New York Post Apologizes ... Kinda

New York Post gave a half-hearted apology for the racist cartoon published earlier this week:

Wednesday's Page Six cartoon - caricaturing Monday's police shooting of a chimpanzee in Connecticut - has created considerable controversy.

It shows two police officers standing over the chimp's body: "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill," one officer says.

It was meant to mock an ineptly written federal stimulus bill.

Period.

But it has been taken as something else - as a depiction of President Obama, as a thinly veiled expression of racism.

This most certainly was not its intent; to those who were offended by the image, we apologize.

However, there are some in the media and in public life who have had differences with The Post in the past - and they see the incident as an opportunity for payback.

To them, no apology is due.

Sometimes a cartoon is just a cartoon - even as the opportunists seek to make it something else.

I hate when people discount their apology with subsequent verbiage. If you are truly repentant about something ... then simply apologize and be done with it. Don't give some half-azzed apology like we see above. Apologizing on the one hand, while sniping at Rev. Al Sharpton on the other hand.

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter what the New York Post does or doesn't do. It does matter how we respond. I am proud of the response that I've seen from villagers on this racist cartoon. I imagine that folks will think twice before making comparisons of Black people to gorillas, apes, chimpanzees or other monkey-like creatures.

That's my view. What say u?

Civil Rights Group Rejects 'Apology' from New York Post

ColorOfChange.org rejected the New York Post's statement surrounding the uproar over its 'chimp' cartoon, calling it a "non-apology," because it did not acknowledge a mistake. The group demanded a real apology, as well as the firing of the editor who approved the cartoon. More than 50,000 members of ColorOfChange.org sent emails to New York Post Publisher Paul Carlucci on Thursday with that message. By Friday morning, that number had reached 75,000.

James Rucker, the online civil rights group's executive director, said, "The Post's recent statement about the uproar it has caused with this cartoon insults our intelligence. It acknowledges no mistake while continuing to attack those who are raising serious, legitimate concerns. If The Post thinks they can close the book on this without taking any responsibility, they're wrong."

Momentum around the petition continued to build as the civil rights organization launched online ads and began outreach on social networking sites. The group expected tens of thousands more emails would be sent through its website by the weekend.

The cartoon depicts the recent stimulus bill's "author" as a dead monkey, covered in blood after being shot by police. ColorOfChange.org is circulating an online petition that takes The Post to task for its apparent ignorance of a history of racist symbolism that depicts Black people as apes or monkeys. The organization argues that the image is particularly dangerous at a time when hate crimes are on the rise and threats against President Barack Obama abound.

"The paper's leaders need to be held accountable, and so far we've seen no sign that The Post cares about the thousands of people across the country who are rightly outraged by this cartoon," said James Rucker, the organization's executive director. "The next question we have to ask is whether advertisers feel comfortable being associated with a publication that responds so callously to readers' concerns."

An excerpt of the petition, addressed to Carlucci, reads as follows:

I am writing to ask that you publish an apology. I also ask that whichever editor approved Delonas' cartoon for publication be fired, whether it was Editorial Page Editor Bob McManus, Editor Col Allan, or another senior manager in the newsroom. I ask that you determine who was responsible and hold that person accountable.

I was particularly concerned by the Post's sole response to readers who found the image to have racist undertones. The callous statement Col Allan issued Wednesday denies a historical reality, and for him to claim ignorance of this history raises questions about his ability to effectively lead a daily newspaper geared toward a mainstream and multiracial audience.

Please publish an apology that acknowledges that it was a mistake for the Post to publish this cartoon and fire the person responsible.

With more than a half million members, ColorOfChange.org is the largest African American online political organization in the country.

Soulclap to Gabriel Rey-Goodlatte (Campaign Director, ColorOfChange.org) for being the tip of the spear on this campaign. Methinks that the next step is to identify the advertisers that support the New York Post. Follow the money...

New York Post Condones 'Obama the Monkey' Cartoon

In a statement, Col Allan, editor in chief of The Post, denied Mr. Sharpton’s assertion that the cartoon was “racially charged.” Mr. Allan said:

The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut. It broadly mocks Washington’s efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist.

I think that Col Allan and the New York Post are on the wrong side of history. You can blame Al Sharpton for many things ... but, I think that Sharpton is on point this time.

What say u?

Racist Cartoon Infers Barack Obama is a Monkey

Villagers, did you see this cartoon in the New York Post today? It appears that this cartoonist (Sean Delonas) and the New York Post haven't gotten the word about America being in a 'post-racial' era. This cartoonist thought that there was humor in using the recent police shooting of a monkey juxtaposed against the historic work of President Barack Obama in signing stimulus legislation.

The Electronic Village joins with Al Sharpton in demanding that The Post publically clarify what point they were trying to make in this cartoon, and reprimand their cartoonist for making inferences that are offensive and divisive at a time the nation struggles to come together to stabilize the economy if, in fact, this was yet another racially charged cartoon.

The cartoon isn't funny. It is racist and inflammatory and it has no place in a newspaper. That's my view. It is what I plan to tell the New York Post editor, Col Allen -- col.allan@nypost.com. What say u?