From the very moment Barack Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States, the media has somehow been under some awkward belief that any jokes regarding him being black would be brilliantly funny. So time and time again these blowhards in business suits took gigantic risks, ventured out onto the edge, and if they weren’t connecting him to a muslim extremist terrorist they were connecting him to a monkey, ape, or gorilla. Since these types of connections have been historically negative, divisive, and near riotous, having long been used to portray black people as something less than human, these media moguls have been either unbelievably racist or unbelievably dumb! Now it’s the New York Post’s turn, which published a cartoon on their editorial page depicting President Obama as the dangerously out of control chimpanzee killed last week for mauling a neighbor. Funny, right? WRONG!`
A Georgia businessman sold t-shirts
showing Obama as a monkey
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This mailer from Republicans in California depict Obama
on a Food Stamp, as a mule, with fried chicken, ribs, watermelon,
and red Kool-Aid…all black stereotypes.
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The mayor of Los Alamitos, CA distributed the photo via email
claiming that instead of the traditional easter egg hunt,
the Obama’s will turn the south lawn of the White House
into a watermelon patch
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The New York Post cartoon
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The election of Barack Obama to the presidency was the moment in American history where we could all collectively move beyond our national racist past and progress toward a future of unity. So why then are so many clinging to the very stereotypes that have long sought to divide us? And since when did we all collectively decide that these reminders of racism were funny? EVERY SINGLE TIME these editors or politicians have cluelessly fooled themselves into thinking putting this sort of trash out to the public was an excellent idea, only to have to retract and apologize later for being insensitive, claiming they didn’t realize it would cause such a stir. BALDERDASH! Would it be right to poke fun at the jews regarding the Holocaust? Or make jokes about those who perished in the 9/11 attacks? Or what about a funny little story or cartoon regarding an abducted, raped, or killed child? OF COURSE NOT! Some things are just not funny, and are off limits to the apparent armchair comics out there who are making the decisions to publicize this sort of nonsense.
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So to the NEW YORKER magazine, the NEW YORK POST, and all those out there who keep presenting the general public with these assinine and outdated racial stereotypes, claiming you had no idea you were doing something wrong, here is your guide that should help prevent any future “mistakes” of racial insensitivity:
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✓DO NOT DISCUSS, PUBLISH, OR PRESENT PRESIDENT OBAMA, HIS WIFE MICHELLE, THEIR CHILDREN, OR ANY AFRICAN-AMERICAN CITIZEN AS: an Ape, Gorilla, Monkey, Primate, or anything less than human;
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✓DO NOT PORTRAY AFRICAN-AMERICANS: as extremists; terrorists; in black face or as a sambo; with overly large lips, nose, or other body parts;
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✓STAY AWAY FROM CONNECTING AFRICAN-AMERICANS AS STEREOTYPICAL CONNOISSEURS OF: fried chicken, ribs, watermelon, kool-aid, or the like;
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So to the NEW YORKER magazine, the NEW YORK POST, and all those out there who keep presenting the general public with these assinine and outdated racial stereotypes, claiming you had no idea you were doing something wrong, here is your guide that should help prevent any future “mistakes” of racial insensitivity:
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✓DO NOT DISCUSS, PUBLISH, OR PRESENT PRESIDENT OBAMA, HIS WIFE MICHELLE, THEIR CHILDREN, OR ANY AFRICAN-AMERICAN CITIZEN AS: an Ape, Gorilla, Monkey, Primate, or anything less than human;
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✓DO NOT PORTRAY AFRICAN-AMERICANS: as extremists; terrorists; in black face or as a sambo; with overly large lips, nose, or other body parts;
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✓STAY AWAY FROM CONNECTING AFRICAN-AMERICANS AS STEREOTYPICAL CONNOISSEURS OF: fried chicken, ribs, watermelon, kool-aid, or the like;
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The above suggestions are only a start. And for anyone who sees the above listings as harmless good old fashioned humor you probably have a long way to go in racial education anyway. So if you are truly sincere that your motives are not to incite racial insensitivity and that your goal is to present pure and fair politics and journalism, you will best serve yourselves and your constituents by avoiding the above at all costs. Racism is still very much alive and well in our society. It is not funny. Never was. The only way past it is to collectively turn our backs from it. And that means YOU!
