Rupert Murdoch apologizes for racist Obama/chimp cartoon
News Corp. Chairman and part-time pirate Rupert Murdoch has finally come out and apologized for the blatantly racist cartoon that ran in last week's NY Post.
CNN:
The chairman of the New York Post, Rupert Murdoch, personally apologized Tuesday for an editorial cartoon published by the newspaper that drew charges of racism.
This New York Post cartoon by Sean Delonas sparked a debate over race and cartooning.
"Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted," said the statement from Murdoch, who is also chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, which owns the paper.
"I can assure you -- without a doubt -- that the only intent of that cartoon was to mock a badly written piece of legislation.
"It was not meant to be racist, but unfortunately, it was interpreted by many as such. We all hold the readers of the New York Post in high regard, and I promise you that we will seek to be more attuned to the sensitivities of our community."
What a nice guy that Rupert Murdoch is. He's finally stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility for all the vitriol directed at Barack Obama by his multiple media outlets. It's nice to see that there are no ulterior motives at play here. Oh wait, spoke too soon.
Rupert Murdoch's apology -- the first I can recall him making, for anything -- for printing a cartoon that offended many is a seismic event at the New York Post and News Corp., and comes at an unsettled time: Yesterday, the company's stock fell more than 4% on news that his longtime number two, Peter Chernin, is leaving.
Why is it these people always apologize IF others were offended, never for their act itself?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
It is because these assholes approve of the act, it's just that threat of people not giving him their money that causes the shame which triggers an apology.
The art of the non-apology is well practiced and it really is wrong to say that Murdoch apologized for anything at all. Read what the man said...
"Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted," ...
See... you begin by minimizing.... "felt offended and even insulted" is not the same as "being offended and even insulted." This says that the offense is a feeling that YOU have not a thing that WE did.
"I can assure you -- without a doubt -- that the only intent of that cartoon was to mock a badly written piece of legislation.
Since when are pure intentions a defense... at most he is pleading down from premeditated murder to manslaughter.... "my car hit someone", not "I saw him and aimed at him." So again, he says I'm not really culpable.... the opposite of taking responsibility.
"It was not meant to be racist, but unfortunately, it was interpreted by many as such."
OK, now he's really getting insulting.. to us, and to our intelligence... HIS organization's intentions were pure he says... yet somehow others interpreted an ambiguous symbol as being offensive! Well, he says, there is no accounting for taste is there?
Finally, does racism only count if it is intentional? You know, racism resulting from stupidity and ignorance is also racism, but he's trying to suggest that if HE/THEY didn't MEAN it, then the perception is entirely the responsibility of the viewer... as if it was all a matter of opinion and no one could really say what a monkey image means in the American context... all a matter of interpretation... easy mistake to make.... you say racist symbol, I say symbol of southern heritage, who can really judge.... sayeth the Murdoch
"We all hold the readers of the New York Post in high regard, and I promise you that we will seek to be more attuned to the sensitivities of our community."
He says.... "or should I say the OVER sensitivities of the community... goodness gracious you can't say anything around here without them just jumping all over you... touchy touchy."
I don't see a single word of apology in there... just blame shifting designed to sound like an apology.
With respect to the your title, SilentPatriot, surely it should say "Murdoch declines to apologize"
in my hand, and the gun went off." Yikes, like it had nothing to do with who was holding the gun.
Read it carefully, it wasn't an apology, it was a nonpology. He didn't say, "I'm sorry we did it, it was offensive and insulting", he said, "I sorry if you felt offended or insulted by it".
He did not say, "We are sorry that we made a racist joke", he said, "We are sorry that some readers interpretted it as racist". He also attempts to justify it by saying thatit was about badly written legislation (with the implication that anybody who can't see that is an idiot).
He didn't say, "it was racist", he said, "unfortunately, it was interpreted by many as such".
He didn't apologize for anything, and is probably laughing at those who accepted his nonpology as an apology.
Apologizing "to any reader who felt offended" is close, but it's still not a real apology. This is how you apologize: "I'm sorry. I (we, my company) did the wrong thing. We should not have done it, and we ask your forgiveness." When you qualify it and imply that my taking offense was out of order, that's not an apology, it's a wiggling off the hook. And if you're not sorry, then don't apologize. Good luck with that.
Murdoch owes the entire US an apology for Fox News.
he's already called o'reilly a blathering idiot.
Take it one step further rupert and fire hannity, beck oreilly etc...
Seemed sincere. He still owns and controls too much
maybe you missed the last two years.
Some stuff you can't make up!
On an
apologyfiring for the equally repugnant John Gibson blue scrotum comment about Holder on Fox News, another tentacle of the Murdoch Media octopus?That "blue scrotum" part was proven to be a hoax. I'm not a fox defender, just trying to set the record straight for you.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Is he just trying to keep his investment solvent while many newspapers are sucking air?
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Before I call it a day... a bad day....just want to say thank you to the site monitor who did something for me today. Thank you and good night. :)
{ You're welcome pop.}
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
He was always my favorite on "The A-Team".
