Beyonce’s Super Controversy

I spent the entire day with the intention of drawing a cartoon incorporating Puppy Monkey Baby. That Superbowl commercial was more creepy than stupid. I just thought it’d be ridiculous in a cartoon. I still might use it (and a colleague beat me to it and I’m sure more will tomorrow which will make me not do it).

But as thrilling as Puppy Monkey Baby may be, it’s not important.

There were several controversies coming out of Superbowl 50. A lot of people were angry that Cam Newton failed to display more grace as a loser because he only spent three minutes answering questions after the game. His critics and Broncos’ fans want him to be more of a sportsman like their hero, Payton Manning. Manning, the sportsman who stormed off the field after his 2010 Superbowl loss to the New Orleans Saints, failing to congratulate their quarterback Drew Brees. Manning also gave a shout out to Budweiser after the game right before his big man hug with Mr. One Percenter, make my employees suffer while I live in a castle, Papa John.

The ridiculous didn’t stop there. Even left-wingers found something to get upset over. NARAL, a pro-choice group was upset over a Doritos commercial. A baby in what appears to be the third trimester exited the womb during an ultrasound chasing a tossed Dorito. The NARALers were outraged that it “humanized” a fetus. Prolifers were rejoicing the snack-hungry fetus was depicted as a human being. If fake entrapment videos aimed at taking down Planned Parenthood doesn’t seal your argument, then a Doritos commercial will. No one seemed concerned over a premature birth or that the baby will need an incubator, not cheese-flavored corn chips.

The other controversy circling above all the micro controversies was Beyonce’s performance. She made a political statement, wearing very low cut shorts, a militaristic-style jacket that some viewed as a shout out to the Black Panthers, and her dancers formed an X. Uh oh. Black people not knowing their place. We came for the mellow and boring grooves of Coldplay. Coldplay never threatened anybody. There’s never been a mosh pit at a Coldplay concert. Only very sensitive people.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t really catch the political statement at the time. I couldn’t hear the lyrics. I thought the jacket was a tribute to Michael Jackson’s Superbowl performance, and I was really distracted by her legs. I was distracted during last time’s halftime show by Katy Perry’s legs. I really think the NFL needs to continue with this theme, but I digress.

Do you want to know how to upset conservative white people? Put a black person in front of them with an opinion. Give them a spotlight and you just ruined Christmas, America and more puppies than Puppy Monkey Baby’s mad scientists could dream of violating. Rudy Giuliani and Rush Limbaugh led the national white guy freakout saying she was criticizing cops and endorsing violence.

Some people made a comparison by saying nobody would accept a dance troupe in white robes and hoods. I agree that nobody, outside of Limbaugh and Giuliani, would like that. But maybe it could be as amusing as Springtime For Hitler if done properly. But that comparison sucks. The Black Panthers weren’t about oppressing white people. It was about black power. At the time, and still today, most power belongs to white people. It seems a little stupid to be upset when people get upset about being oppressed.

I don’t find an image or reference to Black Power, the Panthers or Malcolm X offensive. All made statements that needed to be heard. From the look of today’s climate of police shooting unarmed black men, poisoning the water of a black city, and getting upset at an empowered black woman during halftime of a football game, those messages still need to be heard.

I’m less offended by Black Power than I am at the white environment that created it.

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