After seeing an apology about a cartoon on the website of the University of Arizona's student newspaper last night, the Daily Wildcat, we were ready to channel our inner Michael Scott -- "There is no such thing as an appropriate joke. That's why it's a joke."
However, the apparent "joke" is about a father shooting his gay son with a shotgun, rolling him up in some carpet, and tossing him off a bridge.
The Daily Wildcat says it's sorry about that.
Here's part of the apology (full apology here):
On Tuesday, the Daily Wildcat staff made a serious error in judgment in printing a cartoon that some readers felt was homophobic and inappropriate. We heard from several readers who expressed their disappointment and hurt over the comic strip.
The Arizona Daily Wildcat is now reviewing its editorial policies and has terminated the employment of the cartoonist as of Wednesday. His views do not represent the views of the Wildcat staff, nor does the Wildcat represent the views of the university.
The "etc." cartoon in question illustrated a parent threatening their child if he ever came out, and the two characters joke about the threat. We agree with the criticism we've met, and we apologize. The comic was not funny.
Other alleged "jokes" from the cartoonist can be found on his Facebook page, which include a white man telling a black man he should convert to Mormonism so he can marry multiple white women.
In another one, someone asks Jesus the key to happiness, and Jesus says it's meth. With a syringe in his mouth, a suddenly dark-skinned Jesus reminds the man that it's pronounced "Hey-Zeus."
Another one depicts two guys in a bar, as one explains that he doesn't like anal sex with his girlfriend, because he has "hemeroids" -- which we assume is supposed to be "hemorrhoids."
This is apparently not the first time people have been offended by the Daily Wildcat's cartoons, like the time a cartoonist dropped the n-bomb in a strip about President Obama.
