Sept. 10, 2007

When a Cartoon Causes Pain

The University of Virginia’s student newspaper found itself backpedaling last week after publishing a cartoon that spurred spontaneous protests by students who found it racially insensitive and inflammatory. The outcry culminated on Wednesday night, when between 100 and 200 students marched to the offices of The Cavalier Daily demanding an apology and the firing of the cartoonist.

Looking for a job?

See all 272 new postings

Browse all job listings:

Faculty: 3,511
Administrative: 2,211
Executive: 194
FEATURED EMPLOYERS

Racial tensions are not necessarily a new problem at the campus and neither, for that matter, are controversial comic strips. A year ago, a pair of cartoons by the same artist, Grant Woolard, offended Christian groups and was eventually featured on The O’Reilly Factor, which garnered thousands of angry e-mails from viewers. The current uproar has so far remained a local issue at the university, which bears a legacy of discrimination as a result of Jim Crow and also has faced a more recent history of racially tinged incidents on campus. It has made concerted efforts to boost its racial diversity in recent years, including a President’s Commission on Diversity and Equity and a statement of regret earlier this year for the institution’s onetime use of slaves.

The response was organized through word of mouth, text messages and Facebook by various concerned students and campus groups. “Once again, the Cav Daily has crossed the boundary, but this time will not go unnoticed. We need to organize and end this racism once and for all,” wrote the creator of a Facebook group with nearly 300 members titled “THE CAV DAILY IS ABOUT TO BE FINISHED!!”

The cartoon in question, printed last Tuesday, presents a scene of bald, dark-skinned men in loincloths throwing ordinary items such as a shoe and a chair at each other. The caption reads: “Ethiopian Food Fight.” The newspaper retracted the cartoon that day and removed the image from its Web site. Although that cartoon was the immediate catalyst for student action, it came on the heels of another controversial strip the previous Friday, again by Woolard, that depicted Thomas Jefferson with a whip, standing before a black woman sitting on the bed (presumably Sally Hemings), who says, “Thomas, could we try role-play for a change?”

The editor of the paper, senior Herb Ladley, said it was a mixture of lapses in oversight and a failure to recognize that the “food fight” scene would be seen as controversial that resulted in the comic being published. “A lot of times we’re just making snap judgments late at night ... not really sitting down and reflecting on our policy like we should,” he said. Normally, at least three sets of eyeballs see comic strips before they go to press, he explained: the graphics editor, the operations manager and Ladley himself. But in this case, there was a difference: Woolard, the cartoonist, was also the graphics editor.

The current censorship policy, created in the wake of other controversies in 2006, was reiterated in an editorial published on Thursday in which the newspaper apologized for printing the cartoon: “First, does the author truthfully depict a verifiable historical or contemporary situation? If not, and the context of the work is creative, we ask two more questions. Does the author make a serious, intentional point, the censoring of which would constitute viewpoint discrimination? Also, does the author criticize or make light of a group of people for any reason other than their own opinions or actions?”

The editorial admitted that the work did not meet the last requirement. Ladley made a disctinction between satirizing people’s beliefs that are subject to change — including religious beliefs — and “things people can’t change,” such as race and sexual orientation. The latter, he said, is not allowed under the policy.

Ladley said the paper will not accept submissions from Woolard “until further notice,” but he declined to say whether the cartoonist would continue in his role as graphics editor. A meeting on Sunday night was planned to discuss his future at the paper.

From Conception to Controversy

Woolard declined to comment, but he posted a lengthy explanation on Facebook of his intent in drawing the “food fight” cartoon, apologizing “to those whom this comic has hurt.” His comic strip, “Quirksmith,” has also in the past sought humor in topics such as Hinduism and the Special Olympics. (Ladley said he intended to publish a version of the statement as a letter to the editor today.)

“This was by no means intended to negatively portray Ethiopia or its people,” Woolard wrote. “[T]he term ‘food fight’ was not meant to imply that the figures were fighting for food, but rather with food, as the common usage of the term suggests. In the most extreme cases of famine in many parts of the world, people have had to resort to eating what would otherwise be considered inedible in order to survive.... This surrealistic hypothetical situation invites the reader to realize that what initially appears to be a joke reflects a sobering reality.”

