The Daily Cartoonist

“On the topic of race and ethnicity, McGruder said that to him, Obama is not black because he is not a descendant of a slave.”

Oh. Good to know. Thanks for clearing that up, Aaron.

There is no doubt that McGruder is a genius when it comes to cartooning. However, having watched him on several appearances on Real Time with Bill Maher, he is a woeful speaker, so I am not surprised that it fell flat ;)

Um, Clayton, with all due respect, I wouldn’t exactly call Aaron’s cartooning genius. He’s not that great a writer, and his art is subpar, unless you just plain love second-rate manga influence. He even held it in such low regard that he bailed on the possibility of animation. Aaron has consistently represented himself as a hateful ass.

“The person who is one of us” -AM

A separatist, bigoted, ignorant, anti-American, segregationist statement if I ever heard one. Good timing, “genius”.

P.S. I think anyone (including Aaron) who just watched Obama’s imaugural speech can see the man is going to make HISTORIC change for us all. I, for one, could not be prouder.

Well, at least he put to rest that old, tired refrain, “Black people can’t be racists”. And he’s living proof that intelligent people can say some stupid things.

By the way, if he was a “genius when it comes to cartooning”, why was he only able to last a couple of years doing it?

When I said “he”, I’m referring, of course to Aaron McGruder, NOT President Obama.

“I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but it’s what I tend to do.”

Everyone has to have a hobby.

… and I think that’s exactly what he wants to do.

Wiley: I doubt anyone would be confused on your intent unless they were just trolling to fight.

As for Mr. McGruder – so that’s all it takes? An ancestor who was a slave? Then there are a lot more of us who are black than we realized.

Beyond that, seems tacky to attack someone for their art style – every cartoonist has a different take and just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it isn’t good. But, then again, you could take potshots at him for the fact he didn’t even draw his comic for a good chunk of its life.

Randy, (love your Something Positive strip, btw) –
I certainly wasn’t attempting to be tacky in any way in my comment, and not “attacking” Aaron’s style. What I was making a point at was pointing out Aaron’s writing and drawing ability in no way equates with genius level. Neither does mine. That was all.

Er, Reddick, you must really love the guy ;). Genius according to Webster dictionary, can also refer to ” a person who influences another for good or bad”. I think it is safe to say, McGruder has at least met that bar!

heh heh – touche, Clayton. Indeed he has at least met that! ;-)

I am a slave to my art. And while I am tan, I don’t think I’m black.

I’ll admit it, I tried to read Boondocks. I tried to like it, honest. I even watched a few episodes of the animated series on Cartoon Network.

But…I just can’t get into the hype. It’s not my kind of cartoon, I guess.

And of course he just had to make that ignorant comment. Another reason for me to avoid the Boondocks.

Why is anyone surprised that McGruder would peddle this sort of racial drivel?

A couple years ago, my grandpa’s neighbor told me Aaron McGruder isn’t black because he’s rich. True story.

Wait, I’m of Jewish descent…and Jews were slaves in Egypt…so does that mean I’m black?

Honestly, it shouldn’t surprise anyone McGruder made this kind of comment. He’s basically built his career out of it.

Aaron McGruder is a race hustler. His modus operandi is being the “victim.” Barack Obama is a living refutation of black victimhood and because he gives the lie to the black man as victim, McGruder has to tear him down. To McGruder and all race hustlers, only the descendent of an actual slave can be authentically black and a true victim. Alex Schumacher is right – McGruder’s built his career on this crud. It’s a pathetic attitude and a fast dying one.

“By the way, if he was a “genius when it comes to cartooning”, why was he only able to last a couple of years doing it?”

As I understand it, his strip was brilliant for the first two years or so because he was recycling the best of several years of running it in the Diamondback, his college paper. He started running dry about the beginning of September, 2001, and then ran “Flaggee and Ribbon” in response to 9/11 — and then just ran out of energy. Eventually, he pulled the plug, proclaiming himself a genius who didn’t want to be limited by doing the comic strip.

