Rachel Corrie Cartoon Controversy
 

Some background:

Rachel Corrie was a college student from Washington State who was a member of an organization called the International Soliditary Movement. She was participating as a "human shield" in a protest on the Gaza Strip. She stood in the way of a bulldozer that was about to wreck a Palestinian home and was apparently crushed to death.

This cartoon appeared yesterday in the University of Maryland's student newspaper and many people are offended by it.

Do you think it's offensive? Why or why not?

http://www.inform.umd.edu/News/Diamo...8/cartoon.html

It's pretty tasteless. tragedy + time = humor. There has been no time to heal from this tragedy.

I personally think it is stupid to sit in front of bulldozer protecting people I don't even know. But this young lady obviously felt so strongly about it and I commend her for standing by her convictions. But, yes, this cartoon is in poor taste. I think in times of tragedy, humor can help many people cope, but it's important the know where to draw the line between humor and bad taste.

I agree it's in poor taste but for me it's all about the First Amendment.

It's in poor taste, but it's hard to argue that what she was doing wasn't just a little stupid. Perhaps less people will now make themselves out to be human shields. It's likely she's not going to be the only one to die in similar circumstances in the next few days.

Like Cream said, tragedy + time=humour. When The Onion decides to cover it, it's funny--they seem to have a sense of tact about when it's right to comment on something like this? This collegiate cartoonist should have waited.

Regardless of my political views, it seems that there are much less hurtful ways to convince people that shielding is a dangerous or stupid behavior than ridiculing a woman who died supporting what she believed.

Palenstinians aren't terrorists. Israelis are. They bulldozed down some one's house.

The family of someone who attempted or committed a suicide bombing. It's an established policy.. The people should have known to evacuate. No worries for them though, the Saudis will buy them a new house.

I guess I'm just notoriously un-PC, but I think its funny.

Maybe its becasue sitting in front of a bulldozer for ANYTHING is stupid.

Optimist: nto to change the subject of the thread but neither side in this conflict has acted proper all the time. They both have their moments. The Israelis have at times been over brutal in how they "defend" themselves, yet at the same time the Palestinians have claimed to want peace and yet not do a damn thing to stop terrorism against Israel. Peace is a two way street and neither group is going in the proper direction.

While i think she was wrong in what she did, i've got to agree that the cartoon was pretty tasteless. Especially this soon after the accident.

After our Bonfire tragedy in 1999, the following cartoon appeared 2 days later in an Arizona newspaper:

http://conserve.tamu.edu/benson1.gif

Now, i don't need to tell y'all the uproar this caused not only in College Station but in Arizona, where thousands of emails and letters caused companies to remove advertising and even prompted the editor to offer a donation to Texas A&M (which was promptly refused :D )

So, that being said, yes, the artist is completely within his rights to say that, but i would never support the artist or the paper again.

Kitso
KS 361

Now, if I had seen the cartoon BEFORE reading the background of it, I'd be cracking up about it.

After reading the background however, it is in bad taste for the time I guess. Even though I personally believe what she did was very ill-thought, it was her own deal. Plus, you can't change the past, what done is done.

The most controversial cartoon in my stint here was a cartoon portraying Arafat and Sharon as Camels, I forgot what they said but the mere fact that they were presented like that caused a huge uproar.

The majority of people just said "relax, it's just a cartoon". I'm not sure where you're supposed to draw the line though.............

So if all your life your are kicked around and you finally do something about it, its okay for the people who oppressed to go after your family?
Saudis are linked to al Queda. I have not been presented with any evidence linking them to the PLO.

The A&M Bonfire cartoon is WAY more offensive. What happened there was an accident. This girl knew what she was doing. She saw the bulldozer moving...

Had she done it in this country, she'd be nominated for a Darwin Award. Becasue she did it in the name of "peace" its "bad taste" to joke about it. *shrug* Natural selection is all I have to say about that...

I would not blow myself up on other innocent people.

We have political cartoons that make fun of people all the time for their actions, so how is this any different.

I don't take offense to this and I do find it humorous. It's her right to do what she did and it's the artist's right to draw what he/she did.

Hell, just this week there was some farmer from South Carolina in a mini-bulldozer driving around in D.C. with a U.S. flag upside-down and a gun (I believe). That's an ironic way to protest war....violence with violence. I'd laugh if I saw a cartoon about that cuz its stupid. hmmmm. Maybe that guy's picture shoulda been in the cartoon instead.:rolleyes:

Stupid people are funny.

From what I remember hearing on the news, she didnt sit infront of the bulldozer, she tripped and fell.

we'll never hear the end of it
is she in people magaziine yet


by the way, americans can be considered terrorists. . .or accesories to murder. . .
every day, millions of unborn children are killed in the name of 'unfit mothers' and 'hindeing my career'. . .

what is the difference?
we're all evil in our own little way


p.s. i did snicker at the cartoon but only because of the pic. . .i didn't know the whole story yet. . .

He was actually protesting a lack of funds for tobacco farming.

Now that's just opening up a whole new can of worms...

I think you need to research this conflict a little more. You might discover something wrong regarding that statement.

P.S. This woman deserved her fate, she knew the risks of going into a situation like that. No sympathy from me, but I feel horrible about her family and loved ones that she chose to leave to do this and create a tragedy for them to mourn over.

I don't care who you are, you go to another country and try to be noble and stupid in a war that has nothing to do with you, you are responsible for the consequences of your actions. Hey, remember John Walker, he was helping the Taliban, same deal here, only he lived.

Couldn't this same thing be said to American servicemen serving in Iraq right now?