By Tuesday morning, the day the cartoon was printed, editors realized that they had a problem. Students had already begun contacting the paper, and Ladley spoke with university deans throughout the day. Calling the retraction “highly unusual,” he said that the editors were “definitely on the ball in terms of recognizing our mistake.”

The same day, Solome Y. Paulos, a senior who is the political action chair for the campus chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, wrote a letter to the newspaper that was circulated among students. Paulos then went to an informal meeting later that day at Tuttle Lounge, which some 100 students attended, according to Allen W. Groves, the interim dean of students.

Meanwhile, at least 65 bias reports were filed on Tuesday and Wednesday, Groves said, all of which the university followed up on. While The Cavalier Daily is independent of the university, both administrators and editors expressed a willingness to work together to resolve the issue. Ultimately, the administration also expressed distaste for the publication of the cartoon, releasing an open letter that said, in part, “we expect better from its staff and editors than what appeared this past Tuesday.”

On Wednesday, student protesters met at the Amphitheatre on campus before moving to the newspaper’s offices. Groves said it was “very respectful I thought, very polite, and they wanted to deliver their position to The Cavalier Daily, so a majority of the students kind of sat in the hallway.”

Ladley had a somewhat different assessment of the proceedings, noting, “I was disappointed. I think administrators were disappointed also that that particular group who was here wasn’t interested in having a productive discussion.” The problem, he said, was that the leaders of the protest were only interested in presenting their demands, and that they did not want a university dean to be present as a mediator at the meeting with top editors.

“I believe that with the support from the university’s administration, The Cavalier Daily has adequately responded to students’ concerns,” Paulos said in an e-mailed response. She suggested reviving the Black Student Alliance and Cavalier Daily Commission, which was originally created to address minority representation on the paper’s staff and other issues — an idea that Ladley also endorses.

“I’m not going to trivialize at all the pain people felt at this comic, but I think it’s certainly appropriate to say that there are other things in the background,” he said about the campus climate. Groves, on the other hand, said he felt the way that students took matters into their own hands illustrated that “there is not an adverse racial climate ... because they worked with each other. They were upset, but they sat down and talked, and they were mature and responsible.”

Ladley said he was glad that the controversy has opened the door to discussions of other important issues, such as the diversity of the paper’s staff.

Paulos put it this way: “The University of Virginia unfortunately has a history stained with dark memories. The level of ignorance and racism prevalent on these grounds cannot be sufficiently expressed in a few sentences. The comic strip is indeed indicative of the larger racial climate existent on this campus. It is suggestive of a broader question of black marginalization; whether it’s the treatment of black staff or the hiring and retention of black faculty, students of color continue to feel excluded from the larger community as a whole. As long as these larger issues are not addressed and resolved, smaller institutions such as the Daily will remain ignorant to the concerns of minority students at the University of Virginia.”

— Andy Guess

Want it on paper? Print this page.
Know someone who’d be interested? Forward this story.
Want to stay informed? Sign up for free daily news e-mail.

Comments

This Isn’t a Racist Cartoon

The critics of the cartoon, and the newspaper, are simply wrong. In its pandering apology, the newspaper proclaims that the cartoon “clearly violates” its rules because “it criticizes people for circumstances they cannot change.” But nothing in the cartoon says that Ethiopians are bad people or blames them for their poverty. It’s simply a humorous way to point out that they don’t have food (hence, a food fight has no food involved). But even if it “criticizes people” (why should a cartoon do that?), the cartoon certainly doesn’t violate the key rule, “does the author truthfully depict a verifiable historical or contemporary situation?” Ethiopia’s famines in 1973, 1984, and 1998-2000 were highly publicized, and it remains a deeply impoverished country. So what’s more racist? A cartoon using humor to publicize a terrible human tragedy, or ignoring the problems faced by people in Africa, as most newspapers do? As for the Thomas Jefferson cartoon, that’s not a racist cartoon, it’s an anti-racist cartoon, and one that effectively (but cleverly) exposes the fact that under slavery, even a presumably consensual relationship with Sally Hemings was part of a system of domination. Maybe the critics of the Cav Daily have a valid point about racism at the newspaper in general; I can’t judge that without reading it. But if these cartoons are the clearest evidence of racism they can find, then they need to start looking for real racism somewhere else. Cartoonists use humor to address terrible situations, including those affecting black people. It’s not racist to do this; instead, it’s racist to banish every controversial cartoon involving a black person out of a misguided sense of racial sensitivity.

