Another Blatantly Racist Cartoon of Obama

[BackToThe60s]

"

This piece of garbage was brought to you by Ted Rall of Universal Press Syndicate. I clicked on their link, hoping to get an e-mail address, but was hit with a 404 instead.

[Renew Deal]

1. Ted Rall is filth

And so is anyone that defends this. Rall thinks there's some conspiracy keeping him out of the MSM. The fact is he's a lunatic with mediocre skills.

It looks like it's really his. http://www.gocomics.com/tedrall

[Name removed]

80. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LARED]

2. Can someone explain how it is blatantly racist?

I don't understand.

[Lil Missy]

3. Seriously? You think portraying him as an ape is innocuous?

:thumbsdown:

[LARED]

4. I don't see the ape part, but I guess I can see

how one could view it that way.

[CakeGrrl]

6. If Rall were to try to defend it as his drawing style, I'd slam him on several things:

1. Why make him shirtless? At least put pajamas on him. He's naked in a room with other clothed adults.

2. The big, broad, rounded nose and the prominent ears - cartoon 'Michelle''s nose looks nothing like that;

3. The exaggerated mouth.

At first glance, it screams dogwhistle to me.

Give the haters enough time, it eventually surfaces.

[ClarkUSA]

23. 4. The AA woman, in marked contrast, in the cartoon is portrayed with fine features.

Rall is a scumbag racist. No wonder he has always attacked Pres. Obama with such vitriol.

[Hissyspit]

40. The AA woman is Michelle Obama. She's talking about her husband.

If you are going to accuse Rall of being a scumbag racist, you're probably going to need more evidence. It's usually the right-wingers who accused him of racism. (He was not particularly nice to Condi Rice, according to them.)

Here he is on his blog defending Obama against right-wing racist double-standards:http://www.rall.com/labels/race%20and%20racism.html

[ClarkUSA]

73. All the more proof that his drawing Pres. Obama with simian features is deliberate & racist.

[Hissyspit]

78. Or not.

[lugnut45]

108. Then show a picture like this to an AA and say this looks like you

Steppin Fetchit is all over this cartoon. Lazy and shiftless, looking like an ape and King fish of Amos & Andy fame with no self discipline.

[Number23]

29. The nose is what gets me too

Not that there is anything wrong with that nose. My grandad had a nose like that.

But Obama's nose looks nothing like that nose.

[Hissyspit]

45. Here is Rall defending Obama against right-wing racism:

"I know that some readers, particularly supporters of John McCain, will be offended by my referencing of a classic 1931 Life magazine photo of an Indiana lynching which shocked the nation. However, I believe it is fair to call McCain, Palin and their campaign for their dangerous tolerance of intolerance among some of their supporters.

At a number of their campaign rallies, attendees have shouted comments like "kill him!" and "terrorist!" and "treason!" about Barack Obama. Now, as my readers know, I have been sharply critical of Obama and will continue to criticize him and his policies as I see fit in the future. Furthermore, I am well aware that crazy people show up anywhere and everywhere, and that the McCain-Palin campaign is not responsible for the random hateful comments of some of their supporters.

It is shocking, however, that neither candidate is willing to tell racists that their support—and attendance at rallies—is not wanted. When McCain, and especially Palin and their surrogates, hear these comments, they are silent. This amounts to tacit consent. When they appear on television to answer questions about hate speech at their rallies, both of them deflect. They do not directly confront the issue by saying, as they should have said at their rallies: "Bigots and racists are not welcome in our campaign or the Republican Party. We do not want their votes or their support."

[ClarkUSA]

74. Talk is cheap.

[Hissyspit]

79. Drawing is cheap, too.

That's your counter-argument?

[SwampG8r]

81. i thought that was condie rice

couldnt figure out why she was there...

[Ter]

89. It's very racist, but not because he's topless

He's the only one topless (no way to know if he's naked) because he's thew only one sleeping. I sleep topless and I'm white. :)

But I agree the rest is very racist. They also made him darker.

