Would it have been so bad to just say "peppermint" or "bubblegum"? @dankennedy_nu @universalhub pic.twitter.com/QGbNDwyEme
— Greg Reibman (@Greg_Reibman) October 1, 2014
Kudos to Greg Reibman, president of the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce (and a former Boston Herald staff member), who flagged this on Twitter. It’s currently the lead item at Romenesko.
And it keeps on coming:
That's not really an apology. RT @cbsboston .@bostonherald Apologizes For Obama 'Watermelon Toothpaste' Cartoon http://t.co/0QKjDOHh6P
— Adam Reilly (@reillyadam) October 1, 2014
https://twitter.com/Bevmire/status/517323716796366848
Here’s the link; screen image below.
So which came first? The watermelon or the raspberries?
@dankennedy_nu @JWalshDot @BostonHerald @universalhub @PatrickMBoston @Greg_Reibman According to Holbert on Herald Radio, changed (1/2)
— Kara Sassone (@karamat) October 1, 2014
@dankennedy_nu @JWalshDot @BostonHerald @universalhub @PatrickMBoston @Greg_Reibman after syndicate asked, citing racism. (2/2)
— Kara Sassone (@karamat) October 1, 2014
Here’s the Herald’s story on Holbert’s apology, which he delivered on the newspaper’s online radio station.
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Brian KeaneyBrian Keaney
Your image says Raspberry, not watermelon.
Dan Kennedy
@Brian: Start at the top. Look at the image Greg captured. Read everything I posted.
Brian Keaney
Ahh. There’s more here on the website than appeared in my feed reader.
Steve Stein
So apparently Holman did some explaining on Herald radio at 11 AM. Does anyone know what was said?
Rick Camillo
I’m missing something. What’s wrong with watermelon toothpaste references?
Steve Stein
Here’s the explanation on Herald radio:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/10/herald_cartoonist_apologizes_for_obama_cartoon
“I myself love watermelon. To me there were no, uh, I was completely naive or innocent towards the racial suggestion. I wasn’t thinking along those lines at all.”
photonicpat
There’s a pretty good summary of the “watermelon stereotype” at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watermelon_stereotype. A lot of the stuff happened early in the 20th century, when most of us hadn’t been born yet.
Pat Daukantas
Matt Kelly
Remember that most Herald readers *were* born in the early 20th century…
Greg Reibman
Thanks for the shout out Dan. The oddest part of this for me were the Tweets dismissing me for as part of the “liberal media.” I work for a Chamber of Commerce, for heaven’s sake!