Johnny Hart's B.C. comicstrip does it again

The BBQ Pit
1

Okay, here’s the cartoon:

First panel, one of the characters approaches an outhouse.

Second panel, the word “slam,” indicating the door has closed.

Third panel, the outhouse. Silence.

Fourth panel: The character thinks, “Is it just me, or does it stink in here?”

What a horrible act of hatred! What an act of intolerance. Against … well, somebody, I guess.

A Muslim group is saying the cartoon clearly defames Islam.

Because, you know, outhouse have crescent moons on the door. (Plus in the strip, there’s a crescent moon in the sky.) And a crescent moon, as we all know,*** is one of the symbols of Islam.** (Dom-dah-dom-dom.)*

No, I’m not making this up.

Plus, they noted that the world “slam” looks kind of like “Islam.” And it’s written vertically, in the shape of a letter “I.”

Is it just me, or does something stink here?

2

Hart has proved himself to be capable of Christian glurge, but not racial hatred. Heck, even if he feels that way, he’s never done anything that clever.

3

I have a couple of paperbacks from when the strip started, and it was fresh, pointed, inventive, clever, and hilarious.

4

I can hear the commercial: Five out of six cartoonists recommend this strip for people who hate Islam…

5

How silly. Thanks for the heads up, SAD

6

At first I thought it was just overreacting activists (as much as i wanted to join an anti-Hart pile on) but after reading the whole article and looking at the cartoon, I think it’s just barely possible that Hart really did intend this to be a cryptic slam on Islam. I find it interesting that so many of his colleagues, includely Berkley Breathed, actually do believe he meant it that way.

7

Way ahead of you, buddy. :wink:

8

I took a look at the 11/15/03 cartoon, too. I can’t figure out why the hell it’s supposed to be funny. Can anyone explain what I’m supposed to be laughing at if this interpretation is incorrect?

I know that Johnny Hart is a YEC; maybe he’s expanding the expression of his idealology in his strip.

–Patch

9

Oops. The strip appeared on the 10th, not the 15th.

–Patch

10

This is the most telling line from the entire article:

There isn’t a rolleyes big enough for this statement. I’m no fan of Hart, but the above statement is indicative of much that is wrong with our society today.
“Have a nice day”

“And just what do you mean by that??”

How far does this kind of shit have to go before we say “enough, you’re being rediculous”. We certainly can’t stop people from looking for things to be offended about, but we can stop paying attention to their yammerings when they find offense in innoculous things.

11

After reading the article I’m more convinced than ever they are wrong. He has given every appearance of being a man of character, lying baldfacedly about his intentions seems very unlikely. It isn’t funny but then a lot of single daily comics taken by themselves aren’t even remotely funny. BC definitely falls in that category.

12

I agree. I remember the case of the white worker who was fired from a job in Washington, D.C., because he used the word “niggardly.” It didn’t matter that the people taking offense had to have the word explained to them. He was still fired. The folks were just determined that they were going to take offense, no matter what. I also remember a human-resources session we sat through on sexual harassment. They stressed that, under the law, it didn’t matter what your intentions are. If someone felt harassed, she had a case and could sue, irrespective of the “offender’s” intent.

There was a good Dilbert strip several years ago in which Dilbert used a word that a woman took out of context and found offensive. She cautioned him to never use words that could ever be misunderstood. She then asked Dilbert to hand her an item and he said “which?”

13

IIRC, he was eventually given his job back after public outcry and mockery.

14

I believe you’re correct that he was offered the job back. It was my recollection that he chose not to go back – obviously a wise choice.

15

I saw this strip and couldn’t make heads or tails of it. The outcry surprised me because I never would have interpreted it in that way.

But now, in hindsight, if it was not a slam on Islam, just what the hell was it? It makes no sense at all when stripped of that context. Knowing what I do of Hart and his religious beliefs, I now think he meant exactly what he is being accused of.

16

I * think * it’s a * very * feeble gag based on the expression “Is it me or…”. In the pre-shower days of the caveman, I suppose it’s possible that you could eventually outstink an outhouse.

On a scale of humor where Calvin and Hobbes is a 10, this is about a milli-micro-Family-Circus.

17

Ok, I guess people have forgotten that the traditional cut-out on an outhouse door was A CRESCENT MOON??? It way predates all the concern about Islam.

Jeezopete.

18

I agree with Lamar. If it’s not a subtle dig, it’s nothing but the most unfunny strip in the history of comics.

19

I love this. It’s a cartoon that’s so bafflingly unfunny, that we are forced to invent a cryptic meaning for it, just to explain its existence.

FWIW, I don’t think he meant anything by it. But I can see why others would.

20

That made me laugh. A lot.