Although Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama often has The New Yorker on his campaign plane, this week’s issue is probably not on board.
The magazine cover depicts Obama wearing a turban as he offers a fist bump to his gun-toting wife, Michelle. The American flag singes in the fireplace and a portrait of Osama bin Laden hangs over the mantle.
Editor David Remick defended the cover and said, “Satire is part of what we do, and it is meant to bring things out into the open, to hold up a mirror to the absurd.”
The Obama camp called the cover “tasteless” and campaign spokesman Bill Burton said that “the New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Sen. Obama’s right-wing critics have tried to create. But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive—and we agree.”
MCKINNEY WINS GREEN PRES. NOMINATION
On Saturday, the U.S. Green Party chose former Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney as its 2008 presidential candidate.
She is joined on the ticket by vice presidential candidate Rosa Clemente, a hip-hop artist and activist.
McKinney, 53, received just over half of the votes cast at the nominating convention in Chicago.
She entered politics by following her father, an Atlanta policeman who later served in the Georgia State House. McKinney won her first seat in 1988, and later ran for and won a House race in 1992, becoming the first black woman to represent Georgia in Congress.
Clemente, 36, born in the Bronx and of Puerto Rican descent, was raised in one of the nation’s poorest communities, and became an activist and journalist angered by the Bush administration’s response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Of the nomination, she said, “I choose to do this, not for me, but for my generation, my community and my daughter. I don’t see the Green Party as an alternative; I see it as an imperative.”
JESSE JACKSON TO RETIRE?
A group of men known as AmeriCan want Jesse Jackson to step down from his position with the Rainbow Push Coalition following his remark that he wanted to cut off Obama’s testicles.
Jackson apologized and later said he thought the controversy had helped the Obama campaign.
“He didn’t receive any pain, I felt the pain and the embarrassment and the hurt,” Jackson said.
The members of AmeriCan say it is hard to teach young people about respect when they hear comments like Jackson’s. “You can’t tell me that Jesse Jackson has been in the media for over 40 years, that when somebody hooks a mic up to him, that he don’t realize that it’s live,” said Harold Davis of AmeriCan.
Calling Jackson “the biggest player hater,” rapper Nas added that “his time is up…It’s a new day. It’s a new voice. I’m here now. We don’t need Jesse; I’m here. I got this. We got Barack, we got David Banners and Young Jeezys. We’re the voice now. It’s no more Jesse. Sorry. Goodbye. You ain’t helping nobody in the hood. That’s the bottom line. Goodbye, Jesse. Bye!”
( SOURCES: CBS, ABC7, BallerStatus)
( Photos: AP PHOTO )
@ 24 black british girl, about the rappers, my thoughts exactly. LMAO!
I agree with #1 and I also believe that Nas should please hold all comments to himself. He should shouw respect where respect is due. Focus on your album and what message you are pushing out to these youth. If he honestly believes that jeezy (although I like jeezy and Nas’ music) is one of the voices of tomorrow, he probably believes that the New York satirical article is fine too. You know, like ” let me say the N* word in hopes that people would find it less appalling and the overuse of it would kill the actual history and meaning behind the term.” In my city we say, “Baby, go ‘head on wit’ all that”! And yes, he should go’head
@ # 58 Toons, thank you for the compliment.
I could go with both, an alternate cover for the New Yorker depcting Mccain in an unfavorable light AND one that is a rebuttal to the Obama cover done over to proof some other points.
Scurv
People let’s not forget that Bush is in the oil business and his business partmers are muslims. When 9/11 happened only the Bin Ladens were allowed to leave the country according to Michael Moore. I do believe that white people think Obama is a muslim . Matter of fact on CNN they were interviewing people on who they would vote for during the upcoming election and this white dude came out and said he thinks Obama is a muslim so he wont get his vote. If you even put the thought out there people will think its the truth satire or not.
Totally agree w/#56 dont buy the magazine….hit ‘em where it hurts.
#1, I agree that the New Yorker’s cover depicts how some people view the Obama’s, but the publication truly dropped the ball with its satirical approach.
