The cascade of hot reactions following the murder of Charlie Kirk provoked many confrontations and the usual debates, many of them as generic and hasty as they are simplistic, about right and wrong, freedom of expression and the freedom to express one's emotions as one sees fit, but we'll leave the usual tiresome mudslinging for another day. Or rather, for never.
So we saw Jimmy Kimmel apologise while, among other things, saying that Trump "can't take jokes" in his return to television after a six-day suspension from his ABC show for his comments about Charlie Kirk. And he's right, Trump can't take jokes or criticism, but neither can the vast majority of Republicans (except when they make the jokes themselves), let alone the MAGA boys.
In many cases they don't even know how to interpret the meaning of criticism, as in this case. The instant beatification of Charlie Kirk has clouded their reading comprehension even more, if possible.
A couple of newspapers also decided to apologise for a cartoon that the critics did not understand. That at this point we have to explain again to all these people what an"editorial cartoon" is is already boring the flies.
Newsday, which is distributed in Long Island and part of New York, apologised on Sunday 14 September for the publication the previous day of a cartoon by cartoonist Chip Bok (1952) about the murder of Charlie Kirk with a brief statement signed by the newspaper's management.
The newspaper itself later expanded the apology, headlined:"Newsday apologises for Charlie Kirk murder cartoon", with this text:
Newsday issued an apology after it published and then removed from online platforms a cartoon depicting Charlie Kirk's killing that was widely criticized.
The syndicated cartoon, which ran in print editions Saturday, shows an empty chair under a tent marked "CHARLIE KIRK," with blood scattered against the wall behind it, and an arrow pointing to the chair with the text "TURNING POINT USA." The tent is adorned with the words "PROVE ME WRONG," Kirk's slogan for the event at which he was killed.
Commenters and some public officials wrote online that they felt the cartoon — published as part of a "Cartoon Roundup" — seemed to trivialize or mock Kirk's death.
On Sunday afternoon, Newsday issued a written apology, calling the cartoon "insensitive and offensive."
"We deeply regret this mistake and sincerely apologize to the family of Charlie Kirk and to all. We made an error in judgment. The cartoon has been removed from our digital platforms," the statement said.
It went on: "In his illustration, Chip Bok used the name of Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, and the theme of his Utah event — "Prove Me Wrong" — to suggest that Kirk’s assassination might be a turning point for healing our nation’s divide. The imagery was inappropriate and should never have been published in Newsday," reads the statement, signed by "Newsday Leadership."
The apology came after an earlier statement from editorial page editor Rita Ciolli, which stated, "We regret the upset [the cartoon] caused."
Suffolk Republican Party Chairman Jesse Garcia, in a social media post on Saturday, called for the cartoon to be pulled, the artist’s contract to be terminated, and for an apology.
U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) and other officials posted similar criticisms online, calling for Newsday to fire the cartoonist.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman posted criticism of Newsday on X late Saturday night, saying the cartoon "trivialized" Kirk's death and calling it "so over the top despicable" and "shocking."
The cartoonist, Chip Bok, is not a Newsday employee but rather a nationally syndicated cartoonist based in Ohio. Newsday reached out to the national syndication agency that distributes his cartoons for comment. The agency did not immediately respond.
After Newsday issued the apology, Garcia said in a statement: "On behalf of the Suffolk County and Brookhaven Republican Committees, I accept this apology. ... Charlie Kirk was a man of faith, family, and country. His tragic loss should never be trivialized."
By Peter Gill
The Daily Cartoonist, which reviews the reaction of other media to the removal of the image, is clear that people misinterpreted the cartoon and contributed to the hysteria and that, although Chip Bok is not a Republican supporter of MAGA, they believe that insinuating that the conservative cartoonist is a "partisan" Democrat shows that the president of the Republican Party is unaware of the cartoonist's political ideas. Later, the cartoonist himself would confirm this by coming down hard on several Republican politicians.
Another media outlet that also apologised for publishing the cartoon was Wyoming's Jackson Hole Daily, which issued an apology the same day with its interpretation of the cartoon and pointing out Chip Bok's political leanings:
"The Jackson Hole Daily has received considerable feedback concerning a syndicated cartoon on page 5 in the weekend edition. It ran as one of eight editorial cartoons as is customary in the weekend edition.
The drawing by Pulitzer finalist Chip Bok, an editorial cartoonist for nearly 40 years who produces work with a conservative viewpoint, uses the name of Charlie Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, and the theme of his Utah event, “Prove Me Wrong,” to suggest that Kirk’s assassination might be a turning point in our nation’s divide. The editors of the Daily interpreted the cartoon as a statement that the United States is at a turning point as a nation, where political violence is escalating at an alarming rate.
Many readers found the imagery upsetting and insensitive. It inflamed an array of emotions. We regret the decision to publish it, and we apologize to those who are offended. It has since been removed from the digital edition".
The cartoonist's reaction
The avalanche of news reports about the removal of the cartoon and the media's apologies ended up completely swallowing up any other details about the other protagonists, taking the cartoonist out of the equation completely and burying his opinion on the matter.
However, Chip Bok, on Sunday 15 September, had published his opinion, illustrated with the cartoon of discord, on the controversy on his website in these terms:
"My agenda as a cartoonist is basically free speech. That made Charlie Kirk my kind of guy. He took on leftwing cancel culture by engaging college students where they were. His method was simple and brilliant, he promoted free speech using the Socratic method on college campuses. He would answer any question and then the student questioner had to respond. And so it went,
By the age of 31 Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, had 900 college and 1,200 high school chapters.
Sadly, Charlie Kirk became a free speech martyr when he was shot dead while taking the first question last week during a Utah Valley University engagement themed “Prove Me Wrong.”
Already since that dark day, Andrew Kolvet, the Charley Kirk Show producer says he has received 37,000 inquires seeking new chapters. Sounds to me like a possible turning point for the USA’s rotten politics.
Unfortunately some of the rotten politicians didn’t see it that way. U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) demanded an apology from Newsday and my termination (first they’d have to hire me.) Jesse Garcia, chairman of the Suffolk County Republican Party, criticized Newsday. He said the paper “crossed a line” and that the cartoon mocked tragedy, caused division, and encouraged political violence. He called it a “reckless, partisan attack” and said it silenced free speech.
Here’s my apology: I’m sorry Charlie Kirk isn’t around to give these guys a free speech lesson".
