ChimpamBama

The New York Post’s Obama cartoon was both hilarious and insane. I actually couldn’t believe what everyone was complaining about until I saw it. For one, since his election I’d been waiting for the first Obama-Is-A-Monkey political cartoon (in fact, I was shocked no one went for the gold during the election). Pretty much every president since PT Barnum has been characterized as a monkey in a political cartoon, but you had to wonder who would be the first one to try it on the first black president. And, I couldn’t wait to see who would be the first person to act like they didn’t see the problem with it.

So way to go New York Post! Here’s the thing about the New York Post though. I’ve spent many a summer on Long Island, and I used to spend many a summer day reading the exotic (to me) local papers that I could find. The New York Times could be purchased in Melbourne, so for me, that might as well been a national paper. I ended spending most of my time reading two conservative papers: one, the epic, strangely printed and somehow brilliant, Newsday (or the Long Island Newsday, as I used to call it), and two, the insane New York Post. Now the Post always blew my mind because I couldn’t believe that these Yankees actually printed something so vile and crazy. If you printed that thing in the south it would sell out quicker than Michael Phelps’s friends (lame).

The Post is only a newspaper because people in power call it that. I could never tell the difference between it and the National Enquire (although the Enquire seemed more accurate on their Alien Boy articles). Even as a 12-year old the New York Post’s savagery fascinated me, and that’s coming from someone who grew up reading the Florida Today.

Now two things are brilliant about this cartoon, and one is obvious. But I’m interested in the second thing, being, is it cool to show a caricature of the president lying in a blood-riddled pool on a sidewalk? I’ve never seen anything like it, but then again, I haven’t been around very long.

And I’m sure the NSA computer sensors had a field-day with that paragraph.

Anyway, this is the first (of what will be many) racist cracks against President Bam. And sadly, Sharpton has responded exactly as I thought he would. He’s been picketing in front of the NYP’s office, demanding a mea culpa, and booking his time with every cable news fuzz he can get a slot with. The NYP, in turn, issued a backhanded apology, and then, almost directly, told Sharpton to go fuck himself. And then, for the past couple of days, a minor politically correct shit-fest has broken out.

Sigh.

Obama hasn’t made a comment, and I hope to Christ he doesn’t. Because here’s the thing about The Bam Admin, and here’s how our generation (not Sharpton’s) needs to handle it: As if it’s nothing at all. Even though we all know it is. It’ll set an example that the post-9/11 crew may follow. We need to remind everyone that we don’t care if a transsexual quarter-oriental Portuguese pineapple is running the fucking country, as long as he/she/it is doing it right. No more picketing. Racism, for the future, can’t be a situation.

And hey, we’re all monkeys anyway.



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All right here’s a bit of subtext, I posted this article, looked at that cartoon again and shit myself. I mean, wow, it is nasty. Am I hurting progressiveness by even publishing it again? Am I part of the media machine? Only the Wizard knows.