Maybe I’m missing something, but I do know that his fans from the college/web days were calling on him to bring out the rest of the cast from that strip and it never quite happened, so I think he had a pretty good backlog of stuff and that what was in the paper was sort of a “best of” collection, albeit with some original material and substantial rewriting.

Corrections and elaborations gratefully accepted.

As I recall, McGruder himself said that he had burnt out after the first year and was ready to quit when 9-11 hit. Then it became a daily (well deserved) rant against George Bush. But he went to that well too often and ran dry.

And there’s a huge difference from doing a comic for a college paper, which is generally once a week, and doing a daily syndicated feature. Jim Borgman has spoken about this when he retells his story in editorial cartooning, where he was hired at the Cincinnati Enquirer right out of college. He said that after just a couple of months, he had hit a creative wall. He realized at that point that he done more cartoons in that short period than he had in 4 years in college. I think the same malady hit Aaron, who was just too young to handle the workload along with the notoriety.

Well, he basically sucked at Earlham. He should stick to the funny papers.

Darrin, that’s too funny … and about sums up those kind of classifications!

Mr. McGruder has always been a marginal talent. His art is not great, his writing even less so.

His strips appeared because syndicates were under pressure for minority representation not because they are best out there.

It’s time for him to let go of the victim status because the last I knew slavery was abolished by the death of thousands of white people (and others) fighting a war to end it.

Get over it already. If equality is a true desire for any person, THEY have to cease separating THEMSELVES from the majority.

As for Mr. Obama, didn’t vote for him, wouldn’t vote for him, but I wish him luck.

Since Wiley brought up Obama (and Bush) and after perusing the last two days of “editorial” cartoons from various sites, I’d like to make the following observation: It’s no wonder editorial cartoonists are being fired. When it comes to liberal talking points and especially Barack Hussein Obama, they have “jizzed in their pants”.

“Since Wiley brought up Obama (and Bush)…”

Um… no I didn’t.

#7 When I said “he”, I’m referring, of course to Aaron McGruder, NOT President Obama.

#20 Then it became a daily (well deserved) rant against George Bush

Yes you did. But that’s irrelevant -just like the Obama circle jerk that passes for editorial cartooning.

Dah! He might as well said he doesn’t like “Mudbloods” Obama has Muggle Parents! (Harry Potter reference)

Well, that wasn’t “bringing them up”. They were responses to other posts. But, whatever. You were just using them as an excuse to vent, so vent away, my son.

“…after perusing the last two days of “editorial” cartoons from various sites, I’d like to make the following observation: It’s no wonder editorial cartoonists are being fired.
-just like the Obama circle jerk that passes for editorial cartooning.”-ML

Never fear: there will always be Eric Allie, Gary McCoy, Chuck Asay, Michael Ramirez, John Trever, Gary Varvel, Bill Garner, Bruce Tinsley, and others that form their own circle that goes in the opposite direction.

I always thought that “Boondocks” was pretentious and limited. Merely a daily rant. If flawed, but identifiable and likeable characters could have been developed, then perhaps it could have become a narrative that could be extended ( such as “Doonesbury”). JMHO.

“On the topic of race and ethnicity, McGruder said that to him, Obama is not black because he is not a descendant of a slave.”

I guess I’m not white cause I’m not a descendant of a slave owner. This kind of pot-stirring crap in a time of optimism is grade-a baloney. Nothing like being controversial for the sake of commercial attention.

The thing that strikes me as erroneous about the “black = descended from slaves” argument is that no one needs to know your heritage to victimize or marginalize you.

I’m sure Barack Obama (and his father) suffered racist indignities simply because they are dark-skinned. Racists don’t really give a crap what your heritage is and don’t discriminate (ha) between descendants of slaves and descendants of willing immigrants. To them, you’re black. Period.

They’re not gonna do a background check and excuse Obama because his great-grandparents weren’t slaves. It’s a phony argument, based on a culture of obsessive victimhood.

Are Malia and Sasha half real black, half fake black?

