Comments on: Racist or Just Bad?

By: James Stowe

James Stowe — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:50:23 +0000

I am agreeing with RXR here. No matter how many alternative meanings the monkey could have (and I agree there are a few) the artist was certainly aware of the racist connotation. I think the only reason he didn’t ‘do better’ at being racist is so that he could have an out if someone called him racist. Either way… there are several gags he could have done with the ape attack that didn’t inadvertently point to America’s first black president.

By: RR Anderson

RR Anderson — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:02:12 +0000

I don’t think the cartoonist is a hardcore racist, I think he was aware that it would likely be interpenetrated as racist and that he could benefit from a media firestorm. Equal to a ‘flamer’ or ‘troll’ on a internet forum who says things to get a rise out of folks.

This particular cartoonist did the same thing when some state legalized GAY MARRIAGE way back. He drew a hill-billy with a goat waiting in line for a marriage license.

By: Stan Shaw

Stan Shaw — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:19:15 +0000

I think we (”we” being the critical members of society) want to have a reason that explains our world and what happens in it. However we also forget that the cartoon was done buy a guy doing a job with a deadline for a company that needed it done on a deadline. It was/is a bad job, even without ascribing motives. I’ll wait until I see more evidence to decide as to motive (I sound like Jack Webb here!) but for right now, to me, it’s just a bad job. Even if it’s meant to be racist, he could have done better.

By: Mark Monlux

Mark Monlux — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:09:44 +0000

Not knowing this cartoonist from Adam, I get what he was trying to do with this joke. He was commenting on the monkey attack, which was so bizarre that I was going to do a cartoon on it as well. He then added the whole “If you have enough monkeys on typewriters eventually one of them will write shakespeare.” His point was how skeptical folks were going to be of any stimulus package, even if some monkey got it right. I don’t see this as racist. Sometimes a cigar is a cigar and sometimes a chimp shot dead by police is a chimp shot dead by police.

By: RR Anderson

RR Anderson — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:19:52 +0000

I’m sure the cartoonist knew what he was doing and was well aware of the racial connotations. I’m sure he did it as a reprisal for the bush/chimp comparisons his liberal cartoonist brothers have been making for so long. I’ve seen the dudes other cartoons. He’s kind of an asshole.

Anyhow this whole media frenzy reminds me of the danish cartoons.