Did you know that a chimpanzee attacked a person and police had to shoot it? Did you know that this happened to coincide with the passage of President Obama's stimulus package? Congratulations, you have the same level of intelligence and political insight as the author of this monstrosity.
This isn't the first or the last time when an editorial cartoon has caused an uproar. My cynical reaction to this cartoon shouldn't lessen the fact that people may be, and doubtlessly are, offended by this.
When I first examined this cartoon and tried to imagine it in a racist context, I tried to gauge the reaction that would've taken place had Hillary Clinton or John McCain pushed this legislation. Would anyone be crying sexism if Clinton were the intended satirical target? Somehow I can't think so.
Now of course there's a history of racists equating minorities to primates, but I think it's a stretch in this situation. Then again, comparing the shooting of a chimp with what the Post called an "ineptly written" bill is also a stretch. Frankly, I think it takes just as much racism or guilt to perceive racism in this cartoon as it would have to deliberately insert racism into the cartoon in the first place.
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