What's The Fuss About??

Just a day after President Barack Obama signed a stimulus bill that will hopefully jumpstart the US economy, the cartoon above appears in the New York Post. The cartoon can be looked at in a number of ways. Here's some excerpts from a story about it in the Huffington Post:

"A cartoon likening the author of the stimulus bill, perhaps President Barack Obama, with a rabid chimpanzee graced the pages of the New York Post on Wednesday. The drawing, from famed cartoonist Sean Delonas, is rife with violent imagery and racial undertones. In it, two befuddled-looking police officers holding guns look over the dead and bleeding chimpanzee that attacked a woman in Stamford, Connecticut."

"At its most benign, the cartoon suggests that the stimulus bill was so bad, monkeys may as well have written it. Others believe it compares the president to a rabid chimp. Either way, the incorporation of violence and (on a darker level) race into politics is bound to be controversial. Perhaps that's what Delonas wanted."

Of course it didn't take long at all for Rev. Al Sharpton to add his two pennies into the discussion:

"The cartoon in today's New York Post is troubling at best given the historic racist attacks of African-Americans as being synonymous with monkeys. One has to question whether the cartoonist is making a less than casual reference to this when in the cartoon they have police saying after shooting a chimpanzee that "Now they will have to find someone else to write the stimulus bill."

"Being that the stimulus bill has been the first legislative victory of President Barack Obama (the first African American president) and has become synonymous with him it is not a reach to wonder are they inferring that a monkey wrote the last bill?"

I really paid no attention to the story or the cartoon and continued on with my Wednesday.

*rapping "La-Di-Da-Di" in my head to pass time*

Then, I stumbled across a couple of blogs that I frequent to find that people were up in arms about the cartoon. Commentors were demanding the head of the illustrator and his editor, expressing how it's a shame how people can STILL be so racist, and how they were totally SHOCKED about the cartoon. Well...well...well, needless to say, I was BEYOND SHOCKED my damn self. The cartoon and it being published in a mainstream newspaper didn't shock me AT ALL. I was SHOCKED at people still reacting this way when something like this comes out!!

Really??

First, if you're really offended by cops shooting a monkey (and you're not a member of PETA) and you think it's racist, well monkey, you might as well call yourself a monkey then. (Not to be confused with "Monk" cause I'm no monkey...hahaaa) if you're not a monkey and don't subscribe to the notion of calling Black people monkeys then that means the cops just shot a monkey...not a Black person. Simple. You may even argue that the artist (and he IS an artist with freedom to express himself as he feels) is using satire and drawing from "monkey" and its historical text to describe Black people. I may have to check, but I thought satire was supposed to be funny. And I KNOW funny. This cartoon is the anti-funny. It's obvious why he created such a work (but I'll get to that later).

Secondly, why are these grown ass muafuggas still so damn sensitive?? (I probably just offended some by calling them that...fuck 'em!) Imma need Black people in America to grow some fuggin' skin. Get...that...dirt (read: chip) off ya' shoulders please. What ever happened to "sticks and stones" and shyt? All y'all gonna do is get mad, fuss, yell, and shout...and not do a damn thing (action-wise) about it. That's all niggas do anyway is TALK. Even if you DO take action, what type of effect will it have. Someone will get fired or suspended, take a 3-6 month vacation, get another job paying MORE than the previous, and continue doing the same thing. They win. You lose. We should already know how that game goes. Imus anyone??

Thirdly, it's clear that this is all about creating the type of attention and controversy that you should come to expect with a new president. Especially with B.O. being a Black One. (Get it? B.O. = Barack Obama = "Black One"...I cracks myself up...lol!!) Perfect timing on their part. They knew how niggas would react and you fed right into it...just like some...well, niggas. Oh yeah, guess what. Newspaper sells are down, but guess who's 'bout to sell a whole bunch today?? You're right genius...the New York Post. Checkmate. Mission Accomplished.

I'm done. I'll let Chris take it from here...


Your thoughts?