Billy’s Caricatures Literally Kidded Them to Death
August 16, 2021 6:36 AM Subscribe
As the Baffler piece basically points out, it was myths like this - where the opposition to groups like the Klan was more about their appearance rather than actual opposition to their positions - that helped birth the argument that "the answer to bad/hate speech is more/better speech." Mocking the Klan didn't make them go away, but just change their presentation.
posted by NoxAeternum at 6:58 AM on August 16, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by NoxAeternum at 6:58 AM on August 16, 2021 [10 favorites]
Walt Kelly is my favorite political cartoonist, one of my favorite artists, and one of my favorite funny fuzzy sweet cartoonists. I grew up reading his strips, and his criticisms of fascism in any of its political forms shaped my own world view. Fantagraphics has been bringing out a series of hard cover (and Kindle) anthologies of his work.
posted by Peach at 6:59 AM on August 16, 2021 [15 favorites]
posted by Peach at 6:59 AM on August 16, 2021 [15 favorites]
I don't think anyone is claiming that Billy Ireland solved racism in Columbus. But the Klan is all about presentation. Racism that you say under your breath or in private is different—in scale if not in kind—from racism that marches in uniform in parades and stands on street corners as an open challenge to all comers.
Today the racists have seemingly moved away from white hoods and nighttime equestrian activities into a fetishization of military gear; the modern equivalent of Ireland's lampooning is probably the "Gravy SEALS" or "Meal Team 6" memes. (TW: fatphobia, racism, Nazi imagery, Trump signs, poor trigger discipline)
posted by Kadin2048 at 7:25 AM on August 16, 2021 [18 favorites]
Ireland’s drawings didn’t ultimately defeat the Klan in Columbus. [...] But his drawings likely shaped public opinion in Columbus, perhaps dealing the group a considerable blow by puncturing, at least to an extent, their claims to white supremacy.The KKK (and other more modern organizations) present themselves in particular ways, because that presentation has power. Pointing out their inherent ridiculousness takes away some of that power.
Today the racists have seemingly moved away from white hoods and nighttime equestrian activities into a fetishization of military gear; the modern equivalent of Ireland's lampooning is probably the "Gravy SEALS" or "Meal Team 6" memes. (TW: fatphobia, racism, Nazi imagery, Trump signs, poor trigger discipline)
posted by Kadin2048 at 7:25 AM on August 16, 2021 [18 favorites]
The actual argument in the article seems to contradict the premise: Billy Ireland didn't have much influence over the Klan, and didn't really land a lot of blows against them, treating them as another group to mock rather than any active campaign.
It's an interesting question, how much satire can actually change the world. As we've seen, satire wasn't particularly effective against Trump, and while the Borat sequel distracted the Trump campaign in the final weeks, his cack-handed handling of COVID sealed his political fate. However, there's a good case to be made that Saturday Night Live's portrayal of Sarah Palin sunk her ambitions for a national political career. I think the secret might be that satire, to effectively change the world, has to offer an explanation that's more convincing than the real thing - Tina Fay's portrayal was early enough that it was many people's first impression of Palin, one she managed to confirm in the days afterwards. Trump, however, had years of people making fun of him as being a gauche lightweight, so he was too much of a known quantity when it became clear they had to engage with him on a more resonant level than 'he's orange and has small hands'.
posted by Merus at 8:02 AM on August 16, 2021 [12 favorites]
It's an interesting question, how much satire can actually change the world. As we've seen, satire wasn't particularly effective against Trump, and while the Borat sequel distracted the Trump campaign in the final weeks, his cack-handed handling of COVID sealed his political fate. However, there's a good case to be made that Saturday Night Live's portrayal of Sarah Palin sunk her ambitions for a national political career. I think the secret might be that satire, to effectively change the world, has to offer an explanation that's more convincing than the real thing - Tina Fay's portrayal was early enough that it was many people's first impression of Palin, one she managed to confirm in the days afterwards. Trump, however, had years of people making fun of him as being a gauche lightweight, so he was too much of a known quantity when it became clear they had to engage with him on a more resonant level than 'he's orange and has small hands'.
posted by Merus at 8:02 AM on August 16, 2021 [12 favorites]
I'm not sure it's possible to portray people as simultaneously ridiculous and seriously dangerous. Perhaps these are jobs for different cartoonists.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 8:15 AM on August 16, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 8:15 AM on August 16, 2021 [3 favorites]
The Klansman-as-hero idea worked its way into the fabric of the group—literally—by way of new outfits. Those infamous white robes offered more than the utility of a uniform; they sought to connote a personal importance on the wearer in tying him into the group’s invented legacy, seemingly steeped in tradition when in fact they were invented by Birth’s wardrobe department and then copied by Simmons and his cronies. “The Klan tapped into male fraternalism,” Pegram says. There was “not just acceptance, but almost reverence for that kind of attire.”
