Angry in the Great White North

Garth Turner, Liberal MP for Halton, is on a tour of western provinces, delivering speeches to the Liberal faithful.

The cartoon is on the Garth Turner's posting My Job, but I'll repost here:

Artistic rendering courtesy of The Wingnuterer

Now some context. The cartoon is not by Garth Turner but by the humorist who runs The Wingnuterer. Turner names the artist but does not give the link to posting for the cartoon. The cartoon is actually a slam against some of the reactions to Garth Turner's visits out west.

When Garth Turner shows up to give a speech to fellow Liberals, some people think it's an invasion. The Wingnuterer was attempting to portray what these people must be imagining when Garth Turner comes through the door.

The funny thing is, understood in the context in which it is given, the cartoon helps Garth Turner's cause by pointing out that a violent reaction to his appearance is not appropriate. It is not an invasion, Garth Turner is not Stephane Dion's general on the Western Front, and no one should be worried about a coup d'etat.

Well, maybe you think these things are true, but I'm just trying to explain the cartoon, which is more than what Garth Turner has done.

He provides the name of the "artist" but no link or acknowledgment that he is a blogger with a website. I happen to know Wingnuterer is a blogger on Blogspot so I knew exactly where to go, but the average reader is not going to make the effort to search out the name, then zero in on the blog, then go backwards through the posts until he finds the cartoon. Indeed, the average reader wouldn't follow the link itself even if it was provided, which is why a short explanation is helpful.

So why would Garth Turner put this cartoon up with no explanation and no easy way to get to the original context of the cartoon?

Does he like the imagery of Stephane Dion and himself decked out as soldiers? Not Canadian soldiers, but American Marines hitting the beach on some island in the Pacific Theatre in WWII, but then he didn't draw the cartoon so I can't fault him for that.

Does he want people to come away thinking that Stephane Dion has handed Canada's western provinces to Garth Turner to win back for the Liberal Party?

Note that Garth Turner doesn't call it a political cartoon, but an "artistic rendering".

Note that Garth Turner places the cartoon (sorry, the rendering) in a post called "My Job".

Maybe you see this cartoon and immediately understand it the way it was meant. Of course, this is a sarcastic envisioning of what other people think of Garth's tour. Those silly people. But I bet lots of people didn't get that at all. I find it telling that the Wingnuterer didn't just post the cartoon on his blog, but included enough explanation in an introductory lead-in to make sure his readership got the point.

Too bad Garth Turner isn't as considerate. I think Garth Turner owes an apology to his readership, who might think that Stephane Dion has made Garth Turner the Liberal Party's western general. And unless that's actually true, the point of the cartoon is to poke fun at people who think Garth Turner has been assigned that job.

But then maybe Garth Turner wouldn't mind people getting the wrong impression.

Garth Turner has been blogging for a while, so I shouldn't have to tell him the importance of linking to original sources of information, especially when the material is being reproduced directly, and especially when there is contextual information.

I won't suggest that Garth Turner apologize to the Wingnuterer, since apparently he didn't mind:

You know, I have been accused in the past of being a Liberal operative by some, yet I have never seen an brown paper bags of cash ~sigh~ So where's my royalty cheque Garth? LOL, nah, never mind, I just love seeing my photo-hackery being used on other peoples blogs, makes all more worth doing. Hope Mr. Dion gets a chuckle out of it ;-)

Zorph [aka The Wingnuterer]

Gee, in the subtitle given by Garth Turner, the rendering was a courtesy, like it was used with permission. Sounds like the Wingnuterer had no idea that his cartoon was being used. I guess "Artistic rendering courtesy of The Wingnuterer" sounds better than "Cartoon ripped off from of The Wingnuterer and used without context".

No link and the suggestion that someone elses work was used with permission -- hey Garth, your blog sucks! On technical merit, that is.

If the Wingnuterer wants his material used with linkage and without context, that's his business. But bad blogging? We all should feel free to stand up and call Garth Turner out on it.

The funny thing about all this? When I saw Stephane Dion and Garth Turner depicted as fighting soldiers, I thought it was really offensive. But I took the time to check into the background of the cartoon, and the focus changed for me. For some people though, Garth Turner and Stephane Dion depicted as soldiers while real soldiers are fighting in Afghanistan (and succeeding in part because of new equipment being rushed to them by the Conservative government, equipment the Liberals would never have purchased even though they sent the soldiers into harm's way) would be so insulting that with or without the context, they'd be crying for Garth Turner's political head on a plate. It doesn't seem like a smart move to me.

Addendum: You might be wondering about what Stephane Dion's reaction would be to one of his MPs posting a cartoon of him and Dion like the one Garth Turner posted. I'm wondering that too. Maybe some advice to check with the centre first the next time the opportunity comes up?

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