(no subject)

[mari4212]

On the epic fail: http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2009/02/18/whoa/. Just, how many different ways can you push racist stereotypes and still claim that it's all an innocent misinterpretation?

On the not epic fail, I've been catching NCIS re-runs, and the new episode this week, and have been gleeing over the female friendships. Kate and Abby, and later Ziva and Abby, are awesome together, and show that it is possible for a tv show to show women getting along and talking about something other than boyfriends and do it well. Also, women who are (for the most part, we will not talk about how they messed up Jenny right now) competent and good at their jobs. Much love.

Comments

[sileri.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I thought it was to imply the stimulus bill was written by monkeys. Unless the American public is dumb enough to think this was Obama's brain child, which they might well be. I was thinking epic fail on Al Sharpton's response. Way to hear hooves and jump to zebras.

[cheshire23.livejournal.com]

Maybe it doesn't happen as often in your part of the US, but in New York State there's an ongoing tendency for conservative commentators of various sorts to equate African-American politicians they don't like with primates. And then to claim that no, really, they didn't MEAN IT LIKE THAT and how dare you call them racists?!

At best, the Post should have realized that many people would take this interpretation. And that's giving every possible benefit of the doubt that this wasn't the cartoonist's intent, which given some of his past cartoons (including a really nasty one directed specifically AT Al Sharpton) I really can't give.

[sileri.livejournal.com]

I LOL'd at a lot of those cartoons. The thing about political cartoons is that they're editorial in nature. I don't see anything in those examples that are any different from what you'd see on the news or read in the editorial columns. Some I agree with, some I don't. Such is the nature of free speech. So only shoot black Congressmen and Senators involved in the bill? Still doesn't compute. Someone on the editorial staff will likely be crucified now though.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

I have to go with cheshire on this one, I've heard the black man = chimp/monkey far too many times, in far too many places, for me to not see it repeated in this cartoon. Regardless of whether or not the cartoonist intended it to be read in a racial manner, he's still using a rasist trope straight, and it is still rasist. (And given his other work, I'm not really inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he's unaware of the loadedness of that imagery.)

And also, given how much the mainstream media has focused on the stimulus as being Obama's bill, Obama's baby, yeah, I really think it's obvious who he's implying is the chimp.

[cheshire23.livejournal.com]

In fact, I think the very thin layer of plausible deniability actually makes this so much worse. It's a classic example of political dogwhistle. (In fact, in these parts, the whole "ape/chimp/monkey" thing is a dogwhistle - pretty much everyone who says that stuff denies specific racially-motivated intent, but it's never said about white people!)

And claiming that it's a joke tied back to the pet-chimp that mauled a woman? Incredibly poor taste, at best.