About Me
- Name: Mr. Carlisle
- Location: Portland, Oregon, United States
I'm a native South Carolinian and I attained my undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of South Carolina. I taught fourth grade for two years in the Mississippi Delta and two years at an alternative high school in Western North Carolina. I have been at Tigard High School since the fall of 2003, where I teach U.S. History and Psychology.
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21 Comments:
I think that it is some what racist. It's not right to call someone an ape.
12:02 PM
I think that the worst part about this cartoon is that most of the U.S. population will probably not know what the artist is trying to say by this picture.
5:45 PM
I don't think that this is a racist cartoon, because I don't think it even refers to Obama. I believe it points to the "authors" of the stimulus bill, the people in Congress. I believe the artist is trying to say that the people in Congress are like apes and don't know what they're doing.
6:13 PM
I don't know how that could not have been taken as a racist remark. They should have thought hard about the cartoon before publishing it, because the first thing I think when I see it, is what is getting them in so much trouble.
It's awful.
6:34 PM
I guess it depends on how you view the cartoon. One could argue that the stimulus bill is so badly written by Congress that even a monkey could have drafted it. On the other hand, one could say that the cartoon has a racist tone to it given America's racist past with African Americans. The association between monkeys and blacks and the synonymous relationship shared between Obama and the stimulus bill leaves this cartoon in poor taste, and the comic seems pretty racist even if the artist wasn't trying to be.
6:42 PM
first of all i listened to the 911 phone call... wow! that is disturbing, i still feel a little dizzy from giving blood and the whole ripping face off, ya not helping! But i think it is not coincidence they used a monkey in regard to race. but again i dont think they would publish something so contoversial if that was what was intended...
7:00 PM
Just to let everyone know, this cartoon is from the New York Post. While it is an old paper, it's usually regarded as a tabloid, so being politically correct is not on the top of their list of priorities (if it's even on there at all).
Historically, black people (like Latinos) have traditionally been portrayed as monkeys in cartoons and the like (whether or not the artist of the cartoon was aware of that I don't know). So purely looking at it without caring about the author's intended message it is racist, because Obama is seen by most to be the author of the stimulus bill.
However, I believe that for something to be racist, the author must have intended for it to be racist. I doubt the author was intending to make Obama seem like the ape that had just gotten shot. His intended message (to me) was that the stimulus bill is such a huge joke that a monkey must have written it (not Obama).
While I don't find it racist, I do find it insensitive in multiple ways. The first is that it does lend itself open to the possibility of the ape being seen as Obama. The second is that making a joke out of such a horrific event (especially so soon after it occurred) is just poor taste.
So in short: Racist, no; insensitive and in poor taste, yes.
7:41 PM
Did that actually make anyone laugh? I certainly hope not.
I think it is racist, or definitely could be interpreted as such.
8:20 PM
Face the facts: Obama and GWB both have ginormous ears - they look like monkeys.
We wouldn't consider this cartoon "racist" if GWB was still in office. Why is it racist now?
In my opinion, the cartoon alludes to physical appearance. I feel like we've all turned up our "racist sensors" to maximum susceptibility. We can't blame right-wing Caucasians for every uncomfortable subtlety.
8:55 PM
I find it to be a really good cartoon personally. Yes the monkey black thing is racist but political cartoons tend to take a jab at people in any form. I don't think it should be a huge deal it is just an artists expression meant to convey a message but taken however the viewer wants.
8:56 PM
I personally think it's racist because it's implying that the first person that made the stimulus package was a monkey and i've known almost all my life that african americans are referred to monkeys as a racist gesture all the time.
9:24 PM
I don't really know what to say. It is racist. What else is there to say? the cartoon says it all.
10:37 PM
I think Alex T makes a good point about George W. Bush and people making fun of him and if it was referring to him it would be funny or taken as a joke. However, I believe it still has racist features. I agree with Erika as well and don't think it's a big deal.
People always encourage others to voice their opinions until they don't agree with it. Racism is horrible, Im aware but it's still around today. It would be unrealistic and naive to say that its not. When I say it's not a "big deal" I don't mean racism itself but the cartoon depicts someone's beliefs and thoughts. If this artist gets punished for what they believe in, we are infact punishing people for exactly what we are learning about with DuBois. He says to voice your opinions and not be submissive and hold them back like Booker T. Washington believes in. Where's progression without integrity of one's opinions?
10:47 PM
I don't think the author should be punished, but they should make their message more clear if they didn't mean for the monkey to be Obama. If they did, it was in bad taste. It's different than if Bush was president because Bush's people (white folks) don't have a history of being depicted as monkeys as a way of degrading them.
11:06 PM
I do not believe it was meant to be a racist remark, but turned out that way. While its true that the actual writers of bills are in Congress, Obama was closely associated with the bill, and did work with them on producing the bill.
6:47 AM
I don't really know whether it's racist or not. I guess I don't really know very much about the stimulus situation either so I can't really say anything about this. Sure people used to call African Americans apes, but does that mean every time there is a shot ape were going to automatically assume they're meant to be African American? I really doubt that this cartoonist would purposefully publish something racist in a fairly popular newspaper.
7:32 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090220/ap_on_re_us/ny_post_cartoon
I'm not sure if it was meant to be racist. It isn't funny at all, or clever. I suppose he COULD be saying that the stimulus bill could have been written by a bunch a monkeys (Congress). However it is a single monkey, which probably represents a single person (Obama). The monkey is also being shot in the cartoon, which could be interpreted as a call for violence towards Obama. I don't think it was very necessary at all.
8:31 PM
Just because its a single monkey, doesn't mean the cartoonist didn't meean it to be Congress. Would you want to draw 500+ monkeys to represent all the U.S. Congress members?
6:38 AM
Primates are my favorite animals, that makes me so sad. Did they really have to kill him? Could they have put him to sleep for a bit, and had him wake up in his cage, with his owner by his side and seen if he would come too before he had to actually be put down...people have bad days and kill other people, and now you get locked up for a few years and then get on with your life. Animals have bad days too. :(. Carlisle, I think I am just weird,I support Nadia Sulamen, and her 14 kids, and now a killer chimp too...Do I just have issues, or do I try to see the good in all bad situations...I don't know anymore. You tell me. :)
6:32 PM
I don't think the average American would even get this picture at all. I think it is racist because the monkey is obviously Obama but i don't think they meant it to come off racist. odiously they wouldn't publish something to intentionally offend millions of Americans.
5:06 PM
I think it was a racist cartoon. Directly linking a horrible and unfortunate event with an ape and the only man that can sign to pass the stimulus seems clearly intentional. Someone had to know somewhere that people would think of Obama. It was calculated to stir opnion and get the conservatives and the liberals fighting again.
8:21 PM
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