Go Read: On Michael Leunig’s Recent Niemoller Cartoon



Michael Leunig's use last week of Martin Niemoller's "First They Came..." turn of speech in a cartoon about Israel's policies towards Palestine is the subject of an interesting back-and-forth in The Age. Leunig laments that what he calls cartooning of conscience has led to an inference of anti-Semitism. Nick Dyrenfurth responds that no one is really doing that but instead the cartoonist is being criticized for extreme intellectual laziness.

I'd suggest reading both. I'm not sure there is a way to negotiate the issues involved here that isn't colored by one's political views right out to the edge of the page. It's one of those things where even the lack of clear endorsement for one side or another has probably enraged someone out there who now sees this as a tacit endorsement of the other side. I'm not suggesting there has to be a balanced view, only a full consideration given the weight of issues involved in forming each position.
 
posted 7:10 am PST | Permalink
 

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