Mike Luckovich for May 29, 2020

Racism is neither a virus nor a bacterium, but it is a particularly virulent toxic infectious agent transmitted by deadly parasites that live off the fruits of others labor. This infectious plague must be treated like other deadly toxins that poison the body politic: those infected must be IDENTIFIED, ISOLATED and QUARANTINED, including CONTACT TRACING to identify infected persons whose symptoms are more covert and not on full, obvious display. This infestation must be identified, isolated and ERADICATED.

This is the best way to prevent the further spread of a toxic pandemic and eradicate this virulent pestilence from humanity.

…and it suddenly dawns on me why Tя☭mp☠ and his worshippers were so eager to throw out all the tools Obama left them for preventing and containing the spread of toxic pandemics — they knew THEY would be the ones quarantined if we targeted the infection that most urgently needs to be eradicated.

Bonespurs has just encouraged it to go viral.(With a lot of help from his buds in Congress.)

It can be very infectious. And like CV19, you don’t always know when you’re suffering from it. The condition also gives off a lotta spores. Importantly, like viruses, racism only imitates life and doesn’t build anything, it only destroys.

I’m afraid it may be centuries, if ever, for humankind to be blind to differences when addressing equality. We’re still just jungle animals at heart—now equipped with thermonuclear weapons.

It’s the American lifestyle.

“You’ve got to be carefully taught” from South Pacific.

Both are plagues.

No, it’s ignorance!

Let’s ask President Trump what he thinks. He has so wisely handled a deadly pandemic, racism should be a piece of cake.

Racism is used as a tool used by the greedy. “THOSE people are taking away your jobs / land / opportunities / resources. THOSE people are to blame for your lack of success. Now, pay attention to THOSE people while I rig the system to give me more of everything, including what you have.”

People who have comfortable lives and credible hope that their children will too are much less worried about others having nice lives too. Give everyone a level playing field and a lot of racism would fall away.

It’s definitely a sickness. Seems to be caused by isolationism and diminished mental capacity.

I can’t quite call it to mind anymore, but there’s some organism that invades and alters the brain of its host so that the host behaves in ways supportive of the organism. It sounded horror-film terrifying, the more so because it’s not fiction.

So there’s probably no reason why racism couldn’t be the product of viral contamination.

All we need is love.

Racism, xenophobia, hatred for those practising other religions, seems to be ingrained in the human psyche. To fear/hate those who are “different”, to feel superior to those we deem inferior, justifying any actions taken against them.

Language is like a virus. Vicious lying words come out of the president’s mouth and soon the whole country is infected.

Racism is the vilest form of herd mentality.

Cancer …

Looks like ‘Miles Smiles ‘ on the wall…

Sadly.. a holdover from our prehistoric times when it was important to be wary of those not like us. In spite of now being “civilized”.. racism is one characteristic that some seem unable to shake. And.. sadly our leaders continue to stoke the animosity.. to wit the current Chinese are bad.. not long ago Muslims.. Mexicans..

I understand and empathize with their frustration (the closest I ever came to experiencing bigotry was from Latino cops in Miami. Even though I speak Spanish I look too much like The Man – to them. All other Latins were great with the blond blue-eyed Gringo) and the subsequent protests, but why must it culminate in rioting and looting in their own neighborhoods? It seems the opportunists there are only exacerbating the situation…

Sure seems like it.

Mr. Luckovich: Excellent. Thank you for this one.

If it had been a black cop with his knee on a white mans neck there wouldn’t have been rioting and buildings burned.

I had a dream that Trump woke up one day to discover his skin had turned a dark brown. He made history by being the second president “of color”, but for only one term. Note to self: don’t eat spicy food for dinner.

I suppose it might be in poor taste to mention Neanderthals………HOWEVER: evolution is pretty random (far more than Darwin could have conceived of!), and therefore not all forces of “the law” are created equal…..

No, it’s a memeplex which behaves like a virus — including the ways of addressing it: inoculation against it in the first place and mitigation of its effects where it occurs anyway.

“You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear, you’ve got to be taught from year to year. It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear. You’ve got to be carefully taught.” … South Pacific

It might as well be. We catch it from our parents.

Had this been a small white child asking his white father wearing MAGA cap the same question . . .would he have had an immediate response ?

Racism is a crutch. It’s an easy scapegoat to cover and deny one’s own failings… and it’s easier to blame others for one’s failings than to acknowledge and try to correct them.

Well said.

When I see this toon I start humming that song from Rogers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific . . .

Even the political cartoon in response to racism in the world is racist. Is the painting on the wall behind the man really something we’d see in every home occupied by a family of blacks? Why not just a painting..why one that depicts the stereotype that, since a family of blacks live in this house, they must have a painting of a black man playing an instrument???

Yes, Virginia, Racism IS a Virus.

Most people contract it from their Families beginning right after they are born.

You have to be Carefully Taught.

…

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear

You’ve got to be taught from year to year

Its got to be drummed in your dear little ear

You’ve got to be carefully Taught

You’ve got to be taught to be Afraid

Of people whose eyes are oddly made

And people whose skin is a different shade

— Tales of the South Pacific. Oscar Hammerstein – Richard Rodgers