when the screaming stops
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 6:39PM Maybe you've heard about it already. This made it into the New York Post yesterday:
Credit: Sean Delonas
I suppose I should set the scene.
If you don't live in the NY metro area, you can find the cartoon in its context here. It is the meshing of two stories, one literal and the other figurative. The literal story is that police in Stamford, CT (my hometown, actually) responded to a 911 call regarding a domesticated chimpanzee, named Travis, that had escaped and mauled a woman. They shot Travis to stop him. The figurative story, at its most agreeable base, should be clear: a critique of the passage of the stimulus bill.
The problem, for many of us, is obvious and actually layered.
I'll start with facts:
1. The economy is reeling.
2. Therefore, the stimulus deal (apart from its effectiveness and so at a minimum as an effort) is considered a big deal.
3. The economy was an integral part of the presidential campaign's homestretch.
4. Obama has been active in making the stimulus package his visibly preeminent priority.
5. The stimulus package is lauded by many as the first major piece of legislation by Obama.
What all of this means: the stimulus package, certainly by its critics, is currently being affixed to Obama. He is its figurehead. This doesn't seem reasonably debatable. Sure: the truth is that it is an idea of many. There are many responsible for its construction and passage. Forgive the cliché, but that's politics, and quite obviously so.
But not in that picture. There is no team of experts, no crowd of faces, no group of monkeys of various sizes and shapes. There is only one. And that one chimp, the "someone" to whom the writing of the stimulus bill is attributed, is shot by police and rests bleeding on the ground, dead.* So let's not insult modern intelligence by suggesting that dead chimp isn't supposed to represent the figurehead behind the stimulus package, punished for his "crime."
Historically, though, it should be pretty widely understood that black Americans have been analogized to monkeys. Hell, I bet we could even find that kind of information in one of those outdated, yellowing textbooks they still force upon some of our public schools. The comparison takes at least a couple of forms: 1) the darkness in complexion, physical features and 2) the almost, but not quite human status. That's the funny thing about race: it's so often really obvious and lends itself to similarly conspicuous interpretation.
And so it shouldn't seem absurd to anyone that many of us drew a certain conclusion: Obama is that dead chimpanzee. Simple, right? And it shouldn't be odd that many of us would feel that we've seen such images before. And so we get to perhaps the most finely split hair of the new millennium: the difference between being a racist and being racially insensitive.
A racist is defined by her or his motivations; it's as straightforward as understanding that the suffix "-ist" refers to an active, outward, purposeful nature. Someone who is racially insensitive, however, is defined by her or his ignorance. To be clear, then, this post isn't about racism.** I don't know the cartoonist, Sean Delonas, and I won't pretend to know his motivations. My problem is with his ignorance.
He should've known the conclusions many of us would draw. The New York Post should've known this, as well. And that should've mattered to both of them, regardless of whether they agreed with our interpretations. It's not about bending to every whim of any group of readers. It's about a cognizance of the classic stabs at black presence in America. It's not like we're a secret. It's also not like there's only about a thousand of us (not, of course, that that would serve as justification).
Racial sensitivity is, perhaps ironically, about acknowledging the context of your own existence. We don't live in bubbles, at least not solitary ones. And with that shared residence comes shared responsibility. It's what grown-ups do: they mature, then they appreciate and then they understand. We forgive sensitivity mistakes in children because they haven't had the time to experience difference. Our patience for adult missteps is shorter.
But maybe that's why the tone for this post is different than it would have been years, or even months, ago. I'm not asking for repercussions to befall the paper or the cartoonist, because while my patience has long run out, so has my desire to scream about it anymore. I'd love, once and for all, for us to have actual conversations about these dilemmas.
The true conclusion for this entry will be posted tomorrow. But for now, I'd really just love for any people who read this to ask how readily they forgive themselves for not knowing about a life they don't lead. I do it all the time. While I can confidently say I don't do it like Delonas did, I do it. I do it because it's easy. But I shouldn't, ever.
I think one of the biggest pitfalls for the American conscience is the notion that none of us are mind-readers; that we don't ever really know what others are thinking and feeling and that, therefore, we're allowed to make huge mistakes out of that ignorance, and/or that we're allowed to demand of the very people who are very often voiceless that they scream, only in a language the rest of us understand, loud enough for us to acknowledge as alarm.
But it's really all just intuition. We really are just other human beings. It's not nearly as difficult as we convince ourselves it is. And that's why the constant failure to empathize hits harder, each time. Because we could just choose to be different, to be better, but we don't.
*On another day, I'd have time to discuss our history with police violence in this country.
**Though, I don't believe the nouveau theory that insensitivity is worse than racism. The power of active, direct hate seems unparalleled.
Reader Comments (14)
I wish we'd talk more about this sort of thing to shed a better light on just WHY it's racially insensitive.
But instead people just take the defensive or offensive.
