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05-13-2012, 01:00 PM
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05-13-2012, 01:00 PM
Last Monday, I went to a board meeting of the Cartoonists Rights Network in Washington, D.C. As I've written here before, CRN helps cartoonists in trouble in parts of the world where the art form is, shall we say, frowned on by authoritarian regimes, police states and various mobs.
Part of our agenda was to select the winner of the annual Courage in Cartooning Award, given to a cartoonist who showed particular bravery standing up to threats.
Sadly, there were many qualified candidates last year, perhaps the most notable being Ali Ferzat of Syria, who was beaten and had his fingers broken by thugs from the Assad regime.
The French satirical newspaper Hebdo was bombed over cartoons. Slovakian cartoonist Martin Sutovek was sued by Prime Minister Robert Fico for cartoons suggesting he lacked backbone. These are all-too-common stories, with variations repeated in India, Bahrain, Zimbabwe and elsewhere.
As with the infamous fatwah declared against the Danish cartoonists a couple of years back for drawing Mohammed, there are often undercurrents of tribalism or religious fanatacism in play, which brings us to University of Kentucky basketball.
I got off the plane Tuesday afternoon and have spent nearly every waking hour since dealing with angry hoop fans, displeased, to put it mildly, at the way I lampooned UK Coach John Calipari after he refused to play Indiana in Bloomington again.
A dozen or so have canceled their papers. Many dozens have sent me e-mails, most of them unprintable, some containing veiled threats. A handful called my home, one at 2 a.m., claiming to be outside. A UK fan posted my home address on the Internet and suggested it as a target for vandalism. A couple of correspondents lectured me that IU students treated Calipari and the Cats rudely in Bloomington during last season's thriller. Imagine that.
Now, I went to IU, have pretty much split my life between Bloomington and Lexington, have loved both playing and watching basketball for decades and remain incensed that the series is waylaid.
I was dismayed 20 years ago when it was moved to Indianapolis and Louisville, in pursuit of ever more big money. I couldn't care less about their bottom lines, or that playing in huge arenas prepares the one-and-dones (one-and-domes?) for Final Fours.
A quaint notion, maybe, but I like college games to be played in the college towns.
For all the demands that I apologize, what I really regret is that of all the subjects we cover — in news, editorials and cartoons — UK basketball is the only one, with the possible exception of the you're-with-us-or-the-terrorists Iraq war, that has inspired this level of genuine outrage and passion.
Now that's just sorry.
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/05/13/21861...rylink=cpy
Part of our agenda was to select the winner of the annual Courage in Cartooning Award, given to a cartoonist who showed particular bravery standing up to threats.
Sadly, there were many qualified candidates last year, perhaps the most notable being Ali Ferzat of Syria, who was beaten and had his fingers broken by thugs from the Assad regime.
The French satirical newspaper Hebdo was bombed over cartoons. Slovakian cartoonist Martin Sutovek was sued by Prime Minister Robert Fico for cartoons suggesting he lacked backbone. These are all-too-common stories, with variations repeated in India, Bahrain, Zimbabwe and elsewhere.
As with the infamous fatwah declared against the Danish cartoonists a couple of years back for drawing Mohammed, there are often undercurrents of tribalism or religious fanatacism in play, which brings us to University of Kentucky basketball.
I got off the plane Tuesday afternoon and have spent nearly every waking hour since dealing with angry hoop fans, displeased, to put it mildly, at the way I lampooned UK Coach John Calipari after he refused to play Indiana in Bloomington again.
A dozen or so have canceled their papers. Many dozens have sent me e-mails, most of them unprintable, some containing veiled threats. A handful called my home, one at 2 a.m., claiming to be outside. A UK fan posted my home address on the Internet and suggested it as a target for vandalism. A couple of correspondents lectured me that IU students treated Calipari and the Cats rudely in Bloomington during last season's thriller. Imagine that.
Now, I went to IU, have pretty much split my life between Bloomington and Lexington, have loved both playing and watching basketball for decades and remain incensed that the series is waylaid.
