Some people in the Iranian blogosphere have felt insulted after The Columbus Dispatch published a cartoon “resembling Iran to a sewer with cockroaches coming out of it”. The issue has also attracted NIAC’s attention, “By publishing this racist cartoon, the editors of the Dispatch have insulted and propagated hate against the Iranian American community”.
Guys! Cool down! No one is saying you are a cockroach. Someone has practiced his freedom to say that Iran is acting like a source of trouble for the Middle East. Does anyone think this sentence is wrong?
Related: Offensiveness: A Proprietary Right
So it is about “free speech” now, is it? Let me pose again what I asked in my blog post: what do you suppose would happen if someone “practiced his free speech” to depict how Israel “is a source of trouble for the Middle East” by showing Israel as a sewer that was leaking cockroaches into Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Iraq (especially Kurdistan), and elsewhere?
If anyone were disgusting and vile enough to publish a cartoon like that about Israel, there would be widespread condemnations all around.
Go ahead and reassure yourself that it is about “free speech” or that it is against “the Iranian government” and not “all Iranians” Bit I suggest you do a little bit of study about the historical consequences of labeling people “cockroaches” or “rats”. You can start with some research into Nazi discourses or the genocide in Rwanda. There were lots of talk about cockroaches in both instances, maybe you will learn a thing or two.
Kamangir: With all respect to your point of view, may I ask you to calm down? Using strong words such as “Nazi” and “Genocide” does not bring any logic to this discussion.
Comment by Niki — September 6, 2007 @ 7:49 pm
Freedom of speech my ass. Can we imagine even for one single moment that anyone, ANYONE could draw a similar cartoon about Israel and get away with it? I have news for you: Iran is not the source of trouble in that region. Occupation is. Whether it’s the occupation of Palestine or Iraq. On a different note, where are all those patriotic Iranians who were so outraged concerning a ridiculous movie about an ancient empire who would condemn a cartoon which depicts their homeland as a sewage?
Comment by Mohammad — September 6, 2007 @ 8:56 pm
Hehehe
Should I remind you (mohammed and niki) about cartoons published in Iranian newspapers about Israel and carried out in US newspapers. Should I remind you about cartoons in other ME journals showing Israelis as Nazis killing “innocent” babies? Should I remind you of other stuff published not only in the ME but also in the States and/or in Europe.
As for IRI not being the source of the trouble in the region, why don’t you ask some Lebanese sunna how they view IRI. Why don’t you ask why IRI happens to spend millions of dollars every year supporting Hizb and Hamas and using for that purpose charitable organisations? And why IRI not only supports Hamas but also did try to disrupt any peaceful agreements between Israel and PA? Is it by any chance because IRI thinks that Israel is “the cancer on the body of the Middle East”?
As for the Iran being depicted as sewage ………….you are wrong, it is not Iranians and Iran who is depicted as sewage but IRI and pasdaran, the major difference, me thinks.
Comment by ella — September 6, 2007 @ 9:13 pm
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Pingback by Kamangir (Archer) - کمانگیر » Blog Archive » Offensiveness: A Proprietary Right — September 6, 2007 @ 9:21 pm
“If anyone were disgusting and vile enough to publish a cartoon like that about Israel, there would be widespread condemnations all around.”
Except, of course, in Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, parts of Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Nowhere in this editorial cartoon does it say “all Iranians are responsible”. It says, rightfully, that Iran is spreading its influence in destructive ways across the region.
Comment by Gabriel... — September 6, 2007 @ 10:28 pm
I have seen, on many occasions, editorial cartoons comparing Israel to Nazi Germany and Sharon to a vampire. The sources weren’t in the middle-east. They were in the US, Britian, and Australia.
Uproar? What uproar? Israelis don’t like them, certainly. Many others don’t, either. But to go and say that Iran is some kind of underdog here that suffers what the “Western-backed occupiers” would never see… Watch me laugh.
Do a Google image search for editorial cartoons regarding Israel, or an Israeli leader. Add a negative word to the search entry. Search. You will find much that is of interest, including cartoons similar to Nazi propaganda against Jews. So, you have a problem with a cartoon against Iran that is borderline racist? Then don’t be hypocritical assholes! The ME is full of racist anti-Jewish cartoons that are published freely. The “Evil West” is full of them as well, if hidden well under the “Blaming a State” umbrella.
So… Some of you here a feeling insulted? Feeling angry? Welcome to the club, but be advised that approving of playing both sides of the game (as Kaman rightly pointed regarding political and racist cartoons in the IRI), isn’t approved by others. You either go against any racist and hate-mongering cartoon, or you swallow your pride and get used to reality.
