Iraqi SpyPlane!

[t i m]

hehe..enjoy!

[Stick]

this is so wrong...


and yet why am i laughing?

[t i m]

Ok...Now some of my friends get this one..and others don't

So this is what I was trying to convey:

...The Iraqi army is so poor that their version of spy plane is shooting a guy out of a canon with a pair of binoculars in his hands with wings strapped to hi back..

Maybe the binoculars aren't clear enough..or maybe it just isn't funny..

[neil]

I kind of winced when I saw this, because the turbans, beards, eyebrows, etc. look pretty demeaning, aside from the poor military joke, which just fades into the background. The main joke seems to be "arabs are stupid and ugly," which I didn't like. I don't think you intended to be racist... I can see the theme of conservative jocularity between this one and the other drawing you posted (with the man being incapable of hearing the woman). But the drawing has a meaning of its own, aside from whatever your intention is. So my reaction is: "yikes."

[t i m]

I kind of winced when I saw this, because the turbans, beards, eyebrows, etc. look pretty demeaning, aside from the poor military joke, which just fades into the background. The main joke seems to be "arabs are stupid and ugly," which I didn't like. I don't think you intended to be racist... I can see the theme of conservative jocularity between this one and the other drawing you posted (with the man being incapable of hearing the woman). But the drawing has a meaning of its own, aside from whatever your intention is. So my reaction is: "yikes."

Neil,

Ya know something..I'm surprised someone hasn't brought this up before... First off, I COMPLETELY understand where your coming from...

Now, I must clarify that it WAS NOT my intention to somehow show the Arab people, or more specifically, the Iraqi people in a derogatory or demeaning fashion...I am not racist, as a matter of fact my best friends Saif and Ali were born in Pakistan and Iraq, respectively.

It WAS my intention to poke fun at the IRAQI MILITARY...I will make no apologies for putting down or making fun of men who will stand up and fight for Saddam Hussein and his cause. Might I add that he is the same man who dropped a chemical weapon on the city of Halabja in 1988, killing 5,000 Iraqi civilians.

Does the cartoon give into the stereotypes of Arab people (turbans, eyebrows, beards, etc.)..yes...Was it aimed at the Arab people..no..Was it aimed at the Iraqi army, and the men who faught for Saddam Hussein...yes.

Again Neil, I'm sorry for offending you, and that goes for the rest of you guys on the board. In the future I will try to clarify just who is the butt of my jokes a little better...or better yet, avoid it all together.

~Tim~

[Stick]

the "problem" is.. ( i put it in quotes because it's more of an issue in general)

alot of people associate people who wear beards and turbans as all arabs, and therefore all muslims.. which is competly wrong.

Alot of Sikhs, among others were clumped together as being arabs and being islamic just because they wear turbans and don't cut their beards. This especially was the case after 9/11.

I can't tell you the number of times i was hearing in the indian media about how sikhs were being beaten up, attacked, threatened just because they looked "similar". Even a few were killed just because they "looked" as you described.

I even remember a TV report done after 9/11 where an African American was was quoted as saying "Brown people are now the Blacks of the 21st century."

In the end, one of the main reasons is that these stereotypes are engraved in our heads is because of the way they are portrayed in media about how arabs are. TV, newspaper cartoons, books.. it's endless.

Also, if you notice the way The Iraqi Military was.. you'd be hardpressed to find any soldiers actually wearing beards and having turbans. Saddam himself (until the famous "hole" incident) was himself a clean shaven man with a mustache, and he wore a beret, not a turban.

Still, honestly, I laughed at this picture... I guess it's the way he's actually thinking about what to do next. LIGHT IT! And i'm not sure but the fact that the other guy covered his ears with something is pretty funny.

[Chevalier]

I do think that the strip, as it is, is defiantly aimed at Arabs (I think the clothing has really little in common with say what the Sikhs wear). I also know that this was not Tim’s intention, just a bit of unfortunate misjudgment. The Iraqi army hasn’t worn anything like that for a while, or ever I think. Not that you should have political correctness guide your work, it’s really just basic accuracy.

However, I do take issue with the entire idea of having the Iraqi army be the butt of your joke. What their state was pre-US invasion is of little relevance. What is important is that there is an Iraqi army; these brave people are doing their damn hardest to try and rebuild their country with no glamour and little pay. Their technological capability, or lack there of, versus that of the United States is in poor taste. This should not lead you to believe that I subscribe to the general trend in academia, that is any direct comparison between the developed and the developmentally-challenged countries is forbidden. Look at it this way, would it be appropriate to make fun of the poor state of affairs that the Soviet military was in during WW2? Would it take anything away from them defeating Germany?

Now, if, instead your strip read ‘Taliban’, or ‘Al-Qaeda’… I guess it would be all right, since they do actively brag about their might; but then again, the premise of a human weapon? It’s really pushing it too close to reality.

