Al Sharpton Goes Ape Over NY Post Cartoon

[332nd]

I missed that story completely. It is clearly relevant.

Don't worry, I wouldn't have know about it if it hadn't been on Yahoo's news page.

 

[Upchurch]

BTW, don't google "monkey shot"

 

[Doctor Evil]

BTW, don't google "monkey shot"

Posting this without telling why is a recipe for trouble. I have a guess, but won't check it. I am at work, and would like to stay employed.

 

[Upchurch]

Posting this without telling why is a recipe for trouble.

I know. Devious, isn't it?

It's like the big shiny glowing red button that says "DO NOT PRESS".

 

[Doctor Evil]

I know. Devious, isn't it?

It's like the big shiny glowing red button that says "DO NOT PRESS".

Exactly. And if you noticed my username, you should know that I know one when I see one

 

[dudalb]

I hope nobody here is actually trying to defend Sharpton, a demogogue who had done more to damage race relations in the US then any other individual.

 

[Cicero]

In this case I think Sharpton may have a point, and the title of the OP makes things worse. I say may, because it is not clear what was the intended target of the cartoon, and whether the cartoonist was aware of the connotations of this form of racism.

The same point could have been made by using, say, a Donkey in the cartoon.

Al's only point is the one that is located at the top of his head.. The intended target? Who wrote the stimulus bill? Hint: It wasn't Obama.

The cartoonist, unlike you, was aware of the Stamford, Connecticut chimp that attacked the friend of the owner. This was all over the msm Monday.

 

[Doctor Evil]

Al's only point is the one that is located at the top of his head.. The intended target? Who wrote the stimulus bill? Hint: It wasn't Obama.

The cartoonist, unlike you, was aware of the Stamford, Connecticut chimp that attacked the friend of the owner. This was all over the msm Monday.

The fact that Obama did not write the bill seems to me not to be that relevant, as he is ultimately the one who sets the political direction. The point about the incident in Connecticut stands, as I have already admitted. In fact, it had led me to reinterpret the cartoon. I now think that the cartoonist wanted to say that the people writing the bill were crazy. I still find your chosen OP title to be distasteful.

 

[Upchurch]

I hope nobody here is actually trying to defend Sharpton, a demogogue who had done more to damage race relations in the US then any other individual.

If the argument is valid (or invalid), what does it matter who made it?

Remember: Argument, not arguer.

 

[Cicero]

The fact that Obama did not write the bill seems to me not to be that relevant, as he is ultimately the one who sets the political direction. The point about the incident in Connecticut stands, as I have already admitted. In fact, it had led me to reinterpret the cartoon. I now think that the cartoonist wanted to say that the people writing the bill were crazy. I still find your chosen OP title to be distasteful.

It is actually quite relevant. That is why the cartoonist said "wrote" and not "signed" the bill. If you find the cartoon offensive then of course you would take offense at the phrase, Al goes ape. Such protests of indignation over the most innocuous phrases and images have contributed to making the word racist meaningless.

 

[Upchurch]

Hasn't Obama been the one pushing for this bill? Wasn't he taking the lead on it?

A quick google shows:

• Obama Stimulus Package Really Socialism?
• Obama's Stimulus Package
• Republicans Are Resistant to Obama’s Stimulus Plan

There seems little question about whose bill this is.

eta

Based largely on broad proposals made by President Barack Obama, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is intended to...

 

[PitPat]

I must condemn the cartoon on the grounds of being unfunny, uninspired, and uncreative along with a few other uns. I'm not a connoisseur of political cartoons, but why anybody would think the joke is clever or insightful is beyond me. "An animal that viciously maimed a person yesterday could be a better president than Obama." Hilarious!

 

[Tsukasa Buddha]

It's a stupid cartoon, first off. And you have to think what kind of idiot would let it run. Yes, I don't like Sharpton, but the quote isn't outrageous at all.

 

[Cicero]

Hasn't Obama been the one pushing for this bill? Wasn't he taking the lead on it?

A quick google shows:
[There seems little question about whose bill this is.

No question at all. It's Pelosi's.

"Pelosi's Indefensible Bill For Barack Obama, a cautionary tale of audacity"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123422399517965573.html

GOP blames Pelosi for snag in stimulus bill

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/05/MNAA15NDLQ.DTL


"But the starkest differences have been over the stimulus plan. In early January, Obama said he would like to see as much of 40% of the stimulus bill be comprised of tax cuts. Pelosi didn't agree, ultimately delivering legislation with just a third in tax cuts."

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1876912,00.html

"Ms. Pelosi, Democrat of California, said she had spoken with the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, earlier today, wryly adding that both Mr. Reid and the Obama administration were well aware of her views and concerns about cutting billions of dollars in proposed aid for education, for example."

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/pelosi-calls-cuts-to-stimulus-bill-very-damaging/

 

[Cicero]

It's a stupid cartoon, first off. And you have to think what kind of idiot would let it run. Yes, I don't like Sharpton, but the quote isn't outrageous at all.

Sharpton didn't say it was a stupid cartoon, rather that it was a racist one. Compared to the AZ Republic's cartoonist, Steve Benson, this example is incredibly banal.

"Benson's more controversial cartoons include one that depicts a firefighter carrying a child from the Oklahoma City bombing similar to a well-known photo of a firefighter's unsuccessful rescue of 1-year old Baylee Almon. The child in the cartoon says, "Please, no more killing..." to which the firefighter, labeled "Death Penalty Fanatics," replies, "Oh, stop your whining!" The cartoon, published June 11, 1997, angered some firefighters nationwide. Almon's mother called for Benson to apologize for using the image. Benson, however, stood firm even as his paper issued an apology for printing the cartoon."

 

[Brainster]

It's only funny when Republican presidents are compared to chimps.

 

[NobbyNobbs]

I saw the cartoon not ten minutes after reading about the chimp in Connecticut, and yet still didn't make the connection. What I thought was, "What a coincidence."

And I made no connection at all to Obama and racism. I saw the cartoon and took it to mean "Those monkeys in Congress".

 

[Policenaut]

Not racist and also not funny or smart. Where are all the good political cartoons?

 

[ARubberChickenWithAPulley]

It's only funny when Republican presidents are compared to chimps.

Yup. There were plenty of cartoons that actually depicted or compared George Bush directly to a chimpanzee.

And yet I didn't hear about a single chimpanzee who claimed to be offended.

 

[hgc]

I don't get it. Seriously. What's the joke? Often cartoonists (and creators of other forms of humor) super-impose two unrelated events so that they can be related to each other by humorous juxtiposition on multiple levels. But the chimp shooting and the stimulus bill aren't connected on any level by the cartoonist.