Posted on 02/23/2007 3:45:06 PM PST by lizol
After complaints, editor of The New Yorker denies cartoon in magazine was a 'Polish joke'
By Verena Dobnik ASSOCIATED PRESS
11:40 p.m. February 22, 2007
NEW YORK – The editor of The New Yorker said Thursday his magazine never intended to offend anyone when it published a cartoon that joked about a Polish name and drunkenness.
David Remnick was responding to the reaction of some New Yorkers of Polish origin, angered by what they consider a “Polish joke” published in the Feb. 19 issue of the magazine.
Veteran cartoonist Robert Weber had sketched two children chatting at a bus stop with the caption, “My parents named me Zbigniew because they were drunk.”
Zbigniew is a traditional Polish name.
The magazine received 28 complaints, including two phone calls. The New Yorker sent a form response to readers who complained via e-mail, apologizing and saying the intended joke was that Zbigniew is an unusual name.
“Neither the cartoonist nor the editors of The New Yorker thought this was anything other than a joke about the difficulty of pronouncing a name,” Remnick told The Associated Press. “It's two American kids talking to each other. There was never any intention or thought of this being a particularized ethnic joke, much less an ethnic insult.
“We just don't publish that kind of thing,” he added.
Staff members at the magazine said they couldn't remember ever having dealt with similar controversies surrounding their cartoons.
The magazine's weekly cartoons have become a staple of American culture, poking fun at everything from popular culture to politics. Many consider New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno the father of the modern gag cartoon.
The single-panel cartoons are sprinkled throughout each issue, between non-fiction articles, short stories and poetry.
LOL...good one!
"My family calls me Teddy because I'm drunk....."
With a picture of the Bloviator in Chief, Senator Kennedy...???
If they did this about Muslims, blacks, or hispanics, there would be hell to pay - but apparently making fun of Eruopean Americans is O.K. with the leftist liberal establishment.
The New Yorker Magazine is a piece of liberal trash anyway. I'd as soon read it as read "The Hollywood Magazine" or "San Franciso at Night".
Crishtopher Shteven Shmith because they were drunk.
Moonbeam because they were stoned.
Let's NOT forget Dweezil and Moon Unit Zappa....
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