Today's "Stone Soup" cartoon strip

[Reader Rabbit]

I feel stupid for asking this, but is this cartoon slamming Bush and/or the war?



Stone Soup isn't a cartoon strip I'd consider political, so I'm wondering if I'm reading too much into it. I don't think I am, though.

[fenriswolf]

1. its in order of progression

its making a play onthe fact that it is youngest to oldest with iraq vet being the first military personal to people in WWI military outfit. The kid being the first in line for the next war. I think it is a general slam on the culture of war america has adopted.

[Reader Rabbit]

3. The 43 Flavors ice cream stand made me think it was a slam at W.

And the sorta blank expressions on the faces of all the people in line seems to be some kind of statement, as well.

[fenriswolf]

4. good call i didn't notice it

in that case it makes it seem like a forewarning for the iran war.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

6. the war after Iran...

going backwards...Vietnam, Desert Storm and Iraq, the teenager is Iran, the kid is ?

[fenriswolf]

7. very true, very powerfull

[fenriswolf]

8. so order is

?, iran, iraq, vietnam, WWII, Korea, WWI

[Staph]

9. I suspect that the order is

??, Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Korea, WWII, WWI....

[lynnertic]

22. I think the 2 in desert cammies are GW II (iraq, now) and GW 1 (kuwait, 90s)

then Vietnam (70s), Korea(50s), WW2(40s), WW1(10s)

I think they're in an airport.

[Hissyspit]

26. Yes, notice they are touching and the Gulf War I vet is slightly behind (forgotten?) the Iraq War

vet. Also, the Iraq War I vet is a woman?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. If fenris is right, then that makes the kid's war the one after Iran...

:(

[Reader Rabbit]

10. Sadly, that sounds right to me.

The ice cream guy saying "Next" is very pointed. As in, what the fuck war will they get be getting our kids killed in next?

[Quantess]

17. To me, the ice cream worker looks like a woman.

Condoleeza Rice?

[Richard Steele]

14. Thanks Fenris! I was really not "getting" that.

But your explanation seems like the correct interpretation,
especially once you point out the vintage uniform progression.

[bunkerbuster1]

2. Very powerful, actually.

Tastefully done, too.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

11. Lining up for your next "flavor"... it appears to be an intentional

remark on the complacent attitude to accept the doling out of war as a staple in the American diet.

[intheflow]

20. And yet it's a diet that 's devoid of nutritional value.

Your analogy is a good catch. :hi:

[HCE SuiGeneris]

21. Ta.

:hi:

[FraDon]

12. SO political; on Veteran's Day.

Wow, you folks de-constructed that so fast; I didn't see even half of that.
What a great cartoon!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

13. Welcome to DU, FraDon!

We have our moments around here. :hi:

[wellst0nev0ter]

15. Yes The Cartoonist Can Get Pretty Political At Times

Usually it's about feminism, but she also did a series chronicling how the main character, Val Stone, has been affected by the bushed economy.

[leftofthedial]

16. that's beautifully subtle

[stevedeshazer]

18. That is brilliant

And yes, you're right!

[Turn CO Blue]

19. There are "43" flavors - perhaps a dig at potus # 43

who loves being a war president, and who is about to serve us up another one.

[lynnertic]

23. Another thing to note, may or may not be encoded here

soldiers in uniform used to be given front-of-the-line priveleges.

[fenriswolf]

24. maybe its in the subtext

we are all soldiors or will be with this regime, how hard do you think they would have to try to do something like mandatory service of two years after you turn 18 like some countries do?

[lynnertic]

25. Doubt that a draft will happen. It only leads to an educated voting population.

My husband's a Boomer (I'm GenX) and I get the creeps when he and peers talk about what it was like to live during a draft. I think that as long as any Boomer is alive then we'll have no draft, not even a mandatory 2-year service or whatever.

Boomers know from experience that a Draft breeds a bunch of young people who not only feel like they must be involved in the political process because their LIVES are at stake, but who furthermore have vast stores of imagination and energy, their parents' wallets, and nothing to lose! Horrible, uncontrollable things happen like cultural revolutions and people devoting their lives to art.

If you remember how nothing happened when the ACLU library police repeatedly tasered that poor student 2 years ago *for not producing an ID card*, you'll see how an all-volunteer Army has created a much more docile civilian population.

[Hissyspit]

27. That's the beginning premise, but the different uniform/war/generations and the '43' dig

build on that symbolically for the intended message.