# How would you interpret this cartoon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 1, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051 "2003-01-01T17:03:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/21 "2003-01-01T20:51:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TBone2 \* > **Are we to believe that the Prophet is “more well known” to the average schmo who reads the Tallahassee newspaper than is the stereotyped terrorist depicted in the cartoon?** Probably, yes. And again: **It’s a parody of “What Would Jesus Drive”**. The “Mohammed” in the caption only makes sense if it is the Prophet. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/22 "2003-01-01T20:57:20Z")
I remember Doug Marlette from his Charlotte Observer days. He was a brilliant cartoonist who also got a lot of flack for his many, many cartoons of Jim and Tammy Faye, Jerry Falwell, Jimmy Swaggart, and other Christian “leaders” in the area. He is an equal opportunity lampoonist. ---
**Author:** ![nogginhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5e9695/32.png) [@nogginhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nogginhead)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/23 "2003-01-01T21:19:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne \* > \*\*The guy doesn’t have a leg to stand on but like he says, he doesn’t need one. \*\* Right. As he says, he can say what he wants. And believe what he wants, and express it in public and private as he deems appropriate. So can Trent Lott. And if people feel strongly enough about what he says, he can get in a heap of trouble for saying it. To me, the guy seems to be dissing a whole religion. He has somehow come to believe that Islam is evil, and that this is an acceptable view to promulgate in our society. I disagree. All you get from hate is hate. Not peace and not security either. And I think intolerance (while clearly well-pedigreed) is antithetical to the American ideal. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/24 "2003-01-01T21:23:49Z")
I don’t see how one could possibly make the case that the cartoon is NOT offensive. And the cartoonists “explanation” just makes things worse. > [@](#): > > To a cartoonist working in the current geo-political atmosphere it is a natural step to ask, “What would Mohammed drive?” And I’m sorry to report that the image in post-9/11 America that leaps to mind is the Ryder truck given to us by the terrorist Timothy McVeigh, carrying a nuclear warhead and driven, alas, not by an Irish-Catholic, an ultra-orthodox Jew or a Southern Baptist, but, yes, by an Islamic militant. I’m not really sure what he’s trying to say here, but it sounds like he’s saying that since HE associates all of Islam with radical militants, ignoring the millions who are NOT radical militants, that it’s somehow all right. The word for that is “stereotype”. I don’t see that the question of who is driving the truck is really the issue. The issue is that the author associates the central figure of a religion with actions carried out by extremists, and makes no apology for it. It’s kind of like trying to lampoon the Catholic Church by drawing a cartoon of Jesus molesting children. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/25 "2003-01-01T21:32:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nogginhead \* > \*\* > To me, the guy seems to be dissing a whole religion. He has somehow come to believe that Islam is evil, and that this is an acceptable view to promulgate in our society. > > I disagree. All you get from hate is hate. Not peace and not security either. And I think intolerance (while clearly well-pedigreed) is antithetical to the American ideal. \*\* Did you read my post after the one you quoted? And I agree with the poster who just said that there is no way that cartoon could not be interpreted as bigoted. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/26 "2003-01-01T21:38:03Z")
**NoClueBoy:** I think that the cartoon was meant less to be funny than pointed. **Generally:** I also belive it was less an indictment of Isalm generally than of those Muslims who feel that bombs are better tools of communication than other methods. The “What Would Jesus Do/Say” is a powerful indictment to Christians who truly grasp the [Christian] concepts of Love, Peace, and Tolerance. Bigots readily adapt the same message to justify their hatred of others who, _in their view,_ “violate the message of Christ.” For Muslims who claim to feel the same way, the cartoon should have slid right off of their back, as they weren’t its intended target; just the bomb makers of that religion. Just as cartoons lampooning the Bakers, Falwells and McVeighs of Christianity slide off of the backs of most Christians. Comparisons to McVeigh are not really comparisons at all, since we caught him, tried him, and executed him; showing we have no more tolerance for radical, violent Christian fundamentalists than we do for any other type of radical, violent religious fundamentalist. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/27 "2003-01-01T21:44:55Z")
Count me as one who finds the cartoon witless and offensive. The defense by the cartoonist is weak and unconvincing. Of course he doesn’t _have_ to apologize. Nobody _has_ to apologize, but that doesn’t mean that _I_ can’t call him an asshole. BTW, McVeigh was a Christian was he not? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/28 "2003-01-01T21:54:22Z")
