The New York Post, Chimps and Race

Alot of folks are pissed about the above cartoon, which appeared in Wednesday's edition of the New York Post. Al Sharpton was on the Tom Joyner Show talking about it, and he released a statement which you can find on the National Action Network website.The following is an excerpt from Sharpton's statement:

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 whether the Post cartoonist was inferring that a monkey wrote it? Given that the New York Post cartoonist has come under heavy fire in the past for racially tinged cartoons including the infamous cartoons depicting 2001 mayoral candidate Freddy Ferrer and me in very unflattering ways (that ultimately was used as a campaign tactic to inflame racial prejudices), one cannot ignore that history when looking at this morning’s cartoon.

Now some folks may be thinking to themselves that it's too much of a stretch to think the Post would demonstrate their racism so blatantly. After all, who would be stupid enough to put such racism on display for the whole world to see? Nobody would be that stupid, would they?

Would they?

How 'bout we ask the moron in this video, which was taken outside of a Palin event during the campaign.




And who could forget the wonderful image to the left, which appeared on t-shirts that a Marietta, Georgia man printed during the campaign.


Lest we get confused and think that the whole monkey thing is just an attack on Obama, let's keep in mind the history of comparing Africans/Blacks to monkeys. This history includes "scientific" attempts to compare the brains of Blacks to those of apes--a belief that continues in slightly more subtle forms today. But more of that in a separate post...

And then, of course, there's the King of the Apes--King Kong. A lot has been written about the racism inherent in King Kong, but i'll just refer you to an old post from Angry Black Bitch (don't get mad at me for using the name as is). BTW, many people feel that in addition to the general racial overtones, King Kong was making specific reference to heavyweight boxing champ Jack Johnson, who was hated and persecuted because of his relationships with white women.

Anyway, for those who think that the black monkey thing is a matter of the past and not the present, try this little experiment. Google the two words, "niggers" and "apes" and you'll get almost 50,000 hits, most of which are to the most vile discussion threads you'll ever see. The following is an excerpt from the first post that came up in my search:

I hate Niggers just as much as everyone else here (and maybe even more) and we all call them Apes, Baboons, Jungle Monkeys etc. It is a big Insult to the Jungle Apes to call Niggers Apes. Jungle Apes, Baboons, Gorillas, Chimpanzees are of higher status and they don't commit any of the attrocities Black Niggers commit. Yes, Niggers are monkeys, they are "Porch Monkeys" or "Yard Apes". The average Black Nigger may look like a Jungle Ape but that's where the similarity ends. Physically they are similar to the Jungle Ape but mentally, the Jungle Ape is way superior. I love this site because the truth about Niggers is spoken here and It is very sad of how our world, our white society is being destroyed by these Savage Feral Underdeveloped Porch Monkeys. I have less fear falling Into a Gorilla Pit full of Gorillas than walking through a Nigger Neighborhood in the worst part of town any time. Between reading the posts on this website and just finishing jury duty, my hate for Black Niggers keeps Increasing by the day. This site rocks, keep up the good work!!

Again, my purpose in quoting these remarks is not to inform you that such people still exist. I'm assuming that anyone reading Cliff Notes came to this site already knowing that such idiots are still out there, and in larger numbers than any of us would like to admit. But y'all got some friends who are looking at this New York Post cartoon saying "it's not so bad". And at the end of the day, it's THOSE folks who concern me more than the monkeys making the racist monkey comments. It's the well meaning folks, the liberals and the Black folks who are confused by all this post-racial America stuff that are often the biggest obstacle. Dr. King referred to these folks as the "white moderate", which i would now extend to include a whole bunch of Black folk. In his "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Dr. King had this to say about such folk:

I have reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice... Shallow undertanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

In short, we must battle the ignorant racist that make the monkey comparisons, as well as the "enlightened" post-racialist who will seek to minimize and excuse them.

And on that point there can be no monkeying around.

On that "note", i'm outta here!