Is This Cartoon Racist?

@Foxfyre,

Quote:

Now then. The cartoonist who drew that cartoon, assuming the same stuff in the news as existed when the cartoon was published--news that had absolutely nothing at all to do with anybody's race--would almost certainly have drawn the same cartoon with the same caption if John McCain had won the election.

Not to put too fine a point on it . . . this is pure bullshit.

Quote:

So would the cartoon be racist if Barack Obama was blond and blue eyed? Would the cartoon be racist of John McCain was president?

If either of those situations would have obtained, you would not have seen this cartoon.

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cartoons should be out of the reach of the thought police. This kind of nonsense would make shows like South Park illegal, which would impoverish us all. Sacred Cows need to stabbed sometimes.

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@hawkeye10,

I disagree. Cartoonists should not be immune from criticism if they publish a truly offensive cartoon though admittedly 'offensive' is often in the eye of the beholder.

My only quarrel in this debate is that this cartoonist is being criticized for drawing a 'racist' cartoon when neither of the subjects in the cartoon is in any way about race while he isn't being criticized for insensitivity in using a truly tragic event in this manner.

Given the events in the news at the time, however, there is zero evidence to assume that the cartoon would not have been drawn and captioned in exactly the same way if our President was not a black man.

1 Reply

@Foxfyre,

Quote:

I disagree. Cartoonists should not be immune from criticism if they publish a truly offensive cartoon though admittedly 'offensive' is often in the eye of the beholder.

I have no problem with labeling work offensive, I do have a problem with the idea that the work should never had existed because it is deemed offensive by some, or even the majority. Satire is supposed to show us who we are, it is not supposed to paint a pretty picture of ourselves if that be not us.

1 Reply

@hawkeye10,

hawkeye10 wrote:

cartoons should be out of the reach of the thought police. This kind of nonsense would make shows like South Park illegal, which would impoverish us all.

Sacred Cows need to stabbed sometimes.

If the cows' need is not satisfied,
what ill effects will result ?

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@hawkeye10,

hawkeye10 wrote:

Quote:
I disagree. Cartoonists should not be immune from criticism if they publish a truly offensive cartoon though admittedly 'offensive' is often in the eye of the beholder.

I have no problem with labeling work offensive, I do have a problem with the idea that the work should never had existed because it is deemed offensive by some, or even the majority. Satire is supposed to show us who we are, it is not supposed to paint a pretty picture of ourselves if that be not us.

the hecler 's veto

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@OmSigDAVID,

Actually Hawkeye is right on this one. Simply being offensive should absolutely not be grounds for censorship.

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@Foxfyre,

Foxfyre wrote:

Actually Hawkeye is right on this one.
Simply being offensive should absolutely not be grounds for censorship.

I (almost) never countenance censorship
(except as to military censorship, in combat situations).

David

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@Ticomaya,

Ticomaya wrote:

dlowan wrote:
I expect racist ****. ...

That goes a long way to explain why you insist the cartoon is racist. It's like the old joke about the guy who looks at the Rohrshach ink blots and all he can see is "sex" in every one. You expect racism, so you see it everywhere, even where it doesn't exist.

Or you fail to see it when it does exist.

BTW, have you chosen to look at the kind sof attacks made on Obama?

The "Muslim terrorist" meme....the crap from the far right?

You are living in a cave too if you ignore this.

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@aidan,

aidan wrote:

dlowan

Quote:
Then stop writing as though you live in a cave.

I'm sorry = but I'm American. I was raised to believe I can write however and whatever I choose.
Ever heard of the first ammendment?
It's not a right I can easily forget that I have - no matter who bosses me around.

Yes, you are free to write crap...people are still free to label it crap. You forget there are many sides to free speech.

Oh...news...peopl eother than Americans are raised to believe they have feee speech too.

Are you one of those people who believe it is an American invention?

Rolling Eyes

Many of you sound as if you do.

As ever, you mistake censure for censorship.

Look it up.

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@Ticomaya,

Ticomaya wrote:

dlowan wrote:
I expect racist ****. ...

That goes a long way to explain why you insist the cartoon is racist. It's like the old joke about the guy who looks at the Rohrshach ink blots and all he can see is "sex" in every one. You expect racism, so you see it everywhere, even where it doesn't exist.

Snort.

Given up on the "you only saw it because it was in a media outlet you disapprove of" lie have we then?

Any port in a storm.

You never expect racist ****, eh?

How sweet and innocent.

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@Foxfyre,

Foxfyre wrote:

Actually Hawkeye is right on this one. Simply being offensive should absolutely not be grounds for censorship.

Who here has argued that it should be censored, rather than called what it is?

Hmmmmmm?

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@hawkeye10,

hawkeye10 wrote:

cartoons should be out of the reach of the thought police. This kind of nonsense would make shows like South Park illegal, which would impoverish us all. Sacred Cows need to stabbed sometimes.

