Vanessa de Largie | Perth Now | September 15, 2018
MAKING a crust from being funny aint easy. Just ask veteran Herald Sun cartoonist, Mark Knight.
Knight has found himself at the centre of a s**t storm, after depicting Serena Williams having a dummy-spit at the US Open.
Is Knight’s controversial cartoon racist? The Twitterati and PC brigade seem to think so. But I beg to differ.
The Herald Sun defended Knight and his controversial cartoon by republishing it on the front page of their newspaper this week with the headline: “WELCOME TO PC WORLD.”
Welcome to the “’PC World” indeed.
A world where the neo-puritans take offence at anything and everything.
A world of selfies, belfies, bonk bans and theybies.
A world where a reality TV star becomes President.
A world where Kim Kardashian’s butt grabs more headlines than Syria.
A world that is trying very hard to suppress democracy.
Knight has worked as a cartoonist for over two decades depicting everyone from Presidents to terrorists. Knight’s occupation requires him to be satirical, humorous and offensive. It requires him to take the piss. But most of all it requires him to be honest.
The fact is Serena Williams is a black, privileged, female sporting hero who behaved like a spoilt brat during the women’s open final. And apparently now, her behaviour is considered a great victory against the patriarchy – NOT!
The psychology of this was fascinating. A famous female tennis player acts abominably, (and not for the first time). She then plays “the mommy card” and “gender card”. Then magically it’s a VICTORY for women against sexism.
Yet the supposed ‘sexist’ referee ruled against her, but IN FAVOUR of another, superior, more sportswoman-like…WOMAN.
It reminds me of the war of 1812. In the American version, it was a GREAT victory for American freedom. Of course, the British seized their shipping and sailors at will, marched up and down the continent whipping arse and then as a special gift, burned Washington to the ground, including the new White House… but THE AMERICANS WON. In psychology they call this delusional thinking – a confabulation.
I very much doubt that Mark Knight sat down with the intention to create a racist cartoon. He sat down to draw the truth and he magnificently succeeded. He drew an African-American sporting hero with a strong build chucking a tanty, her features easily identifiable.
God forbid. I mean what does the world expect him to draw when he depicts that particular event?
A white male?
The fact is if Serena Williams was a white male there wouldn’t be a sh*t storm. No one would care.
Perhaps men are now the scapegoats.