Two polls out of South Carolina show that Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R) is the impala to the cheetah that is Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison.Graham is white, and Harrison is black. Harrison is within 2 percentage points of Graham in the new poll, and Harrison has raised much more money than Graham. But there's nothing else in the story that justifies portraying Graham as a prey animal on a plain in Africa and his challenger as a wild predator. I think if a white columnist called a black politician a "cheetah" there would be hell to pay.
I'm trying to figure out if Chester Cheetah was black. The answer is complicated, but see if you can tell:
Wikipedia explains (boldface added):
In 1986, Chester Cheetah was created... After Chester's introduction, the sly, smooth voiced cheetah began starring in more commercials and eventually became Cheetos' official mascot...So I think the answer to my question whether Chester Cheetah is supposed to be seen as black is that he was, but when he was converted to a CGI character, he became white. I'm just going to guess that the company wanted to make him less controversial.
From the mid-1980s to early 2000s, television adverts often featured Chester's desperate attempts to eat other people's Cheetos. The self-described "hip kitty" would often speak in rhyme and sneak up on an unsuspecting stranger at a beach or public park. The result would always involve cartoon violence....
In 1992, Chester's own television program called Yo! It's the Chester Cheetah Show! was under development for the Fox Kids Saturday morning fall lineup. However, an ethics debate erupted over Chester's status as an advertising character, and likely due to the protests of Action for Children's Television, the show was prevented from airing...
Chester's character underwent slight revamping in 1997.... During this time, the ads began portraying him in a less antagonistic manner; he went from being bumbling to suave and cool...
In the United States in 2003, Chester was rendered as a computer generated character.... By 2008, Cheetos took aim at an adult demographic with a series of ads featuring the mascot in promotion of OrangeUnderground.com. In this incarnation, Chester (originally a puppet) is computer generated but now with photorealistic textures/detail; he speaks with a mid-Atlantic accent and encourages people to use their Cheetos in acts of revenge or to solve problems....
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Bernard Russell was it had your number: loosely it ran (pardon gender of his writing):
Sometimes a man stumbles upon the truth, but soon enough he picks himself up and continues on as if nothing had happened.
As far as I can tell, "The Mid-Atlantic accent" is pretty much an accent invented whole cloth by turn of the century upper class Americans in an attempt to have an American analogue for the British upper class accent, which I guess itself was later codified as "Received Pronunciation". It's doesn't get much deliberately WASPier than that.
With your frivolousness, Althouse, are you playing at being another Dominique Francon?
I can't really relate to Chester. Next to Captain Crunch, or Coo-koo for Cocco Puffs, my favorite cartoon commercial character was the Frito bandito. "Ay-yi-yi-a, I love those corn chips, I love them I do. I love Frito's corn chips, I take them from you". And of course, there was Lays potato chips "you can't only eat one".
All this stuff is bad for you. But Cheetos especially so.
If Miss Lindsey loses, I won't be sad. The same is true of Mitch. But if those two lose, it will be a Democrat sweep.
I think if a white columnist called a black politician a "cheetah" there would be hell to pay.
buwaya said...
Peter Thiel, last year, indeed almost exactly a year ago.
The National Conservatism Conference, July 17 2019
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7JRyy2MM-rI
At about 29:00 Thiel says [the reason why important questions regarding national well-being are not raised is] "...the kind of psycho-social hypnotic magic trick has been played on the population to distract us from these questions, is identity politics."
What exactly is a "nonhuman animal"? Is human vs. animal no longer default?
I'm fairly certain the CGI version of Cheater is voiced by Sir Ian McKellen (or at the very least someone doing a McKellen impression).
Graham will win in a walk.
He should have been beaten in a primary because he is not as conservative as the state's voters.
Yes, whites using animal metaphors for black people has always been dicey. I'm reminded of Cosell's "Look at that little monkey go" when describing a black running back on Monday night football. Of course, Cosell was the original sports SJW, so it was sweet seeing him squirm. Just free associating: my library bought 2 Cosell biographies books that came out a couple years back and I kept seeing them on the New book shelf, week after week. I finally decided to give it a read, and the librarian told me I was the first one to check it out in 5 weeks! Nobody remember Cosell, or cares.
The name "Jaime" seems like cultural appropriation.
"...and I'm pretty sure that a white columnist would refrain from animal metaphors and similes when speaking about a black person."
It's unfortunate that they would think that they should be restrained in that manner.
Jim Brown ran like a charging bull through the Rams' defense.
