Print
Email
President Obama can fend for himself.
Yes, I saw the cartoon published by the New York Post. Yes, it was insensitive, and yes, it was racist. Everyone knows that the imagery of a monkey serves as a powerful slur against African Americans, especially black men. The New York Post should be ashamed.
But, if we are going to organize a protest over the conditions black people face in America—especially during Black History Month—are we going to pick this as the cause we get behind?
Do we use our energy to take to the streets to defend the most powerful man in the United States, if not the world, from racism? Do you think Obama really needs us to defend him against the New York Post? Come on. He’s a grown man.
The president doesn’t need Roland Martin venting to the point of bursting his pipes. He doesn’t need the power of the black media to highlight this issue and protest its stench.
President Obama doesn’t need black civil rights leaders to hold press conferences to display our disgust with this thinly veiled and misguided gesture perpetrating as political satire.
If we are going to protest, let’s use the energy from our disgust from the New York Post’s cartoon to protest the conditions in our streets, in our communities and in our communities’ schools.
If we are going to get upset to the point of outrage, let us show the outrage toward the black children dying in the streets, both at the hands of other young black men and conditions restricting them from experiencing life.
If we are going to get on camera and demand change from our dysfunctional past, let’s build on the history of accomplishments and advancements we are celebrating this month.
Isn’t that what Black History Month is all about?
I beg that we use this opportunity to fight black America’s illness holistically instead of focusing just on one instance or one symptom. President Obama will not only hear inappropriate things again during his presidency, but more importantly, he is strong enough, graceful enough and classy enough to deal with it on his own. Heck, even if he weren’t, the power of the White House alone could see to it that it is addressed when needed.
Yes, I was mad about the cartoon.
But the energy, focus and action that we must organize must be directed toward more pressing issues among us. We must be outraged at our children’s shrinking talent base, educational opportunities and life expectancy. We must move on to the increase of AIDS occurrences, high school dropout rates and incarceration of young black people. We must speak out from every outlet and act within every community on the hopelessness that methodically devours a growing portion of our communities each day.
Our anger from an ignorant caricature must be trumped by our outrage over the conditions black America faces today. It must become a passion that embraces the call to action.
After all, no one should need to draw a picture to illustrate just where we stand collectively and where we must go from here.
Lenny McAllister is a visiting fellow for the Center of New Politics and Policy at the University of Denver. He can be seen every Monday morning at 6:15 and 7:20 a.m. on “Fox News Rising.”
Comments
I don’t think I was questioning the legitimacy of your questions, I questioned the tone of your post. Sincerely, and with all due respect, it’s not my responsibility to provide you with proof or documentation of anything. It’s your responsibility if you want to engage in constructive discussions to educate yourself about the topics in which you wish to engage; thus, my suggestion that you do a little reading because many of your questions reflect a lack of knowledge about blacks. I don’t know about others but I get a little piqued when I have to educate people about blacks, people who have been in the US for 400 years…and even have a whole month putatively dedicated to their history---but that’s another discussion for another time.
On another point, words are powerful and should not be used uncritically or unthinking so maybe we need to be careful about how we put them together. For instance, I can easily interpret from your response that you are suggesting that I am not a logical person; was that your intent? On what basis do you determine that? I also think SUbxNYC provided a thorough, logical, and educative response to your questions; is s/he not logical. I’m also not sure how you can determine what my ‘positions’ are from my post to which you are responding.
With respect to logic, you may want to look again at your arguments using the bible. Using the bible as ‘proof’ of anything isn’t a logical argument (with all due respect to you or to any believers in the bible). Again, here a little education about the history of the bible might be helpful. It was written 600 years after the death of Christ, translated from Latin by priests who had their own agenda, and has gone though multiple translations since then; e.g., the King James version, authorised by James the First and the Church of England to counter problems they perceived in earlier translations. These so-called problems were meant to pacify the Puritans, a ‘troublesome’ faction in the church. The king gave the translators of this most common version of the bible specific instructions that were meant to guarantee this version would conform to views of the Church of England. I assume you know the history of the CofE.
