Readers have been complaining that the cartoons have been hard to read. I'm hoping the problem will be fixed starting with this cartoon.
Today's cartoon responds to the generally respectful tone accorded Mike Huckabee, who does not believe in evolution and is therefore, by definition, a lunatic.
Click on the cartoon to make it bigger.
Mr. Rall, I _love_ your "comparative cartoons", such as this one and the Zoroastrian ones.
ReplyDeleteI was going to mention that to you someday. Looks great now!
ReplyDeleteAnd this one is great. Why did Huckabee surge in the polls? Must have been the cobra.
You may be heading for a misunderstood responses.
ReplyDeleteBeing a Hindu, I don't think this is offending Hindus or Hindu fundamentalists.
If Democrates select a black man or a woman, it may be Huckabee from 2008.
May God Bless America.
Yes, this is much easier to read. Thanks, Ted.
ReplyDeleteYou've been on a roll lately with your 'toons - we have far too high a tolerance for religious lunacy in the US. We're so used to pretending that all beliefs are equally valid and deserve equal respect. Over the holidays I was remembering being traumatized as a small child by a film about Oliver Cromwell (played by Richard Harris, I believe)...that movie pretty much used up all my tolerance of religious extemism. I can't remember if it was any good, I just remember thinking what an absolute jerk, and cruel SOB, he was.
ReplyDeleteDearest wonderful Ted,
ReplyDeleteI'm not complaining the stuff's hard to read, I'm complainnig that you still haven't made the archives from 2007 available to read, DOOOD!
Thanks for clearing up the graphics problem.
ReplyDelete(The toon's good, too, but that's hardly a surprise.)
"...and may the Bountiful Immortals continue to bless America."
ReplyDeleteI dunno, Theodore. Doesn't it seem like you've gone to the "What if instead of a Christian, (this guy) was a (this religion)?!" well a little often? At a certain point, it's just belaboring the obvious. All religions have irrational beliefs at their cores. Gotcha.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, up here in Canada, Conservative Stockwell Day lost an election in 2000 largely due to a smear job by the publicly-owned CBC over his Evangelical beliefs, including Creationism. Fair game? Hard to say. The guy we elected instead was a Roman Catholic, and therefore believed that some wine and a cracker, ritually eaten, became the blood and body of a long-dead holy man. He was a leftist, though, so any discussion of his religion would have brought hysterical shrieks of racism. While he was in power, he and his party stole literally billions of dollars. I think I'd have been happier with the Evangelical.
ted rall is a fucking douche bag
ReplyDeletewhen u get cancer, or your kids get CRUSHED INTO PULP by the elephant god, REMEMBER THERE IS SUCH A THING AS KARMA.
ReplyDeleteI am not a Hindu, but still the choice of words sounds offensive..
ReplyDeleteOne more attempt to malign Hinduism by using such stupid examples. This shows how narrow and limited you can think. Try using some other religion,Mr Ted. Dont make HIndusim the subjet of your foolish jokes. Im a Hindu and deeply offended by your stupidity.But my religion is very tolerant and let some sense prevail on you.
ReplyDeleteThanks and God Bless you
This analogy is quite wrong in 2 of the 4 cartoons. 'Sati' and 'Untouchability' are issues concerned with "human rights" and no "hindu fundamentalist politican" i know in India clamor for unbanning 'Sati' and 'Untouchability'. This is comparing apples and oranges.
ReplyDeleteThe other two cartoons are funny, believing that earth is held up by four elephants is funny, equivalent to the belief that God impregnated some virgin to give birth to Jesus or Allah taking Muhammad on a winged horse to heaven. we can make fun of those and laugh.
Nice idea, but Hindu fundamentalists clearly know what their mythology is good for and what it's not good for, unlike the Christians, Flying Spaghetti Monsterists and the Muslims.
ReplyDeleteI was tempted to return to the Zoroastrian America series to tackle Mike Huckabee, but I realized that there's no obvious difference, even to fairly educated Americans, between "fundamentalist" Zoroastrianism and mainline Zoroastrianism. I needed a religion to compare to that Americans were familiar with, but that weren't typical punching bags, like Judaism and Islam. It also helps that there just aren't really many, if any, "fundamentalist Hindus" around.