Enough with the McGruder-bashing, my white male colleagues.

Aaron McGruder may come off as rude and snotty sometimes, but he also talks about stuff in public that “polite” people say among themselves. I *loved* the time he raked liberals over the coals at a dinner for The Nation. When he talks about Obama not really being “black,” he’s right–in the context of U.S. history, he neither is nor looks like nor has directly felt the historical effects that are common to the experience of descendants of slaves. Largely through the First Lady, he has chosen to “identify” as black. And that’s his choice, and yeah, it might have been hard for him to hail a cab in NYC when he was at Columbia. But it is hardly outrageous for him to point that Obama is black* with an “*”, not black in the typical meaning of the term in the United States–which is, like all racial identification, arbitrary as hell, but hey–there it is.

Chris Meyers said: “It’s time for him to let go of the victim status because the last I knew slavery was abolished by the death of thousands of white people (and others) fighting a war to end it. Get over it already. If equality is a true desire for any person, THEY have to cease separating THEMSELVES from the majority.”

It is unbelievable that y’all have tolerated this kind of hateful BS. Anyone who doubts that racism remains a huge problem in the U.S. needs to spend some time walking the streets of the slums where the cops patrol like occupation troops and are definitely not there to help people. Blacks are overrepresented in prison, underrepresented in the executive suite, and as McGruder said, a descendant of slaves has yet to be elected to the White House. (I wonder if even Obama could have gotten elected had he been, say, liberal.)

“Boondocks’” worth is self-evident by the amount of controversy and discussion it generates. Would only that the same be true of many editorial cartoons, which elicit nothing but yawns.

Like others, I am jealous of the fact that he launched in hundreds of newspapers in his early 20s. I also suspect it’s not really good to be so successful at such a young age. But his art is far from worthless and his writing, at its best, was excellent.

Finally, the term “race hustler” is patently racist, used by right-wing talk-radio hosts out to discredit African-American activists like the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Well, I’m glad that cartooning–and society overall–now has an Arbiter of Race. I guess all the ignorant yahoos down here where I live (in Georgia) who said they wouldn’t vote for Obama because he’s black must have just been confused and not racist. Good thing Aaron cleared that up for them. (By the way, I’m of Dutch descent, but I’ve never traded a tulip bulb, so I guess I don’t have any REAL Dutch blood.)

So, to sum up, Ted, pointing out that Aaron’s racist comment was racist is racist? Got it.

Ted, my (adopted) daughter is just like Obama in that she has a white mother and a black father. If McGruder said she wasn’t really black I’d … well, I’d let her knock him to the ground. She’s only 13, but I think she could take him.

As much as I like McGruder and admire his talent, I think he lost me when it became obvious that his repetitive “shock value” statements weren’t any more creative or clever than any of the “yawners” that you complained about. A lazy joke is a lazy joke whether it’s “shocking” or a traditional “family newspaper” kind of thing.

That said, I think the “you’re not black if you didn’t descend from a slave” thing is so out there that you won’t find many people biting to argue the point. Rather, people will just shake their heads and think McGruder’s really trying to get attention.

I have called people “racist” as a joke. They’re so jumpy about it. My daughter can’t play the fourth quarter? Why, coach, that’s racist. The coach does a double take. HA! Just kidding, coach …. Nobody with a brain wants to be a racist and it’s very easy to get a response from from people by bringing it up. It’s like telling jokes to an audience that’s high. You’ll kill ‘em every time.

Unfortunately, I think what you wrote about racism still being out there is dead on. I’ve called a few people racists when I wasn’t joking. We still have a long way to go.

Take care.

I think this is just another instance where McGruder’s inability to articulate his point subtly is getting him in trouble. No one would argue that Obama is not black. But it’s definitely true that the experiences that have shaped Obama’s life are very different than the experiences and history that unify many African Americans. In this context, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to say to the African American community that this is an important step forward, but there is still work to be done for the dream to be realized.

