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Monkey Cartoonist: Target of Those with Victimization Complex
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The cartoon made headlines on Fox, MSNBC, CNN, and Huffington Post. And there are screams of racism through minority and mainstream media alike. I received email forwards, IM’s, and phone calls. By all accounts, it’s gone viral.
What’s the cause of the uproar? A cartoon depicting two police officers shooting a monkey, with a caption that reads: “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.”
At first glance it seems like Sean Delonas, the artist of the cartoon, not only mocks President Obama’s stimulus package, but does so in the most racist way possible, even going so far as depicting him shot by the police. How dare he?
It’s easy to get pissed off at this seeming racism. Minorities in America have been so used to seeing racial epithets being lobbed at us, that this one just seems par for the course.
Need we be reminded about the Taco Bell Chihuahua, the Obama Curious George T-Shirts, the Harold Ford Jr. commercial from the RNC, or Don Imus and his nappy headed hoes? And lest we forget, children of “Generation X” grew up watching those racist Warner Brother cartoons now only available on YouTube. These are all examples of the sometimes obvious racism that is ingrained into the fiber of our nation.
So when circumstances arise that seem racist, it seems natural to get one’s dander up.
But don’t let facts get in the way of outrage, right?
Remember the ‘niggardly’ uproar from 1999? It had absolutely nothing to do with race, and caused a government employee to be fired, and on what grounds; an expansive vocabulary?
A few weeks ago, there were news reports regarding Raccoons on the White House grounds. Though this many people were content seeing it as a joke that writes itself, many were concerned that it was fodder for racists.
Now we face the issues raised by this cartoon.
First a basic civics lesson: the president, while a major proponent of this stimulus bill, was not the author of the stimulus package. Let me reiterate: Obama didn’t write the stimulus package, nor did anyone on his staff. The original stimulus package was written by House Democrats.
Secondly, the top story of the last week was about Travis, the rampaging chimpanzee who bit a woman’s face off and was afterwards shot by the police.
It is the height of intellectual laziness to extrapolate racism from this cartoon. The cartoonist obviously used current events to belittle politics with which he doesn’t agree. There is no rational reason why this would be considered racist by anyone who considers themselves up to date on current events. And anyone who isn’t should probably read a newspaper or watch the news once in a while.
For the last decade, many white people have painted minority outrage over perceived racism as a byproduct of a PC culture. By to jump on this as example of racism only adds credence to the argument that minorities, blacks especially, are misinformed or hypersensitive at best, and at worst, thrive on playing the role of victim. And it belies actual incidents of racism that occur daily, in our workplaces, on a national stage, and in elevators with black men worldwide.
I just ask that we critically examine an issue before righteous indignation sets in. A quick Google search or two can calm most outrage, and when real instances of racism come about, the minority community’s anger won’t simply be seen by outsiders as hyperbole.
This might prove valuable reading to understand some of the urban legends, myths, and preconceptions that have survived over the ages in the black community. Its my belief that many of these have led to the expectation of racism from nonblack Americans.
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