ReplyDeleteFar from being offended, I expect that most Hindus will understand the comparison. If a Hindu with extreme beliefs were to run for president in the U.S., he wouldn't stand a chance. The only reason Mike Huckabee gets a free pass from the media for his outlandish beliefs is that he is Christian, and the majority of Americans are Christian.
I plead guilty to the crime of not being an expert in Hindu theology. Fortunately, this cartoon doesn't require such expertise to be understood in its proper context.
oops still trying portray Hindus as snake charmning widow burning people LOL , when americans get over generalization of whole community, can u show me 1 incident of SATI in last 25 years ..NOPE...
ReplyDeleteFYI hindus do not have bible, or quran etc, which they believe as "word of GOD" , they have many books with different philosophies, just take what is useful and discard rest...
I think the only problem here is that what Ted elaborated in the comments, could just have been similarly captured in the 'preface' to the cartoon. That might have saved u all the mis understanding..
ReplyDeleteAgain, being a Hindu and knowing that, obviously, all that was portrayed in the cartoons is/was true (as is the virgin Mary thing or any theory from 'Da Vinci Code'), and in the same breath a firm believer in freedom of expression, I would say there is no harm in doing what the cartoons did...
Mike Huckabee is a fundamentalist Christian, nothing else. Please do your homework well, before besmirching others. Some reading would have cleared your misconceptions. As it is, the general American populace is not well informed about other parts of the world, and its people. If you are comparing Huckabee with other lunatics, it will be good if you select appropriate choices, as there are scores of religious nutcases in your country to choose from. Hinduism is beyond your scope of understanding, and in producing this piece you have shown your readership and the world at large, your own ignorance. Dictionary meaning of fundamentalism is "A usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles". The principles of Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma are so lofty and all embracing, that Huckabee would have been termed a very good person if he was a Hindu. So a Hindu fundmentalist will be a good human being compared to those produced by Christianity or Islam.If you care to examine the tenets of it, you will see that Hinduism is all about scientific and spiritual enquiry and their timeline matches well with the evolutionists' version of the world. The gems of Math like zero, value of 'pi' etc that all take for granted is of Hindu origin.The numerals which the western world uses, has its origin in Ancient India.They were copied by the Arab traders and thru them reached Europe. So philosophy, science, art are all intertwined in that ancient land. It is good to be a liberal, but then if u hate others who have done no harm to you, what is the difference between you and those fundamentalists from the desert religions? Can I term you as a "liberal fundamentalist"? You have mentioned with great glee about sati. If u examine history, only a few cases have happened, and that its origin had to do with Islamic invasion of India. U see, those invaders had the dirty habit of carrying away the women of the conquered people. Some women chose to commit suicide rather than be used as sex slaves.If you read accounts of the Islamic prophet's exploits in Arabia, you will get a gist of what his followers did in India. Yes, there is a four fold society based on abilities in the texts, much like the different professions now, it was not hereditary at all. And certainly not discriminatory. Every person of whatever calibre and ability was a valued member of the Hindu society.The Islamic conquest saw to it that Hindu society stagnate into the caste mess. And the British played no small part in belittling the nation and its people. India was "the properous country" of the ancient world and she achieved this thru sheer enterprise and principles. She has not invaded any other country to fatten her pockets. Columbus made plans to find an alternate sea route to India, coz it was lucrative coming here.Yeah, his reaching the Americas sealed the fate of the native people. Where are the natives now? Rounded up and kept in reservations like cattle? Nice ethics. Hindus will never degrade into something like that. Everybody wanted to come to India in those times. Care to find out why? If you read the accounts of ancient travellers like Fa-hien,Hsuan-Tsang etc, you will get a picture. Finally, ignorance is certainly not bliss. I am sure Mr.Rall doesn't want to termed a "liberal fundamentalist". May I add that your columns are not that hilarious and thought provoking,some of them are really dumb. Its time to do some homework, "popular cartoonist".