I mean, it’ll definitely get people’s attention, but will that attention boost its revenue or force the mag to make a public apology.
I think that it’ll be the latter.
I feel that the two most offensive items in that so called “political satire” are the afro and the Bin Laden pic in the background.
How is Michelle’s hair a political satire? What does Michelle’s hair have to do with politics? This seems more of a message depicting her as a “pro-black/black panther” which is almost like a subliminal message of sorts thus the afro and combat boots and gun. Also with the constant dig about Obama being muslim it seems muslims should be offended as well. The Osama picture makes it appear that all muslims worship Osama and that they are the Obamas and muslims are anti-american.
This is another attempt to remind the not so liberal and the racist voters of the world that this is what could end up in office…. The fact that it is getting so much publicity negative or not is bringing race to the forefront.
I’m sure Obama can take a joke and he will be the brunt of many more SNL jokes and other political satire but there is a fine line when you are dealing with other ethnicities and it’s all in perception. I doubt Bush was ever at the end of blatant racial satire such as this he’s been called dumb and all kinds of stupid but that is a fact he can’t hide…lol.. so basically if you keep reminding people that Obama may be muslim and his wife is anti-american then people will get confused and just believe the worse about the Obama’s…
@ MEL
while u may be right that some people may take this cover seriously, u cannot dumb down things because ur afraid someone may not get it………chemiisrty isnt dumb down so that u can get it, why should journalism be? i didnt get satire at first, but it makes complete sense…..if u just say some thing out loud you will learn just how ridiculous it is.
i got the satirical aspect of the picture………………………….but it still wasn’t funny….period the end. As for Nas, he needs to sthd and stfu he is not, nor will he ever be the voice of me or anyone else, especially throwing names out like Jeezy, i could see if he said Talib or Common, even Kanye, but Jeezy and David Banner, A MESS…….And i don’t understand what the big deal about Jesse , this is the same dude that was talking about “Hymie Town” when he ran for the presidency, and what kills me is people keep talking about him cutting off baraks balls and talking down to black people when he was clearly more upset that barak wants to end government funding for faith based organizations, but no one is talking about that…….
WOW. All I can say is behind every man is a strong black woman. They need to have McCain with a KKK hat on and a noose in his hand then. It’s funny how they can be racist as hell in every aspect of society (jobs, school, credit/ lender,etc) and that’s never explored or discussed by the media. How many slaves did Bush family have? How many slaves did McCain family own? Nobody is saying how Bush and MCcain are militants associated with that neo-nazi shit.
Things could get really nasty if Obama wanted it to expose their true ideologies and corporate associations, they need to fall back before every white person in Congress and the Senate shit is exposed and I bet it wouldn’t be a pretty sight. That Thomas Jefferson mess was just the tip of the iceberg… How many of them in high power political and non-political positions are sponsors of that child molestation compound over there in Utah that was hushed up a few months ago. They sure as hell not supporting themselves with a big ass compound and thousands of acres of land and their own damn town. And grants are not that plentiful, even for religious groups.
The New Yorker wants MEDIA ATTENTION, INCREASE SALES, MAKE MONEY THROUGH CONTROVERSY. I agree with the other comments that Barack will have to brush this off. I think this is racism though not satire it is a part of the game. The cartoon makes Michelle look like she is a black panther Angela Davis hair do with a gun kind of a person. And Barack is made to look like a terrorist. The truth is the fear in liberal white and Conservative America is that the next USA president will be BLACK and the first lady could be BLACK as well. And this doesn’t sit well with white America they are so desperate right now it is pathetic. I urge people to GET OUT THERE AND VOTE, tell all your friends and VOTE.
Nas’s issue is that the brother seems to view “hip-hop” as a vehicle for change, which means that he’s been compromised. The brother will only reach his full potential when he stops leaning on rap as a way of life and acknowledges it for what it is. This is why he’ll say one thing that is truthful and profound and then come back in the same sentence and say something foolish. This goes into that 5 Percenter madness but that’s a whole other topic. Young Jeezy is a buffoon and David Banner has sold his soul as well. The brother Nas spent 90% of his album castigating America and speaking on it’s bleak future (which is the truth) and then puts his spirit into Obama, smh. The Lord will have to break the brother’s pride.