John K. Wilson, at 6:55 am EDT on September 10, 2007

You said it John,

If you are looking for something to get angry about, you will find it. The cartoon as described seems to point out exactly what was intended, and that was regarding the situation of lack of food, not being a racists slam. Maybe the students just have such perfect backgrounds that they truly don’t understand what the common usage of the term “food fight” is, but I bet they could have looked it up- if they had even thought about making a fair judgement. Enough.

Anothervoice, at 8:50 am EDT on September 10, 2007

Irresponsible!

It’s altogether smug and irresponsible for John Wilson and Anothervoice to conclude that the critics of such a cartoon are simply wrong. I haven’t seen the cartoon myself, but its description in the article above is at best, disquieting.

Does context matter? Would they tighten the reins on their defenses if the cartoon had appeared in a notoriously racist paper? If so, then remember that UVA, while not being an institution of this kind, does have an unfortunate past regarding race and race relations that stretches all the way back to Jefferson. I’d be interested to know whether and when the paper had first begun a rigorous practice of ameliorating that history through print, and how that effort had been received by students as well as faculty. Though a practice like this may indeed not quell all dissent, it’s foolish to think that a cartoon, all by itself, would make a difference in understanding the contemporary plight of Ethiopians (loincloths, really!). Any person of sense could have predicted the reaction by some to the cartoon’s immediate “message.”

O enlightened America! I wonder just how many of our students really know, or even think if they do, about Ethiopian, or most other third-world famine right now. How nice to know that we can all depend on crude sketches in the funny papers to give us all the news that’s fit to print.

Nathan Grant, at 10:25 am EDT on September 10, 2007

“If you lood for something to get angry about you will find it.” Hmmm, that’s an interesting statement. Do you think that perhaps you’ll find it because it’s actually there? It seems quite paternalistic to assume that since you personally don’t see racism, it doesn’t exist. To John and Anothervoice: Perhaps you should show this cartoon to some of your black friends (I’m sure you have some) to see what their perception is.

Lisa, at 10:35 am EDT on September 10, 2007

I Think you missed the Point

Dear John and Anothervoice,

I think that both of you had valid comments and I understood what the cartoonist was trying to say. But what you missed is that the dress of the folks in the picture is what overshadowed it’s message.

I am not sure what the last picture you saw of an Ethiopian was, but the last ones I saw depicted no loincloth wearing men. They were clothed poorly and perhaps in traditional Ethiopian garb, but none were of tribal bushmen in loincloths. This is where the controversy lies.

The young cartoonist in question still sees Africa as a land of uncivilized bushmen. That is the “racist” undertones that has people up in arms. This is the underlying racism that is killing our country today. Here is an young man at one of the major public flagship universities in the country and he still in 2007 sees only tribal bushmen as a way to represent the people of Africa!! That is a sad commentary on the state of our young men and women today who are our future leaders.

The image is racist in content and delivery which overshadows the message that he was trying to get across.

Most folks do not look for racism where it does not exist. But for those of us who experience it hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly we can certainly see, smell, or hear when it rears it’s ugly head. Now we are trying folks like yourselves to see it as well.

Ask the Jena 6 if racism isn’t still rampant belwo the Mason Dixon line ( as well as above it).

Curt

Curt M, Diversity Officer at PSU, at 10:35 am EDT on September 10, 2007

cartoon

Is it possible for a cartoon to be so innocuous that it escapes the notice of the racial Torquemada’s that crawl out from rocks at the merest hint of offense? I think not. If a cartoon causes such “pain” it makes one wonder about so-called college “students” who display the emotional maturity of five year olds.

dg, at 10:50 am EDT on September 10, 2007

Five Things

First, I think there is something seriously amiss when an academic blog – one you would assume is devoted to principles of intellectual integrity –thinks it is appropriate to write an entire article about these cartoons without showing those that are “offensive.”

http://malalatete.typepad.com/mal_a_la_tete/2007/09/racism-at-the-u.html

Second, I do not know the work of Grant Wollard, but I can tell you that two of the three cartoons mentioned in this article are poorly drawn but fairly biting social commentary. For a young college student developing his skills I think they are fairly courageous and quite good. The Sally Hemming strip is actually excellent.

