On this Fourth of July I’m posting again the keynote speech I gave in Ottawa at the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom luncheon last May.
Nowadays I hear many comments like “You must be having a great time with all this material” or “Cartoonists must be in heaven with the Trump presidency”. The feelings I have though are not ones of fun or excitement. I only feel a sense of urgency and concern for my country and the ideals I value.
I had always planned to write about the controversy over my Cruz cartoon last year but wanted to wait for a while to really think about the role social media played in it. I hoped the Columbia Journalism Review would consider publishing my piece and was so pleased when then CJR editor Liz Spayd agreed to take it on. Thank you also to current CJR editor Vanessa Gezari and Maralee Schwartz for their expertise and guidance; they were a pleasure to work with.
My excellent colleague Signe Wilkinson and I were on C-Span this weekend talking about Charlie Hebdo, free speech, and a few other things…
Just returned from Toronto where I did a presentation about free speech and women in cartooning. Click on the image below for link to the video:
My latest at the Washington Post (click image for link)
Had a great turnout for our presentation at the Library of Congress on Thursday. I’ve decided my favorite fellow panelist is cartoonist Signe Wilkinson; an excellent presenter who manages to get the audience laughing even while delivering a really solid editorial punch. Now if I can just keep her alive (she’s a serial jay-walker. Had to grab her from oncoming traffic a couple of times during her Washington visit). 
Signe Wilkinson, me, and moderator Martha Kennedy
photos courtesy of Katharine Blood
(click on image for full column)
Four cartoonists Five cartoonists were among the 12 murdered at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on January 7th. My colleagues have banded together and continue to offer their support in the way they know best- through cartoons.
I’ll add more links later but meanwhile here’s the cartoon I drew in support of Charlie Hebdo right after hearing the horrible news:
My opinion piece “The killing of cartoonists” at the Washington Post
The “Umbrella Revolution” enters its sixth day with the demonstrators continuing their peaceful demands for China to honor their one country, two systems promise in 1997. Hopefully the Chinese government won’t resort to previous tactics but I admit I’m not optimistic.
cartoon from archives 6/30/2004
Early last week I created a cartoon about the bombings in Gaza. In editorial cartooning, there are some topics which will result in intense reactions from certain groups, as did this one. The series of events started with the Simon Wiesenthal Center issuing a press release last Friday from which the Jerusalem Post wrote a short article titled “US Jews furious over Washington Post cartoon showing Netanyahu punching Palestinian infant” (I’ll note the JP did not ask me for a comment). So all weekend and again this morning I’ve been getting tweets and emails, some obviously group orchestrated, accusing me of antisemitism and that I support Hamas. Anyone remotely familiar with my work knows I never criticize people’s religious beliefs, only the actions of governments and the leaders of any organization which try to influence public policies that affect ordinary people’s lives.
I’ve been in this profession long enough to know that dealing with blowback and angry reactions about a cartoon is part of the job description. However unlike my male colleagues I also am receiving sexually violent and misogynistic threats in response to this cartoon. During the Danish cartoon controversy in 2006 I maintained that regardless of what one thinks about a cartoon and its message, no one or group has the right to threaten or censor a cartoonist. You have the right to criticize, protest, or draw your own response to the cartoon- but violence and threats are not acceptable. I am a firm believer in every person’s free speech rights, regardless if a group finds the message offensive.
I’ll give the Simon Wiesenthal Center credit for acknowledging my free speech rights but they should be aware of what some of their supporters are saying in response to their press release. 
2006 cartoon in response to the Drawing Mohammed cartoon controversy
Panel: “Cartooning in war time”
Cartoonists from Palestine, Iran, Algeria, Morocco, and Russia discuss working in countries under repressive governments and during wartime.
Mohammad Sabaaneh, Palestine
“The most hard thing a cartoonist faces in the Arab world… is the audience”
Javad Alizadeh, Iran
“If I think about danger, I would never draw a cartoon”
Victor Bogorad, Russia
“Most magazines and newspapers prefer not to deal with the subject” (Putin and Ukraine)
Khalid Gueddar, Morocco
“Sex, Religion, Royal family” (taboos in Morocco)
Djamel Lounis, Algeria
“No satirical reviews in Algeria anymore (due to) repressive laws concerning journalists”
The Senate minority leader has a column in the Washington Post today where he describes himself as “…a longtime defender of the First Amendment”. I did manage to avoid spraying the keyboard with my morning cup of coffee. The only free speech Mitch McConnell has ever been concerned with is the campaign contribution kind.