You may or may not know that our own Robert Ariail was a leading contender to replace the late Jeff MacNelly at The Chicago Tribune. In fact, he was rumored to be the candidate, which had me pretty worried. But fortunately for me (and you, the reader, I would assert), the Trib decided not to replace MacNelly.
In light of that, and with regard to the cartoon some of y’all got so worked up about, you may find this passage from a Tribune editorial of this week interesting:
The only filly in the crowded field crossed the finish line second, but the fans who’d bet on her still had one last gasp of hope. Perhaps some fortuitous technicality would disqualify the first-place finisher. But things got worse instead of better. We’re talking about Eight Belles, who was euthanized Saturday after almost winning the Kentucky Derby. But we’re thinking about Hillary Clinton….
And here’s the schlag atop the analogy: Tribune ombudsman Timothy McNulty (not MacNelly, McNulty) took offense at the editorial:
Notwithstanding the playful, even clever, writing of the editorial, it
was wrong, I believe, to use language that conflates the presidential
race and the sad need to euthanize a female horse, ending with this
sentence: "There’s no reason to wait until August to put Clinton, and
the rest of us, out of our misery."
Of course, not being into either sports or horses, I didn’t know that the euthanized horse was "the only filly" in the race, until "not very bright" pointed it out. And Robert wasn’t equating Hillary to the horse — the horse, transmogrified into the Democratic donkey, was the thing she was beating, not her (i.e., the party). To put it another way, Robert did not imply in any way, shape or form that anyone should put Hillary Clinton "out of her misery." That would have been creepy.
But other than that, though, an interesting coincidence. I wonder how Mr. McNulty would have felt about a cartoon, rather than mere words.
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Wow. You really just don’t get it.
But you can be so blase as to dismiss the whole thing because of your “not being into either sports or horses.”
And, in doing so, you’re still making light of the death of the filly that came the closest of any filly in history to winning the Kentucky Derby and paid for it with her life.
Before you put a cartoon in the paper, Mr. Warthen, you should familiarize yourself with the circumstances that led to what the cartoon depicts.
That would allow you to make an informed decision.
I am VERY familiar with the circumstances that led to what the cartoon depicts.
Hillary Clinton keeps on running, no matter what that does to the health or life expectancy of the Democratic Party (which is, as usual, symbolized here by a donkey).
That’s what the cartoon depicts. I know. I was here when it was drawn.
Let me ask you something, penultimo: Which is more offensive to you — this alleged “making light” of what happened to the horse, or the Trib’s appearing to equate Hillary Clinton with the horse?
Visually making light of the horse’s death far exceeds the Tribune figuratively suggesting Hillary be put out of her misery. Showing is worse than suggesting any day.
Besides, two wrongs don’t make a right. The Tribune doing something tasteless doesn’t make The State’s tastelessness OK.
And you’re wrong about what the cartoon depicts. It depicts, echoes, alludes to what happened to Eight Belles the Saturday before. And you apparently didn’t understand how tragic her death actually was, because you’re “not into sports or horses,” you didn’t know she was a filly, etc.
The equine’s ankles are broken in the cartoon, not Hillary’s. And she’s whipping the donkey. So you could be accusing Eight Belles’ jockey of whipping his ride even when her ankles were broken. The metaphor’s mixed. How are we to know you’re not criticizing both Clinton and the jockey?
In other words, why can’t you see the cartoon is really doubly offensive?
Brad, an important clarification is that putting Eight Belles to sleep addresses only part of the tragedy. The horse’s legs BROKE and bones PROTRUDED from the skin. This is horrific.
As I wrote in the previous thread, perhaps it is not us (Peta people, animal lovers, or regular people – anyone taking offense) who are deviant in our perception. Perhaps you are simply desensitized to the point that your reaction is nonstandard.
I remember you discussing long ago how Mr. Arial could have left. Despite the uproar, I am still a huge fan. But I take offense to this one cartoon.
It’s obvious that Arial’s cartoon was a success on many levels: controversy is its own reward.
I wish that I had the gift of getting folks riled up with such nuance. I’m also amazed at all the mind-readers who can divine your and Robert’s motivations so adroitly. But I’m no psychic, only a psycho.
Brilliant cartoon, but too insensitive for viewing over breakfast.
Haven’t I said that before?
I’m waiting for the phrase “horse’s ass” to show up somewhere, not in reference to me.
You are not a deviant, Randy, and I would never suggest that you are.
And I’m sure I am “desensitized,” as you say. Actually, I never WAS “sensitized” in this way — with regard to animals in general, or racehorses in particular — but there is a larger point, which is that people who deal with as much human misery as news people do truly do get desensitized to things that actually DO horrify us. It’s a defense mechanism. I say that not to excuse it, just to explain it.
Cops are the same way, perhaps more so. Some cops, anyway.
Robert Arial is crude and unimaginative. Only someone who is unfamiliar with is work could be offended.
speaking of “horse’s ass”
Brad, if you admit to being desensitized then how are we the ones “overly sensitive”?