Lebron soared like an eagle before dunking the ball.
Tiger (he's already likened to an animal by birth) devoured the back nine like a hungry alligator.
This stuff is so silly...
Althouse, you leap from a news article wherein a surging Black Democratic challenger candidate was compared to a Cheetah, and the elderly White incumbent candidate was compared to an Impala, i.e., a prey animal, to a cartoon character selling snack food. Where is the parallel construction with dear Lindsey? Should he not be compared now to the beloved sedan sold by Chevrolet for several decades, the Impala? Maybe even the SS version of the Impala, to throw in a subliminal Nazi comparison for political correctness?
Ted Kennedy, known as the Lion of the Senate, was never compared with Food Lion grocery stores, despite his girth. There is no reason for you to leap from the hunt to the cartoons.
If your critics are acting in good faith, then the comparison is always acceptable. If your critics are acting in bad faith, for instance by objecting to a human-animal comparison, then nothing is ever ok and you need to either keep your head down and mouth shut or be prepared to not give an inch and don't even think about apologizing.
"I'm fairly certain the CGI version of Cheater is voiced by Sir Ian McKellen "
It's not him. The name is in the Wikipedia article I linked to. Here's video of him — Adam Leadbeater.
Liken anybody to anything. Rules that will make everybody be nice don't work. It puts morons in charge.
Not Bertrand Russell. Apparently Churchill:
Men occasionally stumble over the truth... Winston Churchill - Forbes Quotes
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.
You're good at that, Althouse.
Bertrand Russell?
I've seen it attributed to Churchill.
Narr
Disgusting junk, Cheetos
I presume monkey is allowed. That eliminates the barrel on monkeys and the see no evil, hear no evil Speak no evil metaphors. Insulting people is harder than ever.
Sometimes Chester is black, or a white hipster who lapses in and out of a black accent, sometimes he’s a white surfer dude, sometimes he’s Japanese, and sometimes he’s a British military commander, but he’s always cheesy, and dangerously so.
I remember in the autobiography of Black conservative George Schuyler he describes at least two Black males as looking like apes. Of course, having been pro-freedom, Schuyler wouldn't count, and maybe the guy did look like an ape. In the 19th Century, nativist cartoonists such as Thomas Nast depicted the Irish immigrants as simian, emphasizing the pug noses and long upper lips. I was surprised when one of my Irish aunts described the children of (then) NY governor Hugh Carey who lived in the same Park Slope neighborhood, as "the real homely Irish--you know the ones who look like monkeys." Was she wrong in invoking the stereotype? I don't remember what Carey's kids looked like. Maybe they did look like monkeys.
Her sister, my mother, told me she was on the subway when some "colored" kids began running amuck and swinging from the overhead straps in the car she was in. "I know I'm not supposed to say this," my mother said half-apologetically, "but they DID look like monkeys." The ruckus quieted down when a Black muslim walked over to them and smacked one of them in the face, saying, "Don't you know how to act like human beings?" The car got so quiet you could have heard confessions in it.
He would only have hell to pay if we let him have hell to pay. It is way past time to push back forcefully on this charade.
Capehart is a human trifecta. Being gay,black and male gets him an affirmative action Powerball ticket.
What's the data say?
About 40 to 50 percent of cheetah hunts end in a kill, which is on the lower end of success rates among African big cats.
It's pretty much always okay unless you're talking about Blacks or -- in some limited circumstances -- women.
Left Privilege is a sub-species of the privilege "White Privilege" is all about distracting us from.
Capehart's WaPo Lefty status, as much as his skin color, gives him the right to engage in this edgy comparison. (It incidentally sets a trap for white writers, particularly of non-Left variety, to think they can get away with such an analogy without the cancel mob coming for them.) I first noticed this years ago, with Clarence Thomas. White liberal lawyers I knew took an obvious delight in describing Thomas in all the oldest tropes of white racism: dumb, over-sexed, lead by the nose by his master Scalia. Even MSM and Hollywood realized that Thomas was free game, and that their Lefty status gave them a pass.
Robin DiAngelo is the best recent example. A white woman whose whole "anti-racism" shtick is a race realism far more reductionist than anything Sailer of Derbyshire have ever posted. Yet, she has gotten rich from it and is idolized by the NYTimes reading public. Same dark pleasure as white BLM/ANtifa women get yelling "Uncle Tom!" in the face of Black policemen. Lefty Privilege.
What exactly is a "nonhuman animal"? Is human vs. animal no longer default?
