Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Politics / Arts There Is Nothing Offensive About This Cartoon
Posted by David Schmader on Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 9:21 AM
So says New York Post editor-in-chief Col Allan, who issued the following statement after Al Sharpton criticized the cartoon—which appears in today's Post—to the Associated Press:
"The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut," said editor-in-chief Col Allan. "It broadly mocks Washington's efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist."
There's no question that Sharpton's occasionally guilty of being a "publicity opportunist," but there's also no question Col Allan is full of shit.
(Thanks to Slog tipper James.)
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1
There is nothing offensive unless you are a wimpy white-guilt ridden liberal moron or a captain of a Grievance Industry like Sharpton.
2
really saying this plan was written by a monkey or chimp is not racist - it was done by white guys like Geitner, Volker and Summers - bad choices by O but that's another story
3
Wow. I've got to admit, that one pushed the limit of my taste-meter. There's a long history of people of African descent being likened to monkeys, @1. I think it's no great leap to think a direct racist link to Obama was being made.
If there had been multiple monkeys, one might argue that it was poking fun at all of Washington, but a single monkey mirrors the singular person spearheading the stimulus package.
God doesn't like ugly.
If there had been multiple monkeys, one might argue that it was poking fun at all of Washington, but a single monkey mirrors the singular person spearheading the stimulus package.
God doesn't like ugly.
4
OK, so tell us, Rev. Sharpton, how is a political cartoonist supposed to portray the Obama administration in a critical but non-offensive manner? As a dumb white guy? As some non-primate animal? As "Hello Kitty"?
We've elected a black guy as president. Now, can we impeach Sharpton as "overly sensitive media watchdog"?
We've elected a black guy as president. Now, can we impeach Sharpton as "overly sensitive media watchdog"?
8
I guesss it makes a big difference whether someone had been saturated with the "police shot a chimp" story this week. I immediately got the reference and laughed at the joke that the chimp had written the package. To me, it referenced "1,000 monkeys typing". I never put it together as racist, but obviously some people did.
9
This didn't raise my racist hackles at all. Even a little bit. The picture is direct re-creation of the scene of the chimp shooting in Connecticut, even down to the (hilariously ironic) Beware of Dog sign.
I saw it as mocking the fact that virtually no one really knows what they're doing here in terms of trying to stimulate the environment. A chimp could write it and we still wouldn't know if it's going to work...
I don't know, this exact same cartoon could have been done about George W, or even Hillary or McCain if they had won. That says "not racist" to me.
I saw it as mocking the fact that virtually no one really knows what they're doing here in terms of trying to stimulate the environment. A chimp could write it and we still wouldn't know if it's going to work...
I don't know, this exact same cartoon could have been done about George W, or even Hillary or McCain if they had won. That says "not racist" to me.
10
Okay, Sharpton's too easy a target, so let's leave him out of it. I'll play the Sharpton role: Suggesting the nation's financial situation would be improved if someone shot that crazy monkey is fucked up.
Twist yourself around all you want to defend it, but don't deny facts.
Twist yourself around all you want to defend it, but don't deny facts.
12
@3 Hmm but the news story wasn't about multiple chimps, it was about one chimp.
I agree that because of the historical link between african-americans and primates, the cartoon is somewhat distasteful. However, my first thought was a comparison between monkeys and the legislators not the president.
I agree that because of the historical link between african-americans and primates, the cartoon is somewhat distasteful. However, my first thought was a comparison between monkeys and the legislators not the president.
13
Yes, @4. Let us all mourn cartooning because the only way to portray black people is by cliched and coded stereotypes that overt racists have used for years. Next they'll be coming for our big lips and watermelon references!
15
"Suggesting the nation's financial situation would be improved if someone shot that crazy monkey is fucked up."
Umm, just exactly where does it say that?
Umm, just exactly where does it say that?
17
It must really bother a lot of people that Al Sharpton is smarter and more willing to stand up for his beliefs than they are.
This white girl loves Al Sharpton and agrees with him on most things.
This white girl loves Al Sharpton and agrees with him on most things.
18
Comparing black people to monkeys is just a place you don't ever want to go. Like comparing homosexuals to child molestors or jews to bloodsucking leaches. Too much baggage there, whatever funny/ironic/satiric point will be lost behind the ick factor.
19
I sympathize with those that are suspicious of potential racism in this cartoon.
But does anyone here feel sorry for the chimp? And no, I am not PETA or NARN.
But does anyone here feel sorry for the chimp? And no, I am not PETA or NARN.
20
I suppose that 100 monkeys on typewriters is racist because it is mocking black writers.
This is, like someone above said, something only a race baiter, or a guilt ridden pansy liberal white person would conceive as racist, while truly ignoring the specifics of the process of law.
