People are saying that this cartoon (click to enlarge) is racist. But why? The cartoon depicts Serena Williams acting like a petulant child. If the cartoon is racist because Serena Williams is black, then any mockery of a black person is, by definition, racist. Serena Williams is also a woman. Is the cartoon sexist? I don't hear anyone saying that. Serena Williams is able-bodied. Is the cartoon making fun of able-bodied people? Again, I don't hear anyone saying that. Serena Williams is (by all accounts) heterosexual. Is the cartoon making fun of heterosexuals? Serena Williams is overweight. Is the cartoon making fun of the obese? I wish philosophers would publicly condemn such shaky logic, but that would be to expect philosophers to be courageous, and they are anything but. Socrates would be appalled.
Addendum: Here is the shaky logic:
1. The cartoon makes fun of Serena Williams.
2. Serena Williams is black.
Therefore,
3. The cartoon makes fun of Serena Williams because she is black.
The conclusion does not follow from the premises. The only way it would follow is if Serena Williams had no other property than being black, which is false. She has many properties, among which are (i) being a petulant child, (ii) being a jerk, (iii) being a sore loser, (iv) being classless, and (v) being a loudmouth. If you were a parent, would you want your children to act like Serena Williams?
