The New York Post has completely lost its shit

[sereneorange]

I don't give a crap about the cartoon's political statement. The racist aspect is what pissed me off enough to shoot off a letter explaining my disgust and how I am hoping they will be printing some sort of apology.

*hat tip to circumlocutory

Comments

[splatterhouse.livejournal.com]

She's utterly batshit, but holyyyyy fuck. Inappropriate. As someone else on my fl said, even if it wasn't the artist's intention COME ON. That's been a negative stereotype in this country for so long there is no way the artist shouldn't have looked at that and thought "ehhhhh maybe sending the wrong message here."

[serene-orange.livejournal.com]

and the editor?

[splatterhouse.livejournal.com]

The editor also, but the artist should have realized before they even submitted it. It's sort of HEY! LOOK AT ME, I HAVE SRS POTENTIAL TO BE ~OFFENSIVE :D obvious

[reanimated.livejournal.com]

what would their intention be, then? i wish someone would offer up a reasonable alternative interpretation, really, if they are going to claim there must be one. but i think the benefit of the doubt is far too generous here.

[splatterhouse.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing something along the lines of insinuating the crazed chimpanzee that was in the news recently was the sort of mind behind the bailout package as a comment on how ridiculous it was.

[flutterbychild.livejournal.com]

If something happens, I will personally find the motherfucker that drew this and bash his motherfucking head in.

[texasts.livejournal.com]

WTF!?

[serene-orange.livejournal.com]

Zactly

[tribalw0lf.livejournal.com]

You would think by now in the year 2009, people would get their heads out of their arses. How can someone think it wasn't their intention to imply racism when it's blatant?

[serene-orange.livejournal.com]

you would think. . .

[reanimated.livejournal.com]

because we have to be niiiiice and give people the benefit of the doubt. fuck that, i don't have to coddle racist morons. not all opinions deserve respect.

[tribalw0lf.livejournal.com]

This is true.

[tempest-azure.livejournal.com]

I can see how it wasn't intended to be racist, but it most certainly is offensive. What the hell where they thinking?

[reanimated.livejournal.com]

what was the message, if not racist? because i really and truly can't think of any other logical point.

[serene-orange.livejournal.com]

I have yet to figure out what the chimp has to do with the stimulus package.

[tempest-azure.livejournal.com]

that the package was written by monkeys. Have you never heard anyone describe someone as being dumb as a monkey? I used to hear it all the time being referenced to intelligence.

Now, if that isn't what they meant, then I got nothing.

[reanimated.livejournal.com]

second time on the friends list i saw that shit. how does that fool get paid to be a retarded little shit? that is really unjust.

[shimmerdance.livejournal.com]

WHAT THE BEFUCKERY?????

That left poor taste and racism far behind and hyper-spaced into territory so repulsive I don't even have a word for it.

this literally activated my gag reflex.

[serene-orange.livejournal.com]

also, aside from the disgusting racism of it, I am now annoyed by the fact that that whole chimp thing isn't fucking funny. I want to kick the owner in the crotch.

[wakeupkent.livejournal.com]

Oh, look... here I am with the unpopular viewpoint. Something new for me.

Okay, I can see where you get the racial implications, but I don't believe that was the artist's intention. Had you not screamed racism, my sole interpretation would have been that Obama is being likened to a fool/idiot. I consider it sad commentary on our society that people look for something to be offended about in just about everything, like the people who protested about Slumdog Millionaire because of the term "slumdog." If this cartoon had been about Bush, you probably would have tried to find a way to make this into icon, but suddenly, because we have black man in the oval office, oh my god, this is about racism. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. At least the people screaming about the depiction of animal cruelty will have some company on this one.

So where do we draw the line? Should we scream racism whenever someone calls a kid a little monkey? Or is it only racist if it's a black child? Should we demand that Planet of the Apes banned? I mean, the main protagonists in those movies were played by white people like Charlton Heston and Mark Wahlberg. That surely means something, right? Hey, we should also petition that monkey bars be renamed, as that's clearly derogatory when a black kid's playing on them.

With all the real, blatant cases of racism in the world, you'd think people would focus on those instead of going apeshit (uh oh, is that racist now too?) over something so trivial as a picture that could be interpreted a certain way. Society has lost focus.

[serene-orange.livejournal.com]

I don't think I am being overly PC. I don't know about you, but I heard the term "porch monkey" being thrown around ALL the time growing up (not from my family).


I think the artist probably knew, but lets pretend he didn't. The editor should have caught it. I am not the only person today who saw this and thought the same thing. I am open to the idea that he may not have intended it as it seems, but find it hard to believe when tons of other people see it, no one at the damn paper did.

[jbluemoon.livejournal.com]

I have no words.

other than- disgusting!

[theclamsman.livejournal.com]

Holy crap. Even I think that's racist. Just...holy shit. o_O WTF was that idiot thinking?

[theclamsman.livejournal.com]

Though on second thought, I do see what he might've been intending. But it was a very poor execution. That chimp that went absolutely batshit insane was MAULING the owner's friend.

Now if his intention was to imply that an insane chimp wrote the stimulus package, then it was lost amongst the "old history" of racism re: blacks and monkeys. The artist is major fail there.

However, there was a company, I think it was the Sock Monkey company, who were making Sock Monkey Obamas. People got all batshit over that, saying that it was racist to have a Sock Monkey Obama, but the Sock Monkey people (whoever it was) didn't see it that way. They saw it as a cute toy and it was not intended to be racist. The company made monkeys for a living. They thought it would be cute to have an Obama monkey. They didn't stop to think about the "old history". And I think that we as a people need to get beyond that old history if we're going to evolve. Let kids have an Obama Monkey, an Obama Elephant (even though he's not a Republican!), an Obama Tiger, an Obama Ostrich. That's real change.

PORCH MONKEY!

[rev-hicks.livejournal.com]

But yes this was incredibly racist. this guy has a history of being a retard though.