All humans are animals. What the Left ignores is that that doesn't mean the converse is true. All animals are not human.
the answer to my question whether Chester Cheetah is supposed to be seen as black is that he was, but when he was converted to a CGI character, he became white.
happens to us all.
I, personally; Miss the olden days, back before i was converted to a CGI character...
I used to be a swinging cool dude, what with my bitches and my ho's
Now, i'm just a poor old white guy
Hey! Crack Emcee! better be careful; they'll convert YOU to CGI soon!
Well a black man (sorry I forgot to capitalize0 can be a kitchen appliance. I give you William "Refrigerator" Perry of the Chicago Bears. And I'm wondering when PETA will get around to demanding that the Bears, the Denver Broncos, the Miami Marlins, and the Miami Dolphins change their name---in the interest of animal equity after all. Then the atheists will come for the Angels, the Saints and the Padres.
"Where is the parallel construction with dear Lindsey? Should he not be compared now to the beloved sedan sold by Chevrolet for several decades, the Impala?"
Don't get me started on the Chevy Impala. I drove a 1961 seafoam green Impala convertible to high school. I don't know why I've always felt that I am cool — never wondered how could I become cool, just always felt I was cool — and maybe that car had something to do with it.
"I'm trying to figure out if Chester Cheetah was black"
No.
Beyond the pale is the new normal for the Democrat party. (sorry, they are not democratic so I cannot say that). Our feckless press cannot bring themselves to EVER criticize ANYTHING and Democrat does EVER. Fuck em.
Holy Land grocery faces boycotts after the owner's daughter insulted a monkey.
I drove a 1963 Chevy Belair station wagon with three on the column so you were way cooler then me Althouse.
Foxy lady is okay. Dog or bitch is not. You can call white males anything you want because we are protected by privilege.
My own personal philosophy boils down to Beck's "Loser":. "In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey."
I drove a 1963 Chevy Belair station wagon with three on the column so you were way cooler then me Althouse.
"When is it OK to liken human beings to nonhuman animals?"
When you're a color commentator for the top soccer shootout ever:
"Yes, as his trainer takes him off the field, like a mustached lion dragging a gazelle through the Serengeti.
"Adieu, Scott Sterling."
robother:
"White liberal lawyers I knew took an obvious delight in describing Thomas in all the oldest tropes of white racism: dumb, over-sexed, lead by the nose by his master Scalia. Even MSM and Hollywood realized that Thomas was free game, and that their Lefty status gave them a pass."
I should know better by now. But I still manage to be surprised by the level of bigotry some on the left proudly show toward members of persecuted groups who dare to disagree with them.
"I drove a 1961 seafoam green Impala convertible to high school."
Three-on-the-tree?
Blacks and women may have a disproportionate impact on the election. Neither will vote to further the general good or the best interests of the nation’s children. Too bad.
Bilwick said...
In the 19th Century, nativist cartoonists such as Thomas Nast depicted the Irish immigrants as simian, emphasizing the pug noses and long upper lips. I was surprised when one of my Irish aunts described the children of (then) NY governor Hugh Carey who lived in the same Park Slope neighborhood, as "the real homely Irish--you know the ones who look like monkeys." Was she wrong in invoking the stereotype?
I have a theory about that. Those depictions look very much like what you see with people who suffer from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. The Irish that arrived here in the 1840's were in a bad way as a people, partly to the famine and partly due to the repression the British has subjected them to at home. Alcoholism was a tremendous problem in the Irish community and it isn't much of a leap to conclude that FASD may have been rampant among them. So, to answer your question; no, not a stereotype. I think it's possible to conclude that many Irish of the time actually looked like that.
Dat cheetah’s on crack, yo!
The first car my wife and I had was a hand-me-down 62(?) Impala (from her dad).
White. Even the front seat was big enough for sex!
Probably got 12mpg.
robother has noticed the same thing I have among some liberals and lefties--the nastiest old racist stereotypes are alive and well when they think nobody else is listening.
Narr
Malcolm X liked to point out that apes have straight hair, blue eyes, and thin lips
I drove a 1961 seafoam green Impala convertible to high school.
That was cool. It would be WAAAYYYY beyond cool if you still had the car!!
The crows in 'Dumbo' are a pretty racist depiction. Now. Not so much then.
I'm Full of Soup said...
Capehart is a human trifecta. Being gay,black and male gets him an affirmative action Powerball ticket.
He gets more than a lottery ticket. He wins a prize.
Regarding Cheetos, there is only one possible answer.
