I appreciate Ben Smith's sentiments in his cartoon "Remember 9/11"--except for his depiction, in the last frame, of the people being duped by the propaganda. The signs are unmistakable: bad haircuts, bad teeth, bad make-up, bad nutrition, and bad grammar all point to stereotypes of lower-class "rednecks" or "trailer trash."
Does Smith really believe that working class or poor people are less politically astute than people with middle-class haircuts and orthodontia? More, does he think the Left can rebuild a strong base through class snobbery? And what is this image doing in ETS!?
My answer to the person's two questions directed to me is "No" - as demonstrated by my depiction of poor and working class people in my "Who's the Most Screwed?" cartoon from a couple weeks ago. The people in the 9-11 cartoon represent people who prefer to be ignorant of the "broader context" on issues of consequence.
I've had a few unhappy responses to those characters, but I'm not really sure that rednecks as a "people" have a historical basis for being offended when they're stereotyped. And my caricatures are pretty mild compared to some others...
1 comment:
Unfortunately, the rampant ingnorance in this country is so widespread as to encompass everyone.
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