You've Got To See This One To Believe It

[Donald]

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it. My mother sent this to me the other day and I didn't understand why there wasn't any uproar about this issue. We have to be more diligent and make sure that something like this never happens again. I thought at least some HOMELAND SECURITY involvement. Look at and read the cartoon then return and read the e-mail. I need to know BLACK PEOPLE, is it just me or are we all OUTRAGED......

cartoon address: www.colorofchange.org/nypost/?id=2777-657225

I'm sorry if I'm the one who dropped the ball then shame on me, I should have been more informed.......

----Original Message-----
From: James Rucker, ColorOfChange.org [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:13 PM
To: Richardson, Barbara CIV
Subject: NY Post: This is not funny

Let the New York Post know
that this is not OK.

NY Post Cartoon


Click here

Dear Barbara,

Yesterday, the day after President Obama signed the stimulus bill, his first
major piece of legislation, the New York Post ran a cartoon depicting the
bill's author as a dead monkey, covered in blood after being shot by police.


In the face of intense criticism, The Post's editor is standing by the
cartoon, claiming it has no racial undertones, that it's not about Obama,
and that it was simply referencing an incident earlier this week when police
shot a pet chimpanzee (an argument that pundits and analysts simply aren't
buying).1

It's impossible to believe that any newspaper editor could be ignorant
enough to not understand how this cartoon evokes a history of racist
symbolism, or how frightening this image feels at a time when death threats
against President Obama have been on the rise.

Please join us in demanding that The Post apologize publicly and fire the
editor who allowed this cartoon to go to print:

http://colorofchange.org/nypost/?id=2777-657225

The Post would have us believe that the cartoon is not about Obama. But on
the page just before the cartoon appears, there's a big picture of Obama
signing the stimulus bill.2 A reader paging through The Post would see Obama
putting pen to paper, then turn the page to see this violent cartoon. The
imagery is chilling.

There is a clear history in our country of racist symbolism that depicts
Black people as apes or monkeys, and it came up multiple times during the
presidential campaign.3

We're also in a time of increased race-based violence. In the months
following President Obama's election there has been a nationwide surge in
hate crimes ranging from vandalism to assaults to arson on Black
churches.4,5 There has been an unprecedented number of threats against
President Obama since he was elected,6 with hate-based groups fantasizing
about the killing of the president. Just a week ago, a man drove from
Louisiana to the Capitol with a rifle, telling the police who stopped him
that he had a "delivery" for the president.7

There is no excuse for The Post to have allowed this cartoon to be printed,
and even less for Editor Col Allan's outright dismissal of legitimate
concerns.

But let's be clear about who's behind The Post: Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch, the
Post's owner, is the man behind FOX News Channel. FOX has continually
attacked and denigrated Black people, politicians, and institutions at every
opportunity, and we've run several campaigns to make clear how FOX poisons
public debate.8

We don't expect much from Murdoch. However, with enough public pressure we
can set the stage for advertisers and subscribers to think long and hard
before patronizing outlets like the Post that refuse to be held accountable.


You can help by making it clear that the Post's behavior is unacceptable,
and by asking your friends and family to do the same. It only takes a
minute:

http://colorofchange.org/nypost/?id=2777-657225

-- James, Gabriel, Clarissa, William, Dani and the rest of the
ColorOfChange.org team
February 19th, 2009

References:

1. "NY Post Defends Cartoon, Slams Al Sharpton," Huffington Post, 2-18-2009
http://tinyurl.com/cdmhmm

2. "Obama Photo Preceded Cartoon Of Gunned Down Chimp," Huffington Post,
2-18-2009 http://tinyurl.com/d4jf3m

3. "'Curious George' Obama Shirt Causes Uproar," CBS News, 5-15-2008
http://tinyurl.com/d3ym5w

4. "Post-Racial USA? Not So Fast." Associated Press, 11-15-2008
http://tinyurl.com/b6nw6u

5. "Arson seen in post-election fire at black church in Springfield," Boston
Globe, 11-8-2008 http://tinyurl.com/689k4k

6. "Obama never worries about his security despite record number of
threats," Daily Mail, 11-27-2008 http://tinyurl.com/bwpr2b

7. "Winnfield man with rifle said he had 'delivery' for Obama," The
Advocate, 2-11-2009 http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/39429842.html

8. ColorOfChange.org campaign -- "Dancing with the Devil"
http://colorofchange.org/cbci_debates/



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