Daryl Cagle is one of America’s best current political cartoonists. His September 1st cartoon featured a bullet-riddled Mexican flag with the eagle from the national coat of arms shot to death. Obviously intended as a commentary on the drug wars south of the border, it has outraged a lot of Mexicans – maybe more than the killings that caused him to draw it.
Cagle might want to avoid any trips to Mexico in the near future; if the drug cartels don’t get him, the government might. There is a law on the books in Mexico making it a felony to draw their flag in a disrespectful way, and he could be prosecuted.
Ricardo Alday, a spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington, said that "as any democratic society, Mexico respects and defends freedom of speech and freedom of expression, in any way it's manifested. Regarding the case of Mr. Cagle's cartoon, we differ on the use he makes of the Mexican flag and the message it conveys."
Mexican cartoonist Paco Calderón reprinted Cagle's cartoon on the Reforma newspaper, adding his own comment.
"I'm not offended by the cartoon. I'm offended by reality and the huarache-wearing Taliban members," he said. Huarache is a type of a Mexican sandal and Calderón was using the reference to talk about members of the seven drug cartels terrorizing Mexico.
If they are blaming Cagle for anything, maybe it should be plagiarism. Back in 2008, commenting on the same violence, home-grown Mexican cartoonists Jose Hernandez and Antonio Helguera killed both the eagle and the snakes.
The words on the flag translate as “So you will learn to respect.” and are a reference to the Narcomensales, home-made signs and graffiti that often appear at the sites of cartel killings.
No comments:
Post a Comment