The Nazis Lost, So Caricaturing Them Is “Punching Down”

By Garry Trudeau, cartoonist

People trying to defend Charlie Hebdo’s artists on free speech grounds might have an argument, but the exercise of free expression carries responsibility. One may not abuse that right just to offend a persecuted minority – which is why I pose the question: with the Nazis out of power and long ago subjected to humiliating defeat, who among us would now exploit that downtrodden Nazi status by caricaturing them? That would be punching down, when satirists must always punch up.

That such a question, rhetorical as it may be, should even be asked speaks to the troubled nature of our times. The Charlie Hebdo caricaturists forgot an important rule of ethics in opting to depict Muhammad and thus offend large numbers of Muslims: never kick a man when he’s down.

Just because we can offend does not mean we should – do the Muslims among us need reminding that their culture is still associated with genital mutilation, repression of dissent, racism, naked conquest, tribal warfare, forced conversion, mass rape, mass killing, and economic failure, when right here in the Western world they might not be allowed to attend school in a headscarf? We should know better. The same goes for Nazis. When did you last see a Nazi exerting any kind of political power? They lost in 1945, and never again wielded control. The rest of us, then, had better think twice before using a Nazi as an object of ridicule or caricature. It unnecessarily offends the powerless.

The next time you see Neo-Nazis or their ilk demonstrating against immigrants, Jews, or some other group, let it go. They’ve suffered humiliating defeat, and we must bite our tongues – and our caricaturists’ pens – before we boorishly and unwisely bash those who do not enjoy the political advantages we take for granted. Taking the high road in such a fashion shows real sensitivity to the politically and socially disadvantaged, just as some of us have chosen to do by committing to not drawing Muhammad. All it takes is extending that sensitivity to Nazi caricatures.

Please do not confuse my argument for sensitivity with the notion that some offensive behavior or attitudes might be beyond criticism. Far from it. The question is one of the vehicle. We can all debate, in any serious and sober context, whether and in what ways Nazi ideologies and policies were good or bad for European society. But it must be handled with the proper tools. Mockery, as Charlie Hebdo’s treatment of Muslim mores shows, must only be directed at those who wield genuine power. Muslims only control several dozens countries and the bulk of the oil trade, plus all the government-controlled journalism in their societies and ownership of several Western outlets. And the Nazis no longer control a thing. All the more so must we avoid insulting them.

Let us resolve to show greater sensitivity in our caricatures, and avoid mocking the poor, now-powerless Nazis. Save your venom for the Zionists, who may be depicted as Nazis to your hearts’ content. The Nazis won’t mind that.

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