'Boondocks' creator spares no one in IU speech

Hoosier Herald-Times | 2-21-03 | Steve Hinnefeld,

[Temple Owl]

'Boondocks' creator spares no one in IU speech

Aaron McGruder says he got provocative strip into newspapers by putting it in cute package

By Steve Hinnefeld, Herald-Times Staff Writer

Aaron McGruder handed out equal-opportunity insults Thursday as the keynote speaker for Indiana University's Black History Month activities.

Republicans, the 28-year-old cartoonist said, are power-hungry killers. Yes, literally.

Democrats are losers. Punks.

And the Green Party? They're so naive they ran a brainy, awkward nerd for president.

He didn't spare the several hundred people who came to hear him speak, either.

"Americans have completely and totally lost control of their government," he said, and they clapped. "You're applauding as if that ain't your fault," he added.

McGruder draws "The Boondocks," a comic strip that appears in more than 200 newspapers, including The Herald-Times. And his observations at IU's Alumni Hall didn't differ much from the views of the comic's 10-year-old lead character, Huey Freeman.

They were over-the-top, unabashedly radical.

"Republicans do what psychotic, power- hungry megalomaniacs are supposed to do," McGruder said, with what sounded almost like grudging admiration.

"The Republicans play the political game the way it's supposed to be played — dirty, underhanded and messy, and violent," he said.

How bad are they? They killed Minnesota Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone, he insisted.

But Democrats keep pretending they're Republicans, he said. Worse, they're ineffectual.

Al Gore? "Al's just a loser," he said. "He got more votes than the other guy and he still lost. How do you manage that?"

McGruder said Gore should have fought for the presidency that he rightfully won. "He would've gone out like a soldier," he said. "He would've gone out for real. He would not have been a punk."

He likes the Green Party's politics but scorns its tactics.

"You can't put Ralph Nader on television and expect people to vote for him," he said. "This is America. People don't like smart, nerdy guys.

"You don't run Ralph Nader. You run a real good-looking guy and Ralph Nader tells him what to say."

McGruder created "The Boondocks" while he was a student at the University of Maryland. It moved later to The Source, an urban music magazine, and became syndicated in 1999.

Speaking without notes and keeping up a give-and-take with the audience, he said his goal has been to get a provocative point of view into the newspapers by wrapping it in a cute package.

"Media manipulation is a wonderful thing," he said.

McGruder said the fact that George W. Bush is president despite losing the popular vote — and needing the Supreme Court to declare he won Florida — is one sign Americans have lost control of their government.

"We had a coup," he said. "If the exact same thing happened in Nigeria, we'd have looked at television and said, 'Look at the poor Nigerians.'"

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Another sign, he said, is that Americans oppose going to war with Iraq, but war is inevitable.

He said he considered dropping "The Boondocks" two years ago. Then the Sept. 11 attacks happened, and the strip was one of the few voices resisting Bush's War on Terror.

"Now that everybody's lost their damned minds, there's a lot to talk about," he said.

McGruder bashed current-day black leaders for their penchant for self-destruction.

Jesse Jackson, he said, defied efforts by white conservatives to discredit him, then blew his credibility with young blacks by harping on "a (expletive) movie called Barbershop."

He said Al Sharpton has the best political ideas and speaking ability of any candidate for president. But the worst hair.

"In a million years, no black man with a perm is going to be sitting at the table of power," he said. "You can replace that perm with a big red clown nose — that's his image to the world."

McGruder said he's impatient with half-way measures to changing the world. Voting doesn't work, he said — Bush's election shows that. Writing letters and debating doesn't change minds.

Take action that's effective, he said, or you're wasting your time.

"Having a lot of money does not make you a bad person," he said. "Having a gun and using it does not make you a bad person. It depends on your motivation."

But don't look to him as a leader. McGruder said his comic strip may be a unique voice, but he isn't changing the way people think.

"No," he said. "No," he said. "I tell jokes for people who like leftist political humor."

[Temple Owl]

I think this guy was mentored by Robert (Sheets)Byrd.

[pabianice]

"Boondocks:" "Doonsbury" in blackface.

Not appearing in any newspaper at least 100 miles from any ocean.

[Huck]

Take action that's effective, he said, or you're wasting your time. "Having a lot of money does not make you a bad person," he said. "Having a gun and using it does not make you a bad person. It depends on your motivation."

Is he telling people to kill someone?

[RicocheT]

Call me a crank, but I agree with about half of what this guy had to say. I have seen his comic strip and it's not one I read on a regular basis. The "Wizard of Id" is my favorite.

[Commander8]

"Boondocks" is in my local paper, the Modesto Bee.
It's not on the Comics page, it's buried deep in the classifieds in the same place as the crossword puzzles.

[PaulJ]

Al Gore? "Al's just a loser," he said. "He got more votes than the other guy and he still lost. How do you manage that?"

It's called the electoral college, professor. That's how the USA "manages it". Perhaps you should learn a bit more about the country before you go shooting your mouth off against it.

[DAnconia55]

Not appearing in any newspaper at least 100 miles from any ocean.

Nah. Lemme fix.

Not appearing in any newspaper at least 100 miles from any housing project.

There we go.

[Our man in washington]

Hmmm, time to translate:

Republicans, the 28-year-old cartoonist said, are power-hungry killers. Yes, literally. (I HATE MY PARENTS.)

Democrats are losers. Punks. (I HATE MYSELF FOR NEVER BEING ABLE TO STAND UP TO MY PARENTS. THEY WOULD GET ON MY CASE FOR UNDERACHIEVING BECAUSE I SPENT MORE TIME DRAWING THAN STUDYING, AND I NEVER HAD A GOOD ANSWER. I'D SCREAM AND YELL, BUT I KNEW I WAS JUST BEING PATHETIC.)

