Hamas Cartoon

[liberty]

I haven’t seen the cartoon, but it sounds reasonably accurate to me. It is what Hamas is doing; they’re using civilians as human shields; if they were not they would encourage non-combatants to leave Gaza City for the relatively safer area of the South. If Hamas were decent men they would at least encourage people to take their children to the south. Hamas wants to use dead children as propaganda. The use of dead children as propaganda is beyond despicable; it makes Hamas worse than the Nazis. The civilian population of Germany was no military advantage for the Nazis, and it shouldn’t be in Gaza either; otherwise the thugs will rise to rule the world. Because for them, nothing is too despicable if there’s a tactical advantage to it.


Washington Post cartoon slammed as ‘racist, vile’, ignites controversy (msn.com)

[Bicycle Bill]

Here's the cartoon in question.   Draw your own conclusions.   Personally, I don't think it's racist whatsoever, as caricature has always been the stock in trade when it comes to political cartooning, but I suppose it all depends on just whose ox is being gored.



-"BB"-

[Sue U]

Yes, it's racist. It's not a caricature of any actual Hamas official, but is just a stereotyped "Arab" with exaggerated features. Imagine the cartoonist representing Israel in a similar way, using a stereotyped "Jew" with exaggerated nose, lips and eyes. Also, what is the purpose of the portrait on the wall with Al Aqsa mosque in it? Is Islam implicated in Hamas's actions? And what's the lamp(?) on the pedestal supposed to represent? Just there for "Arab" flavor?

It's entirely possible to satirize and condemn Hamas and its acts in political cartoons without the racism and Islamophobia.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Yes, it's racist. It's not a caricature of any actual Hamas official

Not even Ghazi Hamad, official spokesman for Hummus (c. DTrump)?

[BoSoxGal]

Here’s from the wiki on Michael Ramirez’s various cartoon controversies. Like any political cartoonist, he has at various times drawn criticism but he does seem to be an equal opportunity offender. Perhaps he’s just racist all around?

Cartoon controversies
edit
In October 2000, the Los Angeles Times published a Ramirez cartoon that appeared to depict a Jewish man worshiping the word "Hate" embedded into the Western Wall. According to the Times Associate Editor Narda Zacchino ombudsman, this provoked an "unprecedented" negative reaction. Ramirez denied singling out Jews, claiming that the wall in the cartoon was not meant to suggest the Western Wall, and that while there was a Jew worshiping at the hate wall, there was also a figure bowing before it wearing a kaffiyeh (though it is difficult to see).[6][7]

In July 2003, the Los Angeles Times published a Sunday editorial cartoon by Ramirez that depicted a man pointing a gun at President Bush's head; it was a takeoff on the 1969 Pulitzer Prize-winning photo by Eddie Adams that showed Vietnamese general Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executing a Viet Cong prisoner at point-blank range. The cartoon prompted a visit from the Secret Service, but no charges were filed.[8][9]

In September 2007, the Columbus Dispatch published a Ramirez cartoon depicting Iran as a sewer (labeled with the word "extremism"), with cockroaches spreading from it over Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries of the Middle East. Some commentators compared this with characterizations both of Jews in pre-Holocaust Germany and Rwandan Tutsis before the 1994 genocide.[10]

In July 2013, Investor's Business Daily published a Ramirez cartoon that depicted lynching in its criticism of Al Sharpton.[11]

In October 2013, Investor's Business Daily published a Ramirez cartoon that drew a parallel between the problems of the Affordable Care Act web site debut and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster,[12] to which many critics objected.[13]

In November 2023, the Washington Post published satirical cartoons by Ramirez mocking Palestinians. In another cartoon, he plays on the slogan “Black Lives Matter”, to make it “Terrorist Lives Matter”.[1]

Here is today’s cartoon:

[Burning Petard]

Well, yes, in at least in some branches of Christianity Terrorist Lives do matter. Today the local college radio station, as part of a Vet's Day observance, played 'Day After Tomorrow' by Tom Waits. It is a very human characteristic that to aid us in killing each other, we have to make the other less than 'us'. Among some Christians there is a story told of Moses observing G-d as Meriam leads the women in singing a song of joy after they have crossed the sea and the pursuing Egytians die. (Exodus 15:21-22.) Moses sees his diety is crying and asks why? G-d replies, 'the Egyptians are my people too.'

Racist? What is race? I proclaim there is only one, the human race and all subdivisions are fictional adaptations to culture and politics.

snailgate.

[liberty]

Yes, it's racist. It's not a caricature of any actual Hamas official, but is just a stereotyped "Arab" with exaggerated features. Imagine the cartoonist representing Israel in a similar way, using a stereotyped "Jew" with exaggerated nose, lips and eyes. Also, what is the purpose of the portrait on the wall with Al Aqsa mosque in it? Is Islam implicated in Hamas's actions? And what's the lamp(?) on the pedestal supposed to represent? Just there for "Arab" flavor?

It's entirely possible to satirize and condemn Hamas and its acts in political cartoons without the racism and Islamophobia.

For some reason I think that your attitude towards the cartoon would be different if the same elements portrayed a Nazi. a Klansman. a southern redneck, or a Republican. I wonder why that is?

[Joe Guy]

That's definitely a caricature of that Hummus guy, Ghazi Hamad. Actually, it's more of a portrait. It looks just like him.

I don't know if the cartoon is racist. Then again, It might be considered racist to to people who are offended by it because they believe it's racist.

Does it require intent for something to actually be racist?

[Burning Petard]

"Does it require intent for something to actually be racist?" I guess discussion of such a question requires agreement on what is intent.

That theory that the anti-woke culture wars hold up with great fear and Gov DeSantis declares must be countered by Florida schools teaching that slavery was a social institution that provided great benefits for the enslaved, I think that theory holds that white-superiority is so 'baked-in', so pervasive in the dominant USA culture, that it is unnoticed and supported without conscious choice by most participants in that culture. I believe 'intent' requires a conscious deliberation and choice by the individual. I personally find some data points of reality support Critical Race Theory. From that, I state that some forms of racism in the USofA operate without individual intent.

snailgate.

[Joe Guy]

According to Merriam-Webster....

racist: (adjective)

having, reflecting, or fostering the belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

Based on that definition, I don't see how the cartoon that Bicycle Bill posted could be interpreted as racist. There's nothing there implying that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of one race over another.

......... I personally find some data points of reality support Critical Race Theory. From that, I state that some forms of racism in the USofA operate without individual intent.

It seems to me that the definition of what is racist nowadays varies based on the opinion (or the experience) of the person making the claim.

Maybe the problem is that racism has mutated like the COVID virus and there are so many strains now that we just need to be as aware as possible that they exist and we should attempt to mentally vaccinate ourselves.

[liberty]

Think about this, what kind of world would we live in if thugs could use human shields to get whatever they wanted? Don’t you agree that it would be a much worse world; that’s why we cannot allow the strategy of human shields to work? The suffering of the individual only affects decent democratic societies and places them at a disadvantage; the dictators and the thugs of the world don’t care. We cannot allow it to succeed even if mankind has to suffer more pain now in order to try to produce a better future.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Gosh, yes boys and girls. We jolly well need to make sure thugs don't use people as human shields. If you see that happening, please tell an adult. Right Val?

Also, Lesley has a plan that if every boy and girl would be kind to animals, then animals would be much happier. Right, Shep? Good dog!

Next week we'll show you how to make bird feeders out of old detergent bottles and John will tell us about his plan for world peace. Gosh. Super! Well done John, solving that problem! Golly gosh. Bye everyone! Bye bye!