ĪB-Fish' comic not racist; letter points to problem
In response to Travis Lane's letter of complaint about the Nov. 14 "B-Fish" comic being racist and objectifying Native Americans, there are several basic points that need to be addressed. Mr. Lane, comics neither create nor propagate racism and should be taken in the simple context that they are intended. This particular "B-Fish" was making a comparison between Mounds and Almond Joy candy bars, and only used Indians as a framework, since at one time, certain "tribes" were domiciled in mounds. The cartoonist Dave Low was neither ridiculing nor oppressing any group of human beings. Thus, there is no need to take offense, as your finger pointing serves no purpose other than allowing you to mount that all-too-tempting high horse and cry "RACISM!" at the top of your lungs. To quote from author Dave Eggers, "one of our educated society's most harmful activities is when people, students and teachers alike, run around college campuses calling each other racists and anti-Semites. It's born of boredom, lassitude. Too cowardly to address problems of substance where such problems actually are, we claw at those close to us. We point to our neighbor, in the khakis and sweater, and cry foul. It's ridiculous. We find enemies among our peers because we know them better, and their proximity and familiarity means we don't have to get off the couch to dismantle them." So please, fight problems where they exist, take offense to the truly offensive, and leave the comic strips alone.
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