Reassuring White People

Cartoon by Barry

Panel one: Two women are talking, one white, one black. The white woman looks annoyed, the black woman looks nervous.
WHITE WOMAN: so then HE said i was being RACIST! that’s CRAZY, right?
BLACK WOMAN: um… do you realize you’ve done this before?

Panel two
WW: Done what?
BW: Ask me to reassure you you’re not a racist.

Panel three: Close-up on the black woman, mockingly imitating a jubilant doctor.
BW: when i was BORN, the doctor didn’t say “oh, it’s a healthy BLACK baby! god willing, she’ll grow up to reassure WHITE people!”

Panel four: Close-up on the black woman, now with an openly angry expression.
BW: my PARENTS didn’t say “if we raise her JUST right, then SOMEDAY she’ll make WHITE people feel BETTER about themselves!”

Panel five
BW: do you UNDERSTAND what I’m telling you?
WW: I think I do.

Panel six
WW: just one thing… you’re not suggesting that I’ve been RACIST, right?

Tiny inset panel at bottom of panel six
BW: Do you even hear the words I say?
WW: The ones I like.

Posted in Racism & Racists |

The Great Health Care Debate

Cartoon by Barry

Visual description: This is a four-panel cartoon. Each panel shows the same three woman. The woman on the left and right are arguing; the woman in the middle is listening with interest to their arguments.
Panel 1
WOMAN 1: our NEW HEALTH CARE BALLOON is a GIGANTIC deal! it’s more like a RIDE in a HOT AIR BALLOON! and EVERY AMERICAN can ride to a HEALTHIER TOMORROW! it’s the balloon we’ve waited our WHOLE LIFE for!
Panel 2
WOMAN 2: LIES! the new health care balloon is more like the HINDENBURG! a GIANT FLAMING GASBAG OF DEATH FOR ALL AMERICANS! the END OF FREEDOM on our SHINING SHORES!
Panel 3: The two arguing women are now just yelling into each other’s faces.
WOMAN 1: LIFESAVER!
WOMAN 2: HINDENBURG!
WOMAN 1: BOON TO ALL!
WOMAN 2: SOCIALIST DEATHTRAP!
WOMAN 1: THE NEW NEW DEAL!
WOMAN 2: DEATH BY MANDATE!
Panel 4: A perfectly ordinary, normal-sized balloon has floated into the picture.
WOMAN 1 (Arms wide open, gesturing towards the balloon): It’s HERE! Isn’t it AWESOME?
WOMAN 2 (Fleeing in terror): AYIEE! THE NEW STALIN!
Woman in middle: Looks towards the viewer with a “you’ve got to be kidding me” expression on her face.
CAPTION: The Great Health Care Debate

Posted in Health care |

Consumerism

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Economic cartoons |

The Church of Fiscal Conservatism

Cartoon by Barry

This cartoon was co-written by Rachel Swirsky.

Description of cartoon:

Panel 1: An angry-looking cartoon donut yells at the reader. The hole in the donut forms the donut’s huge, yelling mouth; the donut also has cartoony-looking, angry eyes, and a big nose. The donut is holding two stone tablets Moses-style.
DONUT: HARK, o my children! It is I, your LORD AND GOD the DEFICIT! Incarnated in pastry raiment to decree MY HOLY COMMANDMENTS!
FOOTNOTE: Why a donut? Because it has a hole.

Panel 2: Donut, now without tablets, continues yelling.
DONUT: Thou shalt not have single payer health care. for though it would save money, I, the LORD YOUR DEFICIT, in my all-knowing wisdom, pronounce that we CAN’T AFFORD IT!

Panel 3: Donut gestures hugely, arms above head.
DONUT: Hear me, the LORD YOUR DEFICIT! We cannot afford it! Neither to restore HEALTH unto the sick, nor to give PROSPERITY to the foresaken. YEA, even though social spending would curtail recession and replenish coffers, still we CANNOT afford it!

Panel 4: Donut is now wearing a US Army officer’s hat, and holding a automatic rifle in one hand and a knife in the other.
DONUT: Yet I, THE DEFICIT, pronounce unto you that endless wars NEED NOT be paid for! Never let cost deter you from raining onto the ground the BLOOD of those who are REPELLENT unto you!

Panel 5: Extreme close-up of Donut’s face. The military cap is gone. Donut yells.
DONUT:Thou shalt EVERLASTINGLY support tax cuts, no matter the cost!
SO SAYETH THE DEFICIT!
And thou shalt NEVER raise taxes, no matter the need for revenue!
SO SAYETH THE DEFICIT!

Panel 6: The donut is shown very distant from the reader, at the top of a steep mountain. There are clouds behind the donut and a lightning bolt is coming from one of the clouds.
DONUT: OBEY these commandments, my children! free your hearts of skepticism, and compassion, and basic knowledge of economics. then thou shalt be pleasing unto me, YOUR LORD THE DEFICIT! AMEN!