Wow. Judges wore those weird wigs then too.
Remember the women's march of 2017? A sea of crocheted pink pussy hats on the Washington DC mall. They were an intentional joke. You can't really ridicule them. The hood was intended to be dignified and serious though, with the flaw being that they invite ridicule. They look fucking silly and people will point that out. I bet the guy that invented that hat was really short.
Presented with the two hats with no knowledge of their significance and given a choice, I think I'd go to the pussy hat party. Faceless masks are just creepy.
posted by adept256 at 8:40 AM on August 16, 2021
Wow. Judges wore those weird wigs then too.
Remember the women's march of 2017? A sea of crocheted pink pussy hats on the Washington DC mall. They were an intentional joke. You can't really ridicule them. The hood was intended to be dignified and serious though, with the flaw being that they invite ridicule. They look fucking silly and people will point that out. I bet the guy that invented that hat was really short.
Presented with the two hats with no knowledge of their significance and given a choice, I think I'd go to the pussy hat party. Faceless masks are just creepy.
posted by adept256 at 8:40 AM on August 16, 2021
I'm not sure it's possible to portray people as simultaneously ridiculous and seriously dangerous.
/shrug/
Lots of conservative to fascist groups seem to have some success with the Schroedinger’s immigrant depiction/mythology: simultaneously lazy good-for-nothings/criminals and going to steal your jobs.
posted by eviemath at 9:28 AM on August 16, 2021 [5 favorites]
/shrug/
Lots of conservative to fascist groups seem to have some success with the Schroedinger’s immigrant depiction/mythology: simultaneously lazy good-for-nothings/criminals and going to steal your jobs.
posted by eviemath at 9:28 AM on August 16, 2021 [5 favorites]
That Ireland’s drawings might have had influence over political attitudes in Columbus makes sense given the combination of local celebrity, institutional power of the newspaper and the newspaper cartoonist, and Ireland’s own particular artistic gift.
I think the debate about the effectiveness of ridicule kind of misses the point: This guy was well respected, he had a platform, and instead of remaining silent--he used that platform.
Imagine how much the "debate" over the January 6th insurrection would change if NCIS did a four-part, ripped-from-the-headlines television event involving the terrorist groups that attacked the Capitol ala Superman Smashes the Klan. Imagine what an impact that might have on low-information viewers to suddenly see their favorite heroes get caught up in real world events and take a stand against real world terrorist groups. Some might even have their "are we the baddies?" moment after seeing Agent Gibbs talk about how unpatriotic the Proud Boys are, or how dishonorable the Three Percenters are. Sure, not everyone might be swayed, but I'm guessing a significant fraction would.
Of course, CBS would never do that because even viewers belonging to terrorist organizations are still viewers and they wouldn't want to offend anyone.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 9:44 AM on August 16, 2021 [22 favorites]
I think the debate about the effectiveness of ridicule kind of misses the point: This guy was well respected, he had a platform, and instead of remaining silent--he used that platform.
Imagine how much the "debate" over the January 6th insurrection would change if NCIS did a four-part, ripped-from-the-headlines television event involving the terrorist groups that attacked the Capitol ala Superman Smashes the Klan. Imagine what an impact that might have on low-information viewers to suddenly see their favorite heroes get caught up in real world events and take a stand against real world terrorist groups. Some might even have their "are we the baddies?" moment after seeing Agent Gibbs talk about how unpatriotic the Proud Boys are, or how dishonorable the Three Percenters are. Sure, not everyone might be swayed, but I'm guessing a significant fraction would.
Of course, CBS would never do that because even viewers belonging to terrorist organizations are still viewers and they wouldn't want to offend anyone.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 9:44 AM on August 16, 2021 [22 favorites]
I'm not sure it's possible to portray people as simultaneously ridiculous and seriously dangerous.
