DEVELOPING: SECRET SERVICE CONCERN AFTER LOS ANGELES TIMES COMIC DEPICTS 'BUSH ASSASSINATION'

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[Modernman]

Anyone else thinks that cartoon could be construed as a possible call for someone to do what is depicted?

Nope. Because in the original picture, the guy with the gun is the bad guy. No rational person looks at either of these pictures, with tied up guys about to be executed, and says "hey- the guy with the gun is the good guy." I think that's what makes this cartoon so dead-on.

[Gabrielle Reilly]

I am so sick of this freedom of speech bs. :) There is certainly such a thing as "too much of a good thing" in about every aspect of life. Some people just don't know where to draw the line with common sense.

[jack gillis]

Yiou think THAT'S ironic? Click on my profile

:^{)

[huck von finn]

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/presidents.html

[huck von finn]

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/presidents.html

[King Prout]

that's an interesting analysis.

[new cruelty]

That is mighty bold of you, Jack.

[windchime]

"The original photograph and video are MUCH too powerful to be trivialized in this manner."


Ramirez may not be ready for the reaction to this one!

After reading his bio on the University of California, Irvine site, he does seem like one of the good guys. Too bad this cartoon is the first impression some have of him.
Link:
http://today.uci.edu/profiles/profile_detail.asp?key=42

[floriduh voter]

My cat just jumped on the keyboard so BTTT. I don't care what Ramirez's intent was. We aren't supposed to talk about bombs at airports or take violence lightly while we are being vigilant. We are at an elevated risk and that's our Commander in Chief the gun is pointed at. When this cartoon makes it to the streets of Baghdad, it will incite more Saddam loyalists to shoot more American soldiers!!!

[BagCamAddict]

Ahhhhh.... I see. Thanks for clarifying your earlier post. I'm glad I asked you rather than jumping on your case! I had thought that YOU didn't realize the the bad guy was the one who was killed in the original photo. I'm so glad to see that you did know that.

And that's what's so difficult about this cartoon. The mainstream interpretation of the original photo was that some "innocent" victim was executed in cold blood by a bad guy. The truth was that the bad guy was executed by the Police Chief.

So will the mainstream interpret this cartoon as an innocent President being killed by the bad guy ("Politics")? Or will the mainstream think this is the "rightful" execution of an "enemy combatant"?

I think this could have been a good cartoon if not for the truth behind the original photo. If the original photo HAD depicted an Innocent being executed by an evil oppressor, then the cartoon would have had a simple double meaning. But since the original photo had the "twist" of it being a Bad Guy being killed, it leaves open the possible "Leftist" interpretation of this cartoon - that Bush is the Bad Guy after all.

When I looked at the cartoon, this is what went through my head:
1. "Someone is assassinating the President over Iraq."
2. "No, Politics are killing the President over the situation in Iraq."
3. "No, he's trying to say that Iraq is another Viet Nam, and that the Politics of Iraq are killing the President."
4. "No wait... in the original photo, the guy who was killed turned out to be a Bad Guy, and the Executioner turned out to be the Police Chief, who was a Good Guy... so is this cartoon trying to say that Bush is the Bad Guy? I hope not."

I don't like the possibility of the "Bush is the Bad Guy" interpretation. And that's why I'll be interested to see if there are any forthcoming explanations or apologies this week.

[floriduh voter]

My cat just did a post and she's not even registered. I think the cartoon will incite more violence in Iraq against our soldiers.

[huck von finn]

For more cartoons and cartoonists, try this link:

http://www.boondocksnet.com/gallery/pc_intro.html

I can't link them directly. There have been, throughout American history, many symbolically "violent" cartoons. They use metaphor to get their points across and do not mean anything literal in that regard.

[rwfromkansas]

So, you want to see him strung up as well?

He should get a talking to and a warning to be more careful in teh future. But that's it.

[Modernman]

As an american citizen he does not enjoy the right to call for the assasination of the leader of the executive branch.

In the cartoon, W. is the sympathetic figure, about to be killed by soulless politics. What about movies where terrorists try to kill the President or whatever? Are those incitements to assassinate the President?

[FreedomCalls]

http://images.ucomics.com/comics/tmpco/2003/tmpco030720.gif

[SierraWasp]

"It attempts to make the point that partisan politics are more of a threat to Bush than guerilla war."

Well heck, look at the MOSQUE over the shooter's head!!!

[jack gillis]

Thank you.

[huck von finn]

Two cannons.

[CoolGuyVic]

Thanks for those cartoons to put this in perspective.