Political cartoons are funny, political cartoons make somewhat of an indirect point, political cartoons can be plain stupid, political cartoons can be just downright offensive. I usually find most political cartoons either funny or stupid but having some substance of what the editorialist is trying to depict. However there are those offensive cartoons that would make anyone angry by viewing the nature of the depicted issue, and I have seen some pretty offensive political cartoons throughout the years. However one of the most offensive political cartoons that I have seen was a cartoon of an amputated man with a doctor saying "I'm listing your condition as 'battle hardened'." Battle hardened!? More like the guy can even live his life anymore because of the traumatic events during the war he returned from and the grave battle-wounds he received.
War is no joke, however the editorialist whom depicted that issue as a joke which may have initially may have been intended to be just that, a joke, turns out to be a highly offensive editorial cartoon. Why I say so is because the cartoon half-heartedly presents an amputated soldier with a doctor saying that he is now "battle hardened". Battle hardened from what? Getting his limbs blown off? That is what being battle hardened is? No, it is not. Callously depicting such a cartoon should not have been published for this insults those whom serve the United States and those who lost loved ones because of war.
I do not know who would find any kind of editorial cartoon depicting that specific type of issue funny, but to me if someone does find that funny, then that person(s) does not know the damaging effects that wars always leave behind in its wake. I do not know how this cartoon was allowed to be published but I know there are individuals whom seek to its censoring/removal due to its callous depicting of battle-wounded soldiers. I also believe even if the role of the hospital bed patient was changed, I would not find this editorial cartoon to be funny.
If it were up to me I would just axe that specific editorial cartoon so it would not see the light of day in order to prevent the publishing of offensive content. However even that type of content is protected by the First Amendment and does not depict excessively obscene material, it is just callous. I have seen offensive editorial cartoons throughout the years and this one stood out because of its callous nature of the depicting of the issue, and the fact that something that disrespectful to those affected by war is allowed to be published. To be honest if I found out why editorialists publish offensive material such as that other than to get money I would probably go over to that editorialist's office/station/whatever it is called and throw a stone or a chair through their window and say, "you like to publish crap, well publish how your damn window got a hole in it" then run like hell.
I think that most political cartoons do have a relevant message that they are trying to convey to the people, but like you said some are genius, some are plain and some are just stupid. Some political cartoons do in fact cross the line, but that is what makes this country great, our right to free speech and expression. That being said I would have to agree with you that the cartoon you saw was very offensive. I honestly think most of the political cartoons aimed at war (particularly the war on terror) are very off-putting. I just don’t understand what could possibly be funny about people being injured and killed. As you said these offensive and hurtful cartoons that are published by the thousands, are in fact protected by our first amendment, which I do agree with, but I just wonder who thinks to publish as well as illustrate these. I am more interested in the thoughts that provoke these cartoons and where people get off thinking they can make light of such a harsh issue such as war. These cartoons can be detrimental to those who have lost loved ones and those who have been injured by the war. I can’t imagine if I was crippled by the war and I saw that cartoon you were describing. But what’s the fix? What do we do about these cartoons, because we can’t outlaw them?
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