[SusanaMontana41]

93. Your analysis is excellent.

The cartoon is reprehensible. Yep, haters always expose themselves.

[Kirwan]

85. Heal thyself

If you see an ape in that cartoon, that says more about your own views of African Americans than anything about Ted Rall.

[MadMaddie]

11. Besides the picture of him looking like an ape

the cartoon implies that he is lazy and shiftless.

Nothing new to black America subtle or not.....just another day in America.

[Kirwan]

86. What's the line that can't be crossed, then?

Is any depiction of an African American person in bed or sitting down a racist attack?

[neoconn]

31. Anyone who knows the American history of slavery with AA

And understands how important subliminal actions/statements are, would understand... Not trying to bash but the moment I seen the ape like features (With zero likeness to Obama) I thought "Bad Judgement".

As some one else pointed out, the stereotypical values of AA's was to be lazy & shiftless

[Mimosa]

36. Agree, Maddie and NeoConn

Welcome to DU, NeoConn. :)

[lugnut45]

104. Cartoon

To prove a point. If you think it's not racist, go up to black people with a picture like this and say, this is you. Now would you do that? If not, why not, because you can't see it's not racist right?

[lugnut45]

105. racist cartoon of Obama

Try this, go to the nearest black person with a picture like
this, in fact go among a group of black people and show this
picture and say, this looks like you. If you want, you are
pulling my leg about not recognizing it as racist, or you
would do it. Which is it? 

[lugnut45]

106. If you think it's not a racist picture, try this.

Go up to black people and tell them this picture looks like them. If you don't think it's racist or you can't see where it's racist, then no problem, right? But i bet none of the people who say they don't see the racism in a picture that portrays Obama as a monkey or ape would ever do that, because you know it's racist. If i am not right, go a head and do it.

[applegrove]

5. Considering none of the others have any chin whatsoever it does give one pause.

[Hissyspit]

39. It's just a bad drawing.

Here's how Rall tends to draw Obama: http://www.rall.com/rallblog/2011/06/29/justice-for-bush-and-his-torturers

You'll notice Bush tended to be drawn by him looking like a monkey - a deliberately extreme caricature. As disappointed as Rall is in Obama, I don't think there is any particular reason to think Rall has become a flaming racist.

[yardwork]

7. That's awful.

[Quantess]

8. Please explain what exactly is "blatantly racist" about it.

In your own perspective.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

10. Rall drew Obama to resemble an ape.

Contrast with how Obama looks in the cartoon versus everyone else. He doesn't even look like that in reality.

[CakeGrrl]

12. My issues with it are listed in post #6.

[MadMaddie]

13. See comment 11

[yardwork]

14. You really don't see it?

[Quantess]

18. I do see it, right away.

But what...exactly...?

[Starbucks Anarchist]

19. He drew Obama to look like an ape.

Jesus Christ.

[Quantess]

25. Of course, duh. But what, objectively?

Someone needs to ask this question. I'm a hard-core student, so it will be me who asks.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

26. Are you not aware of the historical racist imagery here?

Seriously?

Obama doesn't even look close to that, and Rall's crappy artistic skills are no excuse either, since the other people in the cartoon look more "realistic" by comparison. In fact, if you've seen Rall's work before, the other three people in the cartoon are far more indicative of how he draws most people.

[uponit7771]

51. Blacks have been called monkeys and apes for generations

[kwolf68]

62. Come on

Obama is made to look like a monkey/ape. It is racist and I don't generally play race card and hell...I'm actually moderate on racial policies like affirmative action (not that that is overly important).

but THAT toon is a disgrace.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

9. Watch half of DU come in to defend this shit.

:puke:

[yardwork]

15. More than half this thread so far. Unbelievable.

[Hissyspit]

44. Maybe because there is apparently NO history of Rall being a racist,

plenty of evidence of the opposite, and there is every possibility that it's just a bad drawing on his part?

