By: E&P Staff Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. today offers a sobering take on the New York Post dead-chimp cartoon flap. Pitts, who is black, writes that he was not initially offended by the cartoon, but rather by artist Sean Delonas' dismissive reaction ("friggin' ridiculous") to readers who took offense, and the paper's halfhearted apology that followed.
?It took nearly a week before it dawned on the paper's brain trust that maybe people had good reason for their vexation,? Pitts writes. ?That it took so long to do the obvious speaks volumes.?
The Pulitzer Prize winner continues, ?The paper's attitude and its evident ignorance of historical context are not unique. Rather, they have their echo in too many white Americans whose default defense is the proverbial good offense whenever they feel cornered on the subject of race.
?And yes, that attitude is fed by the fact that in recent years too many African-Americans have found it convenient to cry wolf where race is concerned. But if arrogance on the one end and disingenuousness on the other are our only alternatives, we're in trouble.?
Check out the full column
here.
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