The bible is rife with contradictions, which I’m sure you know since you’ve used it in your arguments and has been used to justify slavery, apartheid, and violence. It is a book based on faith, not logic. So, my opinion is you wish to make a logical argument, your source needs to be something other than the bible. If you want to make arguments about differences between blacks and whites for example, you might want to look to science; which unfortunately for you, will show that there is more genetic variation between blacks and blacks than between blacks and whites. Any other differences are a matter if culture and environment…something else that has been scientifically proven.
As a final and general point, honest discussions about race cannot be approached from an attack-counter-attack (something I said earlier). The point of the discussion is to (begin to) heal this racial divide; its not debate with winners and losers. It has to be done with thoughtfulness, intellectualism, reflexivity, intersubjectivity, and an open heart. That’s a combination very few can bring to the table, which is why we continue in attack and counter-attack modes, why nothing gets solved vis-à-vis race, and partly what the AG meant by a nation of cowards.
It's always about racism. The poor black people are so picked on. Well from a proud white man’s point of view, it is more prevalent that the white man is discriminated against. Quite shoving black history down the throats of the white race, start acting equal to us and quite trying to elevate yourselves over us. Then you will get the respect you deserve. If you want equality then start taking responsibility for your own failures. The US government has taken every step to give you the hand outs you request to include affirmative action which is blatant discrimination to whites. My dear friends, if you really think it is the white man holding you back, this society really is in a world of hurt. Keep blaming the white man. That is the easy thing to do so you don't have to look at yourselves. Your men father children and abandon them, your kids kill each other in the streets, and you have the highest rate of single parent homes. Yes I see how the white man makes this happen. We tell your men to leave their children, we tell your children to kill each other. In today’s society the word "nigger' is taboo but the black man calls one another that with reckless abandonment and shrouds it with a slang term "nigga". It all means the same so you really aren't helping your cause. Open your eyes and stand on a solid platform. I agree the black race has had its rough times so quite taking away from a proud heritage of overcoming adversity and show how you have achieved better and made a difference instead of riding the coat tails of the great men your race has turned out. I applaud the good and am ashamed of the people that soil the memory of the great men and women like Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. If you walk with your head high and in confidents with self respect and respect for others no man can look down on you. No man can take that from you. I hope there comes a day when the resentment from both sides goes away. When the community is not influenced by the media to continue with the ill feelings. May God bless you all and bless this great nation that has had some of the greatest men and women in history and many more to come.
It's always about racism. The poor black people are so picked on. Well from a proud white man’s point of view, it is more prevalent that the white man is discriminated against. Quite shoving black history down the throats of the white race, start acting equal to us and quite trying to elevate yourselves over us. Then you will get the respect you deserve. If you want equality then start taking responsibility for your own failures. The US government has taken every step to give you the hand outs you request to include affirmative action which is blatant discrimination to whites. My dear friends, if you really think it is the white man holding you back, this society really is in a world of hurt. Keep blaming the white man. That is the easy thing to do so you don't have to look at yourselves. Your men father children and abandon them, your kids kill each other in the streets, and you have the highest rate of single parent homes. Yes I see how the white man makes this happen. We tell your men to leave their children, we tell your children to kill each other. In today’s society the word "nigger' is taboo but the black man calls one another that with reckless abandonment and shrouds it with a slang term "nigga". It all means the same so you really aren't helping your cause. Open your eyes and stand on a solid platform. I agree the black race has had its rough times so quite taking away from a proud heritage of overcoming adversity and show how you have achieved better and made a difference instead of riding the coat tails of the great men your race has turned out. I applaud the good and am ashamed of the people that soil the memory of the great men and women like Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. If you walk with your head high and in confidents with self respect and respect for others no man can look down on you. No man can take that from you. I hope there comes a day when the resentment from both sides goes away. When the community is not influenced by the media to continue with the ill feelings. May God bless you all and bless this great nation that has had some of the greatest men and women in history and many more to come.
"When racism rears its ugly head, it must be addressed, or we could face being in another Hilter regime where someone is able to influence the masses negatively towards one race or another."
<
Wake up and smell the roses, my dear.
