Cartoonist solidarity?
Not here. Warren Ellis is one of the foremost comic book authors in the UK. And he’s angry. Not because twelve fellow artist are currently in hiding, fearing for their lives. Not because a cadre of radical Islamist imams are trying to dictate what he may and may not depict in his artwork. Not because of the violent, deadly over-reaction around the globe, sparked by a small group of mendacious, power-hungry fanatics.
But because Jyllands-Posten is a bit right-wing, and some of the cartoons were a bit shit:
My perspective on the mess begins with the fact that these are shitty, stupid, evil-minded cartoons produced by obvious hacks for a conservative rag that would appear to embody everything bad about the word “conservative” simply by publishing the things. In a sane and ordered world, everyone involved in their publication would be taken behind a stables and hit in the face with a shit-shovel.
Why not go the whole hog and call for their decapitation?
Jyllands-Posten has a lousy reputation when it comes to ethnic tolerance, their intent to offend in the most racist and simple-minded way possible was quite clear in the commissioning of the cartoons, and their apology was mealy-mouthed at best.
Tolerance? Yes, that would be nice. Race and religion? Best not conflate the two.
The test of free speech always lays in that which is hardest to defend.
And what is that supposed to mean?
It really would be nice if maggots like these didn’t make the rest of us work so hard.
These guys have a bounty on their heads, yet Ellis calls them “maggots” because he claims they’re making him work hard to defend free speech? As he hasn’t said a single word of condemnation about the outrageous backlash, it doesn’t look like Warren is working very hard at all.
In fact, our deeply held beliefs are so offended by this craven, treacherous screed that we are offering five quid and a Kit-Kat to anyone who chops Warren Ellis’s head off*.
He can hardly object, can he?
*not really
Four fingered Kit-Kat or two-fingered Kit-Kat?
i’d do it for a Kit Kat chunky!
What are the ones in the bag called?? I’d consider it for that.
Ones in the bag are Kit Kat Cubes. There’s also orange kit kats, and those really nice kit kat chunkys that they try and make look posh with the wrappers.
This offer clearly hasn’t been thought through properly.
OK, OK. A standard 4-finger Kit-Kat. But you have to share.
there’s a joan collins joke that refrences a four fingered kit kat………;-}
I dunno. I do kinda see Ellis’ point. The cartoons, while I completely support the right to their publication, aren’t (for the most part) very funny, or very good. They would be easier to defend if they were a bit better. Quality shouldn’t really come into the defense of speech, but in the real world it does.
I don’t know, compared to that Franklin bloke that used to draw for the sun (spit), they’re absolute masters.
AFIAK, the cartoons weren’t necessarily intended to be funny and were supposidly submitted by just about anyone (not necessarily people who do this for a living). I do find this a rather lame line of critique, and its on par with journos who slag off blogs they disagree with on the grounds that they are dull or poorly written.
Completely off topic, and apologies to any journos, but when ever I hear or read the word journalist I have an instant flash back to when spitting image used to represent them as pigs in raincoats and hats. Always makes me chuckle.
Back to the Kit-Kat, there’s no way that I would do it for a Kit-Kat!
Now if you could offer a Snickers Bar, then we might have a deal!
The King size!
Wouldn’t get out of bed for less than a giant toblorone me sen
Martyn said,
I was one, Martyn (and one of my first colleagues was a Martyn with a ‘y’, which is even more off topic). That aside, I always chuckled, too, when I saw journos on and saw most journos in the same way. Bunch of turds, the lot of us; should be taken behind the stables and hit in the face with a shit shovel. But I did my best, and got into trouble a few times for trying to fight to preserve free speech. Perhaps 1 or 2 per cent of them are OK. Maybe even me. I always enjoyed the freebies.
Andy, I actually know a couple of journos and they’re ok. It’s the fake journo gossip mongers that the description best fits. When you see them all trying to get to see a “celeb” what ever that is, hunting in a pack. That’s when I hear the snorting and grunting noises in my head. Luckily I’m not religious or I’d construe it as messages from god!
The snobbish response of some cartoonists who miss the central point is very well covered here :-
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/825
This article articulates far better than I can.
Umm…dare I be serious and on-topic?
We gotta defend Ellis’ right to say whatever he wants, however ignorant, blinkered, downright irrational,etc,etc..
Did anyone else visit his website? Did you feel the self-aggrandisement?
Was anyone else not remotely impressed by the “quality” of his ramblings?
He is the lving embodiment of an extremely cogent argument for the banning of Red Bull…
🙂
@Andy
“I may think your chosen beverage tastes like a chemical broth, but I’ll fight to the death to defend your right to drink it.”
With apologies to Voltaire.
Sconzey,
:-))
I guess I was going along the lines of “I’ve heard people make more cogent sense when they were off their tits on dope / l.s.d. , and those are (rightly or wrongly) illegal, soooo…??”
We’ve got laws against drink-driving, how about drink-writing? Sentence to be a day in the stocks having their witless meanderings publically ridiculed??
🙂