Hell, I could be wrong. Maybe he's gone off his rocker. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

55. Mel Gibson had no history of racism for decades, either.

[Hissyspit]

63. Neither do I.

[yardwork]

72. I'm surprised too but there it is.

[SwampG8r]

83. taking tolererance to all time lows

[ZombieHorde]

33. Not all Americans have been exposed to racism, and the history of American

racism is generally not taught in schools, so I don't think people asking "why" means anything other than their lack of exposure. I have learned a lot about racism from reading DU, some writings by MLK, and the fantastic book, Black Power.

I have only heard the "n-word" used in a negative way, in real life, twice in my life. Blatant racism is not common everywhere in the US.

[uponit7771]

52. I don't think DU is mostly progressive, the defending of this is so Hannity.com like

[Starbucks Anarchist]

61. They always use the "It's just in your head" tactic.

DU is not very diverse ethnically, so many people here aren't able to process racism when it's happening. They think it has to be something blatant like racial slurs being thrown out instead of the myriad other, more subtle ways racism can express itself.

[treestar]

56. It's unbelievable

:puke:

[Merlot]

16. And you're posting this why?

to prove that there is racism in the world?

perhaps not posting of this would be a better idea, you could just link to the image if people are really curious they can see for themselves.

[CakeGrrl]

20. The thread title wasn't warning enough?

Cartoons are posted here all the time. When someone is using their media outlet to spread this garbage, I say shine a light on it.

[Mimosa]

37. We SHOULD be able to look at it without giving Rall 'traffic'.

DUH.

[Hissyspit]

42. O.K. Here's one to look at:

[Dr Fate]

100. Ted's HATRED for Black people is blatant in that cartoon.

I'll bet it is all he can do to keep himself from muttering the "N" word to himself while he was drawing it.

[awoke_in_2003]

17. I haven't seen Rall in a while...

this is shocking to me.

[Quantess]

21. Ted Rall is usually good...or at least he has always been when I was paying attention.

[SidDithers]

22. Wow...

Rall has really become an idiot.

Sid

[Hissyspit]

41. Is he being an idiot here:?

At his blog: http://www.rall.com/labels/race%20and%20racism.html

Maybe he just did a rushed drawing or something. It actually is possible, you know.

"THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2009

Cartoon for August 27, 2009



Muslims are arrested and tortured on the flimsiest of pretexts. Right-wing whites, on the other hand, are allowed to threaten the (black) president with impunity.

Labels: race and racism

POSTED BY TED RALL AT 12:01 AM 39 comments
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2008

EARLY RELEASE: Cartoon for October 23, 2008



I'm releasing Thursday's cartoon early because of its newsworthiness and because my syndicate's online division has decided not to release it on its official website.

I know that some readers, particularly supporters of John McCain, will be offended by my referencing of a classic 1931 Life magazine photo of an Indiana lynching which shocked the nation. However, I believe it is fair to call McCain, Palin and their campaign for their dangerous tolerance of intolerance among some of their supporters.

At a number of their campaign rallies, attendees have shouted comments like "kill him!" and "terrorist!" and "treason!" about Barack Obama. Now, as my readers know, I have been sharply critical of Obama and will continue to criticize him and his policies as I see fit in the future. Furthermore, I am well aware that crazy people show up anywhere and everywhere, and that the McCain-Palin campaign is not responsible for the random hateful comments of some of their supporters.

It is shocking, however, that neither candidate is willing to tell racists that their support—and attendance at rallies—is not wanted. When McCain, and especially Palin and their surrogates, hear these comments, they are silent. This amounts to tacit consent. When they appear on television to answer questions about hate speech at their rallies, both of them deflect. They do not directly confront the issue by saying, as they should have said at their rallies: "Bigots and racists are not welcome in our campaign or the Republican Party. We do not want their votes or their support."