This is, like someone above said, something only a race baiter, or a guilt ridden pansy liberal white person would conceive as racist, while truly ignoring the specifics of the process of law.
21
the big problem, as a few have stated, is that if you were not aware of the recent berserker chimp story, you wouldn't have the right context for the joke and you could then easily jump to the conclusion that the cartoonist is actually representing Obama as a monkey.
so the problem is not the intent of the cartoon, it's potential ambiguity based on missing context.
so the problem is not the intent of the cartoon, it's potential ambiguity based on missing context.
23
Delonas has a history of drawing homophobic and racist cartoons. Given his past I say he knew exactly what he was doing and so did his editors. Gawker does a good job of following his worst examples.
http://gawker.com/tag/sean-delonas/
http://gawker.com/tag/sean-delonas/
24
@21 I think it is more telling that people would automatically assume the monkey was Obama in a situation devoid of context. That says more about the person than the creator of the cartoon.
25
@10 I'm with Fifty-Two-Eighty. The cartoon does not imply that things will improve now that the chimp is dead. It implies that the chimp wrote the stimulus plan, and says f we need another one, someone else will have to do it. For it to say what you think it says, the caption would have had to be something like “Now that we’ve taken care of the chimp, we can get McCain to write the next bill.”
28
If it is racist to equate black people to monkeys, is it not also racist to equate all monkeys with black people? Sometimes a chimp is just a chimp.
30
And as someone who reads a LOT of news (on the innernets, natch) this is the first I heard of berzerker chimp.
So this story struk me as pretty racist. Just sayin'.
So this story struk me as pretty racist. Just sayin'.
32
@28 exactly. If a monkey is anthropomorphic a contingent of "progressives" will label them black people. Who is being racist in that situation?
33
The rule is: do not pay attention to Al Sharpton. Ever. Ignore him when he's wrong, ignore him when he's right (cf. blind squirrel, acorn). Because Al Sharpton is one of those people who is completely wrong even when he's right.
35
Sorry, but this isn't racist. It's in no way comparing Obama to a chimp because he is black, there's nothing even remotely hinting at that, it's obviously saying nothing more than the stimulus bill could have been written by chimps. The references is incredibly clear. Do we REALLY have to be so overly PC that we have to completely strip any reference of its context and then add old racist stereotypes to it that weren't there in the first place? There is no reference to his race in this and it's not even hinting at it; it's not different than comparing Bush to a chimp (except there are MORE obvious and direct non-racist references connecting this to current events). Sorry, but I agree with Col Allan here.
36
@12 -- Exactly. So perhaps this cartoonist should have seen that a single monkey (per the news story) might be easily juxtaposed to a single black president. Perhaps a different monkey killing joke could have been made. It was a poor choice.
But now that I've seen his other pieces via the Gawker link @23, I see that he made his choice with his usual flair.
But now that I've seen his other pieces via the Gawker link @23, I see that he made his choice with his usual flair.
37
I remember TONS of cartoons making Dubya Bush look like a chimp (FYI I hate Bush).
It seems to me that it is a racist double-standard to be able to compare Bush to a chimp with open abandon, but not to be able to compare the stimulus bill (an inanimate object, not a person) and the circus surrounding it to the chaotic behavior of an out-of-control chimp. Liberals who automatically make the jump from chimp=black are the real racists in this situation... but what do I know, white liberals always claim they know what is best for those poor unfortunate oppressed black people who just don't know any better ways to behave for some reason.
It seems to me that it is a racist double-standard to be able to compare Bush to a chimp with open abandon, but not to be able to compare the stimulus bill (an inanimate object, not a person) and the circus surrounding it to the chaotic behavior of an out-of-control chimp. Liberals who automatically make the jump from chimp=black are the real racists in this situation... but what do I know, white liberals always claim they know what is best for those poor unfortunate oppressed black people who just don't know any better ways to behave for some reason.
38
@34, let me get this straight;
If you think black people are monkeys you are racist.
If you think that monkeys represent black people you aren't racist.
If you think black people are monkeys you are racist.
If you think that monkeys represent black people you aren't racist.
39
The real racist travesty is keeping monkeys in the zoo. They should find them housing in the projects.
40
The gawker link is hilarious.
I think my favourite is how the guy used the drew the *exact* *same* "joke" twice within two months.
I think my favourite is how the guy used the drew the *exact* *same* "joke" twice within two months.
41
@24 - Can you think of another single person whose death would prompt someone to say "they'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill"?
42
it's that sick kind of racist joke that can be kind of explained in another way, empowering both those that tell the joke and some of those that laugh at it.
44
http://gawker.com/213891/sean-delonas-mi…
Most editorial cartooning is racist. It's one thing to draw a girl on roller skates with big ears but you start getting into international politics with a skill set that begins and ends with exagerating facial features and you're a waste of space.
