On ne rit pas
Oh, ick. Pas drôle, Charlie.
“God exists! he’s drowned all the Neo-Nazis in Texas.”
Not true, not funny, not humane.
Tip Jar
Oh, ick. Pas drôle, Charlie.
“God exists! he’s drowned all the Neo-Nazis in Texas.”
Not true, not funny, not humane.
Ya know, if a locality has, say, a 5% neo-Nazi population, that’s a scandal. But it does mean that 95% of the people there are not neo-Nazis, and presumably deserve a lot better.
I can hope that Texan voters will appreciate being part of a country that can and will send help from parts that can spare it to parts that need it. It’s the essence of any community. It’s also something that the politicians Texan voters often hire for themselves and for the rest of us do not get. (Or don’t espouse, at least – they’re still apparently happy to take more in federal spending than they pay in federal taxes.) But the people who actually drown aren’t learning a damn thing.
I’m not sure what to make of that cover cartoon. But here’s an alternative viewpoint:
Harvey Drowns Nazis, Yet Still, Je Suis Charlie
Definitely not funny. In fact it’s hateful on many levels.
I am from Texas. I am not proud of it. I met some ignorant, prejudicial folks there, but the vast majority (> two sigma) are good, well intentioned, hard working people even if they think the universe is 6000 years old.
Re #3 – Ya, I can report the same about southern Louisiana. Close, anyway – “hard-working” isn’t exactly a value, but working enough, being friendly, having a good time and supporting a good time had by others fits in in about the same spot.
Well, we could be charitable and assume that Europeans have no idea as to the devastating effects of tropical storms such as hurricanes and cyclones. Or we could assume that the staff at Hebdo are totally insensitive dickheads.
It’s especially bad in that many of those killed or destroyed by the flood waters are the same colour as the people that Trump and his brown shirts want to boot over the state border. It’s not as if REAL AMERICANS tm are the recipients of the Harvey’s wrath…
I wonder if they intend a parallel to all the godbotherers who claim natural disasters are sent by Gawd because of The Gays.
(Or whatever other supposed liberal plague makes Baby Jesus cry.)
One interpretation is that it is mocking the theocrats who blame natural disasters on gay people or women’s clothing. Nazism is the abomination that God is punishing America for. It’s totally insensitive, but that’s Charlie Hebdo’s schtick. I don’t enjoy it, myself: mostly it makes me cringe. I am not sure I would call it hateful though: I don’t think it is implying that all Texans are Nazis, or that Texans deserve the flood.
@Lady M –
That’s exactly how I saw it. If one’s the kind of nutbasket who thinks that god sends storms because of Teh Gayz, then one’s vulnerable to the quid prop quo that he sends ’em because of… well, because of the nutbaskets.
Oops just realised Lady Mondegreen had already said it . . .
It seems like old hat in the present circumstances. Its like pointing out the high crime, low life-expectancy, illiteracy, venereal disease rates, teen pregnancies etc. etc. that correlate precisely with religiosity on a state-by-state and county-by-county basis.
And the god-botherers have already found ways to blame teh gayz.
After the Lisbon earthquake in 1755, American preachers argued that it was God’s punishment for the use of lightning rods (in America) to thwart his will.
God always has had rather bad aim.
Regardless of the opinion of religious nutters in America the Lisbon earthquake had a profound effect on Enlightenment thinking in Europe. It occurred on a Holy Day, destroyed most of the city’s churches and spared the brothels. Naturally the religiots had problems explaining that away. The King placed the enlightened Marquis de Pombal in charge of the city’s rebuilding program. He was certainly the man for the job. The result was, probably for the first time in history, that an earthquake was regarded as a natural phenomenon, another benefit was the expulsion of the Jesuits by de Pombal.