New Yorker Cover

What. The. Hell.

This is the upcoming cover of the New Yorker Magazine. It depicts Senator Barack Obama in traditional Muslim attire fist-bumping his wife, clad in terrorist attire standing over a fireplace in which an American flag is burning. Oh, and don't forget the portrait of Bin Laden on the wall.

What. The. Hell.

Spokesmen from the New Yorker say it is meant to be satirical. They claim that it is meant to poke fun at those people who think Obama and his wife are fist-bumping, flag-burning, Muslim terrorists. If this is the case, then shouldn't they draw cartoons of those people? Regardless of one's political leanings, no United States Senator deserves this kind of treatment. Both campaigns called the cartoon "tasteless and offensive." I agree. I'm appalled.

A "friend" of mine on facebook had as his status "laughing at the New Yorker cover and worried that it's a sign of things to come." The fact that people actually think that about Obama is the only thing worth laughing at here. Grow up.

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Since originally posting this, I have watched and read several discussions on this issue. I now understand what New Yorker was trying to do here. The editor of the New Yorker made a comparison to Stephen Colbert, a comedian whose work I hold in the highest regard. He said that Colbert satirizes right wing commentary by playing a right wing "pundit". I get what he's saying. New Yorker is satirizing these perceptions of the Obamas by becoming the perceptions. Even still, I don't think it worked that well and I'm not sure the timing was appropriate on this one.

Yes, we can.