Most editorial cartooning is racist. It's one thing to draw a girl on roller skates with big ears but you start getting into international politics with a skill set that begins and ends with exagerating facial features and you're a waste of space.
45
@41, only someone ignorant of how bills are crafted would make the connection that Obama wrote the bill himself. Are you that kind of ignorant?
47
This cartoon would be popular during the holidays in Holland. They have the most racist Christmas ever.
49
Seems pretty clear to me that they're likening Obama to the aformentioned rampaging chimp that has been in the news, since he was the most visible proponent of the econstimpak. Also the entire history of the US calling black people chimps, the 'rampaging cocaine nigger' stories of the 1900s-1940s, and the history of the New York Post being a vile hate rag. How could any newspaper editor NOT have seen that connection?
51
i know! it's not like racism has any basis in honest true-life real factual reality or anything either!
53
I am amazed at the ignorance on this comment thread. This has nothing to do with Al Sharpton, and everything to do with the OBVIOUS racist connotations of the cartoon. Honestly, if you can't see it you must be utterly ignorant of the history of racist representation in the media and especially news...
heywhatsit @23, thanks for putting this cartoon into context.
NaFun @49, thanks for restoring my faith in humanity.
Holy crap, people. Open your eyes.
heywhatsit @23, thanks for putting this cartoon into context.
NaFun @49, thanks for restoring my faith in humanity.
Holy crap, people. Open your eyes.
56
How dare you infidels defame the Prophet Muhammad by publishing cartoons portraying him as a chimpanzee! I will be cutting off your heads now.
59
bush DESERVED to be likened to a chimp. he still does, and will continue to deserve it until the end of time.
60
I don't think it was intended to be offensive or racist, but you have to be tone deaf not to see why people would interpret it as racist or offensive. Col Allan is full of shit in saying that it's not offensive, period. He should have apologized, said that they didn't mean to offend anyone, and left it at that.
61
@29,
Yes, by Gawker, which greeted Poe with a big, fat yawn. If you think Gawker commenters are nice, you need your head examined. You also still need to buy a dictionary. "Deign" doesn't mean what you think it means.
Yes, by Gawker, which greeted Poe with a big, fat yawn. If you think Gawker commenters are nice, you need your head examined. You also still need to buy a dictionary. "Deign" doesn't mean what you think it means.
64
I don't know that it's actually offensive - although it does appear that offense was the cartoonist's objective - but it sure as hell isn't funny. It's stupid.
65
Stupid and unfunny and maybe racist is my reaction, being aware of the whole berserk chimp story.
This demonstrated that even after a beserked creature receives lethal combat damage, it still can cause harm.
This demonstrated that even after a beserked creature receives lethal combat damage, it still can cause harm.
66
This is one of those situations where both sides (NY Post and Sharpton) are right (and also wrong), although neither will answer the questions/charges posed to them.
The cartoon is tacky at best, but then again, so is the NY Post, so go figure. Racist? If you are pre-disposed to finding racism everywhere, then it would make sense that you see it here. Then again, it's an editorial cartoon, so maybe it's just too fucking bad -- isn't that what we all told the Muslim world about unflattering cartoons of the prophet??
Sharpton probably has a point here that deserves airing, but it gets lost in the fact that he is a Media Whore that has no credibility with many people. He ain't helping, unless your goal is to promote continued racial division in the US.
The cartoon is tacky at best, but then again, so is the NY Post, so go figure. Racist? If you are pre-disposed to finding racism everywhere, then it would make sense that you see it here. Then again, it's an editorial cartoon, so maybe it's just too fucking bad -- isn't that what we all told the Muslim world about unflattering cartoons of the prophet??
Sharpton probably has a point here that deserves airing, but it gets lost in the fact that he is a Media Whore that has no credibility with many people. He ain't helping, unless your goal is to promote continued racial division in the US.
67
Chimps or monkeys with a typewriter are very common trope:
From Wa. Post 2002: "Plenty of people have had fun with the famous notion that an infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters and an infinite amount of time could eventually write the works of Shakespeare."
Looked at like this, adding one crazy chimpanzee representing the stimulus package committee, I don't get racism.
From Wa. Post 2002: "Plenty of people have had fun with the famous notion that an infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters and an infinite amount of time could eventually write the works of Shakespeare."
Looked at like this, adding one crazy chimpanzee representing the stimulus package committee, I don't get racism.
69
poor white people... it's just not how it used to be is it? you know, back when everyone understood that you were to be respected.
70
where this crap leads:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/feb/09…
"This was a hate crime," Adkisson wrote in a four-page "manifesto" he had left inside his truck and intended to serve as a suicide letter.
Adkisson, 58, wrote that he wanted to kill the "generals" of the liberal movement, citing Democrats in Congress, Supreme Court justices and then-candidate for president Barack Obama.
