A reader just sent me this, in response to this week’s strips on Michael Steele’s “hip hop” makeover of the Republican National Committee. I post this because, of all the e-mails readers have sent about this week’s strips, this was the ONLY one that took issue with it. But I’m sure this reader isn’t the only one who felt that way, so to answer anyone else who shares his opinion, I thought I’d post both this reader’s e-mail and my response to him:

Mr. Bell,
You have an impressive ability to analyze life and point out the irony and humor therein, such as you did in the strip about credit limit and APR. However, when you use your strip as a soapbox to express your political views with personal attacks, the result is not clever, entertaining, or funny. I assume that you’re not interested in my political views and I’m not interested in yours.

You can do better. There are plenty of ox’s to be goared on both sides of the political aisle and you will gain a broader audience.
[Name Witheld],
Woodbridge, VA

…and my response…

“Mr. [Name Witheld],

I appreciate the compliment. I have to ask, though, are you a new Candorville reader? Your “both sides of the aisle” comment leads me to believe you may be. Just a few weeks ago, Candorville lampooned the Obama administration for an entire week, depicting the press secretary as a burning bush dispensing wisdom from on high. Months ago, during the primaries, it went after Hillary Clinton, depicting her as the last survivor of a doomed alien planet who came to earth with the power to become whomever she happens to be speaking to at the time.

I am interested in other people’s political views, and my strip is intended for people who enjoy politics and social commentary. If reaching a broader audience were my goal, I’d have created a strip about a talking cat or dog. Everyone loves talking cats and dogs. But I created Candorville as a vehicle to comment honestly about my view of the world, the people in it, and the individuals who run it. That’s what Candorville is. Candorville has never spared politicians, and there’s no way to lampoon politicians without someone considering it a personal attack. I disagree with you on that, by the way. To me, a personal attack would be, for instance, to go after Al Franken’s or Rush Limbaugh’s past drug use when that has nothing to do with the rest of us. Commentary on the actions, policies, and aspects of politicians’ personalities that DO affect us is not a personal attack, it’s fair game. Incidentally, the politicians themselves seem to agree with me. Often, when I give one of them the Michael Steele treatment, someone from their offices contacts me to ask for original artwork or frame-ready prints. That happened again just yesterday. I have to believe these people wouldn’t be hanging personal attacks on the walls of their offices. I know I wouldn’t.

And I have to take the “not clever, entertaining, or funny” part with a grain of salt. Over my 14 years as a cartoonist and an accompanying 14 years of reading fan-mail and hate-mail, I’ve learned one thing in particular: people rarely think satire is clever, entertaining or funny when they disagree with it. When they do agree, they often think it’s brilliant.

You might be interested to know I received my share of negative mail from people who work at banks. These people felt last Sunday’s credit limit/APR strip was hitting below the belt. They felt it was a highly personal attack. I’m fascinated by how some of the responses are practically *mirror images* of your e-mail, as if they were written by you in a parallel universe. Here’s a clip from one of those e-mails. I hope you find it as interesting as I do:

“Dear Mr. Bell,

I generally enjoy Candorville. I think you’ve got a great eye for hypocrisy in our leaders and a great talent for deflating our politicians’ egos. I’m getting a big kick out of this week’s Michael Steele series, and I loved what you did with John Edwards. But with all due respect, these personal attacks against the institutions that make our democracy possible (namely, banks) have got to stop. It’s unseemly, undignified, unfunny, and more than a little childish. It’s kindergarten name-calling, and if you’re looking to turn off your readers who believe in the capitalist system (i.e. most of America), you’re well on your way to doing just that.

I don’t call you up at home and tell you that I think cartoonists are evil and trying to wreck the country, so I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t show up on my doorstep every morning telling me that I’M responsible for other people’s reckless borrowing habits.

Keep up the good work (and when it’s good, it’s really good), and cut out the bad, if you want to keep me and the millions of other ‘capitalist pig’ Americans as readers.

Sincerely,
[name witheld]
Direct Merchants Bank”

I think you can see, from all this, why I appreciate comments such as yours, but why I can’t let them influence what I do in my strip. Candorville is what it is. I can’t please everyone, and in fact, no matter WHAT I do (even inoccuous comics about aging), people tell me I’ve offended them. So the only way I know to do my job is to have my own standards, hold myself to my own standards, and write comics that I enjoy writing. If other people enjoy them, great. If not, well… that’s why there’s more than one comic strip on the comics page. There are a lot of other offerings on the comics page that would be more to their liking, and I encourage them to seek out those comics.

Thanks for reading Candorville, Mr. [Name Witheld], and especially for taking the time to write.