It's getting weird
Also: other cartoons
This cartoon was originally published on Pepperspectives. Click here to subscribe to Pepperspectives, where you’ll learn about the continuing threats to our democracy and the actions you can take to help safeguard it.
Convicted felon and sexual assaulter Donald Trump ordered a military invasion of Portland, Oregon on Saturday. Trump, a racist who has never gotten past the 2020 protests against police violence in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, either himself believes or wants his followers to believe that Portland is a “war ravaged” hellhole.
The impending invasion of Portland is just the latest case of Trump deploying the National Guard in an attempt to intimidate Americans who speak out against Trump’s authoritarian regime. For decades, Republicans have spread tales of horror about American cities as a way to frighten good, White, God-fearing rural and suburban voters into keeping them in power. Cities are dangerous. They’re secular. They’re liberal. They’re filled with The Gays™ and public school teachers and Black people. Be afraid!
As a resident of one such city — which had its own unfortunate and overhyped racial viral moment earlier this year — I’m always dumbstruck when I encounter someone who buys into the Cities are Dangerous propaganda. People have told me they won’t go to downtown Cincinnati or its urban core neighborhoods unless they’re armed, as if they expect to get into a gun battle as soon as they step onto Vine Street. Others have told me how they become apprehensive around so many people, especially the homeless.
Every city has crime, including violent crime. But so do small rural towns. I’ve lived in rural communities. Abuse, rape, murder, drugs, theft and everything else happens in “Real ‘Murica” just as it does in cities. The big difference is population density. Everything seems bigger when you have more people around. Couple that with news media that still follows the old adage of “If it bleeds, it leads,” the cultural, geographic and economic isolation of many in rural communities, and a healthy dose of Republican fear mongering, and it’s no wonder so many Americans see cities as war-torn wastelands.
Trump’s invasion of cities is just the latest attempt to drive Americans apart and intimidate those who speak out against MAGA fascism. We must continue to stand together and push back against ignorance and authoritarianism.
As you may have noticed, I’ve not been posting much on Substack in recent weeks. September was one of the busiest months I’ve had in a long time. Most days I was just trying to keep up. Below are the previous two cartoons I neglected to publish on Subtack.
I drew this first cartoon at the beginning of September after the Supreme Court announced it would allow ICE agents in Los Angeles to racially profile people as a basis for immigration stops. This further grants state-sponsored masked thugs to terrorize more people, including US citizens and legal residents.
The next cartoon was drawn in the aftermath of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension by his Disney corporate overlords. A good chunk of Disney’s bread and butter over the past century has been regaling audiences with tales of good triumphing over evil. This cartoon gave me an excuse to draw characters from my favorite Disney IP, Star Wars. Tales from the galaxy far, far away are blatantly anti-fascist. Here I imagined what Star Wars would be like if the Empire weren’t portrayed as the villains.
The cartoon originally ended on a panel that showed Star Wars: Episode 2025 was directed by Trump, mimicking the credits at the end of every Star Wars film. I was finishing up the cartoon when I learned that Kimmel would be coming back on air. Instead of scrapping the cartoon, David Pepper suggested that I just change the last panel to celebrate how people boycotting Disney helped to reinstate Kimmel. He offered up “The People Strike Back” as a faux movie title that would act as a button on the cartoon. I can honestly say I don’t know how I didn’t come up with that myself.
Help me keep the lights on and the cartoons flowing. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to Kevin’s UnNecessary Things. Your support allows me to draw more cartoons and speak truth to power. You can also support me by leaving me a one-time tip on Ko-fi, or by clicking here to visit my Etsy store, where you can purchase signed prints of my cartoons.
Awesome!
Oooo this was a big hit in the Portland family circles.