Jos Valdman, a cartoonist from the Adelaide Advertiser, published a cartoon called “Another Greek Tragedy” that appears to portray ancient Greeks collecting tears and putting out a fire.
The Australian newspaper is under the media empire of Rupert Murdoch, which includes numerous tabloids in the U.K. as well as the U.S. cable network Fox News.
See the cartoon below.
Gregory Pappas, publisher of The Pappas Post, has written the following open letter to the newspaper, as well as the cartoonist.
***
Dear Mr. Valdman,
85 people were burned to death, including a friend’s grandmother who was inside the comfort of her family’s home.
Of these 85, two dozen were found in a field hugging in groups, each with children as young as four years old in the center.
I wish you would have seen the news reports of the charred bodies and the pain from the survivors.
Perhaps your cartoon would have been different.
I wish you could see the regular reporting of devastated Greek families who are still searching — begging for information from strangers about missing loved ones.
Perhaps your cartoon would have taken a different twist.
I wish you could have seen dozens of people jumping off cliffs — some to their immediate death — into the ocean so they wouldn’t be burned alive.
Perhaps you wouldn’t have published a cartoon at all on this subject.
I wish you could have seen the TV report I just saw that showed a grandmother who lost all of her grandchildren in the fires.
Perhaps you could have shown some self-dignity and let the dead rest in peace.
I wish all of these things because sometimes crass and insensitivity needs to be checked with a dose of reality.
Perhaps there in far-away Adelaide, you’re not privy to the reports coming out of Greece and you haven’t experienced the pain and suffering of these victims, not to mention the bombardment of visuals coming from the 24-hour reporting in Greece.
Or perhaps it’s just part of the sickening culture where you work and you’ve lost all sense of civility, decency and self-dignity.
I’m fully aware of the Murdoch-owned rags. We have some of your boss’s “media” organizations here in the U.S. too and I’m far too familiar with their divisive and crass nature.
Either way, Mr. Valdman, your disgrace of a cartoon has already started making its way around Greece and the various diaspora communities of Greeks in your home country of Australia, in North America and throughout the world — where thousands are showing solidarity by helping victims and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars.
So I’d like to offer you and your entire organization an invitation — an invitation to not only rethink your erroneous decision to publish something so repugnant at the peak of a national crisis, but also to perhaps see if you can even offer a helping hand to the victims after already dealing such an injurious one.
Here’s a link for one of dozens of GoFundMe campaigns that have been started by people who care.
Maybe you can make an announcement on your Twitter page once you’ve donated.
Oh, and don’t worry about the amount — $10, $25, $50, $100, etc. — anything will go a long way to help those you already disparaged with your… “funny” cartoon.
*****
Since you’re here… I have a small favor to ask.
More and more people than ever before are reading The Pappas Post and despite increasing costs to maintain the site and provide you with the quality content that you deserve, I will never “force” you to pay for our website or add a paywall. I believe in the democracy of the internet and want to keep this site and its enriching content free for everyone. But at the same time I’m asking those who frequent the site to chip in and help keep it both high quality— and free. We’ve implemented a “free-will” annual subscription for those who want to support our efforts. I guess it’s fair to call it a philotimo subscription… because you don’t have to do it but it’s really the right thing to do if you love the site and the content we publish. So if you like The Pappas Post and want to help, please consider becoming a “philotimo subscriber”. Click here to subscribe. If you’d rather make a one time donation, we will gladly accept any amount, with appreciation. Click here to donate any amount.
7 comments
Thank you for this letter. The advertiser is garbage and perhaps the only good that can come from this is the general pivoting in Adelaide will realise how bad this rag is and one day soon close down this den of vipers.
Hi Darden
Please find below a formal apology from The Advertiser’s Editor, Matt Deighton.
APOLOGY FOR GREEK CARTOON
Dear all,
A cartoon about the Greek fire tragedy appeared in yesterday’s Advertiser and unfortunately upset many of the people who saw it.