The absurdity is part of the danger. Even after January 6th, a truly disappointing portion of the country can only grasp our home grown Taliban as a bunch of silly yokels who some times get a little worked up about their funny ideas, and not the direct fucking peril to democracy and decency that they really are.
posted by EatTheWeek at 1:14 PM on August 16, 2021 [7 favorites]
The absurdity is part of the danger. Even after January 6th, a truly disappointing portion of the country can only grasp our home grown Taliban as a bunch of silly yokels who some times get a little worked up about their funny ideas, and not the direct fucking peril to democracy and decency that they really are.
posted by EatTheWeek at 1:14 PM on August 16, 2021 [7 favorites]
As we've seen, satire wasn't particularly effective against Trump
Satire against Republicans generally doesn't seem to work in this country for many reasons.
One main such reason, I suspect, is that Republicanism is a cult of the aggrieved, and all satire does is reinforce this cult's false sense of victimization. Which a recent Metatalk thread shows is a feeling that has spread even to some other communities that are also not victims.
There is a really good WaPo article on the right in the PNW and how their growing feeling of victimhood has lead to increased membership in their military cosplay groups:
Such armed groups have been the target of criticism and, in some cases, ridicule. Last month, the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen turned up unannounced at a pro-gun rally in Olympia organized by far-right groups. Disguised in a long beard and overalls, he sang a song mocking the event. (“Sleepy Joe Biden, what we gonna do? Inject him with the Wuhan Flu” was one of the tamer lines)...
Video of the event was widely shared online and written up in entertainment publications. But the public embarrassment — some in the crowd sang along with Cohen, others booed — was a recruiting boon for the armed group [Washington Three Percenters]. The following week, more than 200 people requested to join its private Facebook group, Hanvey said.
Another is that a lot of the satire that Americans consume is produced by media companies who make money from making sure that any criticism, including that by mockery, is functionally toothless.
In some ways, I suspect that the even-handed, even friendly interviews that news figures like Jon Stewart gave to Republicans, for example, was is part to make sure that advertising revenue wasn't threatened.
So we had our laughs, but they were empty and meaningless laughs. In the meantime, Republicans were able to juice the country for their January 6 terrorist attack, without much pushback from the media. Nearly half the country still thinks it was not a terrorist attack, and even if it was, it was Antifa or some other non-existent group.
Money is at the root of this, ultimately. Going back to the WaPo article and a neo-Nazi group in Olympia, Washington:
The Olympia businessman-turned-leader of American Wolf [Peter Diaz] had sent members of his team to the protest on reconnaissance missions. He said he had planned to hire 50 construction workers and two helicopters, and build a wall around the protest to cut off supplies until protesters surrendered or starved. He had sketched out a $10,000 budget for the effort...
Diaz says he plays a positive role in the community. He wants to be relatable and entertaining, particularly as he seeks to expand his following and establish the national headquarters of his political party, called the American Progressive Constitutionalist Party, in his backyard. Diaz has been campaigning for Culp, the Republican candidate for governor, including holding a fundraiser for him. He’s already spent $178,000 on his political activities and American Wolf this year, he said.
“I need to monetize this,” he said. “Positive change at the national level is our goal. Fame and fortune are the byproduct of the goal.”
I wonder how invested Billy Ireland was in his own feelings against the KKK? The article suggested that he did not think too highly of Black people or others whom were targets of white supremacist violence. Perhaps he was just entertaining his readers to earn a paycheck — maybe he had higher goals. Like Stewart, Ireland didn't seem to have much to lose, either way.
Beulah Mae Donald bankrupted a major KKK terrorist group, after their members murdered her son in 1981. She paid an immeasurable cost for the crime of being Black, but she was able to fight back.
The government keeps giving the January 6 terrorists plea deals and light sentences. One judge had the nerve to ask openly why taxpayers had to foot a $500 million cleanup bill for what these terrorists had done. Which is galling when these men and women stay in nice hotels, fly private jets, drive around in fancy pickups, live in nice suburban homes, and spend $$$ on pricey military cosplay.
