No More Monkey Business: NY Post Cartoon Sparks Angry Black Reaction
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The Sean Delonas cartoon published in the New York Post
on Wednesday, Feb. 18, proves this country still has a ways to go when
it comes to matters of race. The cartoon depicts two police officers
standing over the bullet-riddled body of a chimpanzee, with one
officer, who’s holding a smoking gun, saying to the other:
“They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.”
Of course, the Post
says that in no way were they trying to liken the president to a
rampaging ape. The most insulting factor in the cartoon and the
controversy that followed is that the Post downplays the backlash that
it undoubtedly had to foresee when it approved the offensive artwork.
Detractors will say that African Americans are overreacting; so in love
with the first black president that any and all criticisms will be
treated as racism. But the black-man-as-monkey imagery is as old as
colonialism, and only days after Atty. General William Holder called
America a ‘nation of cowards’ for its inability to have an honest
discussion about race, the editors at the New York Post
proved his words apt. They deemed it suitable for print, which means
that they either; a) didn’t realize the racial implications, which
means they’re idiots; or b) didn’t care about the backlash — which
means they intentionally stoked the firestorm.
The Post
offered an ‘apology’ to those they offended while simultaneously
ridiculing anyone who drew attention to their idiocy, which indicates
that they’re willfully ignorant about how dangerous it is to trade on
racial tension. Obama, like any other president, is going to be the
subject of ridicule and critique throughout his term. But, unlike any
other president, Obama has been subjected to hateful, racist threats on
his life since the moment he became the Democratic front-runner. Like
it or not — he is unique, and while we can’t walk on eggshells,
culturally and socially irresponsible stabs at ‘humor’ are
unacceptable.
–todd williams