To clarify for those who didn’t understand Nas’ comment.
He’s saying that the younger generation and people living in poor communities DO NOT pay attention to today’s politicians like that. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Clarence Thomas, etc. are not the black leaders that they’re looking up to. The younger generation are, unfortunately, looking at rappers. They listen and follow the words of what Nas/David Banner/Young Jeezy has to say. Believe it or not, the 3 of them DO have some political insight (Jeezy surprisingly). It’s just you see the surface but you never spoke to them on a level to understand that they’re not as dumb as you THINK they are.
Thats all there is to it, and I agree with that statement. Nobody around my hood cares what Jesse has to say anymore. They wanna know what Nas thinks because he speaks for people in their situation.
I honestly don’t see the big deal here. The New Yorker is ALWAYS doing something offensive to people. I think it’s becuase it’s Obama y’all are getting all offended but when they talk shit about George Bush, which I know most of us aren’t fans of, y’all can give a shit and agree with what they are saying. The point is a person is a person, a lot of people get offended on this magazine so why does Obama get recognized for finding it offensive. Some of yall need to stop riding Obama’s dick, yes I understand he’s Black (WELL HALF BLACK), and he’s almost president, but the same rules apply to him, he just a normal person like the rest of the politians. I don’t cut him slack for the shit he does, he’s human.
@72
I agree but that is more of a testimony to how lost the people in the black community are. The people that have the power don’t care what Jeezy and David Banner think or feel. That means that if the people that don’t have power want power, they will have to be aware of the thought processes of people that have power so that they can dethrone them. Nas’s statement; from what I read up top, seems to denote that he, Young Jeezy, and Banner, in tandem with Obama are the new leaders and he is sadly mistaken. Jesse Jackson has worked hard for 40 years: setting up MLK, preaching nonsense, and selling out his people to gain the trust of those in power. Obama’s leaders are the Israelis so he’ll give these rap dudes that have their mind set on the corner one ear for 15 minutes for the sake of playing the attentive black politician role, but that will be that.
I think the cover is hilarious because it’s the exact opposite of what Barack and Michelle are about and it will make the media-brain-washed right-wingers feel very stupid. I’m pretty sure the article is probably pro-obama or at least written by a liberal.. and in reply to the “OMG dis is so racist oh hell nawww” ….no shit sherlock. that is the point. Unfortunately there are going to be some gullable fools who are going to take the cover seriously without reading what’s inside but those people were probably die-hard republicans to begin with. There’s many positive images of the Obama family out there and THOSE pics haven’t persuaded them to give him a chance so this really isn’t going to hurt him. And trust, it’s just going to get worse.
im just upset with how they portrayed Michelle’s hair. Not once have i seen her on television with an afro or her hair even next to being kinky..that right there shows me something about that magazine
Folk need to just stay focused on what really matters — The NewYorker is doing what they do, Obama needs to stay focused on what he is doing.
The devil deals in distractions.
@ DEE
Wow, You thing that McCain is apart of Bush’s Admin. That Like say the Clintons are down with Obama. Don let TV fool you. Bush is Republican and McCain is Republican. As far as it goes.
Freedom of press is the name of the game. That is the reason you all can say what you want about the current President of the United States. Here you all are up in arms for a guy who is Two major events from even thinking about the White House. It is wrong to assume that Because You like Obama everyone else will. Just ask John Kerry ( even puff daddy could get him elected)
Point is to stay focus on you think. I’m all the sure I dont want a person in the White House whose feelings are so easliy hurt. BooHoo Grow up.
The Editor of the New Yorker magazine defended the controversial cover of the Obamas, as being a satire.But the problem is, that it`s not a satire.A satire is suppose to make fun of and ridicule a person`s bad habits or foolish mistakes.For example,Obama`s vice or bad habit, is smoking cigarettes,which he is trying to break,if the New Yorker had shown a cover of Obama sneaking a smoke,then that would be a satire.Or if they had a caricature cover of Jesse Jackson,getting caught on tape saying something ignorant or foul,that`s a satire.But the New Yorker cover of the Obamas is what you would call propaganda,because it spreads the false idea and stereotype, that the Obamas are Muslims that are out to get Whitey.The cover is an attempt to help right wing republicans,damage and injure Obama`s chances of winning the presidency, by raising doubts in the minds of unsure white voters.