Comment by Roman Kalik — September 6, 2007 @ 11:30 pm
Oh, and just in case you were wondering why a cartoon of Sharon drinking blood or eating babies would be anti-Semitic, read up on Blood Libel.
Comment by Roman Kalik — September 6, 2007 @ 11:36 pm
Why do people get so offended so easily and take things too personally? Get a life, Cartoons dont define a society and can not destroy a society.
When was the last time NIAC objected to Iranian regime’s racist comments…I guess freedom of speech is a one way street for NIAC and the rest of anti-Western groups.
Comment by Frieda — September 6, 2007 @ 11:46 pm
“When was the last time NIAC objected to Iranian regime’s racist comments…I guess freedom of speech is a one way street for NIAC and the rest of anti-Western groups.”
It is not within the purview of NIAC, an Iranian American organization, to condemn the drawing of cartoons by state-run papers in Iran. Apologists for the bigotry we see in the Dispatch cartoon use the skewed logic of presenting the offended parties in a position where they are forced to defend every last purveyor of antisemitism before earning the right to be offended.
And honestly, when did IRI publications become the standard against which you people judge the propriety of the cartoon above.
Accusing NIAC of double standards for their protestations is absurd. Black Americans are not responsible for condemning Robert Mugabe before “earning” the right to be offended by the racism of their white American peers. The same goes for Iranian Americans.
Comment by Hanif — September 7, 2007 @ 1:40 am
Kamangir, it’s just as offensive as Iranian state-run propaganda. For example, of course it’s not the case that all Americans are Nazis! – it’s purely political. But nothing is purely political and people will always get bitten.
Personally I find it very very funny to have it suggested that things are screwed up in Afghanistan and Iraq because of Iran or Iranian elements. Things were so wonderful in both places before Ahmadinejad came along, eh?
Comment by ZaraTzara — September 7, 2007 @ 8:31 am
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Pingback by Kamangir (Archer) - کمانگیر » Blog Archive » The Cockroach-Cartoon: Logic kicks in — September 7, 2007 @ 11:12 am
I think you’re wrong and your post on Iranian cartoons does more to illustrate the harmful effects of dehumanization. Whats more important is the fact that the characterization of a people as a cockroach has been historically used as method to commit atrocious acts against a group of people. I note this matter on my own blog. I think the outcry toward 300 is completely different, that movie was fictional and based on a comic. Moreover, it did not use images commonly associated with genocide and gross human rights violations. In this case they did. The reason for using the cockroach as an image predicating violence is because of the universal reaction accompanying that image. In other words, when people see cockroaches, they automatically have one impulse: to exterminate them.
Kamangir: Nema Jan, I just saw your post and linked to it in my next post. Thanks.
Comment by Nema — September 7, 2007 @ 11:36 am
ahh, the ever offended muslim. its fine for the iranian fascist to call to wipe isreal of the face of the planet almost every other day but the printing of a cartoon turn you all into frothing savages.
Actually, i’m glad. it just helps the civilized world get a better idea of what the muslim is all about.
Kamangir: Just a reminder, this cartoon does not have anything to do with Islam.
Comment by tevek — September 7, 2007 @ 12:16 pm
perhaps it does in the sense that any type of critism, real or perceived is met with a reaction completely out of proportion to the deed. all groups here in the west face insults to our nationality and religion. we somehow manage not to riot burn and kill over it. the muslim world, which iran and iranian people are certaintly a part of, do not have that ability.
there could not be a better example as when a nun was killed because a swedish newspaper published a cartoon suggesting islam was violoent. i wish i could classify that reaction as insane but sadly, i believe that reaction would be viewd by most imams as quite islamic
Comment by tevek — September 7, 2007 @ 12:30 pm
Hanif – your disingenuous response is laughable at best. So on the one hand its not in the NIAC’s purview to comment on Iran but you have no problem commenting on an American comment on Iran. Do you truly believe the cartoon depicts all Iranians as cockroaches? Even the most rudimentary comprehension indicates that cockroach analogy refers only to Iranian incitement of conflicts in neighboring countries and not to the Iranian people as a whole.
And incidentally, Iran IS ONE of the sources of friction in that area. Unless you believe all of the media is ‘Zionist Controlled’ you should at least give some credence to reports that arms, training, and orders are emanating from Iran and affecting neighboring conflicts. Hezbollah anyone? I wouldn’t say the Iranian people are complicit in this but of course you have no comment on that, right? After all, as an Iranian American you are only obligated to comment negatively on your host country.