Third, while appreciating the comments of John K. Wilson, I have a minor objection to his post. His statement, “Cartoonists use humor to address terrible situations” is very frequently not true. Very often cartoonists draw frames that are not expected the be the slightest bit humorous. The frames are often pictorial depictions of the human condition, ones that overpower the reader with satire and social commentary. In my opinion, there is nothing humorous about “Ethiopian Food Fight,” but the social commentary is quite profound. The “T.J. With Whip” cartoon is both a biting social commentary and a bit of nasty humor ... and the humor has been directed toward those who richly deserve it. No wonder there was an uproar of protests at U.Va. when that one was published.

It is a very clever cartoonist who can consistently integrate satire, biting sarcasm, and humor ... and hardly any have ever been able to do it on a consistent basis. Walt Kelly and Bill Mauldin come to mind.

Fourth, Mr. Wollard must understand that being a cartoonist in America will be a hard row to hoe. Just last week I wrote on these pages that the vast majority of Americans – least of all American academics – neither understand not appreciate satire. They’re just not up to it. So, if you’re going to be a cartoonist you’ve either got to dumb it down for audiences like the one at U.Va. or else resign yourself to writing for a very small proportion of the population ... and take my word for it, given the nature of higher education in this country, that proportion is getting smaller all the time.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/08/31/polisci

Fifth, IHE had – in my opinion – its own shameful episode of inspiring self-censorship of a cartoon just a few weeks ago. Read the post by Frizbane Manley in ...

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/teachable_moments/cartoon0803

http://educationandclass.com/2007/08/10/he-used-to-have-a-mullet/

Frizbane Manley, at 11:05 am EDT on September 10, 2007

Comment To Curt M

Curt, you’ve got it all wrong. Please read my comment above about the nature of satire ... and be sure to follow up the URLs.

Mr. Wollard does not see Ethiopians as loincloth garbed uncivilized, tribal bushmen (to use your vocabulary), he sees YOU – or at least the readers of “The Cavalier Daily” – seeing Ethiopians loincloth garbed uncivilized, tribal bushmen. Indeed, that’s the effective force of his cartoon (and notice I have been very careful not to call the cartoon a comic).

Anyway, that’s the trouble with you guys who either don’t understand or don’t appreciate satire. I suggest you make your avocation during the remainder of fall term reading the work of Walt Kelly, Gary Trudeau, Aaron McGruder, and, better yet, Ollie Harrington ...

http://www.pbase.com/csw62/harrington

Why don’t you pick up copies of “Dark Laughter,” “Soul Shots,” and “Why I Left America” ... and then spend the spring term studying Jonathan Swift.

Frizbane Manley, at 11:55 am EDT on September 10, 2007

I have to admit, I don’t really understand the ethiopian cartoon as an attempt to decry the problem of global hunger. It really looks like a bunch of black people, with the racist depiction of them in loincloths (as if thats how ethiopians dress), beating each other with chairs. The fact that Ethiopa as been out of the news for a while also suggests a less than admirable intent.

However, the previous friday’s cartoon, concerning Jefferson and Sally Hemmings seems a wonderfully critical slap at the god of UVA, Jefferson himself. This cartoon would seem to serve to remind people of the racist heritage of UVA which all too often is overlooked by faculty and students.

The cartoons’ author seems all over the place on the race issue. Maybe he should take some time and figure out what he’s trying to do before doing it.

Joshua, at 11:55 am EDT on September 10, 2007

Nathan Grant wrote: “I haven’t seen the cartoon myself. . .”

Why not? There’s a link to the cartoon in question right there in the article (beginning of the fourth paragraph). If you’re going to accuse someone of racism you ought to at least look at the work in question.