Seems to me he was stretching pretty far to cover the obvious racism. I mean this: > [@](#): > > And I’m sorry to report that the image in post-9/11 America that leaps to mind is the Ryder truck given to us by the terrorist Timothy McVeigh, carrying a nuclear warhead and driven, alas, not by an Irish-Catholic, an ultra-orthodox Jew or a Southern Baptist, but, yes, by an Islamic militant. See most people, without some sort of propaganda filter in our heads, think of not an ultra-orthodox jew or an Islamic militant but yes, a ex-military white guy. Know why? Cause that’s what McVeigh was. The last line was kinda surreal: > [@](#): > > Just ask the Arabs currently being held in detention without being charged with a crime. That’s how it works in totalitarian regimes. This is not a totalitarian country, which, I presume, is one of the reasons those who wrote to me live here. I assume he wasn’t talking about the guys at Guantanomo? ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/29 "2003-01-01T21:59:37Z")
**D the C:** yes he was. And most true, peaceful Christians didn’t take any more offense at pundits skewering him and other violent Christians than should true, peaceful Muslims take offense at this cartoon. In both cases, the cartoons were not aimed at or representative of the majority of either. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/30 "2003-01-01T22:02:29Z")
**Tank** , whether the attempt was to be funny or pointed, the cartoonist was (IMHO) trying to use humor to make a point. **Just talking to whom ever** , The point he was making is offensive to me. We all have suffered through the actions of terrorists in this past decade. And to any who were involved, even in the smallest of ways, in a terrorist attack in _their own community_, such parodies fall well short of _any_ humor or valid point. I imagine the gut reaction of any New Yorker to this “cartoon” is very similar to this Oklahoman’s reaction. Terrorism is a disturbing subject. So is racism. So is radical religionism. (I made up a word) Does the cartoonist have a right to print this? Sure. Do I have a right to express disgust and disapproval? Damn right I do. **Tank** (again), And if you were in the US military, I think I have you and people like you to thank for these rights. It can be a sad and dark world at times. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/31 "2003-01-01T22:22:21Z")
FTR, one reason why this cartoon got a reaction from me was because I was there, on the scene, as soon as I could get there, when that Ryder truck exploded. I helped as best I could, until it got organized and I was urged to leave it to the medicos and the guys with the proper training. I even went back the next day. I had press credentials at that time (can’t always count on building houses) and thought I would get some photos. I didn’t take a single picture. It just struck me that I shouldn’t. And others were there documenting it in a manner that was way more professional than I could’ve done anyways. But, I do have to ask myself, Is this cartoon harming me? Well, no. Other than bringing up unpleasant memories. And getting a knee-jerk reaction of anger. This cartoon and his replies seems to take shots at everybody. Oh, well… His right. I’ll shut up now. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/32 "2003-01-01T23:22:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ExTank \* > \*\* Comparisons to McVeigh are not really comparisons at all, since we caught him, tried him, and executed him; showing we have no more tolerance for radical, violent Christian fundamentalists than we do for any other type of radical, violent religious fundamentalist. \*\* A mere quibble; Timothy Mcveigh was not a Christian fundamentalist. He was [not very religious.](http://www.humaneventsonline.com/articles/05-06-02/lofton.htm) Certainly not a fundamentalist. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/33 "2003-01-01T23:32:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne \* > \*\*I suppose I was reacting more to the idea that an anti-apology is still an apology and that he should either have apologized outright or left the issue to die. \*\* Then I think I misunderstood you, sorry about that! ---