I see nothing wrong with that New Yorker cover. The political cartoon is one of the longest-standing methods of artistic/political [FREE] expression we have. It illuminates the triumphant, the macabre, the patriotic, and the absurd through caricature and satire. To censor that expression, or to at least say that political cartoonists have to relegate their sketches to the lower corners of Sunday funny pages would be crime.
Cynthia is always gone keep on truckin huh, lol? I aint mad.
Jesse’s old ass made a mistake. It was a dumb one, lol, but I don’t think it warrants a forced resignation. (And the people at AmeriCan [what a name, lol!] need to go back and consult the tape; no one “held” a mic up to Jesse.)
What I want to get to is Nas, though: I’ll keep it short, but I REALLY want Nas to realize (let’s hope he reads the Loop, sees this, and thinks about it) that he is an INDIVIDUAL in the rap game who understands the need for a new day and is willing to do what is necessary to help bring it in. It doesn’t mean all of hip-hop is on board (regardless of what they SAY). I’ve always loved Nas for his take on and passion for activism and awareness, but you gotta have a tight roster for the Hip Hop Heals the Hood Task Force if you want it to be effective.
Jesse may not be “helping nobody in the hood,” but it can be said that Jeezy is doing the hood active and immediate harm! With every even line in your standard Jeezy song glorifying the dope game and every odd line a cult-leader-worthy hypnotic command to increase consumerism, ya boy is killing us from the inside out. I’m from Atlanta and I love our music, but I’m telling you I see – AND WORK WITH – young people in my city who need a lot more coaxing than I’ve figured out how to give before they’ll even WANT to elevate themselves above violence, above not owning their own homes, above getting pregnant so they can get WIC. I’m at Southside High School EVERY Saturday from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. teaching (without pay) science enrichment classes that the kids won’t listen in and financial literacy classes that their parents won’t come to. That nigga makes my job harder and I do NOT fuck with him.
PLEASE NAS, WATCH WHO YOU ALIGN YOURSELF WITH.
cosign 75. i think its just too funny. they captured the essence of michelle’s face perfectly, i wouldnt be surprised if she laughed when SHE saw it. Too bad there are MUSHY MINDED AMERICANS!!! and the media outlets that have filled the whole damn day with this.
I found that cover quite funny…..but at the same time i agree it is insensitive and very offensive
I don’t know what having an afro has to do with being a terrorist. I rocked an afro to a party recently and one white guy commented to a friend that i must not like white people because i had an afro. I am beginning to think this is the common perception by white folk. I could have a weave on and hate white people but for some reason its still seen as more acceptable. i found the caricuture offensive because it gave natural hair a negative connection. I rock my natural because I want to not to make some activist statement.
I agree that J.J lost his mind and did something incrediable stupid but for Nas to think he or any other rapper is the “positive” voice of black youth is utterly ridiculous. POSITIVE movement does not come from NEGATIVE action. So like so many “FREE MINDED” Black folk have stated online, you cannot denegrade us and preach self hatred then call yourself the voice of our people. For those hankerchief wearing negros who cannot see when they are being less then who God created them to be by defending these idiots who parade black woman around in videos, sporting cars and homes they do not own, making it rain with money that is not used to build our community but instead continue to justify and subject us to the stereotype of the over sexed, uneducated, and unadultered African American youth. I am sorry you do not represent me and because of you I have to fight harder every day to show a different side of us. You are worst then the artist who created the b.s. because you actually try to live out their views of us everyday. And the sad part is your stupid to recognize that the portrait you think you are protraying is not one self created image but that of what they tell us we are label wearing, hunch over, inarticulate, crotch grabbing gun wielding idiots. So sad. How many gold fronts do you need to dance a jig for the masses just ask Lil Wayne. Hmm is that what they used to do in black face expect the lips where lined instead of the teeth.
