- „Some are trying to inflame those people“
After the El Paso shooting a political cartoon of Duff Moses is spreading all over the world. Although he drew it back in 2018, it is still relevant. In „Cicero“ he talks about destructive power words can have
Autoreninfo
Bastian Brauns leitete das Wirtschaftsressort „Kapital“ bei Cicero von 2017 bis 2021. Zuvor war er Wirtschaftsredakteur bei Zeit Online und bei der Stiftung Warentest. Seine journalistische Ausbildung absolvierte er an der Henri-Nannen-Schule.
So erreichen Sie Bastian Brauns:
Mr. Duff Moses, your political cartoon has been shared all over the world in social networks since the cruel terror attack in El Paso, Texas. What do we see in your drawing?
We are standing behind a flaming matchstick that is apparently speaking to a crowd of angry bombs.
The flaming matchstick looks very similar to a person which is known very well all over the world, right?
I leave that to your interpretation.
So, what do you want to show us with that cartoon?
I think, what I was trying to express, was the ability of demagogues to insight the fears and angers of many people.
Your cartoon is from 2018. What event made you thinking about drawing it?
It was an emotional response to the events in Charlottesville, Virginia. I drew the cartoon very quickly. And yes, I was very emotional, when I did it.
Where has it been published first?
Only on my Facebook page and on my Instagram account.
Why you were drawing Trumps listeners as bombs? Is every Trump voter potentially explosive?
Obviously every voter in the United States who supports the current administration is not a public danger. But there is a sub-group of Americans who are very angry. And some are trying to inflame those people for their own political interests
Why do you think, people are angry like your drawn bombs?
Let me say this. I believe that the current regime that is controlling the United States represents the interests of the corporations and the oligarchs who has successfully misdirected the angry white voting block. By providing them with a false enemy to fear rather than focusing on them, the real villains who has been offshoring their jobs and reducing the social safe nets any modern economy depends on to compete in the world market
It is an important current question also in Germany. Do you think words can cause physical violence?
I do believe that.
Why is that?
Because it has been shown to work very successfully. And Germans should know this better than anybody else, how well that technique can succeed.
Do you think, the President is responsible for the terrorist attack in El Paso?
I think that the rhetorics that has being used in todays’ political discourse are potentially very dangerous. And that worries me terribly.
Some hours ago the President held a speech about the shootings. He said, hate had no place in the United States. What do you think about these words, spoken by him?
From the presidents lips to gods ears. Will you draw a cartoon about El Paso? I think that my cartoon will be sufficient for El Paso and other incidents.