But he said he couldn't get to those in power so he opted instead to attack liberalism's "foot soldiers," specifically citing the members of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/feb/09…
"This was a hate crime," Adkisson wrote in a four-page "manifesto" he had left inside his truck and intended to serve as a suicide letter.
Adkisson, 58, wrote that he wanted to kill the "generals" of the liberal movement, citing Democrats in Congress, Supreme Court justices and then-candidate for president Barack Obama.
But he said he couldn't get to those in power so he opted instead to attack liberalism's "foot soldiers," specifically citing the members of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.
71
it's racist. 100%. Both because of the chimp and because of the violence, when is the last time you saw a cartoon that made a "joke" about killing a legislator?
72
The bubble should have said "Now look what you've done. How will the Republican's find someone better to run for office now?"
73
@71 - If the situation wasn't a current event, I guess it could be seen as "racist. 100%." But...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29227155/
But the chimpanzee returned and went after several of the officers, who retreated into their cars, Conklin said. An officer shot Travis several times after the animal opened the door to his cruiser and started to get in.
The wounded chimpanzee fled into the house and retreated to his living quarters, where he died.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29227155/
74
Everyone knows blacks never ever commit violent crimes like rape and murder, to even infer such an absurd thing is totally racist.
75
@68,
*Sob*
And yet I'm still smart enough not to think I can compete with the commenters on Gawker. What's the matter with your boy? Got dropped on his head as a baby?
*Sob*
And yet I'm still smart enough not to think I can compete with the commenters on Gawker. What's the matter with your boy? Got dropped on his head as a baby?
76
@45, 55 . . .
Of course Obama didn't write the bill. No one individual did. And yet, this cartoon is saying this one individual - in the cartoon a chimp - did indeed write it. Soooo given that the one individual in the WORLD most directly associated with the bill, seen stumping around the nation for it, is our President, Barack Obama, maybe it's not such a leap to imagine that the one lone individual dead chimp in the cartoon is supposed to be a stand-in for Obama? With "write the . . . bill" as short-hand for "act as catalyst/campaigner/midwife for the bill"?
Of course Obama didn't write the bill. No one individual did. And yet, this cartoon is saying this one individual - in the cartoon a chimp - did indeed write it. Soooo given that the one individual in the WORLD most directly associated with the bill, seen stumping around the nation for it, is our President, Barack Obama, maybe it's not such a leap to imagine that the one lone individual dead chimp in the cartoon is supposed to be a stand-in for Obama? With "write the . . . bill" as short-hand for "act as catalyst/campaigner/midwife for the bill"?
77
All humans are great apes. Whites are apes, blacks are apes, every human is a kind of an ape. It is a scientific fact. Get over it!
78
Okay so drawings of chimps in political cartoons are now in bad taste. Got it. But the ones of Mohammad holding a bomb are still okay, right Stranger?
79
i tend to think that the guy didn't intend racism.
i also think he didn't intend to be terminally stupid or unfunny in all of his comics.
finally, i believe he has succeeded in all of things
i also think he didn't intend to be terminally stupid or unfunny in all of his comics.
finally, i believe he has succeeded in all of things
81
Jesus Christ. If you look at that comic with the facts at hand and jump to the conclusion that it's racist, it means that you're not using even an ounce of consideration. Like Sharpton, you're just another moron who cries wolf and cheapens the truth for when a real wolf is presented.... Or, yeah, you're probably just another guilt-ridden, white, liberal pussy. (I love both liberals and pussys, but you put them together and you get a sad sack of shit such as yourself).
82
And another thing, the whole "chimps" in the govt thing has been done in comedy (albeit usually lame) for years. Idiots. Ultra-sensitive morons.
83
I really can't see the cartoon as being deliberately racist. Poorly thought out, though, given that it would be distributed in such a racially tense nation? Sure. It's not hard to predict that a lot of people would take offense at it, warranted or not.
85
@84
Careful with your syntax. It sounds like you are looking at the cartoon in a way that makes you racist.
Careful with your syntax. It sounds like you are looking at the cartoon in a way that makes you racist.
86
@69 -- too true. It's like, all of a sudden we can't make fun of all the non-whites without someone calling us on it! What happened to our freedom? Used to be the cartoonist could've just put "OBAMA" in big letters on the chimp's chest so there's be no mistake. NOW we have to just rely on semiotics and hope that all the white folk get it, but that it's subtle enough so we don't get in trouble.
Sad, sad day in white Amerika...
Sad, sad day in white Amerika...
88
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnew…
Britons flee French island of Guadeloupe as rioters turn on white families
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 3:17 PM on 19th February 2009
Britons are among thousands of tourists fleeing Guadeloupe after full scale urban warfare erupted on the French Caribbean island.
Trouble broke out on the island earlier last month after protesters began rioting over high prices and low wages.