“I’m pretty sure the article is probably pro-obama or at least written by a liberal.. and in reply to the “OMG dis is so racist oh hell nawww” ….no shit sherlock. that is the point. Unfortunately there are going to be some gullable fools who are going to take the cover seriously without reading what’s inside but those people were probably die-hard republicans to begin with. ”
Maybe if you read the article you would know that it had nothing to do with the cover or posed an explanation for the “dumb” American who didn’t understand that it was supposed to be satirical.
If you look at it from one stand point you can say that this cover was distasteful but what it does is show racism’s ugly head and it is up to us to chop it off. If you beleive the Obama’s are terrorist then 1. you are as dumb as a door post or 2. you are racist.
The most striking statistic out there is that 12% of people believe Barack Obama is Muslim. Even though it is not true, Barack Obama said he is a Christian and it has been proven he is not a Muslim, but people still believe he is a Muslim. So The New Yorker printing a cover like this does not help one bit. What they should have done was put a caption on this page to get the satire across; but they failed miserably. I heard that The New Yorker is in fact a pro-Obama magazine, I wouldn’t be able to tell with a cover like that.
#1 & #5, I agree…
I think it will cause uncertainty and fuel suspicion of Obama and his family. It’s easy to suggest that we all should just laugh this off but IMAGES ARE EXTEMELY POWERFUL. I can personally look at this satire and still my support for Obama remains unchanged. However, it’s the undecided voters, the people on the fence who are still gathering all the information to make that decision about who they’re going to vote for that concerns me most. If people are given this visual representation (depicted on the cover) that this is who/what is going to be moving into the White House, they will not vote for Obama. Again, what you see on that cover may not be true in any way but yet it plants a venomous seed in the minds of some. It doesn’t take much to turn people off or away.
@ 1) Gregarious
Unfortunately, the cover was done in bad taste and many people do not see the satire. I was watching the CNN coverage on the cartoon and they were asking people about the myths of Obama. Some ignant people STILL think Obama is muslim!! Many Americans are too ignorant. And many democrats say they will not vote for the Democrats because they do not like the candidate.
Racisim = Ignorance.
that magazine cover is crazy (neg.)! the people who okay-ed it are even crazier! all it does is put thoughts into the heads of those who aren’t keeping up with the whole run of politics right now. walking by a newsstand and seeing this imagery isn’t the same as picking up the magazine and seeing it on the inside… think about it. how many people are going to do the latter? we gots’ to be more careful. satire… maybe. controversial, powerful, a stab a barack’s reputation… definitely.
Why in the hell should black america ask Jesse to apologize for standing up for our community and for refusing to participate in the rascist propaganda designed to stir up hate against black america so that no one will be offended enough to condemn rascist after black genocide is over and done with???? Obama is glad to help with the genocide, and excuse the rascist who contribute so much to the problems in the black community.
Demonization is the first step the Germans and Hitler took to annihilate the jews. That’s why Jews act swifty to destroy anyone who dares to speak out against them. ALL YOU FOOLS WHO CONTINUE YOUR SLAVERY TIME LEGACY OF TALKING AGAINST YOUR OWN PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE TAKEN OUT SWIFTLY AND WITHOUT MERCY.
GENOCIDE IS ALL AROUND THE BLACK COMMUNITY AND OBAMA SAYS, BLACK PEOPLE SHOULD BE PERSONALLY ACCOUNTABLE.
ALL THE WHILE HE PLEDGES TO END CHILD POVERTY AROUND THE WORLD, LINE ALL WHITE FOLKS POCKETS WITH GOVT MONEY, RELIEVE FOREIGN BLACK COUNTRIES OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF DEBT, AND HE OFFERS NO EXTRA POLICE PROTECTION OR HELP FOR YOUNG BLACK MEN.
