As a lifelong admirer of editorial cartoonists, I love looking for the cartoons that grab my attention throughout the week and compiling my favorites for all of you. This week, the cartoonists were primarily focused on the GOP convention and the ongoing fallout from the police violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
In a slight departure from what I normally do on Saturdays, which is to let the cartoons speak for themselves, I do want to point out that I picked Mike Luckovich’s “Active Shooter Drill” cartoon as the header for a very specific reason. That story is at the end of today’s roundup.
GOP Convention
Kenosha Shooting / Athletes Respond
And Other News
A Word About the Luckovich Cartoon
Mike Luckovich is the editorial cartoonist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and won the Pulitzer Prize for cartooning in 1995. His cartoons are distributed nationally and so, show up in a variety of newspapers.
This cartoon was published in multiple papers earlier this week, and it sparked a huge backlash in at least two papers.
The Lewiston Tribune, in Idaho, was one of the papers. The backlash was big enough that that the paper’s editor and publisher issued a front page apology. That is NOT what the editor should have done. Just like opinion pieces and op-eds, editorial cartoons are supposed to express an opinion and ideally, force the reader to confront an issue. They are also protected by the First Amendment. And that is what the editor should have done — protect and respect Luckovich’s right to express that opinion.
The Laconia Daily Sun, in New Hampshire, reacted even worse than the Tribune did. In their case, they took the ridiculous leap of deciding not to run editorial cartoons ever again.
At a time when we are dealing with an authoritarian president, evidence that others are suppressing opinions, especially in newspapers, is not something I’m willing to ignore. I hope you will join me in following Mike Luckovich on Twitter and supporting him by sharing his cartoons.
Thank you.
Want to win the November elections but are strapped for time? Download my ***BRAND NEW*** free guide today: 19 Quick Ways to Turn Out the Vote in 2020. Each action takes 10 minutes or less!
Categories: Uncategorized
The Mike Luckovich cartoon is so very apt. If people have a problem with it, then perhaps they need to look inside their own consciences! I wasn’t aware of the papers that actually apologized for running it … this is a violation of the 1st Amendment and shows the small-mindedness of those editors! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Thanks for sharing both the ‘toons and the backstory of the Luckovich one … very important for us to remember.
Yeah, the Daily Cartoonist printed some of the “responses” the papers got. They’re rightfully pissed off about this. Link: http://www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2020/08/27/newspaper-eliminates-editorial-cartoons-after-readers-object-to-mike-luckovich-commentary/
Thank you for the link! I’m glad to see the pushback against those two newspapers. It seems those who complained about the cartoon are living in a dream world … a white dream world where they have never been subjected to any form of discrimination. This is the bulk of the problem. People aren’t even trying to understand! I also signed up to follow Mike Luckovich on Facebook!
Wonderful! Thank you for supporting him.
Reblogged this on Filosofa's Word and commented:
As always on Saturday, our friend TokyoSand has picked the cream of the crop in this week’s political cartoons. She also shares a story of one of those cartoons that appalls me and I think it will you, too. Thank you, TS, for all your work on this. By the way … I did go follow Luckovich on Twitter and re-tweeted this important cartoon!
Thanks, Jill! Not just for sharing my post with your readers, but also for supporting Mike Luckovich.
The pleasure in both cases is all mine!
TokyoSand, good toons. David Brooks said it well last night on PBS Newshour. He observed Trump is positioning himself as the insurgent, not the incumbent. Trump is saying hire me again to solve these problems, but as Joe Biden said these things are happening on your watch, Mr. president. Keith
It’s bizarre how the entire GOP convention framed his presidency. It’s absolutely contrary to what it true. But, what I’m hearing from pundits is that due to the closed bubble Trump supporters are in, it could absolutely work.
TokyoSand, the genius of Trump is for an untruthful person to convince his followers that everyone else is lying about him. They just don’t like him and do not want him to succeed on his mission. Occam’s Razor would say it is easier to believe a liar is lying rather than everyone else. But, that matters not when the speaker gets his audience to avoid or discount news that his unflattering. Keith
“A picture’s worth a thousand words”….Your cartoons tell it all!!!! 💙
I’m glad you enjoyed the cartoons Patty. I agree with you — that’s why I post cartoons every week!
I always enjoy seeing which cartoons you have chosen as the best for the week! The French artist, Camille Henrot, said in an interview : “The political cartoon, in a way, is one of the highest forms of expression about our times…The political cartoon drawings are things that are small and have humor and a childlike aesthetic and are often stronger to spread opinions.” Whether one agrees with the cartoonist’s opinion or not, their right to express them must not be denied or suppressed. Sadly, Mike Lukovitch’s cartoon is an apt depiction of our times. Thank-you!
A wonderful quote!
Hi, TS.
i meant to check something with you, but accidentally put it on Jill’s reblog rather than your post. So, just in case you have not seen this yet, here it is:
Dear TS,
Have you come across an edtoonist or poltoonist, at https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/84640675 from Northern Territory, Australia? A lot of his jokes are local, but many are universal. I enjoy his blog, so thought you might too.
Thanks for the heads up. I’ll go check him out.
The cartoon some found objectional fits right in with today’s news. The cartoons don’t need to change. The violence needs to be brought under control. If it embarrasses some, they need to be embarrassed.
Who did he have to apologize to, the COPS involved in the shootings?
It appears to me that the people getting mad are willfully ignoring the problems. And we can’t fix anything if we can’t confront the problem.