But the situation escalated this week after protesters began turning on rich white families as they demanded an end to colonial control of the economy.
The troubles come at the height of the holiday season, with thousands of mainly British, French and American tourists on the paradise tropical island.
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe descends into full-scale urban warfare after demonstrators riot over low wages and white control of the island's economy
Violence has escalated on the Caribbean island as protesters turn their attention to rich white families who they blame for their poor standard of living
Protesters were now targeting 'all white people', with the media in mainland France describing the situation as virtual civil war'.
Guadeloupe is a French overseas department ruled directly from Paris, and authorities in France have sent 300 extra riot police to the island in a bid to quell the violence.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters are roaming the streets of the capital Point-a-Pitre, looting shops and restaurants, burning cars and vandalising public buildings.
Holiday resorts along the coast have hired extra security to protect tourists, while the airport is jammed with visitors now trying to get out of the country.
Union leader Jacques Bino was the first man to die in the violence when he was caught in crossfire on Tuesday while driving a car near a roadblock manned by armed youths who had opened fire at police.
Six members of the security forces were injured during shoot-outs with the armed youths as they tried to help emergency teams who were trying to save Mr Bino's life.
Dozens more police and demonstrators have also been hurt in frequent clashes on the capital's streets - which one newspaper describing it as looking like a battlefield'.
Caribbean
Protesters ransacked shops and torched cars as the island descends into full-scale urban warfare
Most shops, banks, schools and government offices are now shut in Guadeloupe and the neighbouring French tourist island of Martinique - where protests are also mounting.
Guadeloupe's socialist opposition leader Malikh Boutih said: 'It is shocking to watch a police force which is almost 100 per cent white confront a population which is 100 per cent black.
'All the same elements of the riots on mainland France in 2005 are present here.
Caribbean
A man holds a photo to pay tribute to Jacques Bino
'We don't have the same concrete buildings, there are palm trees instead, but it's the same dead-end, the same "no future" for young people, with joblessness and a feeling of isolation.'
The first protests began a month ago when the left-wing union coalition, the Collective Against Exploitation, demanded a £180 a month pay increase for low-wage earners.
President Nicolas Sarkozy sent his minster for overseas departments to the island to meet with union leaders on response to the demands.
But the racial tensions which have been simmering for decades exploded into full-scale rioting, with colonial descendants who own 90 per cent of the wealth becoming the focus of the violence.
The unrest was further aggravated last week when wealthy white landowner Alain Huyghues-Despointes publicly criticised mixed-race marriages and said he preferred to 'preserve his race'.
In Paris, the violence has provoked divisions in Mr Sarkozy's cabinet with black minister Rachida Data acknowledging that Guadeloupe suffered from 'a problem with the distribution of wealth'.
Laetitia Delaprade, spokeswoman at Voyages Antillais, a Paris-based travel agency that specialises in French Caribbean, said: 'People are scared. No one wants to go there and those that are there want to get out.'
Tourism Authority chief Madeleine de Grandmaison said: 'Tourism is fragile. People are not only cancelling this week, but also for all the months of February, March and April.
'We have a huge deficit of tourists ahead of us. At least 10,000 tourists have cancelled vacations in Martinique and Guadeloupe.'
Caribbean
Authorities struggle to contain the anarchy which has swept across the island
Guadeloupe
A youth carries a machete as trouble flares on the island
The Paris-based Association of Tour Operators has now classified Guadeloupe as a 'red zone', meaning it is not endorsing it as a destination.
A spokesman said: 'Most holidaymakers to Guadeloupe are British, American and mainland French.
'None have been hurt yet but there is the threat of violence in the air and staying there no longer feels comfortable.'
Guadeloupe's Tourism Committee said that the main airport had also been temporarily closed yesterday because of a lack of worker, but had now reopened.
A spokesman added: 'It is very busy. Every flight leaving the island is is full.'
More...
Britons flee French island of Guadeloupe as rioters turn on white families
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 3:17 PM on 19th February 2009
Britons are among thousands of tourists fleeing Guadeloupe after full scale urban warfare erupted on the French Caribbean island.
Trouble broke out on the island earlier last month after protesters began rioting over high prices and low wages.
But the situation escalated this week after protesters began turning on rich white families as they demanded an end to colonial control of the economy.
The troubles come at the height of the holiday season, with thousands of mainly British, French and American tourists on the paradise tropical island.
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe descends into full-scale urban warfare after demonstrators riot over low wages and white control of the island's economy
Violence has escalated on the Caribbean island as protesters turn their attention to rich white families who they blame for their poor standard of living
Protesters were now targeting 'all white people', with the media in mainland France describing the situation as virtual civil war'.
Guadeloupe is a French overseas department ruled directly from Paris, and authorities in France have sent 300 extra riot police to the island in a bid to quell the violence.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters are roaming the streets of the capital Point-a-Pitre, looting shops and restaurants, burning cars and vandalising public buildings.
