I value practicing restraint of pen and tongue, but find that I must respond to the editorial page in the Sept. 11 edition of the Gazette. Every item (save for the short letter about Massachusetts historical markers) provoked a strong critique, but I’m going to confine my comments to the most egregious and graphic editorial decision.
The political cartoon you’ve chosen to run (on 9/11) is utterly, appallingly racist and absent of any historical context whatsoever. The stylized images of the leering, grim Taliban thugs is frighteningly reminiscent of racist political cartooning from a century ago here in the U.S., or from Germany in the 1930s. Were you trying to be provocative?
The juxtaposition of this vile cartoon next to Ralph Dolan’s beautiful tribute to Frances Crowe generates an explosion of cognitive dissonance! I’ll bet Frances would have found this cartoon deplorable. I’ll wager she also was well aware that the U.S. has broken, violated, ignored and flouted virtually every pact or treaty it has ever signed, often in the most flagrant ways imaginable.
She probably even knew that the Taliban had nothing to do with 9/11. I know I promised to opine only about the cartoon, but I can’t resist one more brief comment. The Orwellian dystopia of 1984 may indeed be upon us, but it didn’t just get started in 2017!
James Weed
Haydenville