Editorial cartooning would be a diffilcult job to have these days, particularly when the dominant news issue and conversation item is as tragic as the Asian tsunami.
The job of an editorial cartoonist is to reveal the often awkward truth when many else would prefer a tactful silence or at least a delicate hand. The Herald Sun's regular cartoonist, Mark Knight, has handled the situation magnificently during the last week. His daily cartoons are always measured, clever and thoughtful. Demonstrating his great feel for the balance between creativity and empathy.
Two of my favorites are this from December 29:
And this from December 30:
But I couldn't help but sense what I think is evidence of his sarcasim in today's drawin
It no doubt follows yesterdays appalling news that some holiday-makers in Patong have swept aside the debris on the beach, set up their deck chairs and proceeded to work on their tans, sip fruity cocktails and spritzers and listening to their iPods... All as if nothing has happened:
"Last Sunday, Patong beach was wrecked when a wall of water slammed into Phuket Island, claiming hundreds of lives.
Umbrellas, chairs and other beach paraphernalia were swept to the top of the tree-lined beach, taking tourists and locals with them. It was here that Perth baby Melina Heppell died.
But for some tourists yesterday, the tragedy was already a mere memory as they made the most of the weather. Many were in bikinis, some lounged on sunbeds while others swam in the water where so many had lost their lives only days before.
Their fun in the sun came despite warnings that aftershocks could follow the disaster that is now known to have claimed about 125,000 lives"
I know you have to "get on with life", but having a holiday in an area recently devestated by a tragic and incompehensible event that caused so much death and damage is, to me, outrageous and absolutely mindboggling. I don't know how anyone can seriously do it, and think nothing of it.
But having said that, many locals are probably pleased that the tourism industry has started to recover so (amazingly) quickly, with much of a blip. Listening to a radio news report earlier, it would certainly seem that many of the locals are urging tourists to come back.
Tourists are the lifeblood of many of the beautiful islands in southern
Thailand and this is the peak for overseas visitors, a warm, dry season
coinciding with the depth of northern winters.
Thailand's resort islands, like much of the region, were scenes of devastation. Some hotels were wiped out, while others were untouched or minimally damaged
If there is a fundamental way of seeing the difference between those
of us who travel to places like the Maldives or Phuket and the people
who live there, it might be this: we are "covered" for every eventuality,
yet disbelieving when the worst happens. They, by contrast, have no way
of coping with the worst, yet are completely unsurprised when it
happens, and as such can move on much quicker that we can.
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