About Us
Mission Statement
Rules of Conduct
 
Name:
Pswd:
Remember Me
Register
 

In Case you Miss it...
Author: Raine    Date: 03/12/2012 12:57:20

Today's Doonesbury may not be running in your local paper today, as it is considered too far past the line of good taste for some editorial boards. In the age of the internets, I find this funny, sad and futile. I am posting it here.




http://www.arcamax.com/newspics/38/3886/388681.gif


From the Seattle Times:
Still, the series just released, which features a woman seeking an abortion being forced to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound procedure — a reference to a new law in Texas — has caused unease among some newspaper editors around the country.

Those who have rejected the strip say its graphic language and imagery could offend readers. For example: one strip calls the vaginal device a "10 inch shaming wand" and refers to the compulsory procedure as "rape."

You see, for some -- printing this is more offensive than women being forced to endure an transvaginal ultrasound for having a legal medical procedure.

Just to put this in contrast, Doonesbury has another character, B.D.:
The helmet finally came off on April 21, 2004 when, while serving in Iraq, B.D. lost a leg; his reaction to its loss was a loud, anguished, "Son of a bitch!", which caused the strip to be pulled from some newspapers. His friend and fellow soldier Ray Hightower got him airlifted to safety in time, and he survives as an amputee. He has successfully gone through physical therapy and can walk with the aid of a high-tech prosthetic "C-Leg". His only reflection on losing the helmet was on July 31, 2004, when he thought to himself, "Oh yeah, my helmet. What the hell was THAT all about?"

Although he was physically in good condition, his mental state deteriorated since returning home. B.D. began drinking too much, suffered from nightmares and became highly irritable. Realizing the seriousness of his problems, he entered therapy in January 2006. B.D. shows great reluctance or even fear about discussing his Iraq service with the counselor. This is revealed to stem from guilt over an incident wherein he ordered the driver of his HMMWV to drive through a crowd in order to escape an ambush of the Iraqi insurgency.
Please note, that while there are other instances of Trudeau's strips being pulled. This storyline does not appear to be one of them. Women having abortions are offensive; a soldier having his leg blown off seems not so offensive to the delicate minds of some of its readers. Herein lies the inconsistencies of some newspaper editorial boards around our nation.

In the meantime, I am sure that by not printing the comic -- more attention will be paid to said storyline. We live in interesting times.

Thank you, Gary Trudeau.

and
Raine
 

64 comments (Latest Comment: 03/13/2012 00:27:48 by Scoopster)
   Perma Link

Share This!

Furl it!
Spurl
NewsVine
Reddit
Technorati