I am receiving reports that this comic is racist. Correct me if I am wrong. Although the story itself depicts an extremely racist and violent event, it seems more like a protest against the racism that was the norm in society at the time.
People who don’t understand satire unless it’s clearly labeled.
My first thought was that surely nobody could misunderstand such obvious satire, but then I remembered that I have met people.
It’s not racist. Seems satirical. At least in this context.
It helps that it’s being called “southern chiv” which I presume is either southern chivalry or southern knight.
Harper’s also noted that this was published weeks before a presidential election.
Yeah, I took southern chiv as a reference to a KKK member since they referred to themselves as knights. Or at least something along those lines.
It wasn’t. It was a term - frequently sarcastic eventually, as in this cartoon - used to describe the “noble” behaviors of southerners.
Here’s an article from the time on it, talking about how the rumored “southern chivalry” was anything but: https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/teaching-resources-for-historians/sixteen-months-to-sumter/newspaper-index/new-haven-daily-palladium/southern-chivalry
As someone else.mentioned, a form of it became “southern hospitality” and survived, usually in the complimentary way.
Sounds like the “knights of the KKK” might have come from the southern chivalry thing.
This also would have been the time period relatively shortly after the Civil war. The south is currently coming up with excuses to still not treat recently freed slaves very well, the KKK is rising in power and just recently the conservative Democrat party has taken over the south just a year or 2 ago by killing a large portion of the black Republican base and representatives.
Keeping them down to not risk having to be treated the same is absolutely all the rage in the south despite it causing a massive economic depression. This definitely feels like satire.
Southern chivalry is analogous to Southern hospitality; it is a specific set of manners that reflect the ideals of the region. It was called chivalry before women could vote, after which chivalry was seen as old fashioned and the phrase changed into hospitality.
It depicts a oppressors killing others using self defense as an excuse.
Bullies victimizing themselves is a tale as old as time, as comic this was released in 1876. And very relevant today.
Do what? The source you linked stated it was about a white (U.S.) southerner and a black child. What “indigenous” person do you think is depicted here…?
Edit: original comment said this was about a “colonist” and an “indigenous person”.
Oops you’re right this isn’t a native but a slave I’ll correct my comment.
Not a slave either.
This was around 10 years after the abolishment of slavery in the south, was it not referencing that?
If not what is the actual context?
I’m being a little technical, but I think it’s important. He/she would have been either an ex-slave, or a child of slaves, or just in general an African most likely. But definitely not “a slave”.
Pretty much the conservative argument against civil rights in a single panel. To be clear, I don’t think anyone is interested in “ruling” those poor stooges of the republican grift machine, but I think nothing scares them more than the idea of black folks (or women, or “the gays”) in positions of equality or authority.
They fear that their own transgressions will be revisited upon them. That they might actually reap what they have sown.
Conservative minds have never been capable of imagining a fair and equitable society. Hierarchy, to them, is necessary as a function of human existence. Therefore, they will always fight to be, or to be perceived as part of, the ruling class.
I’m okay with formal hierarchies, such as in an organization, where there are checks and balances and accountability. A racial hierarchy is bullshit.