Is this graffiti art a powerful critique of police brutality — or just racist?
Atlantans are divided over whether a new piece of street art in the Georgia capital is a statement of racism or a critique of police brutality. The graffiti piece references classic Looney Toons characters and depicts Elmer Fudd in a police uniform instead of hunting gear, passing a sign that reads "Negro Season" instead of "Rabbit Season."
Atlanta's CBS affiliate station spoke with numerous locals about the graffiti, including students from a nearby art school. Most suggested that the pseudonymous artist's intent was to "to intimidate black people" and make them feel unsafe, but some saw a more complex message.
"The sign says 'Negro season,' which means that the police are killing the blacks," said one woman, while others highlighted the fact that the cartoons depict Fudd as incompetent and unjustified in his attacks on Bugs Bunny.
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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