"Inexcusable" Pocahontas Division cartoon

This Funny Isn't Funny; It's Racist and Sexist

By Simon Moya-SmithHere’s what you see in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph editorial cartoon:

A Native American woman in tears, looking circa 18th century in buckskin and fringe, bound at the wrists, barefoot, while some white business-cretin in a suit jubilantly leads her against her will from a building reading “Norfolk Southern Pocahontas Division,” pulling at her like an animal on a leash to somewhere off the page.

As you’ve possibly already surmised, this editorial is not only racist–it’s sexist.

At a time when thousands of Native American women (who are 2.5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than any other demographic) are going missing or found murdered and buried AND BURNED by evil motherfuckers who whimper and cry when caught, this type of assholery is inexcusable. Inexcusable. In-fucking-excusable!

Now, I did a little digging and found out the illustration, published on Facebook on January 17, was a result of Norfolk Southern, a railroad company, relocating its Pocahontas Division about a two-hour drive away–“a move that will impact management and staff positions in Bluefield,” Greg Jordan of the Telegraph reported.