Holiday resorts along the coast have hired extra security to protect tourists, while the airport is jammed with visitors now trying to get out of the country.
Union leader Jacques Bino was the first man to die in the violence when he was caught in crossfire on Tuesday while driving a car near a roadblock manned by armed youths who had opened fire at police.
Six members of the security forces were injured during shoot-outs with the armed youths as they tried to help emergency teams who were trying to save Mr Bino's life.
Dozens more police and demonstrators have also been hurt in frequent clashes on the capital's streets - which one newspaper describing it as looking like a battlefield'.
Caribbean
Protesters ransacked shops and torched cars as the island descends into full-scale urban warfare
Most shops, banks, schools and government offices are now shut in Guadeloupe and the neighbouring French tourist island of Martinique - where protests are also mounting.
Guadeloupe's socialist opposition leader Malikh Boutih said: 'It is shocking to watch a police force which is almost 100 per cent white confront a population which is 100 per cent black.
'All the same elements of the riots on mainland France in 2005 are present here.
Caribbean
A man holds a photo to pay tribute to Jacques Bino
'We don't have the same concrete buildings, there are palm trees instead, but it's the same dead-end, the same "no future" for young people, with joblessness and a feeling of isolation.'
The first protests began a month ago when the left-wing union coalition, the Collective Against Exploitation, demanded a £180 a month pay increase for low-wage earners.
President Nicolas Sarkozy sent his minster for overseas departments to the island to meet with union leaders on response to the demands.
But the racial tensions which have been simmering for decades exploded into full-scale rioting, with colonial descendants who own 90 per cent of the wealth becoming the focus of the violence.
The unrest was further aggravated last week when wealthy white landowner Alain Huyghues-Despointes publicly criticised mixed-race marriages and said he preferred to 'preserve his race'.
In Paris, the violence has provoked divisions in Mr Sarkozy's cabinet with black minister Rachida Data acknowledging that Guadeloupe suffered from 'a problem with the distribution of wealth'.
Laetitia Delaprade, spokeswoman at Voyages Antillais, a Paris-based travel agency that specialises in French Caribbean, said: 'People are scared. No one wants to go there and those that are there want to get out.'
Tourism Authority chief Madeleine de Grandmaison said: 'Tourism is fragile. People are not only cancelling this week, but also for all the months of February, March and April.
'We have a huge deficit of tourists ahead of us. At least 10,000 tourists have cancelled vacations in Martinique and Guadeloupe.'
Caribbean
Authorities struggle to contain the anarchy which has swept across the island
Guadeloupe
A youth carries a machete as trouble flares on the island
The Paris-based Association of Tour Operators has now classified Guadeloupe as a 'red zone', meaning it is not endorsing it as a destination.
A spokesman said: 'Most holidaymakers to Guadeloupe are British, American and mainland French.
'None have been hurt yet but there is the threat of violence in the air and staying there no longer feels comfortable.'
Guadeloupe's Tourism Committee said that the main airport had also been temporarily closed yesterday because of a lack of worker, but had now reopened.
A spokesman added: 'It is very busy. Every flight leaving the island is is full.'
89
@88: TLDR.
Slog: REGISTRATION PLEASE
I seriously can't stand the high concentration of smarmy dittohead stupid "what me racist?" crap here...at least require registration and make them work for their presence a little!
Slog: REGISTRATION PLEASE
I seriously can't stand the high concentration of smarmy dittohead stupid "what me racist?" crap here...at least require registration and make them work for their presence a little!
90
This is right up there with the guy who lost his job for saying "niggardly" which means miserly or stingy, and has absolutely nothing to do with race. The ones who were offended should have lost their jobs for having a poor vocabulary and hair-trigger sensitivity.
91
The political correctness moron who says this is racist needs sacked or taken out or something before you all start losing your freedom of speech among a lot of other things that will come from the left wing la la land. This is not a joke - just look at the state of England to see just how far the left wing will go. We here are living among terrorists who want to kill us.
Cameras in children's schools as young as 4yrs old, cameras coming into pubs to spy on us all, even though the main street is full of them, only a short step from putting them in our homes. We have ZERO free speech that may even slightly offend any ethnic minority, even if it was a debate. This is the true nature of left wingers, take & spy - enforce and deny.
Cameras in children's schools as young as 4yrs old, cameras coming into pubs to spy on us all, even though the main street is full of them, only a short step from putting them in our homes. We have ZERO free speech that may even slightly offend any ethnic minority, even if it was a debate. This is the true nature of left wingers, take & spy - enforce and deny.
93
Just change the bubble to read, "They'll have to find someone else to edit the New York Post now." This works, because the dumbass editor-in-chief is in the news now, as is the whole "dead chimp" story.
