Garbanzo Toons

The Embarrassment of Not Getting the Joke

Poor Desiree Cooper of the Detroit Free Press didn't get the joke. Cooper is quite upset that the normally erudite New Yorker magazine didn't fall for Mr. and Mrs. Obama's sanitizing of their image, even though they went through all that trouble of dragging their children into the public eye, using them as campaign fodder, in order to make them seem like the all-American middle class family. For as she says,

Only two weeks ago, the Obamas gave an interview with their two young daughters to help America see them as a typical family.

and

His wife -- who was a recent hit on "The View" wearing a chic summertime frock.

Those are the official party-approved images of the Obamas that we're supposed to keep in our heads, at the risk of being called "racist". They look like regular folks, so they must be just like the rest of us. What woman in the world could possibly be objectionable who is wearing a "chic summertime frock"? We're supposed to forget that Obama has surrounded himself with domestic terrorists, racists, criminals, and various America haters. Not only are they his friends, but they are his advisers, both political and spiritual. Don't we all have people like that among our associates?

But this anti-Obama sentiment is wrong and hateful. And we're not supposed to be disturbed by the fact that a man who wants to become President of the United States doesn't seem to like the United States very much. We have to ignore that though because,

Our country has not yet come to grips with the aftermath of 9/11, our shameful backlash against Muslims, the violation of human and constitutional rights of many probable innocents at Guantanamo Bay, the death of thousands of American troops in an ill-conceived war, and, of course, our long-term dysfunction about race. To heap all of those fears and stereotypes upon the Obamas and call it satire misses a critical step.

Actually, Cooper misses a critical step; removing herself from her fantasy world where Americans are the bad guys and Muslims who are murdering people all over the world are victims of American imperialism, colonialism, etc. Cooper doesn't seem to care much for the U.S. either. She needs to open her eyes to what's really happening in the world and open her mind to the vicious immorality inherent in the jihadist mindset of Islam. They are the ones refusing to live in peace with the rest of the world, and that's been their position for the past 1300 years. But according to Cooper,

The added insult here is the collateral damage done to Muslims. People are upset over how the Obamas have been depicted, but not about how Muslims are once again shown as extremists and terrorists. Instead of shedding light on the religiously biased, xenophobic, racist thinking that persists in America, the New Yorker has served only to reinforce the worst of our irrational thoughts about who the Obamas are, what it means to be Muslim and what will happen if Barack Obama wins the White House.

In light of the over 11,000 terror attacks that have taken place since 9/11, the determination of Muslims all over the world to destroy Israel - because it is a Jewish country, and the changes happening in Europe due to growing Muslims minorities, it's quite rational to be wary of Muslims and Muslim organizations.

And then there's Leonard Pitts. He recognizes the New Yorker cover as satire, but it's those others who don't.

So, as absurd, as over the top, as utterly outlandish as the New Yorker image strikes the more sophisticated among us, there is a large fringe out there for whom it will represent nothing more or less than the sum of their fears.

Indeed, as I sat down to write these words, there beeped into my mailbox an e-mail with this subject line: "WOW, the New Yorker got it exactly right, for once." Said without a trace of irony.

But increasingly, that's who we are in this country: ignorant, irony-impaired and petrified. So maybe we should just cancel the campaign and ask that the last intelligent person turn off the lights when he or she leaves. And bring the last book with you. Nobody here will need it.

See, even though the Left has been foaming at the mouth over this cartoon, Pitts knows that it's really conservatives who are so humor impaired that they don't get the joke. Thanks for the clarification.

Michelle Malkin has reprinted some cartoons that probably didn't offend Desiree Cooper or anybody else on the left for that matter.

Labels: cartoons, Desiree Cooper, Detroit Free Press, Leonard Pitts, Michelle Malkin, New Yorker, Obama

posted by Harry @ 3:36 PM