Uniting Against Hatred

Today Rupert Murdoch aplogized for a cartoon that was seen by most viewers as racist and containing violent impications.
In a statement on the website of his tabloid The New York Post, which printed the cartoon, Murdoch said: "Last week, we made a mistake. We ran a cartoon that offended many people. Today I want to personally apologize."
Murdoch said the cartoon poked fun at the economic stimulus plan pushed by Obama, America's first black president.
It "was not meant to be racist, but unfortunately it was interpreted by many as such," Murdoch said.
The cartoon featured Travis, a real-life chimpanzee shot last week by police in Connecticut, near New York, after it had attacked a woman.
In the drawing, two policeman stand over the chimp's body. One says: "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill."
The cartoon had racist implications.

I thought it was demeaning and stupid.
Even if it referred to Pelosi et al, as Chimps who should be shot, it was in extremely poor taste.
However, the historic connection racists make between blacks and apes seemed pretty clear to me.
Those who are angry at black reaction to this cartoon need to try to put themselves in the place of someone who experiences racism on a daily basis.
An NAACP spokesman said that "African Americans have historically been compared to primates as a way to dehumanize the entire group. We were called monkeys while we were being brutally lynched and denied equal civil and human rights."
Although many republicans act as if "coming together as one people" is a foolish and sentimental idea, it really is the way to save and rebuild America.
As JFK said, "United there is little we cannot do. Divided there is little we can do."
One person at a time, turning his back on hatred, can make a difference.
I work at it every day.
I see it from both sides.
Blacks hating whites and whites hating blacks.
Its foolish, really, because we are basically the same.
We all, generally speaking, fall in love, love our parents, laugh at the same jokes, cry at sad events and so on.
A white can fall in love with a black person, and a black person can fall in love with a white person, and they can, and many times have, loved for a lifetime.

I've seen it.

Michael Blackburn, Sr