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About Non Sequitur, Part Two
By William R. Barth
WELL, THIS MUCH can be said: Cartoonists stick together.
The strip reproduced above, from nationally syndicated comic The New Adventures of Queen Victoria, is a sampling from a storyline lambasting this newspaper for suspending, not canceling, the daily cartoon strip Non Sequitur. Readers who have followed this little dust-up will recall that a Non Sequitur strip carried a white-robed Ku Klux Klan chicken character - yes, chicken - with a voice bubble that it, “only lays egg whites.” We heard from a number of readers who were offended, and took the cartoon to be racially insensitive.
So we decided to put Non Sequitur in the penalty box for a while, and ask our readers to tell us what they thought. Should we boot Non Sequitur permanently? Should we give it a second chance? Does anybody care?
EARLIER, I PUBLISHED a selection of comments sent to us by readers (and folks following the situation on the Internet)I. Here are some more:
“I am shocked by your decision ... I can't imagine who thought that this was racist. I am white, a member of NAACP (my wife also is white, and the secretary) ...” - Stanley Goldstein, who says he's a Ph.D.
“I don't even read your paper (what with being an Australian, and living in Ireland), but I quite enjoy reading Non Sequitur. Perhaps it should be reinstated.” - from Charles Edwards, Aussie.
“Now satired in the New Adventures of Queen Victoria, you guessed it, the Beloit Daily News! And satire is how this should be treated, too, not as it has been. No sense of honor in some folks, very sad.” - from Charles, no last name.
“Good comics push the envelope and make people think and challenge them. To give in to misguided public opinion over a comic that is obviously meant to parody the ignorance of the KKK is an extremely poor editorial choice. I sincerely hope you change your opinion on this matter and get Non Sequitur back in the pages of your newspaper as one of the rare enjoyable strips available today.” - from Tom Racine.
“PEOPLE WHO GET upset over a comic strip should get a life.” - from Colleen, no last name.
Maribeth Miller of Beloit wrote us a very long comment. “There's never enough time to spout off about all the things that annoy me, so usually I just mutter to myself for a minute and then let it go. ... I consider Non Sequitur the best comic on your page. The writer is usually insightful, incisive and (sometimes, wickedly) humorous. The chicken strip wasn't one of his best works, but he often touches on exactly those political issues that annoy me. ... You are entitled to express your dissatisfaction with a particular piece any time you like, but the method of sanction you chose seems extreme ... I'll still think it a sad thing if it stays off your pages.”
“Non Sequitur ... I doubt if many people even looked up the definition to what it meant. I enjoyed it myself. It gives a life to ridiculous situations.” - from Thomas Jones, Roscoe.
“I believe that Non Sequitur deserves a second chance. I do not believe that the cartoonist meant to exhibit any racial undertones in his recent chicken cartoon.” - from Vic Adamsky, Beloit.
I AGREE WITH Mr. Adamsky. The comic strip's author, Wiley Miller, surely did not mean to produce a piece that offended racial sensibilities, though any time the white robes are broken out it's all but inevitable.
So it's time for an announcement: Non Sequitur will return to the pages of the newspaper, starting next week.
That's not to diminish the concerns expressed to us by readers who found offense in the KKK chicken panel. It was our intent to send a message and make sure Mr. Miller and the syndicate from which we purchase Non Sequitur understood that some folks in Beloit, Wisconsin, felt attacked. We hope the message was received.
On the positive side, we heard from a lot of people who are serious, if you will, about their comics. Knowing readers care is always a good thing. Readers overwhelmingly supported Non Sequitur's return.
The Daily News garnered a bit of national publicity over the chicken affair, though not necessarily the kind we'd want. There's a big difference, of course, between suspending a feature and canceling it. Non Sequitur, like other features that run in the newspaper, are there by invitation. That invitation can be withdrawn at any time, for any reason. That's not censorship. That's business.
Besides, regular readers of this newspaper know how laughable it is to accuse the Daily News of being, pardon the pun, a “chicken” on the First Amendment. We're pretty aggressive free-speech warriors.
But enough of that. Suffice it to say our readers have spoken, and we have listened. Non Sequitur is back.
