Show us the cartoon - then we'll tell you!
Posted on 01/09/2005 7:31:05 AM PST by American Infidel
I know I shouldn't be nearly as angry as I am over this (In fact, I know I shouldn't even care), but I couldn't help but notice that featured prominently on the top of the front page of the comic section of today's Philadelphia Inquirer (big surprise) was today's blatantly racist Boondocks comic strip. The strip in question consisted of one frame in which two young black characters observed a white character jogging in the snow while dressed for warm weather. The line written for the black characters is simply “White People”. The implication was obviously that only white people would do something as stupid as to go jogging in the winter, while being dressed for warmer weather. Imagine for a moment that the strip consisted of two white men waiting for a bus to take them to work while observing a black man sitting on the corner, drinking a 40 ounce malt liquor beverage, with the line, “Black People” coming from one of the white characters, implying that only black people would be sitting on the corner on a week day, getting drunk while other people were on their way to work. Not only would this strip never see the light of day, but all future strips from the cartoonist would have been cancelled. The Philadelphia Inquirer on the other hand, chooses to run the strip and to feature it prominently at the top of the front page of the comic section. I understand that Aaron McGruder is the “voice of angry black America” and that he must be treated with kid gloves, otherwise they will be accused of being racist and no corporate entity wants that kind of P.R., but this is ridiculous. It's not the strip itself that ticked me off (it was sort of humorous actually), it was the hypocrisy and the double standard of UPI, the Philly Inquirer, and the other urban newspapers that I am sure ran the strip today. OK that's my rant. Thanks for listening.
A picture speaks a thousand words.
"You know, I'm going to start thanking
the woman who cleans the restroom in
the building I work in. I'm going to start
thinking of her as a human being"
Yup, I'd call that rascist.
Yeah, it's a racist cartoon, but not in the way the artist intended.
Aaron Macgruder (the illustrator) is vehemently anti-white. The Boston Glop (globe) runs Boondocks - it is routinely, racist, violent (against whites), crude, anti-Christian, and anti-American.
Relax...Boondocks is left-wing but not racist. Check out the Christmas strips with the black Santa picking on the black kids for being lazy and criminal, then on the ones mocking Kwanzaa [sp?].
It's true that as black man the author has more freedom to discuss racial issues than a white cartoonist would, but that's hardly his fault.
I get your point that double standards and that black people can be overly sensitive about jokes or stereotypes does that mean that white people have to be that way too? I just don't find that particular comic offensive.
Artist: Aaron McGruder
Confronting Bodies: The Washington Post
Date of Action: November 2003
Specific Location: Washington, D.C.
Description of Artwork: Aaron McGruder is the creator and author of "The Boondocks," a comic strip that features several African American characters. The teenaged protagonist, Huey Freeman, frequently asserts his political views.
Description of Incident: In the strip in question, Huey and his friend Caesar suggest that U.S. National Security Advisor, Condoleeza Rice, "needs some good ol' fashioned lovin'." The Washington Post suggested that since they could not verify whether Rice was involved in a relationship or not, they would not print the strip.
Results of Incident: The Washington Post discontinued "The Boondocks" for the week.
Hmmm... I do find it pretty funny, but I do acknowledge that it'd be racist if it mocked a black stereotype. (Unless the mock-ee was Condi Rice, of course.)
That old man in Boondocks is the wisest one and does have some sense. He's protrayed as being at peace with himself whereas that main character is perpetually angry and unhappy. I wonder if this is a subconcious acknowledgement of the truth.
ooo...clue me in on how to post images and I'll see what I can find...essentially Boondocks has run that imaginary 'malt liquor' strip dozens of times.
Darn! I just raced out to the box to see if it was in my Sunday paper, "The Wisconsin State Journal." No luck!
Quite surprising, though. I'll check "The Capital Times" on line. That's our local socialist rag, so I'll bet it's in there!
BRB.
If that's "racist" then I can say we can all go home and forget about the whole race thing. Pretty harmless stuff.
I think it's even funny.
You'd prefer a cartoon which notes that the only time some people run through the city streets is with a TV in their arms, trying to outrun the police dog?
Jeez.
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/01/04/tem_tem1comic.html
'And for those outraged that the low-rated Doonesbury survived while Boondocks didn't, we made the decision to drop Boondocks because we did not want to keep publishing a comic that we regularly needed to censor. During the past year, Boondocks was substituted a number of times because it was deemed inappropriate for a family newspaper. And not just this family newspaper. Editors across the country were making the same decisions.
Our policy is that we publish a comic strip or we don't. Once we start pulling specific strips, as well as entire weeks' worth, it is time to drop that strip. Although Boondocks has its fans, many of you were uncomfortable with it, and at times we were, too. '
kudos to the Enquirer, Cincinnatti, dated 1/4/04
I, too, have seen this stip and it is truly disgusting. Those who are attracted to something of this nature are illiterates, hence only two words.
Should we mug him to get those neat tennis shoes.
Now that is racist.
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