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PDF versionCartoonist draws ire of New Jersey Irish
by Tom Gallagher on Dec. 15, 2011
Thomas Nast, whose antislavery political cartoons propelled him to notoriety in the 19th century, has ignited another uproar: whether his anti-Irish and -Catholic drawings should disqualify him from the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
Some of Thomas Nast's cartoons, such as this 1871 drawing, have stirred opposition to plans to honor him in New Jersey. (Harper's Weekly)From the Wall Street Journal:
Irish and Catholic groups are waging a campaign against including the father of the American political cartoon in that group of notable New Jerseyans, arguing that he routinely depicted them in an unfavorable light.
"He portrayed the Irish as drunken apes, and the image still remains today. We have a lot to offer beyond that," said Sean Pender, president of the New Jersey Ancient Order of Hibernians, a fraternal group with 2,500 members that is campaigning against Nast's nomination. The Knights of Columbus in New Jersey has also joined the cause.
Mr. Pender pointed to "The Usual Irish Way of Doing Things," a cartoon by Nast that shows a drunken Irishman lighting a powder keg. Another, "The American River Ganges," depicts Catholic bishops as crocodiles trying to attack schoolchildren.
He is also remembered for a
He is also remembered for a famous cartoon in which he portrayed Roman Catholic bishops encroaching on the American shores with their mitres as the jaw of alligators, and the Pope right behind them. He was quite consistent with the Nativism of the time.
Doesn't the church have
Doesn't the church have enough problems as it is at present?
ANYTHING to avoid getting to
ANYTHING to avoid getting to our real problems of feeding the hungry, granting true sanctuary to the alien, healing the sick, liberating the imprisoned, loving our enemy, raising up the lowly and taking down the powerful, filling the poor with all good things while sending the rich empty away.
"The American River Ganges,"
"The American River Ganges," depicts Catholic bishops as crocodiles trying to attack schoolchildren."
Well, considering them all from Law through Finn, hasn't this been proven true time and time again?
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