Although Obama’s background relative to the African American community isn’t usually publicly debated, plenty of my friends and I have had this discussion. I think it is commendable that McGruder has brought the discussion to the broader public. What I’m less sure about is how he tends to frame issues in rather blunt, provoking ways.

“Are Malia and Sasha half real black, half fake black?”

Stop this ridiculousness. The question should be are they THREE QUARTERS real black or THREE QUARTERS fake black? Do the math.

What I take umbrage with is McGruder’s implication that Obama isn’t black enough to qualify his election as significant.

Is it the end to all racism? Of course not. But my son and daughter will grow up with a dark skinned man in charge of our country and it will seem normal to them. I think that’s worth something.

Maybe the day before the celebration of a major milestone in our country’s history isn’t the best time to bitterly lecture people about the difference between the battle and the war.

“Enough with the McGruder-bashing, my white male colleagues.”

First of all, Ted, you don’t know who here is white or black, so can the condescending lecturing.

Second, the color of my skin no sooner precludes me from offering my opinion on common sense than it excuses McGruder his fallacious arguments.

“he neither is nor looks like nor has directly felt the historical effects that are common to the experience of descendants of slaves.”

Are you really suggesting that Obama’s personal history would be that much different if the only thing to change was the fact that his father was descended from slaves? He still would have grown up in the relative racial calm of Hawaii. He still would have had a white grandmother who was uneasy about black people she didn’t know. His white mother still would have taken him to Indonesia and he’d still have a half-Indonesian sister. This is hardly the typical black American experience, but it has little to do with where his father grew up.

No, the only thing that would change is that Aaron MacGruder would consider him “authentic.” Isn’t this just more of the same Uncle Tom BS that has served to punish black people for choosing a path in America that doesn’t hew to historical anger and resentment?

And Isn’t that a kind of “racial purity,” if you will? Judging people by the content of their family tree? What’s the difference between some White Supremacist saying someone isn’t pure because they’ve got a Jewish great-grandfather? The difference, I think, is that that person wouldn’t WANT the endorsement of the White Supremacist in the first place. And I doubt Obama is losing any sleep over people who don’t consider him “black.”

You said it yourself – it’s arbitrary. So why is MacGruder’s arbitrariness more excusable than David Duke’s? Because as a white man you think it’s not your place to question the racial qualifications that blacks place on each other?

If you read his book, he has felt many more “historical effects” than not getting a cab at Columbia, and I find your dismissing of his experience as not “authentic” enough as just about as insulting as anything MacGruder has said.

Ted said: “When he talks about Obama not really being “black,” he’s right–in the context of blah blah blah…”

Nigga please.

You’re such a racist, Darrin.

Look, the hyperbolic rhetoric Aaron puts out is as every bit as stupid, divisive and self-serving as anything spewed by Limbaugh-Hannity-O’Reilly, et al. Just what purpose did it serve, other than controversy for the sake of controversy? What ever happened to judging a person for the content of their character rather than the color of their skin?

Good Lord, don’t you people have comics to draw?

Respectfully,

Fake Rockstar

““Boondocks’” worth is self-evident by the amount of controversy and discussion it generates.”

Plain silly. If self-evident worth is based merely on controversy and discussion generated… sheesh.

And as for McGruder bashing, please. He needs you to defend him? How is his opinion that Obama isn’t really black because of whatever more valid than the opinion of others who don’t agree with him?

I didn’t realize there was “An Official Guide to Determining Authentic African Americanism”, where if A=B then C=D.

This is under the assumption all slaves were black.

Good Lord, don’t you people have comics to draw?

I don’t draw, I do 3D. Discrimination!*

* – Nothing about this attempt at humor shall be construed to imply that the writer trivializes the very real discrimination that takes place on this planet against people of all colors and creeds. Sheesh…

“Second, the color of my skin no sooner precludes me from offering my opinion on common sense than it excuses McGruder his fallacious arguments.”

Sure it does. Saying McGruder’s comments are “bad arguments” is one thing… they may indeed be bad arguments. But as far as “racist” and “stupid” go, here’s a good rule of thumb: whether or not his comments truly are “racist” or “stupid,” if you are a middle-aged white guy who spends most of his time huddled in front of a drawing table and has no real reference point for what the black experience is, YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO LABEL THEM AS SUCH.