We shoud catch the thought police
and tar n feather them.

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@Butrflynet,

Butrflynet-
I do what I have to do to get through the day. I don't need to read anything or study anything. I live it every single day.
I've lived it in the north and the south as a white woman alone- as a white woman with a black partner- and as a white woman with two black children.
I've lived it in six different states in the US and now in England.
I've taught mostly black and other minority young adults in four different states and two different countries- in public schools, young offenders facilities and a federal prison.
I was the residential director of a homeless center for homeless pregnant women and their children - most of whom were minorities
I've had the opportunity to study it in action in more depth than I'd ever wish
was available to anyone.
I've also spoken to every single person of color I've lived with and worked with about the issue of racism - perceived and or otherwise - because it is an issue that I care deeply about.
They have helped me to become very good at detecting when racism exists in reality and when it's been thrown up as a smokescreen to disguise something else.

The black people I showed this cartoon and asked for their perception were divided on their interpretation.
As I said - it comes back to individual experience and perception.
I tend to believe what they tell me.

But if white people want to continue to tell me what they think I should and shouldn't see and how and I should and shouldn't view racism in the world - whatever.

I'm happy with the way I view race in my life. I do think I'm totally realistic without being pessimistic and fatalistic.

I am unwilling to talk about it with people who think they can analyze me without ever having met me though.
Or anyone who sees any aspect of life in absolutes.
I find those discussions fruitless - and actually insulting.

I would never make any statement about you - I DON'T KNOW YOU.
And YOU DON'T KNOW ME- how arrogant of you to tell me what you think I do and am.
Until we ever talk, I wouldn't even hazard a guess if I were you.
And I'll give you the same respect, by not assuming even one little thing to be true in your life.
I'll tell you honestly - I have no idea- just as you have no idea about me.

You take two snippets and paste them together to come up with a view of my racial perceptions, psyche and coping mechanisms.
That's shoddy scholarship.
Those two snippets are about 1/1000,000,000 of the total of the sum of my thoughts and experiences when it comes to race.
But you believe whatever you want to believe.

1 Reply

Ok, you've all convinced me. This cartoon is racist. It racist because of the historical view that black people are devolved like monkeys.

I've found another example that I think we should call out as well. In the NBA, where black players make up the vast majority of players, the Phoenix Suns have the audicity to have a Gorilla as their teams mascot. A Gorilla!!! What's even worse is that this gorilla plays basketball, which ties it even closer to representing the black basketball players. I can't believe we haven't heard much about this, this is even worse than the cartoon.

Who wants to take the initiative and start a letter campaign to the Phoeni Suns?

1 Reply

@dlowan,

dlowan wrote:

Or you fail to see it when it does exist.

BTW, have you chosen to look at the kind sof attacks made on Obama?

The "Muslim terrorist" meme....the crap from the far right?

You are living in a cave too if you ignore this.

Ah, now I see ... Obama is the recipient of "attacks" from the "far right" ... therefore the chimp in the cartoon is Obama.

Makes perfect sense now that you explain it to me.

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@maporsche,

maporsche wrote:

Ok, you've all convinced me. This cartoon is racist. It racist because of the historical view that black people are devolved like monkeys.

YOu mustn't overlook the fact that it's racist because of the attacks on Obama from the "far right."

Quote:

I've found another example that I think we should call out as well. In the NBA, where black players make up the vast majority of players, the Phoenix Suns have the audicity to have a Gorilla as their teams mascot. A Gorilla!!! What's even worse is that this gorilla plays basketball, which ties it even closer to representing the black basketball players. I can't believe we haven't heard much about this, this is even worse than the cartoon.

Who wants to take the initiative and start a letter campaign to the Phoeni Suns?

And since Amare Stoudemire has taken a lot of flack lately from Phoenicians, it is clear the Gorilla is intended to represent Amare.

Has there ever been a more racist mascot in the NBA?

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I know of no public furor about a racist slant when people criticize Mr. Obama, with the sole exception of this cartoon. As for team mascots who happen to be apes, not all basketball players are black, but all the Presidents who are currently serving are black. That's what ya call yer basic no brainer. The conservative whiners are typically no brainers, so i'm not surprised.

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@Setanta,

Right, but mostly all the congressmen/women who WROTE the bill AND were referenced directly in the cartoon are white.

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Remarks about "thought police" are pretty idiotic. No one that i know of has suggested that the cartoonist should be arrested. If he is sued--i although i doubt it will happen, it could--it would be a waste of money, because he would win. That's because even disgusting racist comments are protected by the first amendment, so long as they don't incite to criminality, a case no one could make in this case.

It is as much an attempt to stifle free speech to attack those who attack this racist cartoon as it is to attack the cartoon itself. Hypocrisy abounds.

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Is This Cartoon Racist?

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