It's gross.
I don't usually beg, but we really, really need to peel back several layers and get to the heart of this.
I'm not in the mindset to comment on this at the moment but just wanted to let you know that I passed it on to people who might have insightful comments.
No pressure. I'm just genuinely pleased the discussion is out there.
great post f.b. - as a non american I didn't have the patience to understand this controversy from the normal news channels but you explain it very well....
As far as I am concerned - it is impossible that the cartoonist and the paper did this out of ignorance.....they knew exactly how this cartoon could be understood but I am sure they are happy to stay on the fence and blame those who react to it for their opinions.
As of yesterday, they're doing just that: standing by the cartoon.
"one of the biggest pitfalls for the American conscience is the notion that none of us are mind-readers"
I think you're right, the unwillingness to accept any personal responsibility is a huge problem. Ignorance is not a valid excuse and lack of intent doesn't negate the effect. It seems like the conversation always gets bogged down with whether people should be offended, instead of talking about why so many ARE and why there is still such a lack of understanding.
We get bogged down because reflection is uncomfortable. We have senses of self that don't seem to pair with the impressions we leave. And so we avoid catching honest glimpses.
Well put.
I had not seen the cartoon until I read your post and I had the same (OMG) reaction to it. I feel like it doesn't matter what their intent was--that is to say, searching for intent is a non-starter because it's arguable and deniable. What matters was their impact. And the impact was predictable.
Race is going to come up over and over again and we have to find a way to discuss it. Thanks for creating a space for conversation on this.
I agree that searching for intent is a non-starter. I think that's why the conversation has to change from the often violent encounter it has been, fighting fire with fire, to actually putting the fire out with something much more fluid.
This was really timely especially after the Attorney General's remarks this week.
While I don't know what it is like to be black, I do know what it is like to be a woman. And what it was like to be fat. I have been in marginalized groups. I can somewhat imagine what it may be like to feel different or to be discriminated against. See, even here, I am scared to say it...because I don't want people to think I know what racism feels like...but yes. I am sensitive to these thing. We should all be.
I'm glad you wrote, even though scared. Because I understand the fear, but the idea is that you shouldn't feel it. And the very fact that so many of us are marginalized for our membership in various groups is exactly why we should be sensitive. It should all feel too familiar.
What you replied to Miss Bianca got me thinking, too. "Cognitive dissonance" seems to be a theme all around me of late. We humans don't like it when the reality doesn't match our mindsets. So we change reality. (Haha.) Or try. Or get really uncomfortable and defensive. It's hard to admit that ideas we hold dear don't hold water/our actions don't match our stated beliefs/etc.
It's really hard to admit. So, yeah, I think you're spot on. We're so stubborn with our expectations. It's like we don't know what to change. So we pick reality; you know, that thing, over there... rather than something we have a little more control over. Because if we can make the world fit us, we don't have to do any work on ourselves.
This is extremely well written blog.
I was not aware of this cartoon, but I am offended that it was published. I would have drawn the same conclusion had I or had I not read this, and I think that this is a really sad annotation of who we are as 'Americans'.
It is very sad. It is also why our work isn't done. The election was huge, but it doesn't complete us.
I have been processing this all day, trying to come up with a comment that is coherent and have come up painfully short. But as I said earlier, I think complacency is the environment that allows racism (or prejudice of any kind) to flourish. Allowing ones bad behavior to go unchecked because there was no ill intent is the same as letting people get away with their part in mass murder because 'they were only following orders'.
First, I don't think you fall short at all. And I'm the decider, here. So, there. But the substance: I think you make a really good point. I don't want this post to seem like I think all should be forgiven and we should just hug our way out of it. I'm not that tame. There should be more coverage, for instance; via my brother, I hear there was a protest scheduled today at noon outside the Post's offices in NY. And I support all of that. I just also know that we've protested before. I'm not convinced we've sustained a healthy dialogue, though. And so I think we should grab this opportunity to do so, because we don't want to fall into that "we don't negotiate with our enemies" gap; unless there's no other option.
could not have said it better myself...as seemingly blatant as it is, i'm running out of the energy to scream everytime some silliness like this goes down...
Right? It's not that I don't want to scream. I'm just tired of screaming to no end. So I'm trying something different; at least for today.
And not to break the post/comment code of anonymity, but something tells me I actually know you, stranger. Feel free to laugh if "defenstrate" sounds familiar. Then I'll know for sure.
Darling, you are so intelligent and this is incredibly well-written. You're doing your part by putting the discussion out there, for sure. Let it be heard!
I'm actually kind of blown away by the response/stats today. It's why I started this blog in the first place.
This cartoon came up at my volunteering thing last night. The verbal description turned my stomach but I don't think it sank in until I saw it here. It's offensive on so many levels.
So many levels. There isn't enough room in text on a blog. But I'm glad to hear people were talking about it; can't do that enough.
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