Anyone else find this to be racist?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/analysis/toons/2005/01/01/lang/index.html

[Sundemocrat]

1. not

offensive to me, just stupid!

[Benhurst]

2. Yes. And the "him" should be our deranged "president" for

the cartoon to make any sense.

[justinsb]

3. Yes

not suprising though given the source.

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Agreed

[Bridget Burke]

4. Yes.

And stupid on several other levels.

[Jesus H. Christ]

6. Of course it is.

duh.

[Gnaeus]

7. Yes

looking back at Lang's other stuff this seems friendly.:argh:

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

9. Yeah, it's amazing he's published.

And CNN is supposedly liberal! :eyes:

[BurtWorm]

8. Yes, it is racist.

And idiotic, as racists are wont to be.

[candle_bright]

10. Why is it racist?

To me it says unrest, violence, and terrorism in the Middle East, which is true. I don't understand how it is racist, though.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

11. It's labelling an entire group of people.

It's implying that all Arabs are terrorists prone to violence.

[candle_bright]

15. It would be okay

if the person was white, then, implying that all white people are prone to violence? I suppose that means there can never be any cartoon showing anyone doing anything violent, so as not to impugn all members of that person's "group."

[trotsky]

16. Um, no.

Unless you think that all white Christians are prone to violence like Timothy McVeigh was?

Do I smell a pizza cooking?

[candle_bright]

18. That wasn't my question, though.

I don't understand your pizza reference.

[trotsky]

23. Think of it this way.

Do you think that an equivalent cartoon portraying Tim McVeigh as the typical white Christian American would be racist? Say, if it appeared in an Arab newspaper, maybe?

[Jesus H. Christ]

21. A person would have to be stupid not to see the racism.

How about a side of buffalo wings?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

20. No, that wouldn't be alright at all.

You see the word "Mideast" under the man? That's what labels everyone in the Mideast as being terrorists.

If you can't understand that, you don't understand what racism is in the first place.

[Cats Against Frist]

24. Technically yes,

candlebright of the 15 posts, it would be nice not to stereotype an entire race, religion and region of the world as bomb and knife-weilding maniacs. That would be not just racism, but ethnocentrism, religious persecution and xenophobia, to boot.

I think it is OK to portray organizations, such as al-Qaeda, Operation Rescue, the KKK, the ELF and any other group that unifies behind one common manifesto and has a track record of violence, as violent -- but the entire Middle East? That's definitely an un-supported generalization.

[candle_bright]

25. I agree with everything you said.

I just think I see the cartoon differently than you do. I see it as symbolic of overall unrest and violence.

[trotsky]

27. What word do you "see" underneath the Arab stereotype?

If you see "Al Qaida" or "Hezbollah" then I would have to admit we are seeing it differently. But I somehow doubt that is the case. It says MIDEAST.

[candle_bright]

29. I realize that

it says "Mideast." That is my point. I see the cartoon as symbolic of violence in the region, and you see it as racist towards Arabs. The original question asked if the cartoon was racist, so I thought the person wanted honest answers/opinions. My opinion is that it isn't racist, and your opinion is that it is racist.

[trotsky]

30. OK, let's approach it from your viewpoint.

The caricature is simply a symbol of violence, and "Mideast" underneath him refers to the region.

The 2004 character says, "Maybe you can talk some sense into him."

Talk some sense into violence? Some sense into the entire Mideast? And what exactly constitutes "talking sense"? Dumping more bombs than the region has ever seen into a country that had nothing at all to do with the REAL terrorist events of 9/11?

The entity responsible for the most violence in the Mideast since 2003 has been the good ol' U S of A.

[Sparkly]

28. Then why aren't there two people fighting -- one of them American?

It's just one crazed-looking person, needing 'some sense talked into him.' That "overall unrest and violence" is depicted as coming from one single group.

[Bridget Burke]

12. Because it shows the old & new year as innocent white folks.....

Wondering why that swarthy man with the sword & the bomb was so angry.

The worst current violence in that region is a direct result of Bush's illegal invasion of Iraq. And most of the other violence there was either caused or exacerbated by neo-colonial imperialism.

[BurtWorm]

13. Well said.

[Acryliccalico]

17. Just Dumb!

The racism is to subtle to say outright that it's racist and look at it to be a valid argument. There are plenty of other things out there that, slap in the face, are valid racism. It could be used to start an argument with the freepers though. :)

[itzamirakul]

26. Agree. It seems that even after

an unjustifiable war and occupation, the poor innocents cannot understand the anger of the Iraqi citizens.

BTW, like another poster suggested, let's stop calling them "insurgents." They are very angry Iraqis and their supporters fighting against the occupation and western take-over of their country.

[Gnaeus]

14. It's racist because

it marginalizes the people in the middle east who aren't terrorists.

[yardwork]

36. How about the "yi yi yi yi!!!"

Do you find the caricature of a "primitive" sound being made by the cartoon character to be at all racist or offensive? I do.

[Ravenseye]

37. The funny part...

...is that it's wrong too. If he's refering to the stereotypical 'arab' sound.."yi yi yi yi yi" "li li li li li" or whatever that movies show arabs making while charging with their weapons....men don't do that. It's traditionally I think from certain bedouin tribes where the women do that when the men leave.

The men don't ever make those sounds, or other men laugh at them.

[Sparkly]

19. So who, in that Father Old Year, tried to "talk some sense into him?"

Wouldn't that be "bomb the bejeezus out of him," or "open grand new opportunities for him?"

Was "Bring it ON" part of "talking some sense?"
Were Challabi, Bremer, or Rummy "talking some sense?"

Unless the guy with the bomb is the Chimp and his administration, the cartoon makes no sense.

[buddysmellgood]

22. Well, that guy with the bomb is Cheney, and he is racist, so yeah.

Plus that old loser white man is a stereotype of ineffectual old white males who keep fucking things up. But hey, stereotypes come from somewhere.

[The Doctor.]

31. Here was my E-mail to Bob Larson;

Subject: You go Bob! (no really)


"Hey Bob,

Funny stuff, really.

I have a question in reference to your 'inside politics' 'good luck in '05'
cartoon.

Will the baby New Year be using the same language the 'Old Year' did to
"talk some sense into him"?

Seriously, I think you're right that these hateful warmongering barbarians can't
be reasoned with.

You really made the point that these people are inhuman monsters who will
abandon diplomacy at the drop of a hat.
I also have no doubt they will tell their people anything to justify the
killings and bombings and torture.

You hit the nail on the head Bob.

Dr. E"


Think he'll get it?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

32. No, I think he'll actually agree with your letter.

And miss the sarcasm completely.

[The Doctor.]

34. Or the inverted meaning?

You're probably right.

I'll have to see his other stuff before I judge him as a moran.

[Comicstripper]

35. Oh, he won't get it....

'Cuz his name is Bob Lang...

[The Doctor.]

38. LOL - you win a cigar!

No - I sent it to the appropriate e-mail and never used his last name.

But you'd be right other wise.

Good catch!


:+

[norml]

33. I would call it prejudiced against people of the Mideast.

Racist is a vague term that can be used against anyone who brings up race as an issue. I try to avoid using terms such as racist, and racism.