The cartoon was meant to be a poignant tribute to the Greek people, both the tragedy they are now facing and their undeniable resilience.
But many of you told us you found the cartoon to be offensive, insensitive and in bad taste.
It was never our intention to add to the hurt or distress the Greek community has been suffering as a result of the fires.
But we accept that we did and, for this, we unreservedly apologise.
Matt Deighton
Editor
The Advertiser
APOLOGY FOR GREEK CARTOON
Dear all,
A cartoon about the Greek fire tragedy appeared in yesterday’s Advertiser and unfortunately upset many of the people who saw it.
The cartoon was meant to be a poignant tribute to the Greek people, both the tragedy they are now facing and their undeniable resilience.
But many of you told us you found the cartoon to be offensive, insensitive and in bad taste.
It was never our intention to add to the hurt or distress the Greek community has been suffering as a result of the fires.
But we accept that we did and, for this, we unreservedly apologise.
Matt Deighton
Editor
The Advertiser
I am a Greek Australian highly outraged by our fellow Adelaidian (I’m from Melbourne). Shame on you your heartless prick. The Murdoch empire seems to have made it a habit of bringing people down. They did it with George Michael who had his own demons to battle let alone an incentive empire as Murdoch. All I can say is there are two kinds of people in this world. Those that are Greek and those who wished they were Greek. Cudos to you Pappas Post. Let’s get cracking on helping our country in this time of need and leave the losers to their own devises. I’m off to Athens in a few weeks and I’ll be kneeling down kissing the tarmac as I always do but this time with tears in my eyes and a heavy heart ?
While I agree with the thrust of this open letter, I am disappointed that Mr. Pappas did not mention the other failure associated with this sorry issue — that of Matt Deighton, the editor of the Advertiser. Mr. Deighton should have had enough sense and experience to reject the cartoon, and ask for another one, or ask Jos Valdman to provide a cartoon on a separate issue. By agreeing to publish the cartoon Mr. Deighton simply added insult to injury.
Garbage begets garbage. A no-talent, ignorant, no class organization and a no-talent, ignorant, no-class so-called cartoonist…both in need of attention…any attention…negative attention at the expense of innocent lives. It comes from FAILURE as a cartoonist and FAILURE as a human being. Enjoy your negative attention Valdman because that is as good as it gets for a loser like you….shame on you for mocking a true human tragedy. Innocent lives lost and all that amoebas like you can do is figure out how to make yet another buck to try to fill the dark, bottomless pit inside them. But you will never fill it because you are not only stupid, but evil. I will not be courteous like Mr. Pappas has been. I m a true believer in God, and Karma too. Innocent lives lost…. and snakes like you lack the ability to even feign compassion…. Those people died a horrible death and the survivors will suffer for a long time, but the snakes of this world will all go to hell and burn for eternity, which is exactly as it should be. Rot in hell Valdman, you heartless idiotic moron. ROT IN HELL. Those poor victims went through things that no one can fathom, and that would bring you to your cowardly knees in a millisecond. How cruel and unfeeling of you. What do you know of tragedy you piece of shit? As for the subsequent apology issued, heartless, soulless garbage are incapable of true apologies because they have no conscience… those apologies are in fact ploys to save your sorry asses and nothing more. I hope there are consequences coming your way because forgiveness is only for those who are human and you are obviously nothing more than a slithering snake. I know all the swear words but none that can encompass the disgusting, shameful, pathetic, evil, mean-spirited, self-centered, vile garbage that YOU are. I am ashamed that you exist, your mother and family, unless they too are heartless monsters like you should also be ashamed and mortified by you. I spit in you face you talent-less, unfeeling,waste of skin, and I turn my back on you as I hope everyone will. ROT IN HELL, you and all of those like you.
There’s nothing offensive in this picture except the people mining for outrage.
It’s clearly a tribute in the face of tragedy. How are you offended by that!
I suggest the author of this letter should grow up. It is you who now owes an apology