I’m constantly amazed that people like Mohammed are so incredibly stupid (or simply deceitful) as to believe that every time there is discord somewhere in the world regarding Islam it must be the ‘occupation.’ Are you so cowardly as to want to avoid a serious discussion of the issues in Thailand, Sudan, Somalia, India, the Middle East, Malaysia, etc. by ducking behind the tired “Israel/US are to blame” meme?
Comment by james Berk — September 7, 2007 @ 1:18 pm
its funny how quickly people forget their own freedoms (ie, the freedom to not read the “Columbus Dispatch”) when confronted with an issue they don’t know how to deal with (who has ever heard of that paper anyway?).
btw, anti-Israeli cartoons get published all the time and in all different corners of the world, you just have to do a little research of your own.
Comment by cyrus fx — September 7, 2007 @ 1:29 pm
It’s a cartoon. Period.
It’s the equivalent of someone calling you a “doody head” on the playground.
Hardly the type of thing that would make an educated person attempt to murder, maim, or kill innocent people of a different race/nationality/religion.
Comment by Tom — September 7, 2007 @ 3:50 pm
James Berk Says: “Hanif – your disingenuous response is laughable at best. So on the one hand its not in the NIAC’s purview to comment on Iran but you have no problem commenting on an American comment on Iran. Do you truly believe the cartoon depicts all Iranians as cockroaches? Even the most rudimentary comprehension indicates that cockroach analogy refers only to Iranian incitement of conflicts in neighboring countries and not to the Iranian people as a whole.”
Yes, and I’m sure the picture of the big-nosed Jew with a swastika under his beard is a simple “analogy” referring to Israeli policies? No doubt you can tease out a nice interpretation like that if you use your clearly healthy imagination.
As for your response to my response…your objection doesn’t cohere. The thrust of my point was clear. NIAC is not hypocritical if it fails to condemn IRI as well (and I am sure the NIAC staff do not approve of the Iranian cartoons).The fact that bigoted cartoons exist in Iran does not mean Iranian Americans should be silent about the depiction of their country and it’s people as cockroaches. The cartoon is an example of bigotry, pure and simple. It is there to dehumanize Iranians. The attempt to whitewash this filth is the real hypocrisy.
Comment by Hanif — September 7, 2007 @ 9:17 pm
Cartoon: Iranians as Cockroaches!?
Posted by Scott Harrop at September 7, 2007 11:14 PM
I learned today of a particularly disturbing political cartoon published on September 4th in the Columbus (Ohio) Post-Dispatch. Drawn by Michael Ramirez, the cartoon very much illustrates themes I’ve written about here several times before — that when all else in the Middle East fails, the change-the-subject Bush/Cheney Administration and friends can resort to the fail-safe “blame Iran game” as the root of all such troubles.
The cartoon in question displays a regional map with Iran and a sewer pipe at its center, the source of hordes of cockroaches infesting the region. You can see the Dispatch version here. I have since discovered that the cartoon was first published on June 25th, in full color, in the internationally circulated Investors’ Business Daily. (click here or here)
Before presenting additional details about the artist and the controversy, I am pleased to publish here an eloquent and courageous open letter to the Columbus Post-Dispatch, from Marsha B. Cohen, a scholarly colleague at Florida International University in Miami. (with my emphasis added)
————————–
From: Marsha Cohen
To the Editor: Columbus Post Dispatch
For over four decades, Fidel Castro has been considered one of the most odious leaders in the Western hemisphere. After he took power, hundreds of thousands of Cubans fled their island home for Miami (where I live and work), and where they have prospered. Many of them have been among the most vocal opponents of any moves by the US government to normalize relations with Cuba. Even now that Castro is old and sick, and at death’s door, he remains a hated symbol of a revolution gone wrong, that rapidly morphed into a detested enemy of the interests and values of the US.
Nevertheless, no Florida newspaper would ever dare to depict Cuba as a sewer, with cockroaches from it spreading out across North and South America. The outrage expressed, even by the regime’s most vociferous opponents, to the insult to their Cuban identity and beloved homeland, would put the police on crisis alert, and make headlines throughout the entire country.
Yet in an editorial cartoon, published on Sept 4. the Columbus Dispatch had no compunctions about portraying Iran as a sewer, and Iranians as cockroaches. Its decision to do so–regardless of the political motives of the editorial board, of the artist, or the message they were trying to convey–is unfortunate, and reflects more shamefully on the values and integrity of your newspaper than on the Iranian people, both in Iran and and those who have made their home in this country and other parts of the world, that this cartoon (whether intentionally or unintentionally) maligned and demeaned.
