Cagle: That Racist Dead Monkey Cartoon

East Valley Tribune ^ | February 23, 2009 | Daryl Cagle

[nickcarraway]

All the pundits are talking about the recent cartoon by the New York Post’s Sean Delonas, showing a chimp shot by two policemen who say, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” The prevailing view among the bloggers and talking-heads is that the cartoon is a racist depiction of Obama as a monkey. Al Sharpton has taken the opportunity to grab the media spotlight by condemning the cartoon. New York Post employees are reportedly “unhappy and ashamed” of the “offensive cartoon.” The media love arguments about race.

NAACP wants NY Post editor and cartoonist fired

I was thinking of drawing a cartoon with the media frantically rushing to cover the “racist” Delonas cartoon, while Attorney General Eric Holder calmly stands in front of the melee telling Americans how they are “cowardly” in avoiding discussions about race. I expect we’re in for a lot of this for the next four years.

Some cartoonists (Ben Sargent of The Austin American-Statesman and Steve Bell of the Guardian in Britain, for example) consistently drew George W. Bush as a monkey. The cartoonists all chose to draw Bush with big monkey ears and a huge, monkey-like upper lip, so drawing Bush as a monkey was a natural progression. Now the cartoonists are all drawing Obama with similar, big monkey ears and we’re starting to hear complaints from readers about how we draw Obama’s lips. Presidents get shorter in cartoons if they don’t perform well — and chimps are short. Cartoonists tiptoe through a racial-metaphor minefield.

A standard, workday ritual that editorial cartoonists do is to list the major news stories of the day, and then think of how to combine two of the unrelated stories into a cartoon. Combining two unrelated things in a cartoon is funny. Monkeys are funny and the killer chimp was the big news one day along with the stimulus bill. Delonas is a staunch conservative who didn’t like the stimulus bill; this cartoon is a formulaic “no-brainer.” I’m sure the reaction to the cartoon was a surprise to Delonas.

But the reaction shouldn’t be a surprise. I’d suggest that every cartoonist should make a list of every racial stereotype to avoid regarding African-Americans, and assume that every cartoon will be considered to be a metaphor for Obama — then go through the check list before putting pen to paper, like a pilot goes through a check list before taking off in his plane.

And watch for a lot more cartoon plane crashes.

[SoldierDad]

Who wrote the Porkulus bill? Was it Obamasiah? Or, wasn't it Pelosi and a handful of other dimocRATS? Methinks Al Sharpton et al are just looking for any conservative to skewer for any reason they can contrive.

[cll]

“Some people take their funnies too seriously”

(Obscure Calvin and Hobbes quote)

[A_Former_Democrat]

Darling, don’t you monkey with the monkey
Monkey, monkey, monkey
Don’t you know you’re going to shock the monkey

Shock! - watch the monkey get hurt, monkey

Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey to life

[ExTxMarine]

Bottom line is that CONGRESS wrote this piece-o-crap, NOT President Obama.

Anyone, and I MEAN ANYONE, who sees this as racist is plain and simply trying to deflect criticism away from the real problems within this stupid law!

[doodad]

Even as a kid, I thought that if blacks are so incensed about being depicted as monkeys don’t they then think that they DO look like monkeys?

I don’t think humans look like monkeys.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

"Some cartoonists (Ben Sargent of The Austin American-Statesman and Steve Bell of the Guardian in Britain, for example) consistently drew George W. Bush as a monkey. The cartoonists all chose to draw Bush with big monkey ears and a huge, monkey-like upper lip, so drawing Bush as a monkey was a natural progression. Now the cartoonists are all drawing Obama with similar, big monkey ears and we’re starting to hear complaints from readers about how we draw Obama’s lips. Presidents get shorter in cartoons if they don’t perform well — and chimps are short."

Apparently pointing out that he looks like a chimp or monkey is considered racist, whereas the Bush cartoons were not because Bush is a caucasian. Bush's Tourette's tics were exploited to suggest that when he curls his lip up he looked like a chimpanzee. As political cartoons go that seemed harmless. It's not clear the chimp cartoon about the stimulus bill was intended in any racist sense. But they will trouble stopping people from seeing the similarity. During the campaign someone had made a Curious George T-shirt which also drew protests, presumably for suggesting a resemblance to Obama, perhaps because of the ears. Some of those are posted online:

It seems fair enough for the media to observe the guidelines and avoid cartoons with apes, chimps, or monkeys. But that probably will not stop it from happening or from people noticing a resemblance.

[martin_fierro]

I’d suggest that every cartoonist should make a list of every racial stereotype to avoid regarding African-Americans, and assume that every cartoon will be considered to be a metaphor for Obama — then go through the check list before putting pen to paper, like a pilot goes through a check list before taking off in his plane.

Yeah, just like they did during their depictions of Bush.

What a moron this guy is.

[popdonnelly]

The chimp in the cartoon is only a chimp. Without racial indignation, Al Sharpton would be nowhere.

[Yaelle]

Cartoonists would have an easy time if they just remember these rules:

1. Humor can take license to spoof people's looks and idiosyncrasies so cartoonists are free to mock and needle as long as it's for cartoonish effect

2. In this country we have full freedom of speech and expression

3. Do not portray Obama in any type of a negative fashion at all no matter what.

If these guidelines are followed, nothing bad will happen to any cartoonist, all addresses of which are known to the federal government.

[thefactor]

There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs. There is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don’t want the patient to get well. - Booker T. Washington 1911

[Islander7]

I ain't ugly, I'm a good looking monkey.

[IYAS9YAS]

Funny. I took the ‘toon to mean that one of the “thousand chimps typing on a thousand typewriters” was shot for being out of control (like the pet). I didn’t take it as a jab at Obama, but comparing congress to a bunch of out of control chimps typing away for a stimulus bill.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

"3. Do not portray Obama in any type of a negative fashion at all no matter what. If these guidelines are followed, nothing bad will happen to any cartoonist, all addresses of which are known to the federal government. "
10 posted on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 5:15:46 PM by Yaelle

The Cartoonists Association should ask which animals it would be acceptable to use in Obama cartoons (i.e. donkey, snake, dragon, frog, toad, skunk, weasle, porcupine, shark, lizard, badger, mouse, caterpillar, worm, scorpion, tick, mole, chipmunk, squirrel, etc.).

[Joe Boucher]

Some of the best humor ever

Calvin and Hobbes

[FrdmLvr]

While the world celebrates the anniversary of Darwin’s birthday, it at the same time condemns what Darwin and his followers believed in, that the negro could have been the missing link. I’ve seen hundreds of scientific illustrations from that era that tried to prove that.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

There does seem to be this idea, popular among Social Darwinists and atheistic Darwinists, that evolution is seen
in differences within modern man. It also provided an ideological basis for the eugenics movement. Those ideas are still out there. And behind Planned Parenthood’s racism. It’s a little ironic then if they get Obama to push that in the schools to provide an ideological basis for their embryonic stem cell and cloning agenda.

[ReagansShinyHair]

What is up with monkeys being off limits? That’s crap. I call my son “monkey” all the time.

[AnAmericanMother]

Since when does Bush have de la Tourette's?

I've known some unfortunate people with that syndrome, and I saw no signs that he had it. A few ticcish habits, sure . . . but full blown de la Tourette's is no joke.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Bush's lip curling and facial tics were the source of the cartoons, as with his tendency for verbal gaffes and humorous neologisms ("strategery"). Haven't heard any direct information on the diagnosis. His mother talked about some kind of reading issue, as a child.

Liberals did not complain much when Bush was likened to a chimp in political cartoons. Maybe that's the difference.