There have been so many of you all who have been truly offended by the NY Post's current caricature above! So much so that the comments and response to it on my site as well as others have been tremendous! I received something from my good friend Dr. Boyce Watkins who helps us to take the thought process of it all to another level! Read below and tell me your thoughts:
People have asked me what I would say if it turns out that the New York Post cartoonist had no ill intent and didn't intend to invoke any racism in his recent cartoon that appears to depict President Obama as a monkey. Here is what I would say:
1) The idea that he may have been referring to all of Congress as monkeys doesn't add up, because the police didn't shoot a PACK of monkeys, they only shot one. That leads us to think that this person is the "lead monkey", which would be President Obama.
2) Obama is the one most readily associated with the Stimulus Package, since he was the one who promised it, the one who signed it, and the one who celebrated passing it. Did they think we would believe the monkey to be Nancy Pelosi?
3) It is actually racial inequality that gives the artist the privilege of going through life without sufficient cultural competency to even realize that this cartoon might be offensive to Black people, who've been compared to monkeys for the past several hundred years. Additionally, it is also racial inequality that gives this cartoonist the social privilege to say "screw you" to the Black community when they express reasonable outrage over this insult. The New York Post has not apologized and they've only worked to discredit Rev. Sharpton. That's the "Archie Bunker - I ain't changin nothin" approach to racism.
Bottom line: Even if you don't intend to be offensive, any idiot in the newsroom should have been able to look at this cartoon to say "You know, someone might think that we are depicting an assassination of our president and comparing him to a monkey. Maybe we should clarify a bit." Had there been more Black faces in that newsroom (again, a product of historical racial inequality), someone would have caught this horrible mistake. If I draw something that is highly offensive to Jews, even if I made an honest mistake, I should be respectful enough to acknowledge my mistake and apologize. Part of racial healing is similar to a marriage: you respect your partner's feelings even if you don't understand them.
When it comes to intelligence, compassion, professionalism and cultural understanding, the New York Post gets a failing grade. This cartoon is a disgrace.
Very good points to think about! How are you all feeling? Please leave a comment and let us know because you guys know I can go on and on for days ;-)Also if you really want your point of view heard contact the NY Post directly! For more on this or info on Dr. Boyce Watkins please visit www.boycewatkins.com.