94
@92
Are... are you suggesting that I'm likely to be raped and murdered by the President? Because that's really just a whole new sublime level of stupid. And that's what you said.
Are... are you suggesting that I'm likely to be raped and murdered by the President? Because that's really just a whole new sublime level of stupid. And that's what you said.
95
I see racist. I've tried to read the various comments here and step back from the initial response to get perspective, but I can't escape the racist elements of this cartoon.
Someone explain to me the moment of connection wherein you are reading a story about a dead chimp, shot by police, and make the leap to connecting that chimp to the Stimulus bill? Why would you even make that connection?
...unless there's a long history of correlating imagery of cops shooting and killing black people, and we have a current black president.
This is Obama's stimulus package. For every story that was in the news talking about the shooting of the chimp, there were 1000 talking about "Obama's" stimulus plan. There's been no ambiguity about whose plan it was.
So, the cartoonist made a connection between a dead chimp and Obama. It is that connection that is steeped in racism.
...the 1000 typing monkeys comparison can't fly. 1000 typing monkeys are associated with randomly producing something brilliant, like Shakespeare. Nobody has suggested that the stimulus package is a brilliant piece of legislation. There's no obvious correlation between that story and the dead chimp in recent news.
Someone explain to me the moment of connection wherein you are reading a story about a dead chimp, shot by police, and make the leap to connecting that chimp to the Stimulus bill? Why would you even make that connection?
...unless there's a long history of correlating imagery of cops shooting and killing black people, and we have a current black president.
This is Obama's stimulus package. For every story that was in the news talking about the shooting of the chimp, there were 1000 talking about "Obama's" stimulus plan. There's been no ambiguity about whose plan it was.
So, the cartoonist made a connection between a dead chimp and Obama. It is that connection that is steeped in racism.
...the 1000 typing monkeys comparison can't fly. 1000 typing monkeys are associated with randomly producing something brilliant, like Shakespeare. Nobody has suggested that the stimulus package is a brilliant piece of legislation. There's no obvious correlation between that story and the dead chimp in recent news.
96
This a racist cartoon period. But beyond that, it shows the solution is shooting and killing the chimp. The chimp can only be representing Obama, he is/was the face of this and to say otherwise is disingenuous.
Apparently assassinating Obama is clearly the solution/retribution according to this cartoon. The right during the campaign was noted by all for inciting fear and anger...."he's a muslim/terrorist/socialist/communtist/radical...blah blah blah"...to the point of their supporters yelling out "kill him" and such. I'm sorry, I don't remember the exact words, but the feelings the right stoked in their followers became more than they could control. Every time Palin stoked her crowds, threats against the President and his family spiked. This is from Secret Service reports.
This cartoon to me represents this mentality again, reducing someone as "the other" and the solution of is to eliminate them. Beyond the racial issue, is this issue of saying the solution to an issue is to shoot and kill our President. Over a stimulus bill.
Apparently assassinating Obama is clearly the solution/retribution according to this cartoon. The right during the campaign was noted by all for inciting fear and anger...."he's a muslim/terrorist/socialist/communtist/radical...blah blah blah"...to the point of their supporters yelling out "kill him" and such. I'm sorry, I don't remember the exact words, but the feelings the right stoked in their followers became more than they could control. Every time Palin stoked her crowds, threats against the President and his family spiked. This is from Secret Service reports.
This cartoon to me represents this mentality again, reducing someone as "the other" and the solution of is to eliminate them. Beyond the racial issue, is this issue of saying the solution to an issue is to shoot and kill our President. Over a stimulus bill.
97
This is so far down the line that nobody is going to read it, but how in the world can the monkey be Obama? One of the strongest criticisms I've yet heard of his political "triumph" about the stimulus package is that it's no triumph of his; that is, he said he wanted a stimulus bill, and then he let Pelosi and company write whatever piece of shit they wanted. It's not his bill. It's not his plan. And we all knew that when he started caving on infrastructure and other proposals.
Then again, one must listen to NPR and the like to pick up such pieces of analysis. If I thought for a minute this was Obama's stimulus bill, I would at least think the artist a moron for not recognizing the potential in the cartoon.
And Col Allan can go screw, too, if he's so out of the loop that he doesn't recognize the obvious defense: Obama didn't write the bill.
Oh, and one last thing for those who might point out that presidents don't write the bills? I fucking know, jizzbrain. But I'm quite sure that the president and I are not the only people on the planet who recognize that this isn't the bill he promised and isn't the bill he asked for; rather, it's the bill Congress gave him to work with.
So think about his: An infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typwriters ...?
There's your dead fuckin' monkey right there.
Then again, one must listen to NPR and the like to pick up such pieces of analysis. If I thought for a minute this was Obama's stimulus bill, I would at least think the artist a moron for not recognizing the potential in the cartoon.
