Lately, the comic strip “New Day” has caused an unnecessary uproar on MSU’s campus. People have been writing letter after letter announcing how offended they are by this cartoon. Although I may be on the younger end of the spectrum when it comes to students at this school, I think I might have found a way to stop all this rioting. All the people who don’t like the cartoon should stop reading it. I know it sounds crazy because, as I’ve said in prior articles, people really like to complain, but it might just be crazy enough to work.
Yes, I understand that another option would be to strip the cartoon from the newspaper, but why deny Corey Bishop his right to free speech when everyone else has it?
Some of the people writing letters are saying that it makes them sad when they see the old lady crying. This confuses me because she is a completely fictional character. Do these people also get sad when they see the Trix bunny get his cereal taken away by the little kids in the commercials? Maybe it’s depressing for some to read it, but sometimes the articles in the news section of the paper depress me just from the headlines. So I do the intelligent thing and don’t read them.
In another letter sent to the paper, the writer wished that Corey would start to make the woman’s life more upbeat and sunny because the student wants to be uplifted by the cartoon. Why should the cartoon be completely changed for these few people when all the other people enjoying the cartoon understand the satire and humor that Corey is using?
In fact, I myself find the cartoon even more humorous now that it’s being viewed as such a terrible thing. Maybe I have a “twisted mind” along with Corey, but instead of a twisted mind, I think it’s more of a sense of humor that Corey and I have along with many other readers.
If there is anything I’ve learned from baby-sitting, it’s that if you tell a child not to do something, the first thing they will do is exactly what you told them not to. I’m not claiming that Bishop is a child, but a comedian like him will just think it’s funny when people make such a big deal about this because it means the cartoon is getting attention.
The advice that parents usually give kids about bullies is to ignore them and walk away. I will give the same simple advice to the readers that are so offended by “New Day.” If you don’t enjoy this cartoon, then don’t look at it. People are often using the excuse that they can’t avoid it while trying to work the crossword puzzle, but that’s a pretty lame excuse. Paper can fold that cartoon right away, and as amazing as this discovery is, it can be done: I’ve done it myself.
I know that minds are very seldom changed in an argument like this, and I’m not trying to completely change them. I just think that the cartoon has as much right to be in the paper as the articles about polar bears and Playboy. People also have the right to send in articles protesting the cartoon. In fact, I love that people are using our media as a way to express themselves.
But these readers need to remember that freedom of speech is what it is – whether it’s about a crying grandmother or that a cartoon is putting a huge damper on someone’s happiness.