Tag Archives: gorilla

NewsFails July 2015

23 Jul

July 23, 2015

Dear The Dean of NYU School of Journalism:

Hi. I am a lifelong New York resident who would love to attend your school or university. I think that I can write some things pretty good, and I am willing to learn how to write some other things. If you accept me to your fine school or university, I promise that I will never write anything like these things below that I am going to show you.

Thank You Very Much,
Regards
Sincerely.

Bruin Z. Othello

newserw1

“Loon lake?” This article was about a loon on a lake, if you ask me.

Look, it is pretty simple. Most cats are not seafaring cats. They do not like the water. Taking a cat on a canoe is just asking for trouble. I bet that cat turned the man to kibble and kitty litter before he was 3 feet away from the dock.

newserw2

Sorry Dina, porn does not count.

I wonder if any of the offers were for her to be in a snuff film? Not that I’m saying she’s a bad actress (OK, yeah, I’m saying it) but she wouldn’t even make a convincing dead body.

The Metro is, I think, free here in NYC. They hand it out near subway stations, yet has the best headline writer of the bunch.

newserw3

Evann Gastaldo, how do you do it? How do you keep a straight face? Even the cat in the canoe article was credited to anonymous editors and staff. Glad you’re proud of this.

“So a priest, a rabbi, and a farting drummer walk into a bar.” Got it. I just wonder what it would have cost if the window was closed? Would paramedics have been called?

newserw4

I am sure that a couple of surveillance cameras would have been far less expensive.

At times like this, I am jealous of the highly trained journalists at Newser. When I write about people pooping a warehouse it is for laughs. When they do it, they get paid. If I got paid for every article about poop I wrote I’d be a millionaire. (Wait, what does that say about my blog? Uh…)

And here we are, the highlight of the month. This article was so good that I had to run it in its entirety. Here he is, The World’s Sexiest Gorilla. And wouldn’t you know it, this story comes out of Japan. (Click to enlarge.)

newserw5

Dear The Dean of NYU School of Journalism:

I think I changed my mind. I don’t want to be associated with any of this. Please send my application over to Hamburger University instead.

Thanks
Your Pal

Bruin Z. Othello

Stupid? Yes. Insensitive? Yes. Racist? No.

12 Nov

November 12, 2013

You may have seen some headlines like this recently:

headline

The controversy swirls around a tweet sent out by Home Depot, a large nationwide hardware chain. Here is the original, since deleted post:

BYfsCgKIIAAPADW

It is stupid on a lot of levels, not the least of which is how it somehow is meant to promote either Home Depot or College Gameday, which it sponsors. It is just a vain attempt to create a viral video and get their name out there. Again, it promotes neither hardware or college football, but I guess the name of the game is simply getting your name out there for any reason at all.

It really is a stupid picture, and the knee jerk reaction is to call it racist. I get it. Two black men and a gorilla. The racist symbolism is clear and obvious. Plus, looking at the “gorilla’s” hands, it is clear that the man in the suit is white. If one of the other guys put on the suit, the picture would show one white man, one black man, and a gorilla, which, while still stupid, might have avoided some of the racism claims. (Although you would still have the issue of a black man dressed as a gorilla, which some could still take offense at.)

But is this racist? Sure, it evokes racism, it even abuts racism. It brings the issue of racism immediately to mind.

But it is not racist. To be racist, it would have to equate the black men with the gorilla. It does not. The caption clearly reads “which drummer is not like the others?” It is not equating the black men with the gorilla.

The tweet is clearly stupid, and it is insensitive for so obviously bringing the specter of a racist stereotype image into what is meant to be a funny picture. But it is not racist. It is not insulting the people in the picture or people of any race. To immediately call this racist is a knee-jerk, though understandable, reaction.

Home Depot is guilty of being insensitive, and of being oblivious to what they are posting, but I think Home Depot stops a bit short of being racist.

 

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