I have put on a ton of sympathy weight (baby due in June) which is great when sitting in an office with the a/c blasting. You thin folks sitting in the same office complain about the cold. Using your reasoning, I would conclude that the temperature is fine and you are too sensitive to the air.
Robert is anything but unimaginative. Nothing is more challenging than conceiving humor and commentary suitable for mass publication. If he provokes, thank God somebody in newspapers still does.
The fact that The State still pays for its own cartoonist, given the condition of newspapers as an industry, is worthy of commendation. No doubt his position would have been cut from their budget, had he gone to the Trib, like the hundreds of other jobs that have evaporated under current ownership.
You’ll miss editorial cartoonists when they’re gone. That day is not so far off.
Thank God ‘The State’ was able to keep Ariail away from Chicago. Before long the disappearance of ‘State’ newsstands could spread from the Lowcountry into the Midlands without him.
Seriously, get over yourself. If you just think that cartoon was justified, you could make a post about it and move on. The truth is your rag is desperate for anything that gets it attention, and Ariail has obviously proven himself successful in that effort.
This is our own Far Side. bloggin away on the shroud of American print journalism, lampooning those who lampoon us, in a socio-media experiment that gives equal weight to the likes of Brad Warthen and Lee Muller. If this is freedom of the press, give me the good old days when newspapers were born as weapons of vendetta, and reporters ducked when cars back-fired. And editors died on Gervais street. … that was the price of honest opinion. None of that “objectivity” gobbledygook of “ethical” journalism had yet to rear it’s jaundiced face, or Brooks Bros suspenders.
Yeah, I was just reading about the days when my cousin William Randolph Hearst was going head-to-head with Pulitzer out on the street. Starting the Spanish-American War was just a way of doing business… And bud thinks I’m some kind of hard case over Iraq….
Oh, did I never mention that Hearst was my cousin? It’s true. His father, or grandfather, was from around Abbeville somewhere, and Patty and I share an ancestor five or six “greats” back. Not that I was ever a guest at San Simeon or anything…
Never heard about the cousin thing before … could explain a lot. Ol WRH was a bit on the ocd side 😉
Well that explains how you got your job.
there is a larger point, which is that people who deal with as much human misery as news people do truly do get desensitized to things that actually DO horrify us. It’s a defense mechanism.
-Brad
So how many dead soldiers and Iraqi civilians have you witnessed? How many visits to the VA have you made to witness the horrors of war? Give me a break. You’re just a member of the chairborne brigade, supporting a catostrophic failure of a military operation safe and sound in the tax-free environs of the State Newspaper headquarters on Shop Road. Please stop defending Arail’s highly offensive cartoon with utter nonsense. All it does is infuriate those of us who know the truth.
And today, to show the world he has no conscience whatsoever, Mr. Warthen has given the atrocious redundancy life once again on Page D3 of The Richland-Lexington-Kershaw Gamecock Gazette, in the form of the Tribune quote from above:
“The only filly in the crowded field crossed the finish line second, but the fans who’d bet on her still had one last gasp of hope. Perhaps some fortuitous technicality would disqualify the first-place finisher. But things got worse instead of better. We’re talking about Eight Belles, who was euthanized Saturday after almost winning the Kentucky Derby. But we’re thinking about Hillary Clinton.”
Geez, Mr. Warthen: Why don’t you just stick your thumbs in your ears, wave your fingers, stick out your tongue and make sounds like a monkey?
And yet you have the audacity to ask people to act like grownups when they vote.
Well, at least now we know that when you’re “not into sports or horses,” you may not be into sportsmanship, either.
Robert Ariail is a “keeper”. Editorial cartoonist have to cut through the clutter of words to use imagery to make their point.
After Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart over the skies of Texas on February 1, 2003, editorial cartoons started appearing in the papers; most were touching, some were biting. Jeff Parker is one that has his finger on the pulse of Florida and space exploration.
Barbaro touched many lives with his will to survive. Columnists wrote about Barbaro and cartoonists drew Barbaro.
It doesn’t help that this is a primary season with Hillary vowing to stay in the race like Mike Huckabee did after many losses.
I have read several comments that Hillary should have been in a race car. What kind of car should she be in? NASCAR? Or Indy 500?
Oh wait, the Indy 500 is two weeks away. Using an Indy 500 car would not be topical for Indiana until Memorial Day weekend.
Robert Ariail is an artist. Mr. Warthen is supposed to be an editor.
The artist succeeded. The editor failed.
Brad is going to have a difficult time convincing people that he’s the “grownup” in the room given his childish and cruel defense of a cartoon making fun of the suffering of a poor horse.
Folks, forgive me for posting this in several places, but I wanted to let you know…
I’m having serious TypePad problems today (Monday, May 12), and they’ve prevented me from putting up ANY new posts, although I’ve tried like fun.
When it’s fixed, I’ll be back…
It’s just a horse. I like mine medium rare.