[lynne]

24. I don't see anything racist in this specific cartoon -

- as Rall has always drawn Obama in this fashion - aka "with a chin". All you need to do is look at his website - go to gallery - use search term "obama". I don't see any racism in how he has drawn Obama and I don't consider it ape-like.

Here's a cartoon from May. I'm guessing you'll like this one better: http://www.rall.com/rallblog/archives?g2_itemId=13700 And one from June you might not like as much: http://www.rall.com/rallblog/archives?g2_itemId=13781 Obama has a chin in each. Unless he had some traumatic chin-failure-explosion, it stands to reason that he would draw him with a chin for every cartoon.

Those who see racism at every imagined turn are the ones who are truly uncomfortable about race.

[mtnsnake]

27. You really think he's only drawing Obama "with a chin"?

Forget about the chin. Try looking at the rest of the features on the face of the person in bed. Nothing in that bed resembles Obama, but everything to do with the face resembles an ape.

[Confusious]

28. Sorry, but nobody rall draws resembles anybody

I usually have to figure out who he's drawing.

[CakeGrrl]

30. Don't try to project racism issues onto the people who call it out.

The other cartoons demonstrate some consistency in Rall's style, but if one is not a regular reader of his column, I wouldn't blame them a bit for calling racism on the cartoon in the OP.

[Mimosa]

38. Wow. He really hasn't mastered caricatures or cartooning.

Thanks for that link. Yikes, his cartoons are BAD, by any standard.

Tom Tomorrow, by contrast, is a first class cartoonist.

[Hissyspit]

43. Tom Tomorrow, to a great extent, appropriates, copies and repeats photographs.

Ted Rall is a particularly individual cartoonist who feels the need to not hold back subject-wise, and his caricature style is intended to be primitive and harsh to match. There really is not much comparison between the two.

[BackToThe60s]

47. Are you Ted Rall's publicist?

Or mom?

[Hissyspit]

48. No. I'm someone who just happens to go do some research

instead of just going off half-cocked about an issue looking for something to get outraged about. I don't know him, I've never met him and I'm not getting paid by him.

Rall was BELOVED by many here during the Bush years for his no-holds-barred attack on the horror and hypocrisy of the Bush administration and he continues to take an extreme but high-principled approach to editorially criticizing out leaders, BUT NOW he is a flaming racist conspiracy theorist. The contrast seems a bit absurd. Any of the posters here who are outraged but admitting they don't know much about his work could have done a few minutes research to get a sense of whether this is something really to get bent out of shape about or whether its just a weak work by Rall out of thousands of cartoons. Just Google Image his name and there are hundreds of cartoons that people could look at and compare and get a sense of what he thinks and has done. Sure, he has to take responsibility for what he says and draws.

Yeah, I posted a lot of responses. The piling on without bothering to look into the guy's work pissed me off. Would you like to counter my point that Rall has DEFENDED Obama against racist attacks, instead of just attempting to mock me?

I think it was just a bad drawing. Rall thinks Obama is too calm and too accommodating and was probably trying to go for an average working Joe asleep in bed when the 3 a.m. call comes and just didn't notice it was a potentially offensive caricature. His point is that Obama's calm, rational approach to crises is such that he seems to not recognize that the economy is a 3 a.m. call crisis just as much as a terrorist attack would be.

[BackToThe60s]

49. Excuse me

I had never heard of Ted Rall prior to coming upon that loathsome cartoon in Slate, okay? At no point in my OP did I crap on the cartoonist. I stated simply and directly: "This piece of garbage was brought to you by Ted Rall of Universal Press Syndicate. I clicked on their link, hoping to get an e-mail address, but was hit with a 404 instead."

Others in this thread have, indeed, taken personal shots at Mr. Rall, while you, on the other hand, seem to have appointed yourself his High Protecteor and Guardian. I was merely wondering as to the genesis of this.