**Author:** ![Dryga\_Yes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Dryga\_Yes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dryga_Yes)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/34 "2003-01-01T23:35:40Z")
People here are ignoring the obvious – if he makes a political cartoon where it’s unclear exactly who’s being targeted and exactly what the joke is, then he’s too incompetent to do his job properly and should be fired. And reading his “but I have the 1st amendment”-defense just proves that he doesn’t understand an iota of the American system of goverment (and doesn’t appear to be able to put sentences together to form coherent thoughts, either) which makes him an even worse political cartoonist. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/35 "2003-01-01T23:38:00Z")
I’ll stand corrected on a point of fact; nonetheless, the perception remains prevalent, and will continue to do so until it becomes relevant enough for the general public to sit up and take notice, and amend their view. Are Islamic terrorists essentially Islamic fundamentalists too? ---
**Author:** ![Ben\_Hicks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@Ben\_Hicks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben_Hicks)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/36 "2003-01-02T00:38:52Z")
I agree with **Diogenes** et al. in that I cannot see how it is possible to miss the offensive implications of the cartoon. The cartoonist is obviously an educated man and would be in little doubt of the importance of Mohammed in Islam as a whole. Attacking him is disrespectful to all Muslims in the same way as it would be offensive to all Catholics for me to poblish a cartoon of the Pope molesting a 12 year old. ---
**Author:** ![nogginhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5e9695/32.png) [@nogginhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nogginhead)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/37 "2003-01-02T02:22:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ben Hicks \* > \*\*I agree with **Diogenes** et al. in that I cannot see how it is possible to miss the offensive implications of the cartoon. > > The cartoonist is obviously an educated man and would be in little doubt of the importance of Mohammed in Islam as a whole. Attacking him is disrespectful to all Muslims in the same way as it would be offensive to all Catholics for me to poblish a cartoon of the Pope molesting a 12 year old. \*\* Yes, but at least your cartoon might be funny!!! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Harvey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@Max\_Harvey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Harvey)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/38 "2003-01-02T03:24:18Z")
It seems to me that the cartoonist is **defending** Mohammed. There’s a fanatical Muslim terrorist driving the truck, and the cartoonist is _asking that terrorist_ “What would Mohammed drive?”, or in other words “Mohammed wouldn’t be driving this truck”. ---
**Author:** ![perspective](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@perspective](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perspective)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/39 "2003-01-02T04:12:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Harvey \* > It seems to me that the cartoonist is **defending** Mohammed. There’s a fanatical Muslim terrorist driving the truck, and the cartoonist is _asking that terrorist_ “What would Mohammed drive?”, or in other words “Mohammed wouldn’t be driving this truck”. Good point. After reading his explanation though he doesn’t seem to be saying that or at least not too clearly. > [@](#): > > To a cartoonist working in the current geo-political atmosphere it is a natural step to ask, “What would Mohammed drive?” And I’m sorry to report that the image in post-9/11 America that leaps to mind is the Ryder truck given to us by the terrorist Timothy McVeigh, carrying a nuclear warhead and driven, alas, not by an Irish-Catholic, an ultra-orthodox Jew or a Southern Baptist, but, yes, by an Islamic militant. > … > > We watched young Palestinian suicide bombers murder innocents in cafes and markets and on buses, in the name of the Prophet Mohammed. > > Such nihilists are considered by many Muslims to be martyrs worthy of admiration and emulation. He seems to be saying here that _is_ what Mohammed would drive (at least in some people’s minds). I want to think your interpretation is correct, but I think Doug Marlette could have explained that interpretation in a lot fewer words and a lot more clearly than he did in his response. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051/40 "2003-01-02T04:37:32Z")
I took the same interpretation of the cartoon as **Max Harvey.** As far as his written explanation: well, maybe writing stuff in plain english isn’t really his strong suit. Maybe if he just drew another cartoon, explaining his position… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-interpret-this-cartoon/146051.md?page=3)