NY Post cartoon is racist; not ifs, buts or 'bananas' about it

By Gregory Moore

Ever since President Barack Obama became this nation's president and even when he was running for the office, political satire involving him has been very "tame" compared to other cartoon depictions of political figures.

Maybe that has been because no cartoonist wants to offend the millions of African Americans but that has never stopped cartoon strips or editorial cartoonists from pushing the envelope.

Remember when the New Yorker came out with their cover about Obama and his wife? You remember the one? With Obama in a turban, the American flag burning in the fireplace and an AK-47 assault rifle strapped to an Afroed Michelle Obama?

Yeah that was every bit as racist and stupid as what NY Post's Sean Delonas shows just how insensitive this country still is towards African Americans and our accomplishments.

Let's put this into a perspective that everyone can understand.

This month, today (February 18, 2009) is Black History Month. Here we have what I am going to assume is one minority, Delonas, having the unmitigated gall to portray a chimpanzee as the "author" of the stimulus package that was recently signed by President Obama and the NY Post, a news medium that is own by a minority group, has the nerve to not even want to respond to the criticism the cartoon is getting?

What the Post and Delonas have done is actually openly pimp slapped Black America and say, "No matter what your accomplishments, you are still n****s and nothing is going to change."

You know what the funny thing is? There is still a good percentage of this nation's populous that thinks the way Delonas' cartoon portrays African Americans.

That perception also is extended to other minority groups but if you notice, not one American is upset that the current climate of our economic state may be the fault of a group of minorities who many perceive as money hungry, stingy ingrates. Notice how there are no cartoons depicting Jewish bankers or stockholders in a demeaned fashion?

But yet this country expects African Americans to sit back, gaggle, giggle and snort with laughter at such a depiction of what we consider one of our greatest leaders even if he is a neophyte on the political spectrum.

The anger that should be felt by many African Americans should also be felt by others because the cartoon is offensive to anyone with common sensibilities.

Here we are saying that this country is the greatest country in the world and a cartoonist has the audacity to think it is okay to use a chimpanzee as his main subject in a cartoon that has political influences?

Is the Post that insensitive that they simply don't give a crap about their minority readers?

They must be because they fired a freelance writer, who is African American, because they didn't think he was being racially profiled by NYPD. He sued the department and he won his case because there is a settlement.

But this cartoon is very disturbing simply because no one should ever have to see the imagery of a dead animal, two police officers and a crazy caption that Delonas used.

If the Post's editors don't care about who they offend, then maybe it is time that African Americans REALLY asserts how much buying power they have on the Post's advertisers.

If the Post doesn't think it exists maybe they need to call Don Imus and ask him what it felt like being stripped of your magical wand on a national stage.