Cobb: Obligatory Seriousness on Pat Oliphant's Cartoon

November 17, 2004

Obligatory Seriousness on Pat Oliphant's Cartoon

A big lipped bird? In the context of Oliphant, which I cannot recall, he may think that he's not out of line. Maybe he's portrayed other Cabinet members as animals, but whatever excuses will be proffered, this is a pretty low blow.

I wonder why he picked a bird, and if a bird why not a crow? OK so it's a parrot. Still, why not just go for the gusto? Everyone should know that crows are the smartest birds on the planet, so to say that Condi is dumber than a crow is damned insulting. On a good day, I could even accept the trickster aspect of a 'yes massa' crow, but a parrot? The allusion suggests that Condi is even dumber than the putatively dumb Bush.

It's not the first time intemperate blowhards have taken swipes at Condi Rice, and it won't be the last. She's certainly above it as are most of us over here in the Old School. But it's an interesting commentary that this probably won't go far as being categorized as a racist snipe. Technically, it's not. But if Oliphant is not indeed in the habit of portraying political bigwigs as animals, he's going to have some explaining to do.

I'm fairly happy for Condi Rice, and it's notable that her Black Ops may begin to pay off big time in her rise to power, especially as regards development in Africa and matters of AIDS. I take a bit of vicarious pride in having that black track through State and I will be watching to see if Armitage stays on - because he's one I especially like and admire.

As some analyst mentioned yesterday, Rice is actually better suited for this kind of position in which she is a public speaking diplomat among heads of state and runs the show rather than as the NSC Advisor who herds and coordinates interagency commmunications and policies between varying bureacracies.

If Oliphant is not in the habit of portraying political bigwigs as animals, he's going to have some explaining to do.

Posted by mbowen at November 17, 2004 05:17 PM

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Comments

I think he was implying that the bird will mimic the voice of her owner. Thus, a parrot.

Posted by: EG at November 17, 2004 09:27 PM

Unless I missed something, "Parrot" isn't a racial slur. Oliphant was merely underlining what James Walcott and others have pointed out:

Rice's face is the game face of the Bushies, bony with Unwavering Resolve, eyes fanatical, mouth tensed. She has shown herself to be not a listener but a dictation machine on playback. "The President believes..." "The President has always said..." "The President has very consistent in arguing that..." "The President has said all along..." And now the dictation machine is in a position to dictate to other nations how they can fight terror and help make America a bigger, better empire. It'll be the President wants this, the President wants that, the President is firm in his belief that...

Is it less offensive to compare Rice to a recording machine? I can certainly understand that African Americans would be offended if an ape or a monkey had been the "animal" used, since those are long-time favorites among racists. But aren't you being just a bit oversensitive? If a political cartoonist cannot use animals to depict human beings, you're robbing him of one of the most formidable weapons in his arsenal.

Posted by: hork at November 19, 2004 07:51 AM

Good points, hork.

Posted by: memer at November 19, 2004 12:56 PM

I agree that a parrot isn't an obvious form for a racial slur, however, I also think it is the exagerated lips on the parrot that blurs the line and would make me uncomfortable in associating myself with the image, even if I agreed with the sentiment.

Posted by: submandave at November 19, 2004 01:14 PM

Condi Rice wears dark lipstick alot (which emphasizes her lips) and has a "gap smile" (which I love on ladies). Those two things you notice about her visually when you see her. So the parrot doesn't bother me. Personally I'm more pissed about white folks calling her Aunt Jemimah.

Posted by: Solomon at November 19, 2004 07:24 PM

Pat Oliphant was a cartoonist for the Adelaide Advertiser (Australia) where I live. He always had a penguin with a comment in the corner. He scored a job at the Denver Post in 1964 and took the penguin with him although it's facial features might have changed. In 1967 the penguin won a Pulitzer Prize. The tradition is carried on. The Advertiser's current cartoonist Michael Atchison has a dog in exactly the same style. Somewhere in the corner with a comment. Quite often a lousy pun. From a newspaper cartoonist on an unkown newspaper to what the New Yok Times described as "the most influencial cartoonist in the world" ain't bad. But beaten by Rupert Murdoch who at about that time owned only one newspaper -- a small tabloid also in Adelaide.

Posted by: Jimbo at February 13, 2005 09:28 PM