Madam, – The reaction of sections of the American public to President Obama’s healthcare reform bid has been disquieting.
I, for one, struggle to comprehend the anger directed at the President over this issue.
That said, Lara Marlowe’s depiction of the protesters and their methods (“White House distances itself from race controversy”, September 18th) was obviously problematic. The placard mentioned in the article and in the accompanying picture does not depict the President “in white-face make-up, like old-time black entertainers”.
The green hair and facial disfigurement either side of the mouth clearly identifies the president as Heath Ledger's Joker character from The Dark Knight.
The Joker character espouses anarchist and radical egalitarian notions in the movie; most notably in the hospital scene involving Ledger’s character and a bedridden Harvey “Two-Face” Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart. This is what is being implied with this poster. There may be a racist component of the sort Ms Marlowe assumes, but it is not prima facie what it depicts.
Whatever Ms Marlowe’s opinions, erroneous statements of fact must be avoided if she, and by association your newspaper, is to remain above the mire into which these protesters have dragged American politics. – Yours, etc,