Sorry white dudes… that’s how it goes being on top of history’s power structure… bummer, man…

What’s interesting is, if you look at Aaron’s original comment up there, in his statement that Obama isn’t really black because he wasn’t descended from slaves, that in itself is practically a racist statement against, well, his own race, digging an even deeper divide than color of skin. Is this what he wants? That now we as a nation can elect, deservedly, a black man for president, that there’s not enough of a divide, so we need to create even FURTHER division in NEW ways? He is, in effect, thumbing his nose at black men and women if they don’t qualify under his “authentic” label, shutting them out in effect from the rest. What Aaron proclaims as hateful racial bias from others in other ways, he himself just practiced it in his own miserable words.

Abell, I’m going to go out on a limb and label your argument as a bad one. By your reasoning, as a 30-something animator from the midwest, married with children, a mortgage and one car payment, I’m not qualified to label comments from anyone not just like me as racist or stupid (I prefer less incendiary language, but that’s me…) or vice versa. I see what you’re getting at, but I don’t agree that it precludes people from having a valid opinion; assuming there’s some level of thoughtful reasoning behind the opinion… the lack of which could pose problems, of course…

Ack… slowly… digressing…

“Sorry white dudes… that’s how it goes being on top of history’s power structure… bummer, man…”

I don’t think either you or Ted realize that you’re talking to more than just middle aged white guys here.

Aaron was right about one thing: Obama’s experience is different from his. Obama’s been on the receiving end of bigotry from both white AND black people.

Well said, Darrin.

“Finally, the term “race hustler” is patently racist, used by right-wing talk-radio hosts out to discredit African-American activists like the Rev. Jesse Jackson.”

Jesse Jackson has made a lot of money threatening corporations with lawsuits charging discrimination. The CEOs, not wanting the bad publicity and the expense of a trial, fork over settlement money in case after case that Jackson and his lawyers bring. This is a nice little racket. Race hustling? You bet.

Actually Darrin, I had you in mind… never met you, but I’m pretty sure this rule wouldn’t apply to you…

By the way, I include myself in this rule. I’m in my early 30’s, fairly well read, and I think McGruder made a bad argument… but I would have no basis whatsoever for labeling his comments as “racist” nor any business being personally “insulted” by them.

Racist drivel comes from racists talkin’ smack.

Skin color DOES NOT matter. Do you have completely racist opinions? Yes? Then, black, white, brown, purple – you, sir, are a racist. And a loud smack-talkin’ one at that!

But hey, I am a middle-aged white man – what could I possibly know about such things… Hey, wait a minute, that sounds VERY racist, as if my skin color matters! Forget that, my opinion is just as valid no matter what my skin color. To those that say otherwise, I am laughing loudly right at you. Don’t hide. I can see you clearly…
;)

Reread the article. McGruder didn’t say that Obama isn’t black. He said that HE doesn’t consider Obama black. What’s wrong with that? Not only is it his personal opinion, it’s one that is shared by millions of people:

In November 2006, Mark Williams had Zogby International conduct an Internet poll of more than 2,000 people, telling them Mr. Obama’s parents’ heritage, then asking them “What race is Sen. Obama?”

Only 7.9 percent of whites identified Mr. Obama as black compared with 8.9 percent of Hispanics and 8.3 percent of Asians, said Mr. Williams, author of “The 10 Lenses: Your Guide to Living & Working in a Multicultural World.”

By comparison, more than 65 percent of African Americans surveyed identified Mr. Obama as black. And more than 75 percent of whites identified Mr. Obama as biracial or multiracial compared with only 22 percent of African Americans.

I don’t know whether Obama is really black or not. I don’t really care; to me, it would have been far more exciting to see a liberal (or a leftist) elected president than a black guy (or black* guy). But it’s ridiculous to dismiss McGruder’s opinions as beneath contempt or bizarre or unworthy of discussion when they are, in actuality, quite mainstream.

