On Gorillas, Cops and Editorial Cartoons...

The entire hubbub from the above New York Post editorial cartoon from Feb. 19, 2008, reminds me of another tirade over other political and or editorial newspaper cartoons. Drawn to be satirical but over blown to be made offensive to whole races, religions, and any genetically different people, from what is perceived to be the norm. Does anyone remember the Danish cartoon or cartoons that portrayedMohamed in an offensive manner a few short years ago?

"...Moreover, the cartoons are not just about one individual but about Muslims per-se – just as a cartoon portraying Moses as a crooked financier would not be about one man but a comment on Jews. And just as the latter would be racist, so are the cartoons in question. That does not in itself mean such cartoons should be banned. One relies on the sensitivity and responsibility of individuals and institutions to refrain from what is legal but unacceptable. Where these qualities are missing one relies on public debate and censure to provide standards and restraints. Hence, where matters are not or cannot easily be regulated by law one relies on protest as well as
empathy. This is how most racist speech and images and other free expressions (e.g. the use of golliwogs as commercial brands or British television’s Black and White Minstrel Show) have been censured – rather than censored – away...."



The above quote has been borrowed from and copyrighted by: © 2006 The Authors
Journal Compilation © 2006 IOM
International Migration Vol. 44 (5) 2006
ISSN 0020-7985...... published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.,
9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK,
and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA....and used here without permission for editorial purposes.

I will gladly remove this if found to be in violation of law but my intent is that I see it as fair use for my purposes of showing the folly of mankind and the outrage, (real or perceived) by various activists.

To censor or censure? Spelled similarly these two words are pronounced differently and have different meanings. A censor is a person who suppresses or removes information (Military censors have excised some of the target photos for security reasons), while censure is severe criticism or condemnation (the object of a strongly worded censure). Both words can be verbs, as well as adjectives and as such they preserve their distinct meanings.
From Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Anyway, my mom used to censor my right to view Mad Magazine while I was growing up she also provided intense censure.

While Al Sharpton has at times appeared to be foolish, again in my opinion, I applaud the mans efforts made to protest outside the NY Post building for his belief that this gorilla cartoon by Frank James can be perceived to be racist. My belief is that Frank James intent can never be known by anyone other than himself, however I deduce that he was just making a comment on an almost 800 billion inept stimulus recovery plan and the unfortunate and just as inept attempt at taming a wild animal. I was sort of hoping that we as a country could have moved beyond this type of alarmist reaction(ism), but as usual, I may be wrong. I have not had to endure being called a monkey other than in a loving way from family and friends.