A distasteful cartoon

Two blogs have already commented on this cartoon by Trace Hodgson in the Herald on Sunday. They’re Hitting Metal and http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/node/3627.

The premise of the cartoon is fine, comparing a political party to a gang.

The Nazi swastika on the helmet is grossly offensive to both National supporters and those who fought or died in WWII. The cartoonist made a deliberate choice to include the swastika when the cartoon would have worked without it, so one can only presume he intends some significance by it.

Finally there is the suggestion that the portrayal of John Key is anti-semitic. Key is not Jewish in a religious sense, but as his mother was Jewish he is considered by some to be “technically Jewish”. I suspect such a label irritates him but the media have often focused on it, so it is relatively well known now.

Is Hodgson’s caricature anti-semitic? On the one hand Hodgson is known for doing offensive caricatures of almost all his subjects. That is his trademark. But on the other hand the massive nose, glowing eyes and fanged teeth seem to lie uncomfortably close to the traditional anti-semitic portrayal of the “devilish Jew” as described here.

At the end of the day I can’t conclude one way or another. The glowing eyes add little to the cartoon except to make Key look demonic, but it may just be artistic licence.

What definitely was over the top though is the portrayal of the Nazi swastika. The Herald on Sunday may wish to consider how comfortable it is with such a portrayal – even in cartoons.