As for the cartoon itself, which I have looked at, I think the real problem is that it’s pointless and not funny. I can forgive quite a bit of offensiveness if the offense is in the service of humor or insight. This cartoon is an abject failure in both areas.

Chris, at 12:00 pm EDT on September 10, 2007

Racism-in the eye of the beholder?

If we took an infomral poll of repsonders to this blog, I wonder how many whites saw nothing racist, and how many blacks saw the obvious racial slur? Of course you get the point that Ethiopians HAVE no food-please stop all the pandering and condescending blather about American education being so poor no one “gets” the “food fight” analogy. People do get it. The problem is, if you are black or can imagine being so, you can also “see” the obvious racism. Are poor whites going to be portrayed nearly naked to get the same point across? I think not. The only way one does not see this as racist is one actually IS racist!

Anhthony Husemann, Academic Dean at CCA, at 12:35 pm EDT on September 10, 2007

When a Cartoon is misread

When I opened the CavDaily and read the comics section last week I thought that his “Food Fight” cartoon was good. I looked at it as showing the plight that is going on in Africa at this time. Then a second or two later I suddenly got this ill feeling, people at this University are going to take this all wrong. Personally I think that political cartoons are supposed to get you thinking. This one did just that. I completely agree with John K. Wilson’s comments.

Bill Strong, UVA Bookstore Webmaster at University of Virginia, at 12:35 pm EDT on September 10, 2007

Wrong section?

Would it have been better understood if the cartoon had been displayed in the editorial section instead of the comics section?

Bill Strong, at 1:00 pm EDT on September 10, 2007

Comic Page vs. Editorial Page???

Well, Bill Strong, U.Va is in the South ... and down here we often put Doonesbury on the editorial page. When eliminating a strip would cause a “free-speech” or “you’re-a-redneck” reaction, yet the political thrust of the strip is inconsistent with our political or social sensitivities, then off it goes to the editorial page. In fact, even the Washington Post has, from time to time, been offended by what Aaron McGruder’s Boondocks’ characters have to say and have censored the strip (completely removed it from the paper for a few days,

All of which proves that, more and more, we Americans are becoming a thin-skinned, intellectually fearful, politically correct, bunch of wusses. Fortunately, we can blame it all on globalization and our new-found appreciation of cultures other than our own ... not that “cultures other than our own” has any meaning whatsoever.

So, while many of you respondents to this article are at it, please respond to these political cartoons from the 1860 presidential election (be sure to read the analyses) ...

http://www.lincolnarchives.us/ind...;right_nav=right_nav_abraham_lincoln

http://www.lincolnarchives.us/ind...lcartoons&sub=politicalquadrille

Frizbane Manley, at 2:35 pm EDT on September 10, 2007

Protected Speech?

Frizbane,

Your comments are silly. The “Africans are starving” understanding of the cartoon is so trivial as to not merit comparrison with the boondocks or any other “politically incorrect” cartoon with a point.

No, if it needs protecting at all it’s because it depicts africans as violent savages in loincloths. This has the same amount of political insightfulness as a burning cross.

Its not “thin skin” that makes me want to silence the klan, it’s righteous anger. We can debate about how far speech should be protected, but to say the cartoonist has a right to draw his drawing is different than saying he has a right to a publication platform.

Just like I don’t want a burning cross on my yard, I don’t want racist depictions of africans in my newspaper.

JMK

JMK, at 4:35 pm EDT on September 10, 2007

‘When a cartoon causes pain”

I am a 50-year-old African-American male raised in the South so I can say I have some personal acquaintance with symbols of the Jim Crow era, of the reaction to those symbols and the rationale offered to defend these symbols.I also have an understanding of daily newspapers like the one at the University of Virgina. While attending a majority-white college in the South in the 1970s, I was the only black reporter at a five-day-a-week independently owned newspaper.

