Tasteless VT-related cartoon in Friday's Daily Toreador Options

[Aaron]

Stay classy, Daily Toreador.

[woody]

t has come to my attention that some of my peers were offended by my cartoon on Friday, and I've been asked to write an explanation. I certainly understand where concerned parties are coming from. The wound of Virginia Tech is still raw, and sensitivity is warranted. I was as shocked, as the rest of the world was, to see such senseless violence, and I would never intend to demean the value of the lives lost, nor the lives forever damaged.

That said, I stand by my cartoon. Our current president is the most ardently pro-gun president we've had in a long time, and his administration has let the few recent pieces of gun legislation wither to almost nothing. No one but the young man in Virginia pulled the trigger, but I strongly believe that our gun-crazy culture is shameful, and not free from blame. I also think it's hypocritical to mourn a tragic event without seriously thinking about why it happened, without doing everything you can to make sure it doesn't happen again. This, as painful as it may be, means critically examining our culture, and ourselves.

Friday's cartoon was deliberately ridiculous, as many of them are. Obviously, the president wouldn't stop in the middle of a speech to hunt a turkey, much less a cartoon mascot. It serves to make a point, however, that our politicians consistently portray the attitude of "Do as I say, not as I do" to young Americans and to the rest of the world. This is how we solve our problems: 600,000 dead civilians in Iraq since 2003, according to the New York Times. And many are OK with "Well, you know, we made a mistake." My cartoon was aimed at the president and those who, like him, promote a culture in which gun violence is excused and glamorized - no one else.

As a cartoonist, I have no delusions that what I do solves problems this big. Nor do I expect everyone to agree with my views. Certainly, a newspaper has a great responsibility to be sensitive. But by questioning those in power, especially when to do so is unpopular, is just as great a responsibility, and one I hope this paper continues to uphold.

http://media.www.dailytoreador.com/media/s...n-2873014.shtml

pretty lame 'explanation'