I was dismayed 20 years ago when it was moved to Indianapolis and Louisville, in pursuit of ever more big money. I couldn't care less about their bottom lines, or that playing in huge arenas prepares the one-and-dones (one-and-domes?) for Final Fours.
A quaint notion, maybe, but I like college games to be played in the college towns.
For all the demands that I apologize, what I really regret is that of all the subjects we cover — in news, editorials and cartoons — UK basketball is the only one, with the possible exception of the you're-with-us-or-the-terrorists Iraq war, that has inspired this level of genuine outrage and passion.
Now that's just sorry.
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/05/13/21861...rylink=cpy
05-13-2012, 01:36 PM
I am a UK fan and I admit that UK fans get bent out of shape and act ignorantly when even the most mi-nute negative thing is stated about UK basketball. However, Mr. Pett's appearing to be shocked at the negative response by some of the UK faithful is also a sign of ignorance.
05-13-2012, 06:04 PM
The cartoon is beating a dead horse, and it doesn't really bother me, but Pett is a dipshit for not realizing what would happen, he got on KSR and acted like an asshole to Matt Jones and company when they interviewed him over it. Screw him and the Herald-Leader, it's a dying medium anyways, what did he expect when he made the cartoon? UK fans are borderline insane. I don't agree with the way a lot of fans acted, but as RoShamBo said, he dug his grave, so now he can lay in it.
05-13-2012, 07:29 PM
I canceled my Lexington H-L subscription following its shameful coverage of the Dukakis/Bush I campaign. Pett is one of many reasons that I never considered renewing it. The fact that a no-talent hack like Pett, who must spend at least 15 minutes a day doodling his cartoons, won a Pulitzer Prize convinced me of just how little credibility our media has in this country. That being said, it is amazing that the misinformed subscribers to the H-L cannot find a more substantial reason for canceling their subscriptions that Joel Pett insulting UK's basketball coach.
05-13-2012, 07:43 PM
Hoot Gibson Wrote:I canceled my Lexington H-L subscription following its shameful coverage of the Dukakis/Bush I campaign. Pett is one of many reasons that I never considered renewing it. The fact that a no-talent hack like Pett, who must spend at least 15 minutes a day doodling his cartoons, won a Pulitzer Prize convinced me of just how little credibility our media has in this country. That being said, it is amazing that the misinformed subscribers to the H-L cannot find a more substantial reason for canceling their subscriptions that Joel Pett insulting UK's basketball coach.
Finally, someone as old or older than me on BGR.
05-13-2012, 08:14 PM
OrangenowBlue Wrote:Finally, someone as old or older than me on BGR.Maybe, but I started following politics at a fairly young age. :biggrin:
05-13-2012, 08:59 PM
Hoot Gibson Wrote:I canceled my Lexington H-L subscription following its shameful coverage of the Dukakis/Bush I campaign. Pett is one of many reasons that I never considered renewing it. The fact that a no-talent hack like Pett, who must spend at least 15 minutes a day doodling his cartoons, won a Pulitzer Prize convinced me of just how little credibility our media has in this country. That being said, it is amazing that the misinformed subscribers to the H-L cannot find a more substantial reason for canceling their subscriptions that Joel Pett insulting UK's basketball coach.
I would say that a fairly large number of HL subscribers get it just for the Sports section. As was said before, if you are getting all of your news from a newspaper you are sorely misinformed anyways.
05-14-2012, 06:50 PM
Hoot Gibson Wrote:I canceled my Lexington H-L subscription following its shameful coverage of the Dukakis/Bush I campaign. Pett is one of many reasons that I never considered renewing it. The fact that a no-talent hack like Pett, who must spend at least 15 minutes a day doodling his cartoons, won a Pulitzer Prize convinced me of just how little credibility our media has in this country. That being said, it is amazing that the misinformed subscribers to the H-L cannot find a more substantial reason for canceling their subscriptions that Joel Pett insulting UK's basketball coach.
Agreed.
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