Hmmm...good to know. I saw the American Flag upside down hanging from his little bulldozer dealy and assumed it was in protest of the war. A pretty radical statement for tobacco :rolleyes:

Thanks for the info though :)

No, not really. Volunteering to join the military is totally different from disobeying warnings and standing in front of a bulldozer. This country is responsible for sending troops to Iraq, the late Rachel Corrie is solely responsible for the tragic situation she put herself into.

Israeli soldiers exonerated in death of American peace activist
 

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl...sp?reg=MIDEAST

(AP)— Israel's military prosecutor has exonerated Israeli soldiers in the death of an American peace activist, who was crushed to death by an army bulldozer in the Gaza Strip, the army said Thursday.

Rachel Corrie, 23, of Olympia, Wash., died March 16 trying to block the demolition of the house of a doctor in the Rafah refugee camp by standing in front of the bulldozer. The army said the home was being destroyed in an effort to block arms smuggling.

Israel and the Palestinians have been locked in a bloody 33-month conflict. The Rafah camp, on the Egyptian border, has been one of the flashpoints.

Members of her pro-Palestinian group, International Solidarity Movement, claimed that Corrie was visible to the bulldozer driver and that her death was malicious.

''When the bulldozer refused to stop or turn aside, (Rachel) climbed up onto the mound of dirt and rubble being gathered in front of it ... to look directly at the driver, who kept on advancing,'' the group said in a statement.

Announcing the ruling, the army said the driver did not see her, claiming she was standing behind a mound of earth.

Military police investigating the Corrie case found that the soldiers operating the bulldozer had no intention of harming her, the army said in a statement.

''Rachel Corrie was injured as a result of earth and building material falling on her when she tried to climb on a pile of earth while work was being carried out by an armored Israel Defense Forces bulldozer,'' the statement said. ''The crew of the armored bulldozer did not see Miss Corrie, who was standing behind a pile of earth, nor could they have seen or heard her.''

International Solidarity Movement spokesman Ghassan Andoni said Thursday that he was not surprised by the army findings. ''We have received so many negative signals from them,'' he said. ''Their only concern is to protect their people and not arrive at the truth.''

The Corrie family in Charlotte, N.C., was not available for comment on the army findings.

Over the past two months Israeli authorities have adopted an increasingly tough attitude toward pro-Palestinian foreign activists, trying to deport as many as possible.

The International Solidarity Movement has acknowledged that two Britons visited its members before the Britons carried out an April 30 suicide bombing at a bar in Tel Aviv, killing three Israelis.

Re: Israeli soldiers exonerated in death of American peace activist
 

When the bulldozer refused to stop or turn aside, what she
should have done was get the heck out of there. What a waste of a young life :(

Re: Re: Israeli soldiers exonerated in death of American peace activist
 

Kind of Darwinian.

Re: Re: Israeli soldiers exonerated in death of American peace activist
 

I hate to say this, but if she was THAT stupid, its probably good that she's not around to reproduce.

Can we nominate this girl for a Darwin Award?

I don't think she was stupid. If being stupid is laying your life on the line for what you believe in, yes, it was stupid. But then I guess Dr. King was stupid, and so was Ghandi, and Malcolm X, and the Freedom Riders. After all, why die for something you believe in when you can live as a pawn in someone else's game?

The cartoon is tasteless, but nonetheless protected by the First Amendment (one of my favorites, along with the Thirteenth and Fourteenth).

It's not just about having "any" cause. Heck, Hitler and Mussolini had causes too.

-Rudey
--There are facts in this case that haven't even been presented on this thread.

Hitler wasn't stupid though. He was evil, vile, and repugnant, but I wouldn't say he lacked intelligence.

I'm not saying the Isrealis are always blameless in their actions, but we also need to see that the Palestinians aren't the angels she and other people want us to think they are. They are just as much in the wrong as the Isrealis. You compare this girl to Martin Luther King JR., Malcolm X, and Ghandi? you could have chosen a little better now. The Isreali Defense force has been in a state of constant military action since before the nation of Isreal was formed. Common sense dictates that when the Isreali Defense Force is taking an action and it is tearing down a house with a bulldozer you don't stand in front of it. The Isrealis aren't going to just stop cause some protester sits in front of thei wrecking equipment. They are defending themselves, if the suspect this house is involved with arms smuggling then they have every reason to tear it down. Don't make this girl a martyr because she doesn't have the common sense to move out of the path of a bulldozer. She should have used her head to choose a better organization to help instead of one tied to Terrorism.

Too bad you're wrong.

-Rudey
--He wasn't intelligent.

I'm wasn't saying the girl was right or wrong for doing what she did nor was I trying to take a side in the Middleast Conflict issue (that's for another thread). I'm simply saying that we shouldn't say that someone is stupid for risking their life for something they believed in. If she was trying to liberate Twinkies from the Hostess Company and got killed I would hold the same position. How many of us would put our lives on the line for something we belive in?

I don't think I'd risk my life for twinkies. I love those cream-filled tasty treats just like the next person, but I guess everyone needs to have their cause.

Rachel Corrie was part of a group that had no permission or right to be in that area. Walking into a violent and dangerous situation after repeated warnings is stupid and gets no sympathy. Fighting for a cause is one thing, but stepping in front of a 3-ton bulldozer and trying to show off that you're some foreigner who will protect terrorists from having their home teared down doesn't make you a very bright person. She had no business being there, and as sad as it is to hear someone die, she deserved what she asked for. Maybe it will send a wake-up call to the other members of this peace group that maybe they aren't as powerful as they think they are.

Regardless of our opinions, God willing the new wave of peace efforts will be successful. Rachel Corrie's death is among the countless too many. Whether you identify with the Palestinians or Israelis, let us ALL work TOGETHER to achieve a lasting peace.

Otherwise you just suck.

Clear cut, precise and to the point. I like it :)