Tragic Timing

When tragedies happen, human nature obligates that we jump to conclusions. This has been observed in recent news with the many speculations about the Bostom bombings and, in this article from the Statesman, the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion. Jack Ohman, a cartoonist from California, came up with a rather insensitive piece referring to the recent explosion as a way to scorn Governor Perry's "marketing of Texas' loose regulations".

While I understand the job entails evoking emotion and thought out of readers, its requirements do not disclude a sense of empathy. While I never worked as a cartoonist, I have some college and high school journalism experience during which my staff members and I constantly reminded ourselves of where we fell on the spectrum between emotional involvement and objective observation. As a somewhat experienced editorial writer, I've given myself credibility to critique Ohman's artwork for its half-baked platform and harsh nature.

My mother works for the company that insures the plant that exploded. She briefed me on the details of what happened and its most likely cause. She told me that the plant is in fact inspected yearly by state agencies, and the explosion was likely caused by a lack of knowledge on the part of West's volunteer firefighters. Similarly, I blame the thought behind this cartoon on Ohman's lack of knowledge about the explosion. It's apparent that false information spreads even faster than it used to nowadays due to social media and new technologies (Like when CNN and other credible news stations falsely tweeted last week that a Boston bombing suspect had been arrested). I'm sure that very few "averages Joes" (and even politicans, law enforcement, etc.) ever are 100% informed on the topics for which they form opinions. When those uninformed people manifest those opinions via public forums, it merely fuels the vicious cycle of frustration and confusion.

Even if I could offer credit to Ohman for a fact-based argument, his methods of articulating his ideas are flawed. It's much too soon to depict the West disaster in the caustic, blunt, and condescending matter that political cartoons so often do. To exploit its unfortunate, sad, and violent result solely in order to further trash Perry's decisions is spineless. I feel that a cartoon like Ohman's would settle much better with the public if stalled until after the immediate impact of this upset subsides.