Friday, February 20, 2009

NY Post chimpanzee cartoon

I have seen the NY Post cartoon with the chimpanzee that was shot dead by capitol police. The caption reads, "They'll have to find someone else to right the next stimulus bill". Now there seems to be something of a stink surrounding the cartoon because some politicians and people who call themselves community leaders are upset. They claim that the image is a blatant, racist attack of President Obama.

As a cartoonist and a libertarian I want to yell "Freedom of speech!". However, as a discerning reader I want to say, "What in the name of all that is holy were you thinking?".

In this day and age when people get their knickers in a bunch any time someone looks at them funny, it seems to me that some self-censoring might have been in order. Though I know that the cartoonist was trying to play off of the recent incident of the rampaging chimpanzee by comparing the new stimulus bill as rampaging pork, his execution was tenuous at best. And what concerns me more is that the Post's editorial staff didn't vet the piece more carefully.

All that being said, the fact is that the people most vocally "outraged" over the cartoon, are always outraged about something. They have no moral high ground. They have been "calling wolf" for decades and people no longer really listen to them. These self-proclaimed "leaders" wouldn't have anything to do if it wasn't for complaining. They would shrivel up and die. So I'm calling BS on their moral outrage.

SOURCE: AP story

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