New York Times Political Cartoon

[Belgarold]

And as a follow-on. The racist overtones of the cartoon are disturbing enough, but not a one of the people who have supported this cartoon, talked about the violence it incites.

It condones, in a way, the assassination of political figures.

The cartoon is and was and always will be disgusting.

[Thorne]

And as a follow-on. The racist overtones of the cartoon are disturbing enough, but not a one of the people who have supported this cartoon, talked about the violence it incites.

It condones, in a way, the assassination of political figures.

The cartoon is and was and always will be disgusting.

Again, I don't see it! Except for the fact that it references the actual occurrence of a chimp having to be shot to protect a human, I just can't see how this promotes violence or the assassination of anyone! Perhaps it says more about the state of mind of those readers who do see such things than about the cartoonist himself. Or perhaps it says more about my state of mind that I don't see it, until it's thrust in my face by the strident voices of those who are more interested in getting their faces on the news than in actually instigating any meaningful dialog. (Not directed at those here, btw. So far all the statements I've read here seem well reasoned and honest. I'm referring more to the likes of Rev. Al Sharpton, and his ilk.)

I'm reminded of a little piece written by Isaac Asimov as an introduction to one of his stories. He was constantly being shown all kinds of treatises on his works and what he was trying to say and the hidden meanings in his works. He said, flat out, that there were no hidden meanings, no secret messages, no grand schemes. He was simply writing stories.

Barring any evidence to the contrary, I'm inclined to assume the same of the cartoonist: he wasn't inciting assassinations, or promoting violence. He was simply drawing a cartoon, drawing attention to two unrelated news topics. Reading anything else into it is simply guesswork.

[mkemse]

And as a follow-on. The racist overtones of the cartoon are disturbing enough, but not a one of the people who have supported this cartoon, talked about the violence it incites.

It condones, in a way, the assassination of political figures.

The cartoon is and was and always will be disgusting.

I agree it simpy was not needed

[DuncanONeil]

I agree it simpy was not needed

The very same thing can be said of all political cartoons!