The sins of Dilbert, the humanitarian mess on Binford Road and the shooting of coyotes (instead of poodles) in Tiburon

Properly Subversive/Sherman R. Frederick

Well, that was quick.

East Bay cartoonist Scott Adams, creator of the popular newspaper cartoon “Dilbert” was dropped enmasse by newspapers last week, including the Mercury News and all of its spin-off newspapers (the Marin Independent Journal here in Marin being one.)

The cultural sin that brought on his cancellation came in a podcast in which Adams commented on a Rasmussen survey that found 47% of Black people disagree or won’t say that it’s “OK to be white.”

He then said that to him that shows Black people are a “hate group” and there is “no fixing” current racial tensions. “Based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to White people is to get the hell away from Black people.”

Yikes! You knew there would be a blowback. While he called his comments misunderstood hyperbole, his defense wasn’t good enough to survive in today’s climate of outrage. In a span of two weeks, Dilbert went from appearing in 2,000 newspapers to next to zero. His syndicator, Andrews McMeel Universal, stopped representing him. And, his book publisher canceled future deals. 

We do, indeed, live in dangerous times.

The Dilbert comic strip wasn’t canceled because of anything contained in the strip itself. It was canceled because newspaper publishers – the spineless money-grubbers that they are –  didn’t like what Dilbert’s creator said in a podcast. Historically, actions like that make for a dangerous society, especially for comedians, artists, scientists and anyone who dares think about stuff that might exist on the other side of the hedge. 

Marin’s favorite polymath, Elon Musk, touched on this when he lamented the public execution of Adams, calling Dilbert “legit and funny.” 

But, the point isn’t whether you like Dilbert or agree with what Adams said (few will, I suspect), but how big is America’s idea of free speech. 

Is there truly free speech without the freedom to offend? You might ask Dave Chappelle or Salmon Rushdie what they think. 

As much as I hate to say it, this kind of censorship convinces me that if the First Amendment were put to a popular vote in America today, it would fail. That’s a sad indictment on our education system if there ever was one.

The best course of navigation in these choppy waters is to steer clear of anyone who seeks to limit speech. They may look like sheep, but there’s a wolf in there somewhere. 

BINFORD ROAD

I am told a group of citizens are talking with the powers that be about the humanitarian disaster brewing on Binford Road. I don’t have the answer to these kinds of vagabond encampments, but ignoring it can’t be it, can it?

CRIME, CRIME, CRIME

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot got held accountable last week by primary voters, losing re-election in convincing fashion. Chicago isn’t San Francisco, of course. But, I think there’s a lesson in this for Bay Area politicians. Voters are fed up with crime. Here’s how The Hill reported the loss: 

“Paul Vallas, a centrist Democrat who topped the Chicago poll by a comfortable margin, has promised to grapple more forcefully with the crime problem in the nation’s third-largest city — and has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police.

“Lightfoot, by contrast, had at one point sought to cut around $80 million from the police department’s budget.

“‘Paul Vallas speaking intently on that issue was part of the reason he was able to garner the largest share of the vote on Feb. 28,” said Tom Bowen, a Chicago-based Democratic strategist who worked for both Lightfoot and her predecessor, Rahm Emanuel.”

ICYMI

In case you missed it …

– Tiburon has a big coyote problem. We need to balance our coexistence with coyotes, some residents say, because they (the coyotes, not the residents) are killing and mauling pets of privilege in the rich enclave of Tiburon. The plan may have to include shooting a reasonable amount of coyotes. No proposal, yet, on limiting pets in Tiburon. 

– Marin’s representative to the state legislature – Damon “Hold My Beer” Connolly, has introduced legislation to make tobacco products illegal for anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007. Likelihood of passage: Zero. 

– I hate to throw a wet blanket over our efforts to convince people that they can do something to affect the global climate patterns. But I must. I don’t care how many gas stoves get taken off the market in Marin, it will make not one iota of a difference. We are at the mercy of China and China ain’t doin’ jack. 

– According to a NextDoor post,  the San Francisco Chronicle costs $939 a year for print home delivery in Marin. Gudgawdawlmity! The Novato Advance, by the way, is $59 a year and (IMHO) worth more to Marin-ers than the Chron. And, you can get some (not all) of our phenomenal content for free at our website, MarinLocalNews.com. 

ONE MORE THING

– The feeling the pastor gets when he looks out over the early service and sees everyone sitting where they always sit: Deja pew.

– Accordion to a recent study, 7 out of 10 people don’t notice when a word in a sentence is replaced by a musical instrument.

– My Dad was a conjoined twin. I guess that makes his brother my uncle on my father’s side. Now that they’re surgically separated, I guess he’s my uncle-once removed.

Thanks for reading Marin’s favorite – and most important – newspaper. Until next week, avoid soreheads, laugh a little and always question authority.

(“Properly Subversive” is a commentary written by Sherman R. Frederick for Marinscope Community Newspapers, the “mother ship” of the Novato Advance, San Rafael News-Pointer, Mill Valley Herald, Ross Valley Reporter, Twin City Times and the Sausalito Marin Scope. Mr. Frederick is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Battle Born Media, a news organization dedicated to the preservation of community newspapers. You can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com.)