[Stick]

I do think that the strip, as it is, is defiantly aimed at Arabs (I think the clothing has really little in common with say what the Sikhs wear). I also know that this was not Tim’s intention, just a bit of unfortunate misjudgment. The Iraqi army hasn’t worn anything like that for a while, or ever I think. Not that you should have political correctness guide your work, it’s really just basic accuracy.

However, I do take issue with the entire idea of having the Iraqi army be the butt of your joke. What their state was pre-US invasion is of little relevance. What is important is that there is an Iraqi army; these brave people are doing their damn hardest to try and rebuild their country with no glamour and little pay. Their technological capability, or lack there of, versus that of the United States is in poor taste. This should not lead you to believe that I subscribe to the general trend in academia, that is any direct comparison between the developed and the developmentally-challenged countries is forbidden. Look at it this way, would it be appropriate to make fun of the poor state of affairs that the Soviet military was in during WW2? Would it take anything away from them defeating Germany?

Now, if, instead your strip read ‘Taliban’, or ‘Al-Qaeda’… I guess it would be all right, since they do actively brag about their might; but then again, the premise of a human weapon? It’s really pushing it too close to reality.

i only used the sikhs as an example. i know it had nothing to do with the picture he made.

plus, though i agree with the majority of your post, who can forget the lovable former minister of information? he was making grand boasts on national tv everyday saying that the iraqi military was crushing the US, while Abrahms and Humvee's could be seen driving behind him? Great comedy that was.

Sigh. i wish he was still there. he made me laugh.

[Chevalier]

i only used the sikhs as an example. i know it had nothing to do with the picture he made.

plus, though i agree with the majority of your post, who can forget the lovable former minister of information? he was making grand boasts on national tv everyday saying that the iraqi military was crushing the US, while Abrahms and Humvee's could be seen driving behind him? Great comedy that was.

Sigh. i wish he was still there. he made me laugh.

Ahh.. the ministry of information, he does bring in laughs to this day, mostly through fark photoshop contests. I can't find the link in archives now, but I did find this caption-fest:

"I now inform you that the man you have captured is an actor. It is Tommy Lee Jones. The American Forces have captured Tommy Lee Jones. Be assured that Saddam Hussein resides safely in my basement. I mean my neighbor's basement. In Chile."

"Now, if you will, direct your attention to that distraction *runs away*"

"Do not mistake the man in the picture for Saddam, it is in fact the White Wizard Saruman"

"Saddam captured? Cool. Huh? No, I'm not going to make anything up. Seriously, you guys know that was just a job, right?"

[Stick]

you think that's a caption fest?



http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com


this is the HOLY GRAIL.

only difference is that he ACTUALLY said all this crap.


here's a bit from it"

There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!"

"My feelings - as usual - we will slaughter them all"

"Our initial assessment is that they will all die"

"I blame Al-Jazeera - they are marketing for the Americans!"

"God will roast their stomachs in hell at the hands of Iraqis."

"They're coming to surrender or be burned in their tanks."

"No I am not scared, and neither should you be!"

"Be assured. Baghdad is safe, protected"

"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!"

"We are not afraid of the Americans. Allah has condemned them. They are stupid. They are stupid" (dramatic pause) "and they are condemned."

"The Americans, they always depend on a method what I call ... stupid, silly. All I ask is check yourself. Do not in fact repeat their lies."

"I can say, and I am responsible for what I am saying, that they have
started to commit suicide under the walls of Baghdad. We
will encourage them to commit more suicides quickly."

"I can assure you that those villains will recognize, will discover in appropriate time in the future how stupid they are and how they are pretending things which have never taken place."

"We have destroyed 2 tanks, fighter planes, 2 helicopters and their shovels - We have driven them back."

"The authority of the civil defense ... issued a warning to the civilian population not to pick up any of those pencils because they are booby traps," he said, adding that the British and American forces were "immoral mercenaries" and "war criminals" for such behavior.
"I am not talking about the American people and the British people," he said. "I am talking about those mercenaries. ... They have started throwing those pencils, but they are not pencils, they are booby traps to kill the children."

"We have them surrounded in their tanks"

"The American press is all about lies! All they tell is lies, lies and more lies!"

"I have detailed information about the situation...which completely proves that what they allege are illusions . . . They lie every day."

"Lying is forbidden in Iraq. President Saddam Hussein will tolerate nothing but truthfulness as he is a man of great honor and integrity. Everyone is encouraged to speak freely of the truths evidenced in their eyes and hearts."

and my personal favourites:

"the insane little dwarf Bush"
"They think we are retarded - they are retarded."
"We have destroyed 50 tanks today. That 5-ohhh tanks" [while holding up his fingers]"
"There are only two American tanks in the city."
"We are winning!"

[RobotHero]

Anybody ever see Tokio Jokio? It was this Warner Bros. cartoon from WWII which is done up as a mock newsreel from Japan. It had a lot of jokes like this. "Now we are showing you fire prevention headquarters! Oh, terrible. Too late!" And the air-raid siren is a guy who screams when he gets jabbed with a needle.