Is it just me, or is Gary McCoy (cartoonist) a racist piece of shit?

[Buzz Clik]

[rateyes]

1. It's not just you.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. I vote RPOS.

That looks like the kinda trash I'd expect from a couple of wingnut acquaintances.

[Buzz Clik]

3. Interesting that Cagle invokes no filter on what he puts on his site.

[blondeatlast]

6. There's nothing more biting than a great editorial cartoon but I'm often quite shocked

at what I see on his site.

He does offer lesser-knowns a forum (I love Lalo Alcarez, for instance), but I've seen some outright bigoted stuff on several occasions.

[Buzz Clik]

8. I am a junkie for political cartoons. This one left me a bit confused.

A friend pointed it out to me and asked for my reaction. I had to read it three times, each time trying to peel back the obvious while looking for the "zinger" underneath. In this case, it is simple: what you see is what you get. And it is inexcusable.

[Jackpine Radical]

22. Yeah. The message I get is...

Black people are too dumb to know if Obama is a Republican or Democrat, but they're gonna vote for him 'cause he's black. If it were even a little close to the truth it might be funny in some sick way, but it's not and it isn't. At best it's an attempt at a cheap shot that blows up in the cartoonist's face like a Saturday Night Special with a plugged barrel.

[Buzz Clik]

23. Jack, old buddy old pal....

... you and I see this exactly the same way.

[YOY]

4. Even if it's a true story

I bet a good deal of has happened over the history of US elections.

First time voters can get confused...it can be bewildering. (Of all backgrounds.)

[blondeatlast]

5. He may not be, but that ed cartoon most certainly is. Oh, yes, indeed...

:puke:

[Buzz Clik]

9. Very good point. It's a subtle but important difference.

[tavalon]

7. Wow, that is just awful

[Buzz Clik]

10. Yes, awful. Our local paper had the bad taste to run it on their Op/Ed page.

[Bigmack]

11. Hey... I gotta defend the guy!

He didn't actually draw the black guy carrying a watermelon or a 9mm or anything like that. Lighten up on the guy!

(Deep, dark, racial :sarcasm: intended.)

[cloudythescribbler]

12. yup, you smelled it alright .... nt

[originalpckelly]

13. Whah da hell?

This was actually published? Sometimes you've got to wonder why these people don't listen to that little voice in their heads that says, "DON'T DO IT!"

[Buzz Clik]

15. Yep. I had this same conversation about the cartoon.

Let's assume that Cagle simply shrugged it off and decided not to pull the cartoon from his site for the sake of free speech. He values his cartoonists and has no desire to censor them. Ok, I'll buy into that.

But our hometown rag selects cartoons from Cagle for their Op-Ed page. They saw the cartoon and made the conscious decision that this was the kind of message they wanted to present to the readers.

:wtf:

[hiaasenrocks]

14. He was on CNN Saturday and told that story.

He put himself in the cartoon b/c he was standing there when that exchange happened. That's also why he put "true" in bold letters in the title.

I don't know him personally, so I don't know if he's racist. But it appears all he was doing was relating a funny (odd) account of what he saw when he went to the polls. In that case, he's simply reporting what he saw.

In the absence of any actual proof, I'll reserve judgment about him personally.

[Buzz Clik]

16. You make a good point, one also made by blondeatlast in post #5.

I also have no doubt that some small number of old people, teenagers, naturalized citizens voting for the first time, and others can arrive at the polls unprepared for what they are about to face.

McCoy decided to cast this cartoon knowing the implications and potential reactions.

So, I agree -- maybe he's not a racist. Maybe he's just a guy retelling an event he witness firsthand. But, there is no question that the message conveyed by the cartoon in the absence of any other context is inflammatory at best.

[hiaasenrocks]

17. So even if it did happen...

the story shouldn't be told b/c it's "inflammatory"?

I know this is just a cartoon, but you seem to be setting entirely new (and impossible) boundaries for all types of journalists, writers, cartoonists, etc.

I guess you have to be in the business to understand it. I've never personally had a problem arise from something I wrote (other than the expected disagreements) but I couldn't be more proud to have an editor who rejects all forms of censorship, be it from government, corporations or loud special interests.

[Buzz Clik]

18. Before I react any further, what is your take on this?

Is McCoy offering no political or social commentary at all? Is it your opinion that he had no material that day and simply drew up the only conversation he heard while voting in his primary?

Or, is he actually trying to tell us something?

I have yet to read a political cartoon that carried no message. 99% of the time, the cartoonist is offering his interpretation of current events with a wicked twist.

I'm genuinely curious to hear your interpretation.

[blondeatlast]

21. Good point- and as I see it it's just really bad (as in quality) editorial cartooning, or, well--

flat out racist.

It isn't funny and if it's true, what point is there to it?

[blondeatlast]

20. But the poll worker should not have tried to resolve the issue.

In a case like this, a call to the local poll monitors of both parties seems the way to go. They are generally available within minutes.

If it really happened, the poor voter has been publicly humiliated twice--once at the poll (inexcusable) and once in the media (preventable).

[mkultra]

19. another interpetation

Also, his meaning could be that obama is bringing alot of new voters to the game and they dont really know anything about polotics