Is the N.Y. Post Racist?

What do you see when you look at this cartoon? It can be said that they are partly referring to Travis, the Chimp that was just killed by Police earlier this week for attacking his owner's friend. However, because the cop is saying, "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill," the cartoon has taken a political turn. This statement could be interpreted in two ways: On the one hand, the cartoonist could be saying that the people who wrote the stimulus bill are a bunch of monkeys, but on the other hand the cartoon could be referring to the person who introduced the bill in general to the American public and signed it, Barack Obama. Either way the cartoon is violent and has raised a lot of questions about racism.

There is a lot of debate centered around this cartoon. Given the timing of its release, one day after Obama signed the Stimulus Bill, some say this is blatant racism on the part of The Post. On the previous page of the newspaper, there was a picture of Obama with the Stimulus Bill all around him, which further illustrates for many that the publishers definitely had Obama in mind when releasing this cartoon. Many also say that the story of Travis the chimp is a good cover for the Post publishers because like the cartoon, the chimp was actually shot. If the cartoon would have came out before the incident with the chimp they would not have had such an easy cover.

People who do not so easily see racism when looking at this cartoon argue that the cartoon was not referring to Obama because he was not the one that wrote the Stimulus. Nancy Pelosi wrote the 1000-plus pages along with help from members of Congress. If anything, the cartoon was mocking Politicians in DC that wrote the bad bill moreso than pinpointing Barack Obama himself. Supporters of the paper also argue that Bush was called a monkey for 8 years by people who didnt support him so its not so new that a monkey would be used as imagery for public figures. Still, opposers say that of course the paper would use a loose word such as needing someone else to write the next stimulus bill because they didn't want to be outright racist. This is a good cover because by saying it in another way they still get the message of bigotry out, although they are not directly stating it. Opposers look at this picture as a play on the long standing racial slur against blacks as uncivilized monkeys.

Personally, I do find the cartoon a bit questionable, but ultimately the First Amendment gives people the right to speak freely. Undoubtedly, the illustration has fostered debate, which is always good for new ideas in an open forum, but the bigger issue remains....did The New York Post go too far??

More on this topic
What's your take on the issue?

What does Obama's victory mean for the African American community?

Ok, so it is no secret that Obama's election into the White House has social and political meaning for all of America not to mention specifically for the black community. Being an African American woman myself I got to thinking about what Barack Obama's victory means for the black community's ego. Will Obama's win create a new found motivation for young people? Will his win give African American men in particular further reason to have excuses by means of this new "entitlement?" Will affirmative action be called into question? From the moment of Inauguration, I pondered the sense of pride being felt from the black community and even the possible opportunity for continued disguise and lackadaisical attitude. I came across a nice article that discusses the social and political improvement Obama's victory symbolizes for America. The article comes from Solidarity and discusses how his win ties into the long standing issue of race and class in American history. Not only does Obama's popularity show how the reverse Bradley Effect (a group of people saying they would vote for the opposite race in public then deciding not to in private) was a factor in the election, but as well may be a statement against bigotry.
I also came across another article from the Washington Post in November between psychiatrist and author, Alvin F. Poussaint, MD, and journalist Amy Alexander. The two went online to discuss with people their reactions to the historical election and what this means for African Americans and the entire nation. This article also talks about the possibility for this generation to be moving past the issues that divided us in the past. Dr. Poussaint says that the younger generation is less racist and open to accepting differences in people in large part as a result to the Civil Rights Movement, Women's Movement, and the gay/lesbian Movement that emerged. The issue of afffirmative action arises in this article as the question of whether or not it is still necessary given that the first black president has just been elected...

What are your thoughts about all that has been brought up???