Editor,
Political cartoons are open to more than one valid interpretation. It seems many readers have chosen to infer the most negative messages and have expressed outrage at the recent cartoon about the New Orleans disaster.
I thought it was a good, respectful cartoon. When I viewed it, I saw the depiction of a traditional element New Orleans culture - the jazz band in funeral procession. The message was tragedy, mourning and an ability to survive and ultimately persevere in facing and dealing with this horrible catastrophe, still visible in the cartoon's flooded streets.
Some have complained that all the characters in the cartoon appear to be African-American. I see this as appropriate for at least three reasons: African-Americans, mostly from New Orleans, invented jazz. African-Americans developed and maintain the cultural tradition that is the central image of the cartoon. African-Americans have suffered disproportionately in the recent tragedy.
I would ask those who are outraged by the symbols in this cartoon to consider a hypothetically opposite cartoon. Would it have been appropriate if African-Americans were absent from a cartoon about New Orleans? Or if a cartoonist attempted to symbolize New Orleans, while ignoring or excluding the contribution of its African-Americans to that city's culture? Or if a cartoon pretended that Hurricane Katrina did not cause floods and devastation, resulting in tragic loss of life and countless funerals?
I would consider such a cartoon as much more worthy of condemnation.
Derek Roff
UNM staff
