Uh Oh

[Oneeyedvic]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7898 845.stm

A cartoon in the New York Post newspaper has triggered accusations that it is a racist depiction of President Barack Obama.

Commentators denounced the cartoon, while campaigner Rev Al Sharpton vowed to picket the newspaper's headquarters.

Cartoonist Sean Delonas drew police shooting dead a chimp, while remarking "they'll have to find someone else to write the stimulus bill".

The paper has defended the cartoon as a "parody of a current news event".

On Tuesday President Obama signed into law a massive, $787bn (�548bn) economic stimulus package.

The plan failed to achieve Republican backing and came after weeks of political wrangling.

[Gromit]

http://www.nypost.com/delonas/2009/02/02182009 .jpg

While objectors to the stimulus bill have a right to parody it (insinuating it was written by a monkey) in the context that the author of the bill was a black President, it definitely has racist undertones.

The New York Times is a quality newspaper and I am surprised this got through. Likening a Black President with a Monkey is pretty crude.

[Schutzengel]

Utterly disgusting. How on earth can a newspaper consider itself a quality newspaper when it prints a cartoon such as this.

[Octavius]

They seem to have forgotten they have a new president and are continuing the theme.

http://www.bushorchimp.com/

It is a tasteless cartoon in many respects.

[Oneeyedvic]

Interesting site Octavius - and I must confess that I smiled when I saw it. But of course if the site was called Obamaorchimp.com, it would be a terrible racist attack!

[jake-the-peg]

Obams survived this one

http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/1/C/2/ new-yorker-obama-cover.jpg

which was a lot more dangerous politcally

[missnemesis]

Oh ffs why is it that when a person is anything but white every joke, insult or in this case cartoon, is put down to racism?

Were people screaming 'racists' when they likened G. Bush to a chimp? No so why should it be so just because Obama is not white?

[sandmaster]

I think Obama is big enough not to be distressed by this rubbish.

[Oneeyedvic]

They weren't screaming racist at G W Bush as white people have never really been compared to Chimps - Black people have been.

As an example, the reason that people in the crowd were making Money noises at Sol Campbell was purely down to his colour.

[Gromit]

missnemesis

Racists often associate black people with monkeys and it is meant to be offensive. Football hooligans will make monkey noises and throw bananas onto the pitch. In this country that behaviour is seen in law to be racist abuse and you could find yourself in court.

There is no such association that white people are chimps and it is never used as racial abuse. That is why no racist meaning was read into the Bush cartoon, but they were with the Obama reference.

[craft1948]

Isn't this the same Obama who likened Sarah palin to a pig?

[anotheoldgit]

I wondered how long it would take for the racist brigade to start bleeping, if and when anyone dared to criticise the first Black President.

But having said that I do not think this cartoon has anything to do with compairing President Obama to a chimp. Yet on the Octavius's link that is a definite comparison, so why the difference? But then who can delve into the tangled brains of of the racist accusers.

How many times have we heard people say I could run the country better than that load of monkeys in Westminster, or words to that effect? Should then all the black MPs in parliament take this personally?

The only thing tastless about this cartoon, is the fact that a poor defenceless chimp has been shot down in cold blood.

One for the Animal Rights people to get upset about perhaps? After all they do have a better case.

[troutater]

making Money noises at Sol Campbell , They probably made the money noise because of the high wages that footballers get this days

[Octavius]

Well its not peanuts.

[anotheoldgit]

white people have never really been compared to Chimps

Of course they have, 'pay them in peanuts and you get monkeys working for you'.

And how many times have you called your kids, 'you little monkeys'?

I know a Chimp is an ape and not a monkey, but you get the idea?

Suprise, suprise I have even been called a Dinosaur at times, but what the hell.

[Schutzengel]

AOG. The chimp that was shot was hardly defenceless, it had just ripped a woman's face to shreds. More to the point a 15 stone chimp is a dangerous animal, and although it had been peaceful up to the time of the attack, it makes one wonder what had triggered the sudden change in it's behaviour.

[missnemesis]

Gromit, the only reason racism was read into the Obama situation is because it suits the PC brigade and gives them something else to bleat about.

I am sure that throughout Obama's life he has been the subject of racial slurs. He has managed to rise above them to get where he is in life so why the hell can't everybody else?

[flip_flop]

Crikey - I regularly argue on this site that what some people perceive as racism very rarely is. So I'm pretty sceptical at the best of times when the old "racism" brigade start bleating.

But when I saw this, I had a pretty sharp intake of breath.

Come on, this is pretty blatantly racist, isn't it?

[Oneeyedvic]

flip_flop - I'm really not sure - and I think AOG makes a very valid point.

[paraffin]

Why is it that the PC Brigade always try to adopt the moral high ground? And have you noticed, it's not "I'm a bit upset" or "Gosh, that's not cricket, old boy" - No, it's always the outraged stance: "I'm appalled" or "It's outrageous" or "How dare they!!" etc etc etc ad nauseum.
I am not black but would no more classify a black person with monkeys or chimpanzees than I would myself! It really doesn't bother me what colour he is, anymore than it wouldn't bother me if we had a black PM!
Over the years, people of all kinds of ethnic, cultural, religious, dodgy, nice, 'orrible etc etc backgrounds have gained high places in world politics and all sorts of prominent notoriety. And many, many of them have been ridiculed, caricatured, lampooned, satirised in all kinds of ways. And billions of people throughout the world have laughed either at them or with them.(Those with a sense of humour, that is!).
So why shouldn't Obama be the same? No reason! Racism, unless shown in its most naked and overt fashion, is firmly IN THE MIND! Hence the reasons why the PC Brigade adopt their "Oh, I'm utterly outraged" postures.
Well why don't you all wake up and smell the coffee, folks! Join the real world! Leave your sanitised bubble and come join we mere mortals! Grow up, and stop being pathetic.

[Gromit]

Apologies for misleading.

The Cartoon is not in the quality NY Times it is in the trashy NY Post. Sean Delonas apparently has a history of deliberately offending the lefties (I thought cartoonists were supposed to amuse us). It appears that is not just the usual suspects who have found this latest cartoon offensive. It appears to be being widely scorned by a wide spectrum of people with differng political views.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/c himp-stimulus-cartoon-raises-racism-concerns/? scp=1&sq=Chimp%20cartton&st=cse