(NAME-MCE) An insult

[Bill Howe]

Dear Friend, 
Yesterday, the day after President Obama signed his stimulus bill into law,
the NY Post ran a cartoon depicting the bill's "author" as a dead monkey,
covered in blood after being shot by police. You can see the image by
clicking on the link below. 
In the face of intense criticism, the Post's editor is standing by the
cartoon, claiming that it's not about Obama, has no racial undertones, and
that it was simply referencing a recent incident when police shot a pet
chimpanzee. But 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 me and other ColorOfChange.org members in demanding that the
Post apologize publicly and fire the editor who allowed this cartoon to go
to print: 
http://www.colorofchange.org/nypost/?id=1936-816851 
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. 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. 
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.
There has been an unprecedented number of threats against President Obama
since he was elected, 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. 
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 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, institutions at every
opportunity, and ColorOfChange has run several campaigns to make clear how
FOX poisons public debate. 
I 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 clear that the Post's behavior is unacceptable, and
by asking your friends and family to do the same. Please join me: 
http://www.colorofchange.org/nypost/?id=1936-816851 
Thanks.