One major issue. It is hardly news that college students, white or black, created art that is insensitive, misses the point, riles its audience or causes any manner of reaction. The same thing is done in the world of professional journalism, evidence the furor created recently by an editorial cartoon in the Florida Times-Union, another place I worked and another place where I was the only black reporter. By now, some of the more perceptive readers have picked up a theme: This happens because editors, college and professional, live in a secluded world, work in a secluded atmosphere in a profession that has several racial issues. It is possible to be a white journalist and never interview a black person or a Latino person your entire career. It is possible to be a white journalist and never set foot, professionally or personally, in a rough inner-city neighborhood where you are in the minority. It is impossible to be a black journalist and never interview a white or Latino person your entire career. It is impossible to be a black journalist, college or professional, and never set foot in a lily-white suburb where you are in the minority. So while the arguments offered by the cartoonist and the editor sound plausible, and I am sure they are heartfelt, and I am sure there was no ill-will meant, and I am sure that anyone who thinks these cartoons are racist is over-reacting, it is a sad state of affairs that allows journalists (or any other professional) to simply avoid engaging the thoughts, ideas, culture, etc., of significant minority populations.Therefore, it is real easy for me to ignore people who defend such cartoons or apologize for “a lapse in judgment” because they are incapable (or unwilling) to see the world as others see it — a quality that is absolutely vital to a true understanding of the world and its people.

Mike McQueen, at 8:30 pm EDT on September 10, 2007

Responses To JMK and Mike McQueen

First, JMK, I’m not quite sure how we went from Mr. Wollard’s cartoon to silencing the Klan, but if you’re going to change the subject, then I’ll be on your side. I don’t actually want to SILENCE the Klan – because I believe very strongly in the principles that gave us the First Amendment – but I would certainly like to use my voice to counter their arguments.

On the other hand, you strike me as the sort of fellow who, upon reading Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” actually believed he was advocating that the Irish dine on their eighteen-month-old children. Whew!

And Mr. McQueen, if you haven’t read Harrington’s “Why I Left America” and viewed his Bootsie cartoons in “Dark Laughter” and “Soul Shots,” I hope you’ll do so at your earliest convenience. Somewhere in the midst of your reading, stop for a minute and imagine that Ollie Harrington was a white guy ... like that accused racist, Mark Twain (I suppose you’ve read his racist diatribe, “Huckleberry Finn”).

I happen to believe that we live in a very racist society – and, these days especially, the Arabs get no quarter at most bars where I hang out – but when it comes to what political and social cartoonists are trying to say, it seems that the likes of Nathan Grant, Lisa, Curt M., and JMK are living in a satire-challenged world in which they are completely confident that the young cartoonist is a racist. They probably think Doonesbury is anti-American.

In my opinion, any cartoonist who drew the Thomas Jefferson/Sally Hemming cartoon clearly has his racial priorities in the right spot.

Frizbane manley, at 4:00 am EDT on September 11, 2007

This is exactly how Jefferson envisioned the free markplace of ideas. All of the discourse and debate ignited by these two cartoons should be proof enough that even the most deplorable speech or publication has value in a free society.

Bill Werner, at 4:00 am EDT on September 11, 2007

Is anyone here seriously suggesting that the TJ cartoon is racist? Its brilliantly anti-racist and sheds light on a particularly appalling aspect of slavery. Its also daring at a school like UVA. Doesn’t the guy who drew that get some latitude?

DGolding@t1r.com, at 4:00 am EDT on September 11, 2007

I know a bit about Ethiopia, and have an Ethiopian friend. The cartoon seemed crude and possibly offensive to me, but I can say the same of many cartoons, college and otherwise. My personal approach is simply to eliminate all humor and attempted humor from my daily conversation when matters with direct or tangential ethnic content arises. That practice works well for me, but at the cost of a somewhat limited range of discourse.

Marvin McConoughey, at 10:55 am EDT on September 11, 2007

You Won’t Have Manley To Kick Around Anymore

While I respect Marvin McConoughey’s decision to “limit [his] range of discourse” – and whatever else he may limit in the process – I want to point out (for the third time) that cartoons are not always designed to be humorous. Some readers seem to have the mistaken impression that when an “artist” sketches a cartoon there is an implied intent to make the viewer laugh, or chuckle, or smile, or exhibit some response to an attempt to be humorous. To demonstrate that nothing could be further from the truth, here is an excellent cartoon that is not the least bit humorous. Neither is it satirical. I would classify it as a very powerful social commentary

http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/wpnan/

Here’s one that is both humorous and a biting social commentary (however “unfair” it may be) ...

