[cifnmedia] Cartoon Pokes Fun Of Fire Dept.
- From: Sean & Kimberly Aaron <cifn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: CIFN LIST <cifnmedia@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 07:36:50 -0800 (PST)
Updated: 03-19-2004 04:22:10 PM
Controversial Chicago Newspaper Cartoon Pokes Fun Of Fire Dept.
BERNIE TAFOYA
Courtesy of WBBM 780
Chicago) -- Members of the Chicago Fire Department, from the firehouses on up
to the top firefighter at City Hall are hopping mad over a Tribune editorial
cartoon that ran Sunday.
The cartoon depicts three white Chicago firefighters shooting water at three
black men up against a wall with their hands behind their heads. A couple of
dogs with the firefighters snarl at the black men and a fourth firefighter
shouts to the others, "No, guys...the fire's over there", as he points to a
building in the opposite direction.
Chicago Fire Commissioner Jim Joyce says he's outraged by the cartoon and says
it conjures up reminders of the excesses by police in the Deep South in the
1950s. Joyce says "there is nothing like that that has ever taken place in this
city".
Joyce says he has "fired the Tribune" and canceled his subscription. Chicago
Firefighters Union president Jim McNally says he has heard from a number of
firefighters who have also canceled their subscriptions to the paper because of
the cartoon.
McNally calls the cartoon a "desecration" .... a "slap in the face to
firefighters". Commissioner Joyce says "to put a scare in the citizens that our
firefighters would ignore their emergencies is just wrong".
The cartoon was a "special to the Tribune" drawn by Pulitzer Prize winning
cartoonist Doug Marlette whose biography says draws for New York Newsday.
Chicago Tribune Public Editor Don Wycliff could not be reached for comment by
WBBM, but he tells the Sun-Times he does not think the cartoon "crossed the
line", that it was "satire".
The cartoon followed weeks of stories about racial slurs uttered over the
Chicago Fire Department radio system. Two firefighters were suspended because
of one of the incidents. The fire department says it has not been able to trace
the origin of the others and suggests some of them might have been from hackers
breaking in to the fire department system.
Related:
Chicago City Hall In An Uproar Over Slurs On Fire Radios
Slurs On Chicago Fire Dept. Radio Will Get Offenders Fired
Chicago City Council Hearings Today On Fire Radio Slurs
More Racial Slurs On Illinois Fire Radios Reported Wednesday
More Racial Slurs On Chicago Fire Radios Reported
Mayor Wants Illinois Firefighter Disciplined For Slur
Authorities Investigate Racial Slur On Chicago Fire Dept. Radio
Like This Article? E-Mail This Story to a Friend or Co-Worker
Sean A. Aaron (CIFN*1)
Central Illinois Fire Network
cifn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.geocities.com/central_illinois_firenet
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