The only way I would think he was sincere is if he fired O'Reilly, Hannity, Beck and Gibson.
!
Some stuff you can't make up!
I hope he loses another $60 billion.
At Least.
Some stuff you can't make up!
" . . .We all hold the readers of the New York Post in high regard, . . ."
----------
NY Post readers in high regard? That sewer of journalism?
Typical Fox biased mediocrity!
Empty words, the apology.
The New York Post isn't even suitable to line the kitty litter box.
You come from a country with a serious race problem. If an Aboriginal politician were portrayed as a monkey, would you have missed the racist implications?
It's Murdoch's quest for unadulterated greed that has led to the proliferation of racism, sexism and hate in America.
He found the market and exploited it. Sure, those things are existing human traits. That doesn't mean we shouldn't aim for something higher. Should we ALL be whores, just because you can make a buck from it?
poor rupert, did the boomerang come back and smack a few more wrinkles into your lumpy @$$ head?
It's your fault if you interpreted it wrong.
Hollow man
The people of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage." J.K. Galbraith
I'm sorry if YOU were offended and "it was interpreted by many as such" is really a backhanded slap, in essence saying "why are YOU so thin skinned?" That's not an apology, it's an insult.
"...Mock a badly written piece of legislation."
You mean one that passed Congress overwhelmingly and has overwhelming public support? What's badly written about that?
More to the point, if the intent was to mock the bill, wouldn't the cartoon have been two police officers shooting at a piece of paper (the bill), rather than the chimp/alleged author?
"I can assure you -- without a doubt -- that the only intent of that cartoon was to mock a badly written piece of legislation."
Well if it wasn't meant to be racist, what's the joke? I'm mean it's not a funny joke, just a dark fucked up racist joke, but at least I get it. Take away the racism and I'm left with a cartoon without a punch line. Oh wait I get it, it's a New Yorker cartoon. Bravo sir.
The NYPost it not a news source, it's a tabloid directed at spreading hatred, lies and conservatism. It has always been like this and never change. If he were to apologize for offending readers he should close the door of all his media sources and apologize from the first issue of the pathetic paper and keep going on for every second since he started. He would have to live for another 150 years. Afteward he should go to iraq and then visit the headstone of all men and wemon.
Mr Murduch, you disgust me. You have money, you have power. All I see in you are a fricki, sad, alone. A shell of the person so ignored that it's best you can move to an little town in Florid were you are to a live on small house dying of cancer all your self. And when he finally die nobody ill shouw. Don't let us know either. I DON'T CARE!
Besides the racial overtones, should the chimp attack have been an incident to parody, considering how badly the victim was injured?
The cartoon was lousy on many many levels.
We're already wise to your game, Rupe. Don't try to insult our intelligence with your BS apologies from you and your lackeys.
NOBODY 2012
Essentially he said...I'm sorry you're such a weenie for being offended".
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
It boggles the mind how anyone could not have seen that as offensive and racist.
Seriously, who can believe this from a lowlife, racist, Reslug pig, who daily peddles his hate through his rag paper and then sends Faux Noise his sick, racist lies, in their daily talking points.
Not good enough.
The US citizenship that Murder-och bought should be revoked, and the bastard forcibly repatriated to Australia.
Then let Kevin Rudd ship the bastard to Niue and never let him leave.
Then let's see if Murder-och continues to deny global warming.
but may Rupert Murdoch roast in hell for eternity. His media empire is an empire of evil and he is the king of evil. May he roast in hell forever.
The Bubba Effect segment of Glenn Beck http://digg.com/political_opinion/Glenn_Beck_...
is what really needs an apology
The chimp in that admittedly tasteless cartoon is clearly NOT meant to be Obama. People who see that connection WANT to see that connection, because there's no indication in the cartoon that was the intent. It looks nothing like Obama and the Post cartoonist has a reputation for good, if insulting, caricatures.
The only valid criticism of the Post here is that someone should have realized how the overly sensitive might misinterpret any cartoon containing a monkey as a racial slur. Besides they know Al Sharpton is out there ready to pounce at the first possible excuse.
I feel sorry for the cartoonist and the editors being railroaded this way. Sure they offend with their cartoons. That's their job at the tabloid, but they surely did not mean for THIS cartoon to be about Obama. It's just TOO outrageous to be so.
The cartoon is about the Stamford chimp that mauled a woman and the stimulus bill, awkwardly joined to imply a crazy monkey must have written the law. No racial slur was intended and the cartoon does not suggest anyone be shot.
Q: So what do you say when you feel bad when you've upset people so much though you had no intent to do that? A: Give an awkward apology.
despite reports to the contrary and all of the strides made by this country since world war II, racism is well and alive and thriving in America. How do you fight it, in this case it's easy, every right minded american who has a subscription to the NY Post needs to cancel that subscription immediately, and if you're on the street and have an urge to purchase the post, skip it. that will hurt them in the only place where it counts, in the pocketbook. Can you do that???
That racist cartoon was one of his symptoms.
Go away, Rupert. The world neither needs nor can afford your mindless crap.
Comments are closed on this entry