Can you imagine the uproar if a major conservative publication ran an image like this?
The image is from New York Magazine, however, and it’s in support of gay marriage, so the response will be muted, Obama Gay Marriage Evolution Watch: Day 468.
A writer at WaPo does take some offense:
In the illustration’s determination to be provocative and edgy, the moral high ground [writer Dan] Amira strives for is muddled in an image that recalls the old reliable slur against African Americans, that we are closer to ape than human on the evolutionary scale thus less deserving of equal treatment and respect. It’s a sentiment that has persisted, recently applied to President Obama, his wife and family, launching millions of derisive emails – followed by a mere handful of apologies — and selling much merchandise to people seemingly unaware of how unoriginal the insult is.
But then she made this point:
The historical throwback has gained considerably more traction than the sometimes simian slurs against President George W. Bush.
As Ben Smith points out on Twitter, the claim that “simian slurs” never gained traction against George W. Bush is contradicted by, well, reality.
The NY Mag column is offensive in other ways, particularly the presumption that supporters of traditional marriage are primates, but it is NY Mag, so it’s to be expected. And will pass with little outrage.
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