Life in Black and White

08/25/2015 - 08h35

If not even the horoscope escapes bombardment, it wouldn't be the cartoons, with their high corrosive power, which would pass unscathed through these belligerent times.

In recent months, readers have complained here and there about a supposed imbalance in cartoons on the opinion page (A2), which are seen as trending mostly toward the "left" - which in the current language, means pro-government.

I won't go into the merits of the ideological discussion. I always explain that cartoonists inhabit the territory of frank opinion and have ample freedom of expression. No cartoon, however, has provoked so much reaction up to now as the one by Laerte published on Tuesday (Aug. 18).

"The cartoon pushed the limits of good sense, of respect and even provocation," bellowed reader Ana Paula Costa Pacheco e Silva.

"My disgust was not over the opinion that differed from my own, but was due to the aggressiveness and contempt shown to those identified with opposition to the administration of President Dilma Rousseff as supporters of murderous bandits."

I was always a fan of Laerte, to me, the most restless quill from a genial trio, complemented by Angeli and Glauco (1957-2010).

Laerte is a cartoonist with autonomy to do things his own way, able to approach with irreverence the most disparate topics, even though his production in recent years has embarked on an irregular and more hermetic path.

It can't be denied, however, that she lowered the boom. In the response that he wanted to send voluntarily to readers who contacted me (read the text below), Laerte wrote that "every reduction will, in some degree, be unjust - but cartoons can't stop doing this because they serve as symbolic representations."

I support this concept, but I question the "some degree." When the reductionism is too much (and I believe it was), the message loses its refinement and bogs down into a stereotype.

Not by coincidence, shortly after publication of the cartoon, an apocryphal version began to circulate on social networks with the "symbolic representations" changed.

The inversion was facilitated by shallow reading: if taking a selfie with the police supports killing, those who defend Dilma and her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, are in cahoots with corruption.

To disqualify the adversary, it's easy to appeal to simplistic ideas and sophistry to box in people of the same type one dimensionally.

More balanced readers don't swallow this simplistic dichotomy or diversity grounded in polar opposites. "The truth is that alternating opinions of radicals on both sides does not assist those who seek some good sense in the search for a more united and democratic society," wrote Ivan Casella.

Some readers demand, correctly, responsibility by the newspaper, which in the end authorized publication.

The newsroom's leadership said it monitors texts and images to detect situations which could imply crimes against honor (calumny, injury and defamation).

"In these cases, we seek the author in advance to alert him to the possible consequences. This cartoon did not run that risk, while it had connoted a strong, and significantly debatable, attack against a significant portion of the population and our reading public. In its commitment to balance and plurality, Folha has sought to publish the reactions, such as those attested in the Letters to the Editor on Wednesday (Aug. 19) and Thursday (Aug. 20)."

LAERTEVISION

"There is no generic image of protesters or police. They are groups constituted by people with a great diversity of purpose. Every reduction will be, in some degree, unjust - but cartoons can't stop doing this because they serve as symbolic representations.

"Many protesters take selfies beside the police and reproduce them widely on social networks, transforming this gesture into an icon of all the marches up to now. These people are not fraternizing with specific soldiers - they are demonstrating support for a group which has been shown to be among of those most involved in the deaths of people in this country (according to Folha, in the first half of this year, there were more than 358 deaths "in confrontations")."

"The recent killings point, according to investigations, to actions motivated by vengeance on the part of police. What I sought was to connect the dots of these social facts and stimulate reflection.

"I recognize that I produced an aggressive image, but I don't consider it offensive. I believe that this is the level of seriousness of the time we are going through.

"I apologize to those who felt offended." (Laerte)

Translated by JOHN WRIGHT

Read the article in the original language