P.S. Darrin, I was referring to the white guys who posted nasty stuff here, not everyone who was reading (or posting reasonably).

“I don’t know whether Obama is really black or not.”

So then, what, exactly, is the criteria for one to be considered Black, or any other race for that matter? Or do we just go by what Aaron decides?

“P.S. Darrin, I was referring to the white guys who posted nasty stuff here, not everyone who was reading (or posting reasonably).”

So disagreeing with Aaron’s rather strident opinion is dismissed as “nasty”? Come on, Ted.

“His strips appeared because syndicates were under pressure for minority representation not because they are best out there.”

Let’s start here. The first several months — maybe first year — of Boondocks was brilliant stuff, the story of two young inner-city black kids going off to the suburbs — the “boondocks,” where they were fish out of water. And in that initial period, there was a wonderful interplay of their inability to adjust to a middleclass neighborhood and that neighborhood’s inability to adjust to them. It had wonderful potential. And it went nowhere.

But to suggest that the Boondocks was simply filling a quota is a statement so ignorant that raises some questions about motivation. It was a strip with terrific potential, a chance to bring an Ollie Harrington consciousness to a mainstream audience.

Now then … again, reading between some lines, it seems that Aaron himself grew up in the boondocks and found his racial identity late in life. For that reason, he apparently takes more extreme positions than someone who grew up in the midst of it all.

I knew some of those blowhards in the private college I attended. The guys who had grown up with a strong sense of their place in the cosmos were comfortable with it. Others were less okay. I had some good friends in the former group, none in the latter. And I think Cory Thomas is addressing this entire mess with brilliance in his strip, with a subtlety and depth that is rarely seen in comics.

Of course, Cory isn’t really black, since his ancestors were slaves in Trinidad rather than the Southern US.

How about a wage slave? Does that count? ‘Cause if so, my shackles are long and heavy.

Considering the tired question of Obama’s “blackness” (and I think McGruder’s opinion is hardly unique), here’s my take: Put Obama in a time machine, transport him back to the summer of 1960 in Greensboro, NC, and sit him down at a whites-only lunch counter.

Do YOU think they’ll serve him a BLT and RC?

A lot of rage and thunder here but…

What’s conspicuously missing from this is an actual quote where McGruder says Obama isn’t black.

Here IS an actual quote from him today, though:

“Hey guys, never said Barack wasn’t Black… please don’t bother me with that bulls**t. Anything else… ask John Witherspoon. AM ”

I’ve heard of him address Obama’s blackness before and his belief was “Of course, he’s black.”

I’m thinking this article is a result of miscommunication, poor paraphrasing or editorial filling-in-of-blanks. It wouldn’t be the first time part of an audience completely misconstrued a message.

(Oh, and thanks Mike.)

This message is from the office of Aaron McGurder in response to the recent article about comments made during his recent visit to Earlham College in Richmond, IN.

Please see statement below from Aaron McGruder re: your article on his appearance at Earlham College:

For a long time now, I have tried to keep my opinions on the election and Barack Obama to myself. I occasionally do speaking engagements, which are not open to the press, and unfortunately some of my comments have been twisted around in a silly manner. The claim that I asserted our new President was not Black is categorically false.

I have seen an endless stream of Black pundits on TV pontificating about the significance of President Obama’s election – many of them making reference to the 3/5th’s clause in the constitution regarding slaves. The point I was making is that this is not an accurate comparison. Barack is the son of an immigrant, not the descendant of slaves. It’s like comparing a half-Japanese man to the oppressed Chinese who built the American railroads. Yes, they are both Asian, but it is not an honest or accurate comparison. We all share the common experiences of being Black in America today – we do not all share a common history. A history that in part makes us who we are – and in some cases (as with the psychological damage that still lingers from slavery) holds us back. These are not, I believe, insignificant distinctions.