http://wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/client/wpc/sc/

And here is one that is humorous, satirical, and a biting social commentary. By the way, the hulking hyena of hubris is none other that Spiro T. Agnew.

http://www.markmywords.ws/PogoPix/IMG_2821.jpg

Now – and please forgive me for doing this – I take Mr. Wollard’s Ethiopian cartoon to mean (1) most Westerners – and his audience is the student body at U.Va. — tend to see Ethiopians as little more than (almost) naked, impoverished Blacks, (2) for many of them there is no food to use in a food fight, so they employ whatever pathetic implements will suit the task – and that’s not much – and (3) it is a very sad state of affairs. What’s more, since apparently every undergraduate these days has some appreciation of food fights, he has, by contrast, made the scene “real” for his U.Va. classmates.

In my opinion, it is not the best cartoon I have seen during the past few days – and I’ve seen plenty – but, for a young fellow plying his trade, I think the sort of risk he took here is admirable. Frankly, his biggest mistake was greatly overestimating the ability of both his U.Va. audience and many of the readers of this blog to understand and appreciate his satirical perspective and his biting social commentary.

What? ... you think he’s a racist looking for opportunities to use this venue to denigrate Blacks? Bullshit!!!

I’m outa here ... and I mean permanently.

Frizbane Manley, at 1:10 pm EDT on September 11, 2007

Response and Thought...

If I went by some of the comments posted here, then I must “be racist” because when I first looked at the cartoon, before reading much about it, my very first reaction was, “Oh, they’re throwing inedible objects at each other instead of edible food because they have no food. It’s a sad statement about hunger in Ethiopia.” Honestly, their manner of dress didn’t register at first and I was concentrating more on what was happening. I didn’t even see how people could take this as the Ethiopians beating each other to cannibalize each other until I started reading the comments and then took a few more looks at it. Does this mean I’m a rasict white KKK member? Hardly. I may be white, and maybe a little slow to pick up on other perspectives, but I’m not racist and don’t appreciate being told otherwise.

Could the artist have done this better? Yes. Perhaps if the items were actually being thrown, not drawn as though it was a still from a WWF match, it would have leant itself better to “items as food” idea. I agree with that — I wasn’t particularly impressed with the artist’s craftmanship, but then again, I’ve been spoiled by the Sunday NY Times.

My question is, then, if the natives had been clothed accurately (one thing that, once I looked at it and recognized what they were wearing, I do agree should have been caught because it is unrealistic and stereotypical and doesn’t really relate to the claimed purpose of the piece), and the “food” items were smaller with the action of a food fight better portrayed, would there still have been the outcry? Would the artist’s intentions come through instead of this double-meaning that may or may not have been intended? Is this more of a case where a parallel could be a student using a double entendre in class, not knowing there’s another sexual meaning to the word/phrase? Is it even possible/plausible that the student was using the horrible stereotypes of loincloths purposefully to attack the racist view that “it’s ok to ignore third world hunger — they’re not civilized and can’t contribute anything to global society anyway"? Then again, it’s down to the artist’s motivations, which are nearly impossible to ascertain for absolutely certain, not to mention if an underclassman would think of twisting the stereotype in that fashion and then leave it to such open interpretation.

Personally, I’m not sure this as an intentionally racist cartoon. The more I read and the more I look at it, I keep getting this feeling that I have with my freshmen students when working on their writing — they have one thing in mind, something specific they want to say, but somehow in the translation from thought to legible prose there’s an error that changes the perception. Is it tragic and should the editors have caught at least the loincloth issue (or suggested a different “commentary” for it to keep the artist’s purpose clear)? Yes. Is it enough to bar the student from working on his craft? I don’t think so. Maybe if his work was reviewed by more people of a more diverse background before publishing to make sure purposes weren’t too open for interpretation, this would be enough to ensure such a fiasco would not be repeated. After all, his intentions (as stated and evidenced by the T.J. and slave work) are social commentary and we as a country, not to mention a supposedly educated and enlightened people, cannot afford to allow society to go perpetually unchallenged.

