{ When Satire } ~ is No Laughing Matter

Humor can be a deadly business.

In many parts of the world, this is not news.  Each year, the International World Press Freedom Day commemorates journalists/cartoonists who risked their lives to reveal uncomfortable truths.  

The terrorist attacks in Paris at the satirical publication Charlie Hebdo is a case in point.

The publication was an equal-opportunity offender and the terrorists would be hard pressed to find a group of cartoonists and writers more dedicated to questioning 'Western imperialism'.  But such distinctions are lost upon the mad.  

A cartoon I did for the International Editorial Cartoon Competition on World Press Freedom back in 2001.  It was chosen for First Prize.

The committee was so pleased with the cartoon that it was subsequently cast in metal and is now part of the presentation plaque awarded to subsequent winners.

Pen, brush and ink on paper.