I hope that every organization that considers itself a champion of civil and human rights will express its outrage at the publication of this cartoon. Had the “cockroaches” been designated Jews, Blacks or Hispanics, the cartoon never would have made it into print in a respectable newspaper. And if it did, the objections and the fury generated throughout the community would have been loud, swift and resonant.
Anyone who would not want to see themselves and their ethnic group depicted in this way by a cartoonist is morally obligated to vociferously object to its publication. While the rights of a free press may extend to the promotion of racism, hatred and dehumanization, this does not mean you, as a newspaper, are obligated to exercise that right, or that decent people everywhere should not denounce your decision to do so when you do. Your disgusting representation of Iranians–irrespective of their regime–deserves nothing less than nationwide condemnation.
Sincerely,
Marsha B. Cohen
Miami, Florida
————————————
Well said and thanks Marsha Cohen.
A few additional tidbits on the cartoonist and the controversy:
1. Again, the cartoon was first published in late June in The Investors’ Business Daily, where Ramirez has been based since 2005. Ramirez columns are syndicated via the Copley News Service, potentially to over 400 local papers. That has me wondering why the cartoon only now is getting attention. (If anybody has any evidence of reactions published to the original IBD version or reprints elsewhere, please post to the discussion.)
2. Michael Ramirez is no rookie cartoonist, having begun his career over 20 years ago, over half of that time with the Los Angeles Times. Indeed, he’s won several prestigious recognitions for his work, including a Pulitzer Prize (sic) in 1994.
3. Yet Ramirez is also no stranger to controversy. An October 2000 cartoon of his has two persons “Worshiping Their God” in front of the Jerusalem “Wailing Wall” – with large block letters “HATE” emanating prominently from the stones.
The wall cartoon inspired a critical firestorm from readers and Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League who deemed the cartoon to be branding Jews as blinded by hate. Ramirez responded to the controversy by claiming he drew a Jew and a Muslim as “worshiping hate.” Yet the LATimes ombudsman at the time agreed with the “unprecedented” protests:
Obviously, the cartoon failed to communicate his (Ramirez’s) message. In addition, virtually no one saw the image as anything but the Western Wall, the use of which in the cartoon was careless and insensitive.”
One might generously surmise today that Ramirez has become an equal-opportunity offender, with careless insensitivity for all.
4. A Columbus Dispatch Editor, Glenn Sheller, has lamely defended the Ramirez cartoon, in part, by claiming that it equates “extremism,” not all Iranians, with cockroaches.
Yet without a magnifying class, one will be hard-pressed to find the fine print “extremism” in the cartoon. Even in the original color IBD version, you can only make out the word “extremism” if someone tells you to look for it, and even then it’s badly smudged. Compare that with the prominent white letters for Iran, at the center of the cockroach plague.
If the Dispatch or IBD had an ombudsman review this like the LATimes, they would conclude now, as in 2000, that “virtually no one saw the image as anything but {Iran}, the use of which in the cartoon was careless and insensitive.”
I wonder if the ADL had had, or will have, anything to say about the blatant racism inherent in this cartoon?
If not, are Iranians being set up as insidious, inhuman, pests, for which the final solution is to exterminate them?
Comment by Name Required — September 9, 2007 @ 5:01 am
I don’t know what it is that led to everyone believing that this cartoon is a hate-inciting comment on Iran being full of Iranians that are just Cockroaches and spreading themselves (or rather, infesting).
When I saw this cartoon the things that immediately crossed my mind:
Gutter + cockroaches- vile object and excellently misrepresented little creature who happens to be the ugliest thing on your bathroom floor
Gutter is a source of sickness, disease, and trash and the cockroaches are coming from a particular gutter called Islamic Republic of Iran-
But, here’s the part where I think my mind forks from many others because I immediately associated the cockroaches with the IRI agents infiltrating into other countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, basically becoming the “insurgent/terrorist” support that the IRI is purported to be giving in these regions. I did NOT think the cockroaches represented all Iranians. It just didn’t occur to me that way because I know it’s not what the cartoon was trying to say- if we’re going to take meaning from a cartoon we might as well know what it was meant to mean and the cartoonist did not claim it meant cockroaches represent ALL iranian people
instead of focusing on this small aspect, why don’t more people with influence like Nema and Niki write more about the IRI agents being sent out, and the institutional powers that dictate the press in Iran, and the way someone can get stoned just because they wanted to have an extra-marital affair or simply loved someone else? Isn’t that discriminating against the rights of Iranian women? aren’t they REALLY treated like cockroaches now?
Comment by AMT — September 15, 2007 @ 12:06 am
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