A whole bunch of folks, including Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's camp, are upset about the latest cover of the New Yorker. The cover essentially illustrates right-wing nut jobs' unwarranted fears about who Obama really is and what he stands for. I seriously doubt any of these nut jobs have read Obama's actual proposals because more than 90 percent of them would see their taxes cut under Obama's plans. If you make under $250,000 a year, anyway.But Obama's camp is hyper-sensitive to even satire addressing the myth that he's a closet Muslim. And Republican candidate Sen. John McCain agrees that the cover is inappropriate. I disagree. Thank God for free speech and for the idiots we get to make fun of. The cover is gutsy and brilliant, unlike most politicians. And unlike too many people. And unlike too many publications and media outlets. Click on the image for a larger version.
And click here to visit America's Election Headquarters, Fox News, where the satire is apparently completely lost on the people making comments about the story on their Web site. Their reaction is funnier than the cover itself.
4 comments:
Yeah, I agree--I say, Lighten up!
(then again, I'm not running for President.)
but there's another camp that says the satire is poking fun at Southerners in particular that fear his being elected President.
There is indeed a distinct group of white male Southerners who buy all the baloney about Obama. No doubt. But from what I've seen, that ignorance is hardly relegated to below the Mason-Dixon Line. Either that, or dumb people migrate.
I'm a proud Southerner, and I'm OK with people buying such stereotypes about Southerners. Any people simple-minded enough to think all Southerners are the same aren't the kind of people I'd want down here anyway.
I agree with your take on The New Yorker cover - thank God for free speech. There is a famous case concerning the First Amendment (Texas vs Johnson, 1984). Johnson (not sure if y'all are related) burned a flag during a protest. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan offered the following opinion to the court:
"If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable...". Brennan went on to say there's "no better way to counter a flag burner's message than by saluting the flag that burns". My point is that regardless of which candidate I support, I believe in the freedom of speech whether it's to poke fun at a candidate or to reveal an agenda.
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