By now, most Americans are well aware of the unfortunate satirical cartoon published in the Boston Herald depicting the now infamous White House intruder sitting in President Barack Obama’s bathtub, asking if he has tried the new "watermelon-flavored" toothpaste and the predictably reactionary apology by the illustration's creator, Boston Herald's political cartoonist Jerry Holbert.
The Boston branch of the NAACP has spoken up and is taking the Boston Herald and its veteran cartoonist to task, rightfully demanding further action on the issue, calling the Herald's initial explanation and subsequent apology "inadequate."
The NAACP's assessment couldn't be more accurate. Holbert's explanation just doesn't add up.
In an interview with Dan Rea on NightSide, Holbert attempts to explain the grossly clichéd faux pas by asserting that he failed to even recall the stereotype, saying, “It’s been a very long time (since I've heard it). …. Maybe when I was a kid? … It’s been so long, it has to be 40 years since I’ve heard that.”
Looking back through Holbert’s past illustrations, a wide range of political issues have been the focus of his satirical scrutiny. Whether addressing term limits, elections, or the secret service, by all accounts, he appears to be fairly well-acquainted with the latest in political media.
This leads his readers to ask: Does Holbert really expect his audience to believe that, as someone who works in political media, he was truly ignorant of a stereotype that dates back to the 19th century?
It seems as though Holbert expects his readership to accept that he, a political cartoonist who has spent the better part of three decades working for one of the oldest daily newspapers in the country and presumably stays abreast of current events as a requirement of his position, failed to see any media coverage of watermelon references made about Obama, as well as other African-American officials over the past decade.
What about the story of a California mayor who sent out an email showing Obama’s White House lawn covered in watermelons? This story was covered by Fox News, NBC News, CBS News, Huffington Post and the Los Angeles Times, as well as numerous local news outlets.
Yet somehow a Boston Herald editorial cartoonist scouring daily news developments to feed his political commentary missed this story altogether?
Holbert also apparently failed to hear anything about the Montana GOP official who tweeted the “watermelon trap” that could be used to kidnap the president.
He also evidently missed the time Dan Rather said, “Obama couldn’t sell watermelons.”
The number of references to Obama and watermelon in the media is endless, yet Holbert claims to be unaware of any of the many, many, many, many stories that have swirled since the first hint that Obama might run for president.
Even if Holbert was given the benefit of the doubt, there is another detail that appears to put the final nail in his bigoted coffin.
During the NightSide interview, Rea disclosed that Holbert’s syndicator emailed him the evening before the cartoon was to be published and suggested he change the flavor of the toothpaste, explaining to the allegedly ignorant Holbert the historically significant basis of the watermelon stereotype.
At that time, Holbert politely declined to make the suggested alteration to his offensive illustration and the cartoon ran, passing unobstructed through many levels of editors and managing editors who also never batted an eye.
After the predictable public backlash that followed, the illustration was eventually modified to say “raspberry toothpaste,” but it just doesn’t seem to have the same “zing” as the watermelon reference, a fact that most certainly is not lost on Holbert.
While he may have thought his audiences were so naïve as to readily swallow his witless rationalization, it turns out the racist illustration speaks not only for itself, but for Holbert as well.
Reach the columnist at dprobst1@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @DonnellProbst
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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