Stop patting your self on the back America. Y'all thought this was the first real grown up, post racist real world adult presidential election in your history. Forget it.The nation is still a traumatized troubled adolescent, trying to convince itself that it isn't racist and like the classic cycle of traumatized behavior, the abuse repeats from generation to generation.
We've come a long way in the almost 60 years since the first battles to integrate American Society were fought. White America still lives with all of it's negative stereotypes and in this presidential election, they are all being trotted out of the closet of hate to attempt to influence the voters.
I felt, when I first became of aware of Barack Obama and realized that he would be a real candidate in this election, that it would take a miracle to elect him. I do believe in miracles, but it is not by passive wishing that a miracle like this can occur.
This is a battle and every piece of ammunition is being used by both sides. I would like to believe that for the greater part, the forces of Obama are guided by truth.
I only have to read the paper and the news on the internet to realize that the Republican campaign has very little basis in the truth. I listen to and read the words of Rush Limbaugh and see the manevolent distortion and manipulative lies that are used to influence the American public.
I believe in miracles, I believe in the physical manifestation of great ideas when thay are shared by a group of people willing to work for them. I believe that Barack Obama can become the next president of the United States.
That is why, I was so extrememly upset by the cover of the New Yorker Magazine and the lame attempts of the editor to explain his decision to run the illustration depicting Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle as Middle Eastern, Radical Black Panther terrorists. The hemming, hawing, the constant spin of explaining why it is intelligent ironic humor that should be obvious....?
Listen, you don't step on a dream. If you believe in miracles, you don't create a roadblock. Honestly, the only reply I can come up with to the editor of the New Yorker and his attempts to spin his way out of this controversy is a very ironic "FUCK YOU!"
Forgive my extreme irony, and my utter admiration to the cartoonist, Horsey in todays Seattle Post Intelligfencer for drawing the cartoon that was in my head!
6 comments:
I will respectfully disagree with you, AS a New Yorker subscriber, I am not offended by it, in fact I'd like to see it as a Saturday Night live sketch. This cartoon brings it all out in the open, and I'm surprised that people don't want to discuss the fact that all the imagery in this cartoon continue to be passed around in emails and posted anonymously in forums all over the net.
Ultimately, I think this cartoon will prove to be a good thing -- all the crap that is being spewed is absurd and putting it all in one neat picture provides us all with a great talking point tool.
For example, 1. Michelle Obama as Black Panther. What is the origin of that? The casual comment that she was finally proud to be an American? She obviously never belonged to a radical organization, unless you want to call Princeton and law school radical.
2. Flag burning in the fireplace. Barack has never burned a flag.
3. Obama in Mulim attire. Obama was agnostic and now is Christian.
4. Osama portrait on the wall. Obama is the candidate who wants to return to Afganistan and get Bin Laden.
and so on...
Thank you, Village Green, and in principle, I certainly agree with you. I would like to believe that all of the positive effects of the cartoon drawing will take effect, but I have very little faith in the great mass of un informed Americans who get their information from their friend Karen's husband....
as in, "I don't care what the New York Times says, Karens's husband said he's Islamic!"
I personally know and am related to quite a few of these Americans.
I love satire and use it a lot, but I think you have to have context for it to be effective. For example, the small circle of bloggers who I rub shoulders with know that when I'm over the top, it's all satire because they have a history with me and know the context of what I satorize. I think the NYorker cover lacks context, so it runs the danger of people actually taking it at face value, if that makes sense.
As expected Jon Stewart put it in much better perspective than I ever could. You really must check out the clip from last night's show in which he shows repeated main stream media figures creating and perpetuating the myths that were gathered together in the New Yorker cover. All their outrage this week should really be directed at themselves! I put a link at my blog and you can also go to Comedy Central to find it.
I try to watch John Stewart here and I occasionally think he is brilliant.
Thanks for the link, I will check it out!
Mr. Engineer, good to hear from you!
Humor is not always pretty and it can be a lethal weapon in the wrong hands.
I use humor to bash the things I want to bash over the head with my blunt object.
The New Yorker Magazine cover first wasn't a very funny joke, that's almost the biggest crime and usually what makes Conservative humor so lame in general.
In this case, we have been led down the path of supposedly intellectual irony by a magazine that we would suppose has a liberal viewpoint.
You hit the nail on the head, the joke wasn't really funny, which makes the intellectual irony aspect even more lame.
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