Journal upset at satirical drawing
The Journal has got hold of police photos of a satirical drawing they found at Amir Khadir’s house, a spoof on Delacroix’s Liberty leading the people, in which the Bananarchiste takes the place of Liberty and Khadir figures as the man holding a rifle. However, the tone is sombre, and verges on suggesting the image might mean charges for the artist, if not for Khadir himself.
Ian 08:52 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
Oh no, satirical art? Terrists, clearly.
Kate 09:04 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
Tweets are taking it very seriously indeed, e.g. could the fallen figure of Charest constitute a threat?
Michel 09:20 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
Needs a bit of black velvet for that extra je ne sais quoi.
qatzelok 09:30 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
Look where fascism is taking us: the wrong satire could land you in jail soon.
marco 10:24 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
Having a picture of you killing your co worker on display in your living room does indicate a serious mental issue though.
qatzelok 10:40 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
marco, are you able to deduce people’s mental health by the artwork they keep? If so, Jojo Savard is trying to channel you.
Tux 10:55 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
I’m with qatzelok on this. I’m not a fan of Charest but this is satire, it’s art, not a threat. Bill Watterson’s Calvin made disturbing snow men. Does that mean Watterson was crazy? It’s dangerous saying someone ‘is’ something based on the company they keep, the books they read, the music they listen to… you can’t judge a book by its cover. Come on!
ant6n 11:01 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
Seems kinda odd the police would take pictures in smoebody’s private home, then distribute them. Feels like a breach of privacy to me.
Anyhoo, this Khadir fellow is pretty wonky, not really party leader material. I wish Quebec Solidaire found somebody a bit less funky to represent them, otherwise it’s hard to take them seriously – and it’ll probably hurt their numbers, they are polling in the low double digits these days.
qatzelok 14:14 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
@ ant6n: “this Khadir fellow is pretty wonky, not really party leader material.”
Well he’s not a corporate-owned drone like the candidates we’ve become used to. If you want more Obamas, then just say so. Then explain why nice poster graphics and the right mannequin features are more important than sound policies and the common good.
ant6n 14:38 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
I think Layton wasn’t ‘corporate-owned’. And he was much more appealing to the people, and didn’t say and do wierd things all the time. It’s strawman to say that just because I think Khadir doesn’t have the seriousness and decorum of an opposition (or government) leader, that I am endorsing that candidates should be ‘corporate-owned’.
Asking for another leader for a party exactly is exactly focussing on sound politics and the common good – I may like the ideals of the party, I don’t like their leaders.
JaneyB 18:40 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
This seems like quite a breach of privacy to me. Is it even legal for cops to do this? (What that means these days, I’m not so sure…). Obviously it’s satirical; what do you get lefty politicos for their birthdays? A bookshelf can only hold so much Gramsci…
And on that note, when is Don Charest’s birthday? – maybe we could chip in and get him a copy of the Civil Code of Quebec and The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms!
steph 18:46 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
At first I was kind of shocked that the police would invade his privacy like that, but seeing as it’s actually a poster on sale by Mise en Demeure, it’s the equivalent of the police releasing to the press that there was a Warhol poster in Khadir’s house. If anything it’ll get Mise en Demeure some publicity and they might sell more 7$ posters.
Ian 19:02 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
I’ve got Kropotkin, Lenin, Marx, Engels, and Bakunin on my bookshelf – I’m probably looking for an Austro-Hungarian emperor to assassinate. But wait – I have a Bible, the Koran, a Jewish Prayer Book & the Upanishads – I must be a religious zealot!
This whole thing is so stupid I can’t believe it’s even being reported. From the cops, no surprise, but I expect better from the press. I guess I should have known better.
Kate 19:27 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
Khadir is considering suing the Journal de Montréal for the inflammatory headline “Khadir armé, Charest mort” on the article Tuesday morning. The Toronto Sun leaps in, calling Khadir ultra left wing and trying to draw some connection between Khadir and the band whose cover art this is, and not succeeding.
The Gazette summarizes some ritual sparring among politicos and CTV quotes Khadir reasonably saying “There are cartoons in newspapers every day that completely demolish leaders and some of those leaders have those cartoons in their office, where’s the problem?”
Ian 22:16 on 2012/06/12 Permalink
“Mise en demeure’s latest album cover depicts four men sitting in a room with the heads of three men displayed on the wall – Charest, former Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard and Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau, owner of Sun Media.” Ah, no wonder the Toronto Sun is so worked up. :D