More on... that thing that seems to have gone away...

Very short Moron post for this week's 'toon, as the uproar over the New Yorker cover finally seems to be dying down. In a way, I'd like to see people keep talking about it... I think the more we talk about the farcical fear-mongering over Obama's racial background, the easier it will be to defuse when the real Swift-Boating gets going. This is especially true if people are forced to confront our institutional racist tendencies through satire... good satire will always have the effect of making people stop for a moment to consider the absurdity of some of their most deeply-help social preconceptions.

The part of this debate that I think should go away is the part that is kept alive by commentators (mostly on the left, it seems) who have completely missed the point of the satire. Seriously people... go watch Dr. Strangelove or Spinal Tap. Then get a freakin' clue.

For the folks who fret over the idiots who "won't get" the cartoon, I offer these two tidbits:

• My favorite quote on the issue, by Derf:
  

  So many people are misinformed, and you can’t draw to the morons of America. If you don’t know that Obama isn’t a Muslim, we can’t help you.
  
  ...It’s not up to us to hold people’s hands.

  
  
• My favorite cartoon on the issue (y'know... other than my own), by John Branch:
  
  

  (click here to view)

  John Branch San Antonio Express News Jul 20, 2008 EditorialCartoonists.com