"You can't put Ralph Nader on television and expect people to vote for him," he said. "This is America. People don't like smart, nerdy guys. (I MEAN, GIRLS DIDN'T LIKE ME UNTIL I STARTED DRAWING THIS COMIC. I KNOW I'M SMART AND THAT'S PRETTY MUCH THE MAIN THING ABOUT ME, SO THAT MUST BE WHY THEY REJECTED ME.)

McGruder said he's impatient with half-way measures to changing the world. Voting doesn't work, he said — Bush's election shows that. Writing letters and debating doesn't change minds. (I TRIED TO CHANGE MY PARENTS SO I COULD LIKE THEM BETTER, AND IT DIDN'T WORK. I WAS A GREAT ARTIST, BUT THEY EXPECTED ME TO BE A GOOD PERSON TOO, AND I COULDN'T CONVINCE THEM THAT BEING A GREAT ARTIST WAS ALL THAT MATTERED.)


"Having a lot of money does not make you a bad person," he said. (I WOULDN'T HAVE SAID THAT BEFORE I STARTED MAKING A LOT OF MONEY AS A CARTOONIST, BUT NOW THAT I HAVE MONEY, I NEED SOMEONE TO REALLY LIKE ME. BUT YOU ALL WILL PROBABLY REJECT ME JUST LIKE MY PARENTS DID, SO I'M REJECTING YOU FIRST BY GIVING THIS ANGRY TIRADE. BUT IF YOU COULD LIKE ME ANYWAY, I'D APPRECIATE IT.)

"Having a gun and using it does not make you a bad person. (I TRULY HAVE A LOT OF ANGER BUILT UP.) It depends on your motivation." (REALLY, I'M A GOOD PERSON. I JUST HAVE A LOT OF ISSUES.)

My prediction: three marriages, dead at 52. Either that or he becomes a neoconservative in the next five years, but I doubt he has the courage for that.

If he had any courage at all, he'd occasionally say something nice about someone in his comic strip. The fact that his strip can only put people down suggests a man who's too scared to commit to anyone. If he says something nice about someone, there's a risk they'd let him down.

[babaloo999]

Yo

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/848864/posts

[Interesting Times]

Editor: I'm sorry, but this headline has to change.

Staffer: What? But "Cartoonist Accuses Republicans of Murdering Senator" is perfect. It's a grabber, and it's by far the most newsworthy thing he said.

Editor: But it makes him sound so... extreme. I can just see those haters on the Right trying to use this against him. Why, that sort of thing could harm a fine young cartoonist's career for years to come! Besides, didn't he criticize Democrats as well? Said they were wimpy or something. Remember, we have a responsibility to be even-handed in our coverage.

Staffer: Gotcha. Okay, how about "'Boondocks' creator spares no one in IU speech"?

Editor: Perfect.

[curmudgeonII]

His remarks are funnier than his "comic" strip.

[section9]

Take action that's effective, he said, or you're wasting your time. "Having a lot of money does not make you a bad person," he said. "Having a gun and using it does not make you a bad person. It depends on your motivation."

Is he telling people to kill someone?

No. He's only telling you to kill the right people, so to speak.

Any fellow who runs around stating that Bush had Wellstone killed has nothing but hatred in his heart for each and every one of us. But to take things to their logical conclusion; when one gives people like MacGruder the guns and the power, people like you and me end up in places like Dachau or the Kolyma.

The Aaron MacGruders of this world are the reason why we have a Second Amendment, and why every conservative should be gunowner.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[thegreatbeast]

"Having a gun and using it does not make you a bad person.
It depends on your motivation."
He wouldn't like my motivation.

[aristeides]

Inaccurate headline. I wouldn't say this guy spared nobody. He praised Al Sharpton's politics, and only criticized his hair. I'd say he spared Sharpton.

[Question_Assumptions]

How bad are they? They killed Minnesota Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone, he insisted.

And this is why he is well into tin-foil hat land. This guy is a real loon. Not to up on the facts, either. He likes to talk in broad sweeping terms without providing any specific evidence. For example, I'm sure he insisted that Republicans killed Wellstone but I doubt he offered even a single bit of evidence that they did. I expect him to implode at some point. Hopefully, he doesn't take anyone else with him.

[Post Toasties]

McGruder said Gore should have fought for the presidency that he rightfully won. "He would've gone out like a soldier," he said. "He would've gone out for real. He would not have been a punk."

I'd love to hear McGruder provide specifics on this howler. Or was McGruder noising about it just because he likes to smell his own farts?

[jackbill]

How many Indiana taxpayer dollars were paid to this POS to spout his ignorance?

[Brett66]

McGruder said he's impatient with half-way measures to changing the world. Voting doesn't work, he said — Bush's election shows that. Writing letters and debating doesn't change minds.

Absolutely, so you should STFU and tell all of your dem buddies to stop voting.

[moodyskeptic]

a fawning article about an angry cartoonist. Boondocks pretends deep thought, but the author exhibits about the same political insight as a network TV news viewer. Bush bad/peace good. Oh, please.

The strip showed promise, then collapsed in obviousness. Predictable and shallow. There has to be a better black-drawn strip available somewhere.

[Miss Marple]

How many Indiana taxpayer dollars were paid to this POS to spout his ignorance?

Exactly my question, which is why I will be contacting people in the legislature on Monday.

I don't like this guy's comic strip, but I wouldn't object initially to his speaking. HOWEVER, this speech apparently made libelous accusations and also advocated sedition.

I hope someone has a tape and/or transcript.