Chopsticks
What about the Lion of the Senate?
For a mere $80K you can relive those glory days.
Ann, in 1988 I bought a 1976 four door Impala sedan in metallic sky blue, from a little old lady who drove it only to church on Sundays. Honestly, in College Station, Texas. I drove it from Texas to a new home in Atlanta, then another new home in Baltimore. In between it drove to Monatana and Colorado and North Carolina and a few other places, usually at 80+mph and 15mpg. I kept the Texas plates, of course.
Both my newborn children were driven home in it, assuring their safety with surrounding yards of American sheet steel and forged iron. I drove that rolling sofa/apartment/storage unit until 1995, when the combination of a failing transmission, a T-boning by a garbage truck, and a new job induced me to purchase a new car. I sold it for scrap to a guy who intended to transplant its low mileage 350 cubic inch V8 into an old pickup truck. I bet the truck is out there still, faunching around like a peach orchard boar.
You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals"
Graham is in no danger, btw. If he's going to be taken out, it would have to be in the primary. (Which would be an actual danger to him as he is not beloved by Reps, but it didn't happen).
Skeptical Voter: trivia about Wm Perry of the Bears: His nickname in training camp was "Biscuit," because he was always just one biscuit away from going over his contract-limited weight, and losing a lot of money.
but he’s always cheesy, and dangerously so.
Love that the "cheesy" remark comes from Jar Jar Binks!
My remark may have been Jar Jar Binks-esque, tommyesq, but I am Char Char Binks, Esq.
Science. Also, social progress, and animal rights. Perhaps 50 shades of human rights, too. #HateLovesAbortion
"When is it okay to liken human beings to nonhuman animals"
BLM/Antifa are composed of human animals.
There. Are we feeling better now?
I drove a 1961 seafoam green Impala convertible to high school. I don't know why I've always felt that I am cool
maam, you WERE cool*. I'm assuming the green went well with your hair?
Impala*'s are Too Cool for School
Considering that cheetahs have the lowest hunt success rate of the big cats and are regularly bullied (and killed) by the bigger cats, it is a most baffling analogy.
Wish Lord Buckley were around to further confuse the confusable.
For a few years long ago I rode the bus to work; it was about five miles through the Bluff City's diverse neighborhoods, and many of the passengers were Black kids on their way to school (or to skip school).
Enormous round girls and lean boys, indulging "the Ghetto Breakfast"-- Cheetos and Jungle Juice.
Narr
I merely observe
"I think if a white columnist called a black politician a "cheetah" there would be hell to pay."
PULITZER PRIZE, though, if a black columnist does it
per last nite's post:
"In Racist Screed, NYT’s 1619 Project Founder Calls ‘White Race’ ‘Barbaric Devils,’ ‘Bloodsuckers,’ Columbus ‘No Different Than Hitler’"
https://thefederalist.com/2020/06/25/in-racist-screed-nyts-1619-project-founder-calls-white-race-barbaric-devils-bloodsuckers-no-different-than-hitler/#.Xx41aUG-IBo.twitter
bloodsucker:
1.an insect or other animal that sucks blood, especially a leech or a mosquito.
2.a long-tailed arboreal Asian lizard that carries its head in a raised position. Its ability to change color is most marked in the male, whose head and shoulders become bright red when excited.
I'm reminded of Cosell['s ]
speaking of "hell to pay"--
...remember how bad his hairpiece was?
Re: Howard:
For women,I think "fox" and "bird" and "vixen" and "chick" and the like are kind of borderline now. They're not offensive as such, but they do come off as a bit sexist, or at the very least, the kind of thing people looking for offense would characterise as sexist.
Sixty-three comments and no one has made the obvious point: if you wanted to dehumanize a black man by calling him a metaphorical big cat, you wouldn't call him a cheetah, because cheetah's are orange with black spots. You'd call him a panther, or specifically (for slow readers) a black panther. (Not that I've read all 63 comments, but ctrl-F tells me no one has used the word 'panther' yet.)
Dr. Weevil: Your comment has fine internal logic, but an "external reality" that is problematic for its implementation.
Black Panther is a trademarked, copyrighted character in the Marvel comics universe, made into a very successful movie, with a followup role in Avengers: Infinity War. Good luck calling a Black person a "Black Panther" for any commercial reason, without the weight of the movie industry dropping on your head from a great height.
I, for one, was amused that in Kill Bill I, the "Black Mamba" code name was discussed between its White namesake and the Black female assassin, who thought she should have been called that.
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