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Guys,

Let me clarify my position. I still do not believe the strip should have been published.

I don't think the artist is implying that the chimp is obama, or even a person. It is a symbol for a CONCEPT. A general statement (again, not my opinion) about the lack of skill and thoughtfulness put into the stimulus package. In a sense, "a monkey could have done it!" That's what he is saying.

HOWEVER, during the review process the editors (and to be honest the cartoonist too) SHOULD HAVE realized that regardless of the original intent, the cartoon crossed into a racial minefield. The long history of using ape references to dehumanize african americans had to be considered because President Obama is black and he is uniquely tethered to this stimulus package.

They HAD to know people would make this connection, fair or not. And the fact that they chose to ignore it, or were completely oblivious to it, demonstrates to me that there is a lack of diversity (or at least racial sensitivity) amongst the high ranks of their paper.

No way any black editor would let that cartoon fly. Even if he KNEW what the cartoonist was actually trying to say.





You're missing the point Montel. Obviously the editors knew the implications of the imagery. They also knew they had a backdoor with the whole "The chimp really represented...". The point is, they let it fly because they knew this would happen... everyone would be talking about it. And even a black editor would know the Post's readers and advertisers well enough to know that, regardless of the fallout, they ultimately had much to gain and little to lose by running it.
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