I did say I was cautiously pessimistic about Obama’s Presidency – but this is simply acknowledging the reality of an American Empire that is out of control and on the verge of collapse. Let us not forget that on the eve of the election, we witnessed a near trillion dollar robbery of the US treasury. That robbery is still taking place. I do not blame President Obama, but I do not believe the financial and corporate interests that own and control this country will fold so easily. I do not question the integrity of the man as much as the power of his office – which I believe has greatly diminished over the years. I believe the Federal Reserve Bank, the Military Industrial Complex, and the massive corporate interests that run this country have more power than our new President. I hope I am wrong.

After 9/11, I witnessed most of this country become obsessed with squashing dissent and silencing critics. I hope this election does not turn Black America towards this same, fascist mind state; but already I am starting to see it, and it saddens me greatly. I absolutely wish our new President and his family success and safety. But after all I have witnessed in my lifetime, and especially in the last eight years, I am not ready to lay down my skepticism or my outrage for this government. To do so would be unwise and, ironically enough, anti-American.

Aaron McGruder

January 21, 2009

–
Regards,
Richard M. Foster
fosterpcs@gmail.com

Pomposity, thy name is McGruder.

“We all share the common experiences of being Black in America today – we do not all share a common history. A history that in part makes us who we are – and in some cases (as with the psychological damage that still lingers from slavery) holds us back. These are not, I believe, insignificant distinctions.”

I’m not sure how that’s substantively different from what he was rumored to have said. Still reads as “he’s not one of us” to me. But whatever.

Thank you all for your participation on this topic. For the most part it was entertaining and mostly civil – surprising when considering previous threads that touched on race here on TDC.

I am closing this thread as:
A. I think what could be said has been said
B. The longer the thread rolls, the more likelihood of it getting ugly
C. Aaron has issued a statement denying his comment regarding Obama’s heritage as reported in the media

I’ve posted the denial as a new story (currently on the homepage). Feel free to discuss the merits/content of the statement under that blog post.

Thank you again.

This coming from the man who has a CARTOON that says nigger all the damn time…

Is anybody really shocked at this..

I just want to clarify one thing…

ABELL SMITH said:

“Saying McGruder’s comments are “bad arguments” is one thing… they may indeed be bad arguments. But as far as “racist” and “stupid” go, here’s a good rule of thumb: whether or not his comments truly are “racist” or “stupid,” if you are a middle-aged white guy who spends most of his time huddled in front of a drawing table and has no real reference point for what the black experience is, YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO LABEL THEM AS SUCH.”

Regardless of the fact that I never said I was white, middle-aged, or a cartoonist (not that that would even preclude anyone from having a “reference point for what the black experience is”), I also never accused MacGruder of being “racist” or “stupid.” I suggest you direct your righteous indignation in a more focused way in the future.

Obama spent most of his life in Hawaii, as did I. We are only a year apart in age. We didn’t go to HS together, but we chewed the same dirt.

Believe me….he lead a good life, even if was poor, which he wasn’t. I know without a doubt, Obama was not on the receiving end of racism in Hawaii. If you look at pictures of Barry then, he looked “local”. Infact, I would have wagered from early pictures of him that he was Hawaiian.

But I too do not consider Obama “black”. He is mixed race. He even referred to himself as a “mutt” publicly.

McGruder and his ilk just want to hate. They will find any reason to do so. I can’t wait to see their reaction to Obama when they find out he isn’t going to play the race game and they aren’t going to get any special treatment from “the brotha in the whitehouse”.

Aaron Mcgruder is married to a White girl, so he’s a sellout now like the rest of em’. Whatever he’s going around yappin’ bout them white folks is lost in the dust now.

Here’s a picture of Aaron Mcgruder and his wife. She looks very BLACK! Don’t she?

http://previews3.wireimage.com/SlideShowB.aspx?ItemI=14580038

Wooo…I don’t want to get BBQ’ed here (with either vinegar OR brown sugar) but Wiley hit it on the head.

To say a person has the right to be racist because someone else has been racist to them but it is racist to point that out…geez, how much thinner can professional victimhood get stretched just to what…make a buck?