And Col Allan can go screw, too, if he's so out of the loop that he doesn't recognize the obvious defense: Obama didn't write the bill.
Oh, and one last thing for those who might point out that presidents don't write the bills? I fucking know, jizzbrain. But I'm quite sure that the president and I are not the only people on the planet who recognize that this isn't the bill he promised and isn't the bill he asked for; rather, it's the bill Congress gave him to work with.
So think about his: An infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typwriters ...?
There's your dead fuckin' monkey right there.
98
I swear! alot of "people in the "nicer ares" of Seattle are just as bad as those "good ol'" folks DOWN in alabama or mississippi.... I happen to be WHITE! but i do get a kick out of most racist whites when I see them on the street... they cross the street when they see a black kid... and have a look of fear and childlike ignorance on their faces... the type who voted for the other guy.
Obama is there worst nightmare... he makes them question their own existance!!! hahahahaha!!!!!!
Obama is there worst nightmare... he makes them question their own existance!!! hahahahaha!!!!!!
99
OH YEAH....IF YOU'RE A RACIST... DON'T HIDE IT! STAND TALL AND WAVE YOUR FULLY LOADED ASSAULT WEAPONS AND SAY YOUR PRESIDENT ISNT "YOUR PRESIDENT...
BECAUSE SOONER OR LATER... A "GANG BANGER" MIGHT "PICK YOU OFF" WITH AN ASSULT WEAPON... WHO ONCE TOO VOWED THE G.DUBYA WASNT HIS PRESIDENT. HAHAHAHAHA!!! (((KARMAS A BYTCH! AINT IT?????))) GOOOONNNNNEEEEEEE!!!
BECAUSE SOONER OR LATER... A "GANG BANGER" MIGHT "PICK YOU OFF" WITH AN ASSULT WEAPON... WHO ONCE TOO VOWED THE G.DUBYA WASNT HIS PRESIDENT. HAHAHAHAHA!!! (((KARMAS A BYTCH! AINT IT?????))) GOOOONNNNNEEEEEEE!!!
101
IF YOU'RE A RACIST... YOU DESERVE TO HAVE 12 BLACK MEN ENTER YOUR HOME WITH IRONS... HAVE THEM PLUG EM' IN... AND HOLD THEM AGAINST YOUR FACE FOR 20 SECONDS... THATS JUST MY OPINION... RACIST WHITES = WORTHLESS LIFE. EAT SH1T AND DIE......
OBAMA SECRETLY APPROVES THAT MESSAGE. HMMM HMM HMM ; )
OBAMA SECRETLY APPROVES THAT MESSAGE. HMMM HMM HMM ; )
102
AND THER IS NO POINT IN RESPONDING TO MY COMMENTS BECAUSE I NEVER INTEND ON LOGGING BACK ON TO THIS IGNORANT "LESS THAN A BLOG" SITE... JUST WANTED YOU CLOSET/ "SAFTEY BEHIND YOUR KEYBOARD" RACIST THAT YOUR COUNTRY IS HEADED BY A BLACK MAN! EAT IT AND LOVE IT...
104
...I'm not sure if that last dude was serious or not, but it was a nice change of pace after all the race baiting, "reality check", WHITE motards posting inane post after inane post. actually, let me correct myself: using the term ALL to describe two of them constantly posting under different names makes it seem like they actually have a presence on this board worth paying attention to and not... you know, just that they have no lives. it's great that you're system analyst job gives you enough time to post anonomously about how you're afraid of black people, but shit dudes, some of us just want to have a conversation. and to top it off, your message is getting a bit muddled when you post on just any topic having to do with black people. why don't you just stick to the threads about possible gang shootings?
anyway look, the intent was most likely not racist, but an intelligent person in charge of making the cartoon could at least have seen how it may have been construed that way. the people who said it was just unfunny hit the nail on the head, and I'll tell you why: it's one thing to tell a racist joke or do something offensive in the sake of comedy (everyone at least slightly interesting gets this), but if it falls flat on it's face, you're fucked. the cartoonist fucked up.
anyway look, the intent was most likely not racist, but an intelligent person in charge of making the cartoon could at least have seen how it may have been construed that way. the people who said it was just unfunny hit the nail on the head, and I'll tell you why: it's one thing to tell a racist joke or do something offensive in the sake of comedy (everyone at least slightly interesting gets this), but if it falls flat on it's face, you're fucked. the cartoonist fucked up.
105
Psss- do I need to list the thousands of times African Americans have made horribly offensive comments about gays, jews, asians and there has been NO outrage? This is absolutely Jim Crow. Sharpton has a newspaper, as done Jerimiah Wright and Louis Farrakhan. Why aren't there calls for boycotting them from anti-racist activists? All 3 have published stuff WAY more offensive then this.
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