TAS, at 3:45 am EDT on September 12, 2007

seeing it now

Chris,

I did miss the link in the paragraph you mentioned, regretting, as I wrote my initial response, that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to refer to it. Thank you. Now that I have seen it, I can say that rarely have I felt my remarks to have been so thoroughly vindicated.

Nathan Grant, at 3:00 pm EDT on September 12, 2007

Links to his earlier cartoons

His earlier cartoons, not connected in the link to the O’Reilly story, can be found here:

Christ on a Cartesian Coordinate Plane 8-25-06http://www.cavcomics.com/quirksmith/archive/quirksmith060823.gif

A Nativity OB Scene 8-28-06http://www.cavcomics.com/quirksmith/archive/quirksmith060824.gif

Link-Finder, at 3:00 pm EDT on September 14, 2007

Jobs Related to When a Cartoon Causes Pain

or search for jobs directly.

Associate Director, Career Management Center
Cornell University

Located in Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University is a bold, innovative, and inclusive teaching and research university of ... see job

Director of Diversity and Inclusion
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

RESPECT. COMMUNICATION. TEAMWORK. You’ll find it all at The National Collegiate Athletic Association ... see job

Equal Opportunity and Diversity Officer
San Diego Community College District

The San Diego Community College District is accepting applications to fill the position of Equal Opportunity and Diversity ... see job

Assistant Director, Office of Diversity and Inclusion
Cornell University

Located in Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University is a bold, innovative, and inclusive teaching and research university of ... see job

Director of Student Activities (Req. #0600828)
Georgia Southern University

Office of Student Activities. The Director, reporting to the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment ... see job

International Recruiter (P828)
California State University, Northridge

The California State University, Northridge’s (CSUN) Director of Student Outreach & Recruitment seeks a Recruiter to ... see job

Director of Child Care Programs
College of Marin

COLLEGE OF MARIN Director of Child Care Programs Full-time, 10 � Months per Year (An Educational Administrative Position) The ... see job

Associate Dean of Students
College of Notre Dame of Maryland

College of Notre Dame of Maryland, located in Baltimore, Maryland seeks applicants for the position of Associate Dean of ... see job

Associate Director for the Center for Multicultural Student Services
James Madison University

Join one of the finest regional universities in the nation. James Madison University, home to 18,000 + students, welcomes you ... see job

Director, Kessler Fellows Program — Half-Time Position
Cornell University

Located in Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University is a bold, innovative, and inclusive teaching and research university of ... see job

When a Cartoon Causes Pain

Related stories

Comments

This Isn’t a Racist Cartoon

You said it John,

Irresponsible!

I Think you missed the Point

cartoon

Five Things

Comment To Curt M

Racism-in the eye of the beholder?

When a Cartoon is misread

Wrong section?

Comic Page vs. Editorial Page???

Protected Speech?

‘When a cartoon causes pain”

Responses To JMK and Mike McQueen

You Won’t Have Manley To Kick Around Anymore

Response and Thought...

seeing it now

Links to his earlier cartoons

Jobs Related to When a Cartoon Causes Pain

Associate Director, Career Management Center Cornell University

Director of Diversity and Inclusion National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

Equal Opportunity and Diversity Officer San Diego Community College District

Assistant Director, Office of Diversity and Inclusion Cornell University

Director of Student Activities (Req. #0600828) Georgia Southern University

International Recruiter (P828) California State University, Northridge

Director of Child Care Programs College of Marin

Associate Dean of Students College of Notre Dame of Maryland

Associate Director for the Center for Multicultural Student Services James Madison University

Director, Kessler Fellows Program — Half-Time Position Cornell University

Associate Director, Career Management Center
Cornell University

Director of Diversity and Inclusion
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

Equal Opportunity and Diversity Officer
San Diego Community College District

Assistant Director, Office of Diversity and Inclusion
Cornell University

Director of Student Activities (Req. #0600828)
Georgia Southern University

International Recruiter (P828)
California State University, Northridge

Director of Child Care Programs
College of Marin

Associate Dean of Students
College of Notre Dame of Maryland

Associate Director for the Center for Multicultural Student Services
James Madison University

Director, Kessler Fellows Program — Half-Time Position
Cornell University