Notre Dame Student Newspaper The Observer Apologizes For Publishing Dangerous Anti-Gay Cartoon
On Wednesday, 13 January, The Observer, the student newspaper at Notre Dame University ran an incredibly troubling cartoon that promotes violence against the LGBT community.
The cartoon depicted a conversation between two figures. The conversation read,
"The Mobile Party" from The Observer January 13, 2010
“What’s the easiest way to turn a fruit into a vegetable?”
“No idea.”
“A baseball bat.”
As many people know, “fruit” is often used as a derogatory term for members of the LGBT community.
This type of advocacy of anti-LGBT violence must stop. It isn’t funny. What’s more, it promotes hate crimes, which are all too prevalent in society today.
The cartoonist had posted on his blog – though it’s since been removed – his original version of the cartoon. In the original version, it shows that the punchline read, “AIDS” instead of “A baseball bat.” The paper, he reported, preferred “not to make light of fatal diseases.”
The Observer made a dangerously misguided decision that promoting violence was somehow superior to making fun of HIV/AIDS. Both versions of the cartoon were abhorrent.
GLAAD contacted The Observer immediately upon seeing this cartoon. The Editor in Chief Jenn Metz relayed a tearful and what appeared to be heartfelt apology by phone. She explained that she was not present when the decision to run this cartoon was made, and that she was incredibly upset that others on staff had made that decision.
Metz plans to run what she describes as a “full retraction and apology,” in Friday’s edition of The Observer. GLAAD will watch for that retraction and apology. Additionally, GLAAD asked Metz to ensure that the staff responsible for running this cartoon – both the cartoonist and editor who decided it was fit for print – be reprimanded.
GLAAD has also reached out to the office of the President of Notre Dame University, and called upon that office to issue a statement condemning violence and this cartoon that promotes violence. We await response from the University on how they plan to address this type of violent dialogue from continuing to be advanced on campus.
We’ll update this post when we receive Metz’s written apology and when we hear back from the University.
Update: Today The Observer published an apology for the cartoon. It read, in part, "The editors of The Observer would like to publicly apologize for the publication of "The Mobile Party" in the Jan. 13 edition. The burden of responsibility ultimately lies on us for allowing it to go to print. There is no excuse that can be given and nothing that can be said to reverse the damage that has already been done by this egregious error in judgment."
Comments
Yet another National Review reader here (a classically liberal and heterosexual one, I'm white and believe in God too so I'm pretty close to the WASP stereotype :D) and I want to applaud and voice support for GLAAD. While I might disagree on details of tactics in your broader struggle I can in no way disagree with anything at all in this case or for that matter with your quest for tolerance, acceptance, and respect for LGBT individuals.
Thank you GLAAD: what you are doing is to the benefit of society and humanity as a whole all across the world.
I also want to suggest to Notre Dame, Notre Dame alumni, and Notre Dame students and staff that they take the initiative to arrange or host a LGBT appreciation event of some sort. Maybe a local Love parade (is it called that in the US?) could have the University as a starting and ending location? The point of such parades is partly that they're open to everyone who wants to show their acceptance and general support by joining and/or cheering for the party: the student paper could do much worse than to wholeheartedly join.
I'm an ND alum, grad school. I'm also not your typical midwest conservative catholic- I'm a left-wing New Yorker. Sadly, I'm not surprised to see this in the Observer nor to see this mentality from the student population. ND is a stifling place that's much more focused on indoctrination than it is on education. A retraction and apology is fine, but the problem(s) is that someone came up with this cartoon and thought it was funny AND then someone else made a decision to publish it regardless of how offensive it is. Again, if you know ND, you know this not such a shocker. Go Irish, indeed. Very sad.
It is my experience with the comic editing staff at the Observer that the editor responsible for the comic probably didn't get the joke or play on the phrase "fruit" to mean homosexual.
I think it is important for people who are not familiar with the Observer (and Notre Dame) to know that the cartoon likely ran as a result of negligence and not of deliberate action on the part of the paper.
The Mobile Party is not typically known for its witty wordplay or humor so taken at absolute face value that statement about turning certain types of "produce" into other types of produce (though nonsensicle) wouldn't be unexpected.
I guess what i'm trying to say is that this cartoon ran because the Observer staff is incompetent and not because they condone violence.
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