The Post’s Monkey Business
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The Guardian’s Michael Tomasky says that now infamous New York Post cartoon was a clear dig at Obama. I’m not so sure. When I flicked through the paper yesterday morning and saw the cartoon it never occurred to me that it referred to the president. I thought it was a little more than groan-worthy attempt to label House Democrats as monkeys, which is just the explanation the Post’s editor-in-chief, Col Allan, gave yesterday.
Of course, the fact that it never occurred to me that cartoonist Sean Delonas was referring to Obama doesn’t make it so. The New York Times found a handful of experts who concur with Tomasky that it was indeed racist. But I just find it very hard to believe that a cartoonist would really try to portray America’s first black president as a chimpanzee and hope to get away with it. (Last night, CNN’s Jack Cafferty said he thought Roland Burris should resign and “go back to where he came from.” But I didn’t think he was being racist either. It’s just a figure of speech. (Sorry, I can’t find the video anywhere.))
I suppose it all boils down to how low you believe Delonas, and the Post, are willing to go.
2 Comments
February 19th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I read the furore about this story first, and then went back to the paper itself to have a look at the cartoon, and can’t quite understand what all the fuss is about. It’s a clear reference to the (front page splashed) story in that day’s paper about a violent chimp being shot by a policeman, that takes a typical New York Post swipe at the economic stimulus. Most UK cartoonists combine stories in the same way, for comedic/satirical effect. I’m no fan of the Post’s politics, but are we really going to have to spend the next (hopefully) eight years with no political satire for fear that it will be perceived as racist?
To be honest, as soon as I see the name ‘Al Sharpton’, I switch off these days. Rarely can there have been a more self-involved bandwagon jumper…
February 19th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
The Post should not apologize for racism, but they should apologize for printing such an insensitive cartoon at the expense of the woman who was recently mauled and critically injured by a 200-pound chimpanzee.