William R. Barth is the Editor of the Beloit Daily News.
The strip reproduced above, from nationally syndicated comic The New Adventures of Queen Victoria, is a sampling from a storyline lambasting this newspaper for suspending, not canceling, the daily cartoon strip Non Sequitur. Readers who have followed this little dust-up will recall that a Non Sequitur strip carried a white-robed Ku Klux Klan chicken character - yes, chicken - with a voice bubble that it, “only lays egg whites.” We heard from a number of readers who were offended, and took the cartoon to be racially insensitive.
So we decided to put Non Sequitur in the penalty box for a while, and ask our readers to tell us what they thought. Should we boot Non Sequitur permanently? Should we give it a second chance? Does anybody care?
EARLIER, I PUBLISHED a selection of comments sent to us by readers (and folks following the situation on the Internet)I. Here are some more:
“I am shocked by your decision ... I can't imagine who thought that this was racist. I am white, a member of NAACP (my wife also is white, and the secretary) ...” - Stanley Goldstein, who says he's a Ph.D.
“I don't even read your paper (what with being an Australian, and living in Ireland), but I quite enjoy reading Non Sequitur. Perhaps it should be reinstated.” - from Charles Edwards, Aussie.
“Now satired in the New Adventures of Queen Victoria, you guessed it, the Beloit Daily News! And satire is how this should be treated, too, not as it has been. No sense of honor in some folks, very sad.” - from Charles, no last name.
“Good comics push the envelope and make people think and challenge them. To give in to misguided public opinion over a comic that is obviously meant to parody the ignorance of the KKK is an extremely poor editorial choice. I sincerely hope you change your opinion on this matter and get Non Sequitur back in the pages of your newspaper as one of the rare enjoyable strips available today.” - from Tom Racine.
“PEOPLE WHO GET upset over a comic strip should get a life.” - from Colleen, no last name.
Maribeth Miller of Beloit wrote us a very long comment. “There's never enough time to spout off about all the things that annoy me, so usually I just mutter to myself for a minute and then let it go. ... I consider Non Sequitur the best comic on your page. The writer is usually insightful, incisive and (sometimes, wickedly) humorous. The chicken strip wasn't one of his best works, but he often touches on exactly those political issues that annoy me. ... You are entitled to express your dissatisfaction with a particular piece any time you like, but the method of sanction you chose seems extreme ... I'll still think it a sad thing if it stays off your pages.”
“Non Sequitur ... I doubt if many people even looked up the definition to what it meant. I enjoyed it myself. It gives a life to ridiculous situations.” - from Thomas Jones, Roscoe.
“I believe that Non Sequitur deserves a second chance. I do not believe that the cartoonist meant to exhibit any racial undertones in his recent chicken cartoon.” - from Vic Adamsky, Beloit.
I AGREE WITH Mr. Adamsky. The comic strip's author, Wiley Miller, surely did not mean to produce a piece that offended racial sensibilities, though any time the white robes are broken out it's all but inevitable.
So it's time for an announcement: Non Sequitur will return to the pages of the newspaper, starting next week.
That's not to diminish the concerns expressed to us by readers who found offense in the KKK chicken panel. It was our intent to send a message and make sure Mr. Miller and the syndicate from which we purchase Non Sequitur understood that some folks in Beloit, Wisconsin, felt attacked. We hope the message was received.
On the positive side, we heard from a lot of people who are serious, if you will, about their comics. Knowing readers care is always a good thing. Readers overwhelmingly supported Non Sequitur's return.
The Daily News garnered a bit of national publicity over the chicken affair, though not necessarily the kind we'd want. There's a big difference, of course, between suspending a feature and canceling it. Non Sequitur, like other features that run in the newspaper, are there by invitation. That invitation can be withdrawn at any time, for any reason. That's not censorship. That's business.
Besides, regular readers of this newspaper know how laughable it is to accuse the Daily News of being, pardon the pun, a “chicken” on the First Amendment. We're pretty aggressive free-speech warriors.
But enough of that. Suffice it to say our readers have spoken, and we have listened. Non Sequitur is back.
William R. Barth is the Editor of the Beloit Daily News.
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