The above cartoon, by Daryl Cagle drawing for MSNBC.com, is causing a bit of a stir. Mexicans it seems don’t like their flag besmirched in parody. Tough ka-ka. From AOL News:
“It is a shame that a patriotic symbol like our flag, which is so beautiful to me, can be mocked by a stupid cartoonist,” one angry reader complained to the Mexican newspaper El Universal. “I think there are many other ways to graphically protest what’s happening in our country.”
The Mexican Embassy in Washington weighed in on the issue, with a spokesman Ricardo Alday saying Thursday that Mexico “respects and defends freedom of speech and freedom of expression” but “differs” with Cagle “on the use he makes of the Mexican flag and the message it conveys.”
In a letter to MSNBC.com, which employs Cagle, Alday said the cartoon “triggered a negative response from some sectors of Mexican public opinion.”
On his blog, Cagle acknowledged that many people consider his cartoon “scandalous” and that it “struck a nerve with Mexican readers.” He said he’s received some “interesting, outraged emails” from readers.
“I think your idea of bringing the violence in Mexico to light is excellent. Too bad you butchered it along with the Mexican Flag,” Ramon De Leon wrote on Cagle’s blog comments section. “Laws in Mexico with regards to the use and depiction of the flag are in place to prevent this sort of stuff. Please consider taking it down and issuing an apology to the Mexican American community.”
Cagle has not yet issued any apology, and newspapers continue to reprint his cartoon despite the controversy. The cartoonist also sought to defend his choice of material as a freedom that comes with his profession.
Probably a tempest in a teapot — but it’s always nice to see us getting under the skin of foreigners.
Print
Digg
StumbleUpon
del.icio.us
Facebook
Yahoo! Buzz
Twitter
Google Bookmarks
Google Buzz
LinkedIn
MSN Reporter
MySpace
Orkut
Ping.fm
Reddit
RSS
Slashdot
Technorati
Tumblr
Webnews.de
OTOH, if he had done the same thing with the American flag, protesting inner city gang violence or the like …
Oh, and the “Mexican-American” community might consider putting more of the emphasis on American and less on the Mexican while they’re living here. Perhaps Mexico would be less of a sh*thole if they paid more attention to the sh*t and less attention to folks noticing the smell.
You don’t like your flag disparaged? Well, I don’t like hearing my country disparaged by anti-American blowhards every time I go for a trip outside the U.S., but I guess neither of us are getting what we want. Welcome to our world, Mexico.
geez, what’s wrong with them? Why can’t they go straight to the “behead the infidels dogs!”, that always works.
I like the guy who wrote in that there were laws in Mexico against use or depicting the Mexican flag in a disparaging manner…dude, you aren’t in Mexico, and why would the artist issue an apology to Mexican-Americans? If anything he should issue an apology to his art teacher for being such a crappy cartoonist.
Its easier to bitch about a cartoon than fix a country.
The part the Mexicans can’t get, the cartoon comes across to me as an expression of love for Mexico and sadness about the dismal state of affairs the country is in right now.
I think the cartoon is fantastic. Poor Mexicans. BOO HOO HOO! Clean up your country Mexicans.
Maybe the La Raza types in East LA will remember this the next time they desecrate our flag by flying the Mexican flag above it in front of one of their chop-shops on our soil!
Clearly the message to take away is that the La Raza crowd needs to step it up a bit: the media aren’t nearly as frightened of them as they are of Islamofascists.
Greetings on behalf of Threedonia,Cloudbuster!You are very welcome here.
[...] incompetents in charge? Did we mention incompetence in the Administration? And apparently Mexicans are sensitive about their flag. Too bad they’re not so sensitive to shitty government. Did I mention incompetence in the [...]