Satire doesn't seem to work. Incarceration of violent white supremacists doesn't seem to be of serious interest to the authorities. Ms. Donald learned that bankrupting these terrorists might work. It would be unfortunate if we did not learn from the immeasurable cost she had to pay, to be motivated to go after these cultists before they are given a second chance to commit even more violence.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 2:47 PM on August 16, 2021 [11 favorites]
Satire against Republicans generally doesn't seem to work in this country for many reasons.
One main such reason, I suspect, is that Republicanism is a cult of the aggrieved, and all satire does is reinforce this cult's false sense of victimization. Which a recent Metatalk thread shows is a feeling that has spread even to some other communities that are also not victims.
There is a really good WaPo article on the right in the PNW and how their growing feeling of victimhood has lead to increased membership in their military cosplay groups:
Such armed groups have been the target of criticism and, in some cases, ridicule. Last month, the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen turned up unannounced at a pro-gun rally in Olympia organized by far-right groups. Disguised in a long beard and overalls, he sang a song mocking the event. (“Sleepy Joe Biden, what we gonna do? Inject him with the Wuhan Flu” was one of the tamer lines)...
Video of the event was widely shared online and written up in entertainment publications. But the public embarrassment — some in the crowd sang along with Cohen, others booed — was a recruiting boon for the armed group [Washington Three Percenters]. The following week, more than 200 people requested to join its private Facebook group, Hanvey said.
Another is that a lot of the satire that Americans consume is produced by media companies who make money from making sure that any criticism, including that by mockery, is functionally toothless.
In some ways, I suspect that the even-handed, even friendly interviews that news figures like Jon Stewart gave to Republicans, for example, was is part to make sure that advertising revenue wasn't threatened.
So we had our laughs, but they were empty and meaningless laughs. In the meantime, Republicans were able to juice the country for their January 6 terrorist attack, without much pushback from the media. Nearly half the country still thinks it was not a terrorist attack, and even if it was, it was Antifa or some other non-existent group.
Money is at the root of this, ultimately. Going back to the WaPo article and a neo-Nazi group in Olympia, Washington:
The Olympia businessman-turned-leader of American Wolf [Peter Diaz] had sent members of his team to the protest on reconnaissance missions. He said he had planned to hire 50 construction workers and two helicopters, and build a wall around the protest to cut off supplies until protesters surrendered or starved. He had sketched out a $10,000 budget for the effort...
Diaz says he plays a positive role in the community. He wants to be relatable and entertaining, particularly as he seeks to expand his following and establish the national headquarters of his political party, called the American Progressive Constitutionalist Party, in his backyard. Diaz has been campaigning for Culp, the Republican candidate for governor, including holding a fundraiser for him. He’s already spent $178,000 on his political activities and American Wolf this year, he said.
“I need to monetize this,” he said. “Positive change at the national level is our goal. Fame and fortune are the byproduct of the goal.”
I wonder how invested Billy Ireland was in his own feelings against the KKK? The article suggested that he did not think too highly of Black people or others whom were targets of white supremacist violence. Perhaps he was just entertaining his readers to earn a paycheck — maybe he had higher goals. Like Stewart, Ireland didn't seem to have much to lose, either way.
Beulah Mae Donald bankrupted a major KKK terrorist group, after their members murdered her son in 1981. She paid an immeasurable cost for the crime of being Black, but she was able to fight back.
The government keeps giving the January 6 terrorists plea deals and light sentences. One judge had the nerve to ask openly why taxpayers had to foot a $500 million cleanup bill for what these terrorists had done. Which is galling when these men and women stay in nice hotels, fly private jets, drive around in fancy pickups, live in nice suburban homes, and spend $$$ on pricey military cosplay.
Satire doesn't seem to work. Incarceration of violent white supremacists doesn't seem to be of serious interest to the authorities. Ms. Donald learned that bankrupting these terrorists might work. It would be unfortunate if we did not learn from the immeasurable cost she had to pay, to be motivated to go after these cultists before they are given a second chance to commit even more violence.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 2:47 PM on August 16, 2021 [11 favorites]
It's asymmetrical warfare. I don't think the left has truly understood the extent we are actually at war in this country. In part because it's started with admittedly silly things like the War On Christmas... But that rhetoric from a propaganda organ that reaches vast parts of the country can have very cumulative effects. I think it personally has tapped into a vein of genuine resentments and bafflement... Most of the people I have met in small towns are decent hard working people who just want to feed their family, and the socioeconomic reasons why small town living is fading can be difficult to grasp...