I was once sitting in a fast food place a few years ago in a predominantly black neighboorhood. A very nice older black man came in and sat down and started chatting with me. Very friendly guy, too.

All of a sudden, a young light skinned black guy came in to order something. This dark skinned black man who was speaking to me (a lily white Irish guy if one ever existed) suddenly saw this young guy, stopped in mid-sentence and said to me angrily “Look at that #*&damned high yellow! Son of a b#@&h, uppity ni**er!”

Ok, wow. I had to ask what he meant by all that and got the most racist vitriolic rant I have ever heard in my life about who is really black, who really did slave work, who is a sell out, blah blah blah. I didn’t want to point out NO ONE has been doing slave work since the latter 1800’s. Anyway, I was so uncomfortable I got up and left.

McGruder seems to me to trade in this exact game of ‘victim me against evil you’ – the type of instigation that pits people against each other for the benefit of continuing a very profitable race industry. That’s sick.

Ted mentioned Jesse Jackson – great example of this type of garbage. Does anyone really think this multimillionare tax free cheater REALLY wants racism to go away? What would he do then to replace that big income? Sell Amway?

Remember how happy he was about Obama’s nomination? I think he said he wanted to cut his onions off. Nice solidarity, there.

Anyway, McGruder’s peddling of of hatred and anger is tiresome and depressing – I’m glad he ended his strip.

But as far as his attitude about this country, you’d think a young man that made a good living doing something he loved might inspire him to be more grateful and positive – or is that too ‘white’?

And does doing a decent, wrath-less strip make Robb Armstrong & Stephen Bentley pseudo-black, weak sell-outs to Mr. Mcgruder?

I sincerely hope his 15 minutes is up…

“Anyone who doubts that racism remains a huge problem in the U.S. needs to spend some time walking the streets of the slums where the cops patrol like occupation troops and are definitely not there to help people.”

Oh, and Ted, quit listening to Air America or your ACLU newsletter or whatever crap is making you think that.

Lemme tell, pal. I wear one of those uniforms. I know what is like to have to go into an all minority neighborhood at 3AM to serve felony warrants. I’ve had to haul the 25 pounds of kevlar vest, raid gear, weapons and so forth to get an ugly job done.

You have no freaking idea what you are talking about. If you really believe the police are ‘occupation troops’ then your extremism has poisioned your commonsense fatally.

I have had fellow officers stabbed, shot, and run over just for doing their job, and their is NO job in this nation where you can be fired faster for one tiny mistake that ‘offends’ someone when you had 3 seconds to make a game plan to save your ass on the guy’s next to you because some sh*t storm started you could never have seen coming.

Why don’t you get away from your nice safe drawing pad and go on a ride along with ANY large Metro PD for at least two weeks.

See what they have to put with. See how little community support they often get. See how fast terror can explode and take a piece of your ass away. Go put on 25 pounds huck that ruck through a dark alley after some vicious douchebag that has a gun and will kill you without blinking just because he doesn’t like jail.

If as a police man I’m the equivalent of an ‘occupation troop,’ then your the equivalent of Joseph Goebbels.

Shane,

You can write. You have talent. Ever consider the Joseph Wambaugh route?

Every single human being alive on THIS planet is a descendant of slaves AND a descendant of slave-owners.

The entirety of written history contains infinite evidence of the trade of slaves, the cost of slaves, the rights of slaves, etc.
The Bible was re-written changing the word, “slave” to “servant” or “maid” as the authors of the Bible had no ability to imagine a world where slaves did not exist.

And there are hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of slaves being abused RIGHT NOW in every third world and many 2nd world countries. Within the last 5 years, China found 500 slaves working at a brick factory, I think, complete with whips and chains – South America frees thousands of slaves each year working in abominable chain gangs harvesting sugar cane and kept there by guns and hired thugs.

“Qualified” to label, indeed…

Shane: “This dark skinned black man who was speaking to me (a lily white Irish guy if one ever existed)”

I thought you looked kinda pale.