Last Wednesday, a cartoon ran in The New York Post that depicted two police officers shooting a chimpanzee. It was a joke referring to Travis, a chimpanzee that was shot dead by the police after attacking its owner’s friend. The controversial part of the cartoon was the caption that read: “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” Many have correctly interpreted this to be racist and distasteful. The New York Post has the right to freedom of speech, but it is the consumer’s duty to take action when the material is unacceptable.
The cartoon sparked uproar among many people in New York including Governor David Patterson, Spike Lee, and many protestors encouraging others to boycott the newspaper. By far the most prominent voice at this point has been Reverend Al Sharpton. Sharpton has gone public denouncing the cartoon as racist and released his own statement. “Being that the stimulus bill has been the first legislative victory of President Barack Obama and has become synonymous with him,” Sharpton said in the statement, “it is not a reach to wonder are they inferring that a monkey wrote the last bill?”
Regardless of your stance on the stimulus bill, it is more than apparent that the cartoonist Sean Delonas knew the implications of his cartoon. Delonas was able to express his political stance on the stimulus bill. However, he used a current event surrounding a chimpanzee in an attempt to camouflage his racist undertone. Delonas might not be racist, but his lack of sensitivity to issues such as race bring into question his true intentions.
Fortunately, the University’s current readership program does not offer The New York Post as an option. Other colleges and universities that are thinking of implementing a similar program should steer clear of The New York Post and schools with readership programs including The Post should discontinue their subscription. But the protest should not only be limited to institutions such as universities. People that read The Post regularly or have a subscription should abandon it. If you really feel strongly about this issue, tell your friends, dad, grandma, anyone, not to support the newspaper. Write to corporations that advertise with the newspaper and force them to pull out.
The effectiveness of protest can be applied to the Cavalier Daily. In the past, cartoons such as “Ethiopian Food Fight” and the infamous Jesus on the cross cartoons have sparked action. People wrote in and they got results. This was not an isolated issue and the Managing Board was pressured into firing Grant Woolard, the creator of “Ethiopian Food Fight”. Due to numerous letters, The Cavalier Daily censored the Jesus cartoon. If a similar controversy were to take place, I would hope that the response would be the same.
The New York Post Editor in Chief Col Allan has defended The Post’s cartoon, calling it “a clear parody of a current news event” and stating that it “broadly mocks Washington’s efforts to revive the economy.” Post owner Rupert Murdoch has since issued an apology to anyone who might have been offended by the cartoon. We need to take a stance and show The Post that an apology is not enough. They need to be held financially responsible for their content.
Freedom of speech exists so that one opinion does not dominate. “You have the freedom to do this, and we have the freedom to make you pay for it,” Sharpton said. Many, including myself, think that the cartoon was tasteless. In the end, it is still Sean Delonas’ right to express himself, but that does not mean that we should just stand by. Instead, we should listen to Sharpton and make News Corp. pay for it by boycotting.
Hung Vu is a Viewpoint Writer for The Cavalier Daily.
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