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Cartoon shallow and tasteless

Dan Reinhard

Minot

Printed in the MDN editorial page on December 30, 2018, there was a political cartoon depicting two behemoth looking border patrol agents standing near a fence with two dead children on the ground before them. A sign on the fence read: “Trump Detention Camps” and one of the agent’s statement caption read: “Well…That frees up some cage space.”

I find that political cartoon to be a despicable act of calumny against our US Border Patrol. It is a nightmarish job we ask them to perform; no different than the tasks our ICE agents must accomplish from day to day. Beneath the surface of that grotesque insinuation, the cartoonist also wishes to express that blame for the recent tragic deaths of two immigrant children was the result of the President Trump border policy. Really?

I fully appreciate the free speech rights of cartoonists and their manner to express satirical political opinions. I also understand that substantial amounts of free speech tolerance is granted to comedians, entertainers and journalism cartoonists. But there is also border that should not be encroached upon — like a wall that defines two sovereign entities — of what is humorous and what is shallow and tasteless.

We are so fortunate to live in freedom throughout America, unlike the reaction to Rosanne Barr… or what the 12 journalists and political cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo Magazine understood 12 years ago.

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