It is very simple to erase racism: show miscegenation, marriage, interbreeding. Show black lips against white lips. White hands on black flesh. Biracial role model kids. Minorities professionals. Don't they dare to tell me that they are not out there. Because they are.
Then, the culprits of the forever racism in this country, are those interested in neither showing valuable minorities in the movies, nor in the news nor in the shows. Because they carry racism deep in their own DNA.
And that is why hitlerians like the Bushes' regimes, took over (and don't let go).
In other words my dear, look more carefully that we already are in a hitlerian regime, where there are very well delimited already, superior race and inferior races, nobility and serfs.
If you're a "noble" you land a plump job, 9 to 5, 4.5-days-a-week the most. If you're a serf, you work when the lord wants you to work.
This cartoonist of reference is just a minion, a "serf" itself, which in his desperation to eat better, pandered his lord with this fingering to all serfs, peasants and slaves, for the masters amusement.
I don't watch Fox News because it has appeared to only attract those who think that the populace can not make decisions for themselves. I did read this article and it appears that Mr. McAllister is working for a pay check as we all are. How stupid do you think we are? We know that President Obama can take (...not fend) very good care of himself and there is enough of us to spread around (including you) to take care of Such things as blatant racism. If we don't, who will? You? We are not going to be so intelligent that we are going to act like racist thoughts and actions are going away because you think President Obama can "fend" for himself. Who are you?
I'm a little lost as to why you need to post over and over to get your point across. Three posts since mine? What's the deal? I won't bother with everything else you said.
ANYWAY....my opinion on the paper....boycott it by not buying. The Post doesn't make any money, maybe they'll think twice about allowing such blatant stupidity and tastelessness in their paper. Though I initially thought that the cartoon was referring to the ape mauling the woman last week (the ape was shot) when I read the caption, I didn't understand what the hell the cartoonist was trying to do. Face it folks, some people are just stupid. Whether or not this meant to be overtly racist, the author MUST have known how it would be taken. Only a complete and utter MORON wouldn't. This is the Post, not some small town redneck newspaper....don't give them money and they'll definitely start to feel sorry.
Well, based on your last post, it is clear that you believe that nobody else's past or pain is as valid as yours. WHATEVER!
AGAIN, my point is if we all keep hanging on to everything that ever happened to us or someone in our past we will be STUCK. We should remember what the past WAS and try to make sure nothing like that happens again and that means for EVERYBODY who was wronged.
People, who have a dispute with me, read ALL my past posts. I am not stating that Blacks have only been the one to suffer. In fact, what I stated or tried to convey is that in these stressful times, people can be greatly influenced by propagand, rumors, innuendos and negativity towards anyone of any race.
When racism rears its ugly head, it must be addressed, or we could face being in another Hilter regime where someone is able to influence the masses negatively towards one race or another. That's what I am talking about.
Other posts, made comments about specific race issues and I addressed. I did not address other minorities because this was directed at one, not all.
I stated it before, no one should threaten violence or bodily harm to anyone because of their opinions, comments and thoughts. People based on their experiences, family, and community can come up with a wide variety of interpretations, we are ell entitled to them, just don't trivialize, antagonize and minimalize how it affects others.
An apology was NOT given by the paper. Although in the past, others that have made racist remarks were fired, because of the consideration of the organizations for wanting to keep goodwill. It may have been considered extreme, but they wanted that goodwill to endure. Where is the good faith and good will of this organization? They trivialize and minimize the impace and the indignation. That can be considered a form of racism.
I'm not talking about jewish people. I'm talking about transgressions that were experienced and many who don't believe in the harshness of them. Those people are who I was talking about.
Your buttons got pushed reading what I wrote. I was referring to the fact that the Jews in Egypt were, Black. That White people did not feel comfortable identifying with where Moses came from so they 'lightened him up' as well as Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor wearing 'braids'. How many White women wear braids then and now? How did that come across wrongly?
This is exactly what I am talking about with interpretations and sensivity. I DID NOT mean to brush off the holocaust. You read it wrong. I was showing this was history in the present, and that was history of the past. I was showing how they both were wrong. But, history repeats itself.