Ghost of a flea: Holocaust International Cartoon Contest (Team Canada)

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August 23, 2006

Holocaust International Cartoon Contest (Team Canada)

Sequential hosts an interview with Marc Pageau, lone Canadian entrant to the Holocaust International Cartoon Contest; if this Dorothy Dixer "interview" format merits the name. The post features the first of four submissions by Pageau that the reality-based cartoonist has chosen to make public. The resulting words and image are at the exact limit of what might expect from someone who thinks a man in a concentration camp uniform is a source of hilarity.

I am not surprised by what the interview reveals. Pageau chose to participate in a competition whose purpose is to mock, belittle or outright deny the Shoah.* In fact, despite my questions he has yet to take the opportunity to clearly state his opinion of what is an historical fact. And from what I can make out this is the highlight of Pageau's career. I cannot imagine what I might feel as a Jewish Montrealer looking at this cartoon, reading the interview and learning how little my family counted to one of my neighbours. To repeat myself, perhaps Pageau's wit might next explore the humour in the massacre of the Roma or medical experiments on gay men and twins.

Some of Pageau's reasoning:

"... take a look at [this article] (Jews and Arabs share genes, Stanford research scientist says). So, anti-Semitic, a cartoon contest organized by Arabs? They seem to be Semites themselves."

Which would be fine excepting two small problems. First, I imagine most German Jews "shared genes" with the Nazis who murdered them. Second, Iran is Persian, not Arab. But such are mere details to someone whose "anti-stupidity" Crusade finds only one unequivocal target; the "United-Staters" to the south. Pageau attempts to cast his participation as a freedom of speech issue. This is to ignore the rationale advanced by Contest organizers.

After World War II, claims about a holocaust were raised for the second time in history. This was nothing but a myth - a myth about the killing of six million Jews.

Is it possible the Contest organizers actually believe what they say? Perhaps. But if so, The Flea's Law is in effect: Sufficiently advanced stupidity is indistinguishable from existential evil.

Pageau has the freedom to express himself as he does because better men died for his right to do so. He has the ability to express himself as he does because he does not have the misfortune to be a Jew in Hitler's Germany or Ahmadinejad's Iran. But then to some people freedom is best expressed by a hurtful, attention-seeking temper-tantrum; no matter the mockery of the dead, no matter the threat to the living, no matter the embarrassment to their fellow countrymen. The fact is I do not care what Pageau has to say about his motivations; his actions speak for themselves.

And a final thought for Marc, your attempt to colour your actions as Québécois reaction to English prejudice is offensive not only to Steve Janke and myself; it is an insult to the people of Québec who will share my revulsion for your cartoon as soon as they see it. Je me souviens, aussi.

*I quote from the contest page:

West's reaction towards holocaust creates serious questions in the mind of world's peoples, such as:
1) Why discussion is not allowed concerning holocaust, if it is a historical fact.
2) The holocaust had been finished and nothing can be done for it. But the bigger holocausts are happening in Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan and we can protect their victims.
3) Why suppressed and suffered people of Palestine living hundreds kilometer away from Poland and Germany should pay the price for holocaust?

So, the Holocaust did not happen, the Holocaust was a long time ago and nothing to be concerned about, the Holocaust is insignificant compared to Muslim suffering, the Holocaust is Europe's responsibility and nothing to do with Persian hegemonic ambitions. With only four impossible things to believe before breakfast the mullahs have their work cut out for them.

Lost in translation Update: So you say it was a Holocust contest? Well that's completely different.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at August 23, 2006 09:11 AM

Comments

Nothing to see here, move along people. I cannot wait to see his cartoons in September.

He will no longer be able to deflect all the negativity away from himself by saying "And what about this Cartoon contest organized by an Israeli Jew himself: ISRAELI ANTI-SEMITIC CARTOONS CONTEST. Would you call him anti-Semitic?" and "It seems that it is almost criminal these days in America to express publicly sincere opinions about the forever war in the Middle-East... And they dare to call their country LAND OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!!

Time to take responsibility for yourself, Mr Pageau! His deflections and avoidance will not last forever.

He'd do well to think about this the next time he decides to enter in an anti-holocAust contest.

Posted by: Temujin at August 23, 2006 04:18 PM

There is something distinctly Frischian about the whole performance. Wanting to disavow the only thing that has brought him notoriety while posturing as a rebel. Meantime, if you are Jewish or Israeli it is somehow illegitimate to recall the Shoah but any criticism directed at him brings an immediate squawk of race-based pure laine resentement. It was Oscar Wilde who once observed: "These are the only people in the world who enjoy being French."

Posted by: Ghost of a flea at August 23, 2006 05:04 PM