Nothing New

Caution is a bitter pill. It doesn't taste good but it will help.

Part 1:
You didn't know that a cartoon could offend? As I was sitting in a doctor's office I picked up a Far Side collection and was pleased to see a section of the book that high lighted all of the panels Gary Larson received criticism for along with letters from the readers who found some of them offensive.
I've always found his cartoons funny; that's just my sense of humour. I even found the complaint letters funny as I'm sure I was supposed to. The accusations hurled at him from readers was, sometimes, very volatile and yet he understood why people were offended even as he was surprised. Did he apologize? Sometimes, in the manner cartoonists do, which was to express his regret and imply that he really doesn't advocate stringing up cats as bait or that short, fat kids are all stupid. Was he punished? Sure. Papers dropped him, threatened to drop him and sometimes just edited his work without his knowledge or permission. When you make a living drawing cartoons and no one will carry them you learn to appreciate just how far you can push an envelope.

Part 2:
When I was in University I met a guy who vowed to bring down the system 'from the inside'. What system he was talking about, I'm not sure. He was a radical, loved to quote (incorrectly) Nietzsche, claimed to be a Nihilist and eventually ran off to South America to help someone do something important. I heard his name again when he was arrested in Quebec City a few years ago for hucking a rock at a cop. He was an extremist, loved being considered extreme and probably still is extreme. I didn't much like him then and I don't like him now. I don't trust him and as far as I'm concerned his aggravated and aggressive behavior is dangerous and it's possible that he may hurt himself or someone else at some point in the future. A nice white boy from a good family in southern Ontario. Imagine.

Part 3:
The worst time to be a victim of a noisy neighbor is three in the morning. You've got to get up early and he's having a party. There's one of you and twelve of them and you convince yourself they're doing it intentionally. Worse still, he complains about the noise you make at 11:00 a.m., telling you that he works nights and has to get some sleep. Then he tells you, "By the way, would you mind not parking so close to my car? Somebody put a scratch down the side yesterday and if I find out who...", and he looks at you like he already knows who.

What do these things have in common? Nothing. I'm just rambling on. Like I said, caution is a bitter pill but if you have something sweet to wash it down with, you'll be alright.