Don’t Tread on Me
I had the basic idea for this cartoon several months ago, when Republicans first ramped up using the term “class warfare” to describe the concept of ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. It’s coincidental that the Israel-Palestine conflict happened to be in the news around the time I decided to finally draw it, though I finished this about a week later than I’d hoped, because I went on a short trip for my birthday last Friday.
As mentioned, the image of a stone-throwing child facing off against a heavily-armored tank is common to the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine, ironically recalling the story of David and Goliath. I feel it works as both a figurative and literal representation of the economic clash, because the state and corporate power structures used by the ultra-rich to suffocate the poorer classes are often the same ones supporting Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians. And what better symbol is there of the military-industrial complex than a tank? Except maybe for an aircraft carrier. Or the F-22 Raptor. Or a nuclear-armed ICBM…
Anyway, I was more concerned with pointing out the lopsidedness of the conflict than the hypocrisy of Republicans and the rich scolding the President for engaging in “class warfare.” It takes at least two for you to have a war, but all we’ve seen lately has been one side savagely flogging the other without much being done in the way of retaliation. If what Obama’s calling for is “class warfare,” then the status quo could be called a “class massacre.”
One Response to “Don’t Tread on Me”
Yeah, when the GOP started whining about the class warfare thing I was having to pick up my jaw from the floor.
See, it’s not really warfare when only one side has the weapons. I think there’s another word for that scenario…
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