The @washingtonpost took down this @ramirezcartoons cartoon mocking #Hamas (not Palestinians writ large) after readers and staffers complained that it was offensive, racist, unfair, inaccurate, etc (see linked story). The editor of the opinion page, David Shipley, explained his reasoning thus: "Our section is aimed at finding commonalities,
understanding the bonds that hold us together, even in the darkest times."

You might have thought mocking a governing authority that is considered a terrorist organization by the US govt, that has a long history of using human shields, and has in recent memory slaughtered innocent men, women, and children might be one of those commonalities that most Americans share. Apparently not at The Washington Post, which still insists that "Democracy Dies in Darkness" on its home page.

I do not like editorial cartoons generally and have never been a fan of Michael Ramirez who, like seemingly all editorial cartoonists, has inexplicably won a couple of Pulitzer Prizes. I do not think Israel should be given carte blanche in its response to the grotesque October 7 attacks, and I definitely don't want American troops anywhere near the Middle East.

Yet the idea that this cartoon must be removed in the name of social comity or common decency or "the bonds that hold us together" is risible. If this sort of specific critique of Hamas is considered beyond the pale of public discussion by a newspaper that prides itself on speaking truth to power, something has gone horribly, horribly wrong in America. And it's not going to be fixed by memory-holing newspaper cartoons, even or especially in our "darkest times."
https://t.co/BzaQV15Oby

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