UnSpun

Offense and Defense

Responding to the media puts me in a tough spot sometimes, like the one I’m in right now.  Like a lot of people, yesterday I saw a truly offensive cartoon in the NY Post likening Obama to the crazed chimp that recently mauled its owner.  I had a very strong reaction to this cartoon and, understandably, wanted to respond.  But I couldn’t figure out how to articulate my opinion without giving the cartoon more visibility, and thus more power.  I knew I didn’t want to post the image to my blog for fear of aiding this offensive piece of garbage in becoming even more viral than it already is.  But conveying my outrage without the visual lacks a certain specificity.  What to do?

This isn’t the first time this problem has come up, and it won’t be the last.  Visibility can be incredibly powerful within the media, so finding a way to respond to something you disagree with without giving it more power is always a conundrum.  They say that rebelling against something ultimately acknowledges and enforces its current power, and I think there is some truth to that.  In the case of this cartoon, spreading it around (even through criticism) increases the reach of its message.  I would love to proclaim my disgust and shock that this was published (on the page after an article on Obama no less), but I would hate to spread it to somebody who hadn’t already seen it.  So how do I assert my opinion about such things without increasing the reach of their message at the same time?  I’ll let you know if I ever figure it out…