There is a caption at the bottom of the entire cartoon, which says, “The Church of Fiscal Conservatism.”

Posted in Economic cartoons |

Top Ten Reasons Discrimination Against Fat People Is Perfectly Okay

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Economic cartoons, Fat Acceptance, Labor rights & Unions |

Regarding the Ongoing Irrelevance of Keynesian Economics

Cartoon by Barry

A cartoon inspired by Paul Krugman’s article “How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?”

This cartoon was used as the front cover for an issue of Australian Fabian News.

TRANSCRIPT
Panel one: Dude wearing “Uncle Sam” hat and a Hawaiian shirt is walking alongside a cliff, with John Keynes, who has a big mustache.
HAT DUDE: Keynes, you are old-fashioned and useless. Modern economics has transcended you.

Panel 2: Hat Dude teeters on the edge of falling off the cliff.
HAT DUDE: Oh Dear! I am plummeting over a cliff! SAVE ME KEYNES!

Panel 3: Keynes has caught hat dude by the wrist and is pulling him to safety.
KEYNES: It’s okay… I’ve got you!
HAT DUDE: Thank you, Keynes!

Panel 4: They resume their walk.
HAT DUDE: As I was saying, Keynes, you’re of no use at all!

This cartoon on Patreon.

Posted in Economic cartoons |

Bitch If You Do, Broke If You Don’t

Cartoon by Barry

What I intended with this cartoon was to reply narrowly to one narrow argument; the argument that “women get paid less because they ask less.” It’s not that simple, and one reason it’s not that simple is that women can be punished for asking:

For example, a Carnegie Mellon and Harvard study by Hannah Riley Bowles, Linda C. Babcock, and Lei Lai showed that women are actually often penalized for negotiating. Bowles explains, “What we found across all the studies is men were always less willing to work with a woman who had attempted to negotiate than with a woman who did not.”  She continued, “They always preferred to work with a woman who stayed mum. But it made no difference to the men whether a guy had chosen to negotiate or not.”

TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON

Panel 1: A woman is at a computer. There is a speech bubble coming from the computer that says: “The wage gap isn’t due to sexism! It’s because men negotiate pay while women take whatever’s offered.”

Panel 2: The woman turns and looks behind her and sees two men talking. Man 1 says, “Mr. Jones, I’ve been doing good work. Can I have a raise?” Man 2 says, “Let me think about it.” A thought bubble coming from him says “What a go-getter!”

Panel 3: The woman has her fist clenched and a determined look on her face. Her thought bubble reads: “The internet is right! If I want to be paid like a man, I have to act like a man!”

Panel 4: The woman is smiling and speaking to Man 2. She says, “Mr. Jones, I’ve been doing good work. Can I have a raise?” Man 2 says, “Let me think about it.” His thought bubble says “What a pushy bitch!”

A large caption at the bottom of the comic reads: “Bitch if you do, broke if you don’t.”

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions, Sexism & Misogyny |

A Brief History of Corporate Whining

Cartoon by Barry

Each panel has a caption indicating what year the panel takes place in. Every panel shows an upper-class businessperson, dressed in clothing appropriate for their era, and complaining. All of them have expressions of panic or anger.

1842 Businessman: If workers can legally STRIKE, no business will be able to survive!

1887 Businessman: Give BLACKS an entire DOLLAR for a day’s labor? Might as well burn my business to the ground!

1912 Businessman: Worker deaths are TRAGIC, but ANTI-SWEATSHOP laws would be the DEATH of industry in America!

1915 Businessman: When workers can’t be FIRED for joining a UNION, how can ANYONE stay in business?

1924 Businessman: Banning CHILD LABOR would DESTROY the economy! Right, little Timmy?
Small urchan boy, missing a front tooth and two fingers, standing next to 1924 businssman: That’s right!

1938 Businessman: We can’t have a FORTY HOUR WORK WEEK, because if we DO there’ll be no employers LEFT to hire anyone!

1964 Businessman: EQUAL PAY for women AND negroes? Business can’t stay afloat if federal regulations STRANGLE us!

1970 Businessman: HEALTH and SAFETY laws are a formula for MASSIVE PERMANENT UNEMPLOYMENT!

NOW Businesswoman: If the new labor rights law PASSES, then business is doomed! DOOOOOOOOMED!

UPDATE: Someone pointed out this Chinese version to me on the web. I don’t know who created the translation, but I’m told it’s quite accurate!

Posted in Economic cartoons, History, Labor rights & Unions |

Libertarian Freedom

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Economic cartoons |

Socialized Medicine

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Health care |

The Great Cycle Of Wall Street, or, WALL STREET JUGGLE!

