Censorship in the News

If you've been keeping up with current events, you should already know about the censorship issue brewing over a cartoon published in the New York Post. If you're not up to date, here's the story in a nutshell:A couple of weeks ago, a pet chimpanzee attacked his owner's friend and critically injured her (story is here). Just a few days after the attack, the New York Post, one of Rupert Murdoch's newspapers, ran the cartoon above. An immediate expression of outrage from Civil Rights groups ensued, followed by loud (and on-going) protests outside the paper's office. Today, Rupert Murdoch, in response to the public outcry, issued an apology that you can read here. Arguing that the apology is not enough, Al Sharpton (and others) want to see the NY Post shut down.Now that you have the basics of the story, look closely at the cartoon. Think about your reaction to it. What is it about the cartoon that could have provoked such outrage and calls for censorship? What would Milton say about it? Does it, in any way, support Mill's fear of the power of popular opinion in a democracy?Let's talk about it on Thursday!

I find it interesting that they thought it had something to do with black people. It seems that every time you turn around something is turned into a racism. I can see the corralation between the monkey that attack the lady and trying to be funny. I don't know if I agree with them and having him write an apology. People are allowed to say what they feel in this country. If they want to say they think the legislation is a badly written, then let them say it. They are allowed to have their own opinion. People in this country would have laughed if that was written about George W. Bush, why is it different with Barack Obama. He puts his pants on the same way. I do not think that being African American should sheild you from ridicule, just because you can call it racism. He wanted to be the president, with that comes ridicule, and scrutiny.