A day after publishing a cartoon that drew fire from critics who said it evoked historically racist images, the New York Post apologized in a statement on its Web site -- even as it defended its action and blasted some detractors.
A New York Post cartoon has sparked a debate over race and cartooning this week.
Many of those critical of the cartoon said it appeared to compare President Obama to a chimpanzee in a commentary on his recently approved economic stimulus package.
"Wednesday's Page Six cartoon -- caricaturing Monday's police shooting of a chimpanzee in Connecticut -- has created considerable controversy," the paper said about the drawing, which shows two police officers standing over the body of a chimpanzee they just shot.
The drawing is a reference to the mauling of a woman by a pet chimpanzee, which was then killed by police. In the cartoon, one of the officers tells the other, "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill."
The Post said the cartoon was meant to mock what it called an "ineptly written" stimulus bill.
"But it has been taken as something else -- as a depiction of President Obama, as a thinly veiled expression of racism," reads the statement. "This most certainly was not its intent; to those who were offended by the image, we apologize."
But the statement immediately swerves to fire back at some of the image's critics.
Don't Miss
- Racism row over chimp cartoon sparks debate
- Martin: NY Post cartoon is racist and careless
- Sharpton criticizes Post cartoon
"However, there are some in the media and in public life who have had differences with The Post in the past -- and they see the incident as an opportunity for payback," the statement says. "To them, no apology is due. Sometimes a cartoon is just a cartoon -- even as the opportunists seek to make it something else."
7 comments:
So I guess drawing Bush as an ape for the last 8 years was not offensive to anyone? What a bunch of hypocrit racist you all are. You do more to promote racism thatn anyone.
It parodies the writing of the stimulus bill to that of the work of a trained monkey....a well known parody that says a trained chimp could do just as well. It has nothing to do with comparing a chimp, trained or not, to the current President. Al Sharpton is hardly the poster boy for a well trained anything to complain about anything racist. He is the biggest racist that I know of out there.
If we are truly a meeting pot then what is wrong with labeling yourself as an Irish american, African American, or what ever. That is what you are. If it wasn't necessary then the United States Censes would not ask for that information. We should not be color blind in this society. We should see color. Color is beautiful. The cartoon is shameful and I don't see how it can be viewed any other way by intelligent people. It is racist. The problem today is because racism is so covert today and not outright like in the past people want to tell you that racist behavior does not exist. It does exist and it is live and kicking. We have an African American president but does that mean that racism is gone. I experience it enough in my life to believe that.
Why does a comparison to an ape automatically become an insult to blacks? Hell we are all descended from apes right (well creationists may argue this)? In fact everyone's ancestors came from Africa itself. So as a Caucasian person, should I be offended as well? In the cartoon they are obviously making a reference to the recent news story of a monkey attacking a woman, and also critiquing the nonsensical stimulus bill saying it might have as well been written by a monkey.
However, in this day and age you have to to really censor some of your commentary it appears, or offend some group. I anticipated this when Obama got elected that editorialists would treat him with kid gloves. For example, if I am a political cartoonist, and portray Obama in an exaggerated manner, say giant ears (he has), big lips (ditto), salt 'n pepper afro (yep) - am I being racist or just doing my job? It is the cartoonists job to satirize appearance. Look at any political cartoon in the past : Bush - giant ears; Clinton - bulbous nose, giant hairdo; Nixon - sharp nose, high forehead, etc.
Now if the monkey had a shirt on that said 'Obama' I might buy the racist argument above - but it's a leap of logic to assume they are calling him a monkey. Many people were involved in the stimulus bill, the Senate, Congress, and by an overwhelming margin these are white folks. And again back to he point of the cartoon, I'd say it's fair to assume they mean a monkey might as well have written this bill, not Obama "the monkey" was responsible for it. Next time perhaps pick a less controversial animal I suppose : Pig? Duck? Cow?
I guess we have reached a new level of racial hyper-sensitivity. We have the n-word, and now we have the m-word as well (monkey). Perhaps all monkeys should be freed from zoos. I'd say the monkey in the cage is an insulting portrayal an African-American enslaved by his white master. Shame on you, zoos. Al Sharpton get down to the Bronx Zoo immediately to protest. Ugh. See how easy this inane racial logic becomes?
http://www.bushorchimp.com/
enough said.
When did our melting pot go from creamy to super chunk? If the cartoon isn't blatantly racist, then the cartoonist failed to lampoon whatever point, if any, that he was trying to make. There is no relation between the stimulus bill and the chimp.To deny the accusation is the equivalent to a game hunter explaining "I didn't kill those animals, the bullets did." Forget about the Oscars this Sunday, I think its time to start doling out Darwin awards.
The cartoon was not racist at all. Only the spooks think so.
Post a Comment