ReplyDeletewell you forgot the deep shit caste system of hinduism, the opression of women in hinduism, almost cavemen like rituals, and the hindu terrorists groups like VHP and Bajrang dal burning churches and mosques in Orissa. Also women cannot pray in temples during periods, also the deep shit devdasi ritual along with Sati, their f**cking dowry system. Bl**y hooligans stripping women on new years eve and most importantly idol worshiping. I mean how dumb can a f**cking religion get, with a god with a elephant/pig head.
ReplyDeleteted -
ReplyDeleteif Huck's getting a pass for being a Christian b/c America is Christian, isn't that basis for Representative Democracy? I mean, let's say there is a party for Irish Republicans, and their candidate carries the Irish vote, even though Irish Republicans belief crazy stuff like "Ireland is the Homeland of God". Would it be so bad, if that candidate also said "let's raise taxes to help the poor, let's protect those who can't protect themselves" and other such commendable things?
Science rarely plays a role in Presidential politics, much less Prez's duties.
the last time i've heard so much protest over someone's faith was when Ashcroft became AG. He didn't go around outlawing abortion some feared, but he did manage to prove to be the most honorable man in the Bush administration (including Colin Powell).
Ted, if you are so affended by Mike Huckabee's relegion, why not make jokes about it? Origin of humna life, age of this planet, Darwin theory, Gay bashing, women rights, etc. There is plenty to go around. Why pick on a relegion that has been timeless and stood for peace and understanding since the ages(of course not every one of the followers are adhering to that tenet). You are only diluting your message by insluting a peaceful relegion you do not understand.
ReplyDeleteTedd, Great cartoon.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you are not racist like the Fundamentalist racist you try to portray in your cartoon.
I would be looking forward to your cartoon on Christ, Moses and Mohammad.
so, agen remind, a hindu
ReplyDeleteI liked the cartoon.
ReplyDeleteBut It kinda shows how lame and needy one can get for attention.
well, all i can say is that you've got it.
I mean you got 25 people coming over, taking the pains to search up your blog, and then there are newspaper reports about this thing.
But, since you've already pleaded guilty to the "crime" of not knowing Hindu theology, since it doesn't apply here, I'm just gonna have to say that if this were blown even a little outta proportion, I'm quite sure Google/Blogger would block links to your cartoon[At least in India]
Good luck, looking forward to more of those, but trust me on this, stay out of religion, unless you want more than you can get on your plate.
I always thought Hindus were mostly clever, tolerant, level-headed humans. Judging from the reactions on this board, I will have to alter my perception.
ReplyDeleteThey totally missed the point, even after Ted explained it to them.
Ted- as a moderate Hindu reformationist, I am shocked by your ignorance of fundamentalist Hindu beliefs!
ReplyDelete1) Vishnu RIDES a cobra and then sleeps on it at night in the ocean
2) Bride burning is much more civilized these days with many brides being allowed to take a mild sedative before being burned alive
3) A Hindu wouldn't refer to the Untouchables as "human waste", but "human FILTH!"
Please get your facts right next time!
Common you Hindu guys.. cant you take a joke.
ReplyDeleteThis is as good as saying -
What untouchables are to Hindus, non-christians are to Christians - human waste or probably "macacas".
That is what Christianity teaches - no other religion except their own is worthy of being practiced on this planet.
If you are a Christian, God would come in your dreams and say "Go my son, and kill 600,000 of that human waste in Iraq because they are not Christians and therefore not my children (remember Bush's dream??)
If you were a black man in a christian country, you will have to wait a couple of centuries of slavery before you can even consider running for president
If you were a white woman, you will have to wait a couple of centuries before even being a serious contender to lead your country.
If you are a black woman, just forget it.
If you are Ted Rall - Lord forgive him for he knows not what he says"
And i forgot to add -
ReplyDeleteif you are a non christian in USA, dont even dream about one day leading this country - not until eternity that is.
They barely tolerate you living on this planet. dreaming of leading this "secular" country shall be punishable by a war on any country that practices your religion.