[frylock]

60. so, despite knowing nothing about the artist, you have no problem casting accusations of racism..

then get all bent when called to task for your bullshit?!

[TwilightGardener]

65. Does one have to know an artist well, in order to have a valid reaction to the art?

Or in this case, "art"?

[frylock]

66. yes, one should have a basic understanding before making baseless accusations..

the butt hurt on display in this thread because ted doen't draw obama with the degree of reverance many here demand is truly astounding.

[TwilightGardener]

68. I've seen tons of cartoons in which the artists do not treat Obama with

reverence. But they usually don't make him look like a hairy primate.

[chrisa]

50. Ted Rall is garbage.

His cartoons are often either badly drawn, make no sense, or both.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

69. Actually, Tom Tomorrow is done solely with free-hand drawing

no copying, tracing or pasting involved. a common misconception, though, given his style.
colors and backgrounds may be added by computer, but the main characters are pure pencilwork

[Hissyspit]

77. I didn't say he didn't do it freehand.

He is starting with photographic and appropriating other mass media communication graphic styles deliberately, very different in style and intent from Rall, so it's a bit of apples and oranges.

[ZombieHorde]

32. Fucked up. nt

[MilesColtrane]

34. Fuck Ted Rall.

[Mimosa]

35. Art is my field of expertise. Rall drew a gorilla looking bum.

I'm not excessively familiar with Ted Rall's cartoons. I've seen them occasionally and have never been impressed. I've read a couple of his commentaries. I don't know a lot about him or his skill level as an artist.

IMO, the drawing style can be interpreted to have old-fashioned racist connotations. Is Rall generally an incompetent cartoonist who hasn't mastered caricatures?

[Hissyspit]

46. Rall's Drawing of Obama in Today's Cartoon:

[Safetykitten]

53. Wow, the defenders of artistic standards is out in force.

Get Aunt Bee and the gang and go get Barney and the Sherriff! We got artistic standards to keep in line.

Probably one of the most insane posts yet.

Rall's style and manner of drawing is distinctive and powerfull.

Trying to make this out as racist is....well just nuts.

[BackToThe60s]

54. Re-read my OP, if you would, please

At no point do I state which aspect of the cartoon is racist. I didn't HAVE to! Everyone in the thread without blinders on immediately recognized the racism.

[Safetykitten]

59. Wow. Just wow.

[R. P. McMurphy]

90. I suppose my blinders are useful. They block the glare from your tin-foil hat!

:tinfoilhat: Edit to add that Ted Rall IS a jackass.

[win_in_06]

57. I thought Bush was the Chimp

that what's he's often referred to around here anyway.

[frylock]

58. this post is blatant stupidity

knu

[TwilightGardener]

64. Weird. Like a black Homer Simpson.

[KOfan]

67. WTF?

Rall must be off his meds of late. That is blatant.

[ChrisBorg]

70. Rall has always drawn Obama like that. Rall has also always been a

talentless hack. A cartoonist that can't draw.

[BklnDem75]

71. People pay this dude?

The defense of this clown is hilarious. Anyone with eyes and without an agenda can see that's an ape.

[Mimosa]

75. Agree.

I don't care what he intended. The result looks as bad as any racist caricature on Chimpout. com.

[Empowerer]

76. This is unbelievable

And the fact that so many here would actually DEFEND this is . . . well, sadly, it's no longer all that unbelievable.

[Bobbie Jo]

88. Indeed...

Many of whom never fail to point the finger of bigotry with indigence.

The hypocrisy is off the hook. I guess "some" bigotry is okay, or better yet deny it's existence.

[Kirwan]

95. What's unbelievable is the appalling DU groupthink.

People aren't necessarily defending Ted Rall or even this particular cartoon, if you actually read the comments. The "defenders" are asking commenters here to justify their cries of "RACISM!"


Calling someone a racist is one of the most serious accusations one can make in our society. It's reasonable for people to be asked to support such a claim with more than just "It makes Obama look lazy and hairy."

