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The Racial Rorschach Test
Posted by Duncan on March 28th, 2008
NEW YORK – When Vogue announced its April cover starring LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen, the magazine noted with some fanfare that James was the first black man to grace its cover.
But the image is stirring up controversy, with some commentators decrying the photo as perpetuating racial stereotypes. James strikes what some see as a gorilla-like pose, baring his teeth, with one hand dribbling a ball and the other around Bundchen’s tiny waist.
It’s an image some have likened to “King Kong” and Fay Wray.
“It conjures up this idea of a dangerous black man,” said Tamara Walker, 29, of Philadelphia.
Wha? Are you kidding me?
You are confusing this:
With this?:
Perhaps, and JUST PERHAPS, this is a photograph of an athlete, a very gifted athlete, and he is striking a pose like he would in a game. Ya know… where he just slam dunked in Kobe’s face of something. Perhaps something like this:
I dunno. I also find it hard to believe that he is dumb enough to pose himself as some sort of big dumb king kong ape thing. Are you KIDDING me? And Gisele, God Bless her skinny lil heart, doesn’t look very frightened of the big BAD AFRICAN AMERICAN!! YEEARRGH! Perhaps all the white bigots will join their angry black bigot counterparts and read their own racial overtones into this. PERHAPS the Aryan Brotherhood, or the KKK, or whoever, will have a representative come out and claim that perhaps Gisele is ENJOYING being taken by the ANGRY BLACK MAN and he’s stealing all the white women 
I don’t see it, because my racial blinders aren’t on. People who DO see this see race in EVERYTHING! They’re the kind who go watch Senator Obama’s preacher scream and froth ’bout the WHITE MAN and how he’s got the BLACK MAN under his thumb.
Its a shame when a great athlete like James has bigots of his same skin color on his back instead of congratulating him on being on the front of Vogue.
March 29th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Oh fercryinoutloud! This is a JOKE right?? Please tell me it is.
These people bring their own race into the picture…they use it, abuse it to their advantage and it’s getting more than old. This stuff should be ignored. Editors and others, of all media, should not give this crap any attention. But, they are mostly liberal and have an agenda to keep. Gah!!
March 29th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I am going to start throwing this thing down whenever I start hearing that someone is continuing racial hatred and bigotry…. by continuing to claim victimhood in all things…
March 30th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
You should flaunt that card…as often as it’s flaunted at us.
March 30th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I sure don’t see anything offensive.
But for those with a magnifying lens and a grievance to match, I guess there’s no way you can win: you’re racist because you don’t put a black man on the cover, but you’re racist because you DO put a black man on the cover.
As the old saying goes, if your only tool is a hammer, everything in the world looks like a nail.