But then they keep layering resentments and cultural differences and the feeling like the mainstream media doesn't reflect their views into layers and layers of sharp weaponized steel. They've been increasingly told to hate the Other, that the Other is here to force them into communistic Satanic gay marriage or something, and if you hear enough bullshit consistently from enough people and authoritative looking sources some of it has to sink in eventually.
So now the War on Country Music or whatever has sunk to an apparently existential crisis for the right.... To an extent they seem to truly believe the left is dangerous to them. And meanwhile as far as I can tell the left wants more or less basic human decency. To not murder the environment. Regulations that do actually protect people.
So things have escalated from a propaganda War, Hollywood and the mainstream media on one side versus Fox, to Republicans kneecapping the government, protesting/blocking almost anything Democrats want to do just because, gerrymandering, and of course starting to blatantly cheat with things like Supreme Court nominations and increasingly organized voter suppression, and outright ignoring/ overriding voting results. Why not throw in an attempted coup here or there? There's no consequences after all. There's no moral duty to not use violence for political gain after all if we're in a war, right? After all, aren't they trying to destroy a good simple wholesome small town Christian way of life?
posted by Jacen at 3:19 AM on August 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
But then they keep layering resentments and cultural differences and the feeling like the mainstream media doesn't reflect their views into layers and layers of sharp weaponized steel. They've been increasingly told to hate the Other, that the Other is here to force them into communistic Satanic gay marriage or something, and if you hear enough bullshit consistently from enough people and authoritative looking sources some of it has to sink in eventually.
So now the War on Country Music or whatever has sunk to an apparently existential crisis for the right.... To an extent they seem to truly believe the left is dangerous to them. And meanwhile as far as I can tell the left wants more or less basic human decency. To not murder the environment. Regulations that do actually protect people.
So things have escalated from a propaganda War, Hollywood and the mainstream media on one side versus Fox, to Republicans kneecapping the government, protesting/blocking almost anything Democrats want to do just because, gerrymandering, and of course starting to blatantly cheat with things like Supreme Court nominations and increasingly organized voter suppression, and outright ignoring/ overriding voting results. Why not throw in an attempted coup here or there? There's no consequences after all. There's no moral duty to not use violence for political gain after all if we're in a war, right? After all, aren't they trying to destroy a good simple wholesome small town Christian way of life?
posted by Jacen at 3:19 AM on August 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
We shouldn't be ridiculing the bad guys instead of organizing to fight them. But we should be ridiculing them as well as organizing to fight them.
Ridicule is a powerful weapon, especially against people who are largely aggrieved because they feel ridiculed. I think part of the reason Trumpies are so disappointed now is that they were hoping the ridicule would stop after he got elected.
It's like:
"Oh yeah? Well, who's laughing now?"
"Sorry, still us."
posted by Brachinus at 5:20 AM on August 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
Ridicule is a powerful weapon, especially against people who are largely aggrieved because they feel ridiculed. I think part of the reason Trumpies are so disappointed now is that they were hoping the ridicule would stop after he got elected.
It's like:
"Oh yeah? Well, who's laughing now?"
"Sorry, still us."
posted by Brachinus at 5:20 AM on August 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
Lots of conservative to fascist groups seem to have some success with the Schroedinger’s immigrant depiction/mythology: simultaneously lazy good-for-nothings/criminals and going to steal your jobs.
David Baddiel made a similar point in his recent book Jews Don't Count. To an anti-semite, he points out, Jews are simultaneously very high status (clever, rich, secretly running the world) and very low status (filthy, disease-ridden, sub-human).
posted by Paul Slade at 9:59 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
David Baddiel made a similar point in his recent book Jews Don't Count. To an anti-semite, he points out, Jews are simultaneously very high status (clever, rich, secretly running the world) and very low status (filthy, disease-ridden, sub-human).
posted by Paul Slade at 9:59 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Near the end of the article, the author questions if opposing the Klan was an easy decision for most people, versus opposing the soft racism and institutionalized attitudes of the community leaders, presidents of colleges, etc. The answer is yes, because it's easy to say those people over there are buffoons, and those people heading our government and places of learning are simply trying to keep things nice. We see this today.
posted by winesong at 7:47 PM on August 17, 2021
posted by winesong at 7:47 PM on August 17, 2021
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