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Economic cartoons |

Star Wars Muppet Health Care Mashup + Original Art Auction!

Cartoon by Barry

This cartoon was published in the April 2009 issue of Dollars and Sense. The original art is being auctioned here.

To tell you the truth, I can’t draw Darth’s helmet to save my life. So I turned to the awesome Bill Mudron, who could easily draw Darth’s helmet with a crayon clenched between his butt cheeks, although in this case I’m pretty sure Bill used his hands. I wrote and penciled the cartoon, and Bill inked it, drawing Darth and the backgrounds pretty much from scratch.

Since this is a health care cartoon, I thought it would make sense to auction it off to help someone pay for health care. Somewhere on the internet I ran into Connie Parrott‘s case; Connie is a type 1 diabetic who is trying to raise funds for needed medical equipment through the internet. Although I haven’t met Connie, I emailed her, and she was willing to let me do the auction thing. Connie’s friend Ed Brayton, volunteered to help organize it.

So, anyway: The original art is being auctioned here on Ebay. You can find details (paper stock, image size, etc) over there.

It’s worth mentioning that I don’t usually draw my cartoons on paper! This is the first cartoon I’ve done in years that wasn’t done 100% on computer. So this is a relatively rare chance to own original paper art for one of my strips.

UPDATE: The art sold for $200. Yay!

Posted in Health care, Labor rights & Unions |

Pro Life Terrorism

Cartoon by Barry

If you like these cartoons, please help me make more by supporting my Patreon! A $1 pledge means a lot.

TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON

This cartoon has six panels. Each panel features a grotesque looking man, wearing a shirt and tie, talking directly tot he viewer. He has unnaturally large mouth and hands, and his large eyes are in the shadow of a prominent brow.

In addition to the six panels, there’s a tiny “kicker” panel at the bottom of the cartoon.

PANEL 1

The man is yelling at the reader, mouth huge.

MAN: THAT ABORTION DOCTOR HAS BLOOD ON HIS HANDS! THERE’S A SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL FOR THIS GUY! HE’S WORSE THAN STALIN!

PANEL 2

The man smiles and holds up a head shot photo of a man. He speaks in a much softer tone.

MAN: By the way, here’s the baby murderer’s photo. You should know what he looks like… “just in case.”

PANEL 3

The man is back to yelling.

MAN: THIS ABORTION DOCTOR IS JUST LIKE HITLER IF HITLER KILLED BABIES INSTEAD OF JEWS!

PANEL 4

The man puts a hand beside his mouth, as if whispering. He is smiling and talking softly again.

MAN: By the way, the baby murderer’s home address and work address are on our website!

PANEL 5

The man begins yelling again, but he stops to respond in a normal voice to someone off panel.

MAN: “DOCTOR BABY KILLER” RUNS A DEATH CAMP! HE… what?

MAN: Someone shot the doctor and he’s dead?

PANEL 6

The man, holding his hands with fingers intertwined in front of him, is putting on a display of being sad and shocked.

MAN: Golly, no one could have possibly known that would happen! Naturally I condemn this act of violence…

TINY KICKER PANEL AT BOTTOM OF STRIP

The man is smiling again as he speaks.

MAN: Now, the names and addresses of the remaining baby murderers are…

This cartoon was drawn shortly after George Tiller’s murder in 2009. Here’s the original wording:

Posted in Abortion, Barry's favorites, Sexism & Misogyny |

Obama and The End of Racism

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Racism & Racists |

Waiting On Line

Cartoon by Barry

This comic strip was a component of a larger page of cartoons originally done for Dollars & Sense Magazine. You can view the whole thing here.

Posted in Economic cartoons |

TV News Can Always See The Bright Side

Cartoon by Barry

This comic strip was a component of a larger page of cartoons originally done for Dollars & Sense Magazine. You can view the whole thing here.

Posted in Economic cartoons, Media criticism |

Paradigm

Cartoon by Barry

This comic strip was a component of a larger page of cartoons originally done for Dollars & Sense Magazine. You can view the whole thing here.

Posted in Economic cartoons |

Maintain that Hierarchy!

Cartoon by Barry

This comic strip was a component of a larger page of cartoons originally done for Dollars & Sense Magazine. You can view the whole thing here.

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions, Racism & Racists, Sexism & Misogyny |

Is it a recession yet?

Cartoon by Barry

This comic strip was a component of a larger page of cartoons originally done for Dollars & Sense Magazine. You can view the whole thing here.

Posted in Economic cartoons, Media criticism |

Recession Funnies!

Cartoon by Barry

“Recession Funnies” was a 2/3 page group of cartoons done for Dollars & Sense Magazine. It’s too large to fit in this space, but you can view the whole thing here.

Posted in Economic cartoons, Media criticism, Racism & Racists |