Until a couple days ago, I’d never heard of Mark Fiore or his political satire cartoons. To be perfectly honest, I think he’s an incredible bore with nothing interesting to say, now that I have heard of him.
However, he’s apparently set the conservative blogs afire with a video he put up on npr.org called “Learn to Speak Tea Bag.” Before you watch that, though, bear in mind that it is stupid and might well offend you.
As I read some of the vitriol spewed at this piece, though, I have to wonder … is the Right really that thin-skinned? Seriously?
The people who refer to Dummycrats, “Dingy Harry” [Reid], Airhead America, Daily Kooks, and so many other nicknames can’t take a little cartoon? That’s kind of sad.
For my own part, I look at this and wish it was never made. It serves no purpose, informs no one, and is simply there to mock. That’s not good satire, it’s juvenile. I don’t see that that piece by Mark Fiore is any better than the garbage served up on talk radio. (With one exception — it’s about 90 seconds long rather than three hours.)
That being said, I’m not sure that it’s any worse.
Then again, I like to think that I have a pretty good record of calling this stuff out from either side.
So, while I agree with critics that the video is stupid, and frankly I’m disappointed that NPR would put something so juvenile on its site, I find it difficult to work up much sympathy for a lot of the people who now claim that their fragile feelings are hurt by the mockery. I was always taught growing up that if you can’t handle the same kind of teasing that you’re doing, you’d better stop.
In response, by the way, to the idea that NPR wouldn’t have any kind of anti-Obama mockery, here’s another video by the same character. It’s slightly better … at least the bit about the Peace Prize approaches clever.