[Bobbie Jo]

96. Apparently...

You haven't seen multitude of blatantly racist cartoons circulating the internet with Obama depicted as an ape or monkey. Historically racist depiction.

Amazing that you've captured "DU groupthink" in all of 2 days.

Welcome to DU.

[SwampG8r]

82. michelle can never tell?

is this a shot at their intimate life?

[Doctor_J]

84. That's the same way Rall always draws O

except with a 3:00AM growth of beard. I don't think Rall is a racist. He is pretty aggressive with his characatures though.

[frazzled]

87. Remember the 911 widows cartoon?

People defended him on that as well.

For those who don't recall: "That cartoon, "Terror Widows," depicted some of the relatives of September 11 being crass. In one panel, Rall has Larry King ask: "So, when your husband called you from the 104th floor, he knew he was going to die?" And in the next panel, the widow says: "Oh, yes-He was on fire! By the way, Larry, that's a bitchin' tie!" Another panel has a widow saying on TV, "the $3.2 million I collected from the Red Cross keeps me warm at night." http://www.progressive.org/mag_mcrall

There is no question that this new cartoon is despicably racist. The "chimp" lower face is simply inexcusable as a caricature of a man with a very long, narrow face. The hairy body, too. And the allusion to "laziness" (make that "shiffless," massah).

Don't think these things don't have repercussions. Such images of black people have stoked the worst kinds of racism, from political cartoons of the Darwin era on. Or think of the widespread cartooning of Jews with hooked noses and moneybags used by the Nazi press.

[Safetykitten]

91. Racist cartoon exhibit.

[craigmatic]

92. I'm black and I don't see the racism here. It is terribly drawn. Somebody explain how it's racist

to me.

[Empowerer]

97. How old are you?

Perhaps you aren't old enough to have experienced or to know how blacks have been depicted as and compared to monkeys in an effort to demean us. If you did, I think you would find a depiction of the President as a monkey to be problematic without having to ask for an explanation.

Perhaps if the cartoonist had simply exaggerated one or more of the President's features, one could claim that this was just a poorly drawn caricature. But the ONLY thing this creature has in common with the President is his coloring.

This is such an out-and-out racist depiction, I can't imagine anyone not seeing, much less defending it.

[craigmatic]

102. I'm 25. I'm not defending it. I just don't get it. I mean he doesn't look like a monkey there to me.

He looks more like a brown homer simpson.

[DesertRat]

94. Disgusting. n/t

[Stuckinthebush]

98. I dont think it is

I think you may be seeing racism where there is none.

[Dr Fate]

99. The cartoon people will destroy us unless we put a stop to this.

Forget Murdoch- I wanna know what DEMS are going to do about the cartoon people.

Any news on how Obama, the DOJ and elected Dems are going to investigate Murdoch, or should we just focus on the cartoon people?

[BlueStater]

101. He just looks lazy and disheveled to me. n/t

[vroomvroom]

103. I'm Black and don't see this as Racist

I just dont see an Ape. I see a terrible caricature. I guess i am trying to stay objective and so i would need more evidence e.g. more cartoons from this artist.

It is curious though, now that i stare at the photo, as to why the artist chose to go with a large jaw and broad nose. But still, i would give him a pass.

And for the record humans are NOT Monkeys. We are Apes. I hope people will stop using the word "monkey". From a scientific point our entire species is an Ape. We are one of the 5 Great Apes closest related genetically to Chimpanzees. So at least as we try to debate if this is racist we should continue to be respectable to science and the facts.

[lugnut45]

107. Why don't we be respectful to our president

He is not an ape and when an AA is depicted in such away, some of us black people recognized it right away and know the violent history of people who see us as something less than human. Due to my experience as an AA born and raised in Miss in the 40s and 50s, We know we were depicted as apes and monkeys nearly 100% of the time.