SIGNS OF GENOCIDE:
HIGH BLACK INFANT MORTALITY RATE
GUNS AND DRUGS IN THE HANDS OF MINORS TO USE TO KILL, STEAL AND DESTROY
CONDOMS DISTRIBUTED FREE TO PREVENT BIRTHS – NOT HIV
HIV TESTING AND TOXIC MEDS PUSHED ON BLACKS TO GIVE HIV – NOT PREVENT IT, SO THEY CAN TEST EXPERIMENTAL MEDS, JUST LIKE IN THE TUSKEGEE STUDY. ONCE THE TESTING IS DONE ALL RACES WILL BE ASKED TO TEST AND GIVEN THE GOOD MEDS USED ON THE GUINEA PIGS.
THE JOINING OF CHURCH AND STATE WHICH CAUSES MISTRUST IN THE BLACK CHURCH. A MAJOR SOURCE OF COMFORT AND PLANNING PREVIOUSLY.
NEW LOCAL RASCIST RADIO STATIONS POPPING UP, PREACHING RESEGREGATION AND HATE.
SINGLE BLACK MOTHERS PERSECUTED, WHEN THEY ARE HEROES FOR ATTEMPTING TO CARRY ON THIS RACE SINGLEHANDEDLY. EVERY SINCE SLAVERY ENDED, AND THE MASSAH STOPPED OWNING BLACK BABIES, HE HAS WORKED HARD TO DESTROY THEM. MOST OF OUR GREATEST PEOPLE CAME FROM GOOD SINGLE MOTHERS.
ABORTIONS BEING FORCED ON BLACK WOMEN AS A CONDITION OF GOVT HELP
BLACK MEN OF CHILD BEARING YEARS LOCKED UP IN THEIR PRIME MATING YEARS
MURDERS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY HAVE QUADRUPLED BECAUSE THE GOVT OFFERS NO ASSISTANCE AND NO JOBS TO THE HAVE NOTS AND HAVE TORE DOWN GOVT PROJECT BLDGS AND PLACED THESE TROUBLED PEOPLE IN THE BLACK MIDDLE CLASS COMMUNITY SO THAT THEY COULD KILL EACH OTHER OFF
DRUG ABUSE IS AN ILLNESS AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH BUT THE GOVT PROVIDES NO FUNDS FOR PROGRAMS
BLACK UNEMPLOYMENT AT HIGHEST SINCE 1950S
BLACK BOYS ARE SYSTEMATICALLY RAN OUT OF HIGH SCHOOLS BY INDIFFERENT WHITE TEACHERS, ONLY INTERESTED IN THE TEST SCORES THAT GETS THEM PAID
WE ARE LOSING MORE BLACK MEN IN AMERICA THAN THEY ARE LOSING IN THE WAR, BUT YOU WON’T HEAR THOSE STATISTICS BECAUSE THEY WON’T RELEASE THEM UNTIL THE HOLOCAUST IS OVER, AND YOU’LL BE STARING STARRY EYED AT THE TROJAN HORSE OBAMA, AND BLACK FACES ON TV, DELIBERATELY PUT THERE TO DISTRACT YOU.
HITLER DID THE SAME THING TO THE JEWS, WHILE HE SYSTEMATICALLY DESTROYED THEM.
#1 is on point.
LOL. why is everyone goin @ Nas so hard?
I think it’s great he wants to take on the responsibility. I have no doubt in my mind that with the influence Nas, David Banner and Young Jeezy have on young people, they would be excellent supporters and promotors for change. If they themselves are willing to change.
I say hold him to it.
It’s time for young black men to be leaders. Especially when they already have the popularity and sphere of influence to do something positive with it.
Pingback: » POLITICS: Barack Obama SAYS “Debate me, not Michelle” // 'CONCRETELOOP.COM'
offensive
http://www.Shop-Luscious.com
http://www.Shop-Luscious.com
http://www.Shop-Luscious.com
http://www.Shop-Luscious.com
Pingback: Random Black Guy Post July 19, 2008 « Regularblackguy’s Weblog
Pingback: » POLITICAL ROUNDUP: OBAMA AROUND THE WORLD / MCCAIN MOCKS MEDIA’S LOVE FOR OBAMA / MCCAIN CARICATURE ON VANITY FAIR // 'CONCRETELOOP.COM' - hi to all our haters!!!