The Criminalizing Homelessness Cycle
Cartoon by Barry
TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON
This cartoon has four panels, arranged so that they can be read in a clockwise circle. Each panel shows the same character – a homeless man wearing jeans, a hoodie, and a knit cap. I’ll call him “Knit.”
TOP PANEL
Knit is lying on a park bench, looking like he just woke up, and with a confused expression on his face. A cop holding a billy club stands over him.
COP: Get up! Public sleeping is now a crime. You’re going to jail.
An arrow leads from that panel to:
RIGHT HAND PANEL
Knit, looking confused and unhappy, is being kicked out of a building that has a sign over the door: “JAIL.” Knit looks confused and unhappy. We don’t see anything of the person kicking Knit out except for the shoe and leg that are doing the kicking.
KICKING GUY: You’ve served your time. Get out!
An arrow leads from that panel to:
BOTTOM PANEL
Knit, with a disappointed expression, is listening to a businessman-looking type wearing a necktie talk. The businessman has a stern expression.
BUSINESSMAN: You’ve been in jail! I’d never hire you, or rent to you.
An arrow leads from that panel to:
LEFT HAND PANEL
It’s dark out; the only light is coming from a door which has been open a crack. Knit stands in front of the door. A sign above the door says “SHELTER.” A woman inside is speaking to Knit through the crack.
WOMAN: Sorry, out of beds. Good luck.
An arrow leads from that panel back to the TOP PANEL.
CHICKEN FAT WATCH
“Chicken fat” is an obsolete cartoonists’ term for little details the cartoonist puts in which don’t matter at all, but they amused the cartoonist.
TOP PANEL: A newspaper lying on the ground, “Background Tribune,” says “IF YOU CAN READ THIS, YOU MAY HAVE WON A MILLION BUCKS!” Below that, in smaller print, it says “but probably not.”
And the bench has a little graffiti, a heart with “E + MC2” written inside it.
RIGHT HAND PANEL: Through the open door to the jail, we can see a poster on the wall, with a smiling cartoon bear wearing a guard’s cap and giving us a thumbs up. Above the bear, in large letters, it says “Protect Yourself From RSI.” In smaller letters below the bear, it says “always stretch before beating prisoners.”
One of the stones of the building’s wall is missing, and a man with a handlebar mustache is looking out nervously.
Another stone has a little barred window in it, and a mouse inside has its hands on the bars and looks out forlornly.
LEFT HAND PANEL: Woodstock from “Peanuts” is standing atop the building.
The Criminalizing Homelessness Cycle | Patreon
Posted in Barry's favorites, Social Justice |