Mat Johnson On Race, The Right Wing & "Right State"

[Xenos]

I see your point, though you miss mine, that to me it seems that the majority of conservative opinion--I admit, I may be hearing only the loudest, most vicious and virulent voices--is truly incensed, hateful, dismissive, categoric, and, if you include the Tea Party cohort--dangerously simplistic and seemingly just a trigger-incident away from actual mob violence. I apologize--there I go again with extremes and stereotyping. But it all comes from the violent, calumniating and virulent rhetoric I hear spewed day after day. Maybe I should just stop listening to the "news," which isn't news anymore, but rather, seemingly, just a daily summary of what "he said, she said."

But no--generally speaking, I'd like to think of myself . . . with the most pointed exception of the specific administration and personnel right before the present one . . . no, I would not at all want to see a conservative in office murdered. Responsible, MODERATE, conservatives--which I take to be in the vein of Nelson Rockefeller, Dwight Eisenhower and William F. Buckley--seem to me to be wonderful, contributory, part of the foundational bedrock of American existence, and liberal though I am, I would gladly have such a person in office. But the crop of fundamentalist (and I don't mean religiously, I mean politically), hard-line, Rightist crazies getting the most press right now--no thank you. I wouldn't want them dead.... but I would want them gone, gone, gone.

[TheFinisher4Ever]

I see your point, though you miss mine, that to me it seems that the majority of conservative opinion--I admit, I may be hearing only the loudest, most vicious and virulent voices--is truly incensed, hateful, dismissive, categoric, and, if you include the Tea Party cohort--dangerously simplistic and seemingly just a trigger-incident away from actual mob violence.

First off, that is no more the majority opinion any more than the majority of liberals are full blown communists. If you are talking about the news, there is your problem. The media is incredibly biased. If you listen to most news networks, most conservatives are blood hungry savages that want to kill all of the old people and enslave all of the women. On the other hand, if you listen to Fox, all liberals are lazy, self serving parasites that want to destroy America. They just want ratings and pandering to their side gets them those ratings. Second, it wasn't the Tea Party that turned violent. It was Occupy. Funny thing, that one.

I apologize--there I go again with extremes and stereotyping. But it all comes from the violent, calumniating and virulent rhetoric I hear spewed day after day. Maybe I should just stop listening to the "news," which isn't news anymore, but rather, seemingly, just a daily summary of what "he said, she said."

Yeah, that I can agree with. The news is terrible.

But no--generally speaking, I'd like to think of myself . . . with the most pointed exception of the specific administration and personnel right before the present one

Aaaannnd you lost me. That is the exact same hate and extremism you are decrying in your post. Do you have to like Bush? Absolutely not. I don't either. But wishing harm on him isn't right. Period. The truth is, both sides are needed for society to keep going. The conservatives keep the liberals spending in check, otherwise we would bankrupt trying to help people within a year. And the liberals keep the idealism alive. What we need is balance.

[Xenos]

Do you have to like Bush? Absolutely not. I don't either. But wishing harm on him isn't right. Period. The truth is, both sides are needed for society to keep going. The conservatives keep the liberals spending in check, otherwise we would bankrupt trying to help people within a year. And the liberals keep the idealism alive. What we need is balance.

About wishing harm to Bush, Cheney, et al.--sorry, I can't help it; I just can't. But for the rest, and in the end, on the whole, I think we agree.

[carabas]

First off, that is no more the majority opinion any more than the majority of liberals are full blown communists.

To illustrate how far off the map the tea party is: they're the guys that didn't let Ann Coulter speak at one of their events because appartently she's a left-wing, homo-loving liberal. Must have come as quite a shock to her.

[Xenos]

Hahahahaha!

[thc-1138]

Yeah that's right ALL people who have conservative views are racist! Just like if you disagree with ANYTHING the President says that makes you a racist! Also if you don't like the new Ultimate Spider-man (which I do) that makes you a racist! NO! It actually just means you are someone with a different opinion, God forbid!

Wow, way to overreact without knowing the details of the graphic novel. Reminds me of when the conservatives got in a big hissy over "The Day After Tomorrow" saying that it was environmentalist propaganda, when it was really just a mindless action film with cool shots of everything being destroyed. think Independence Day but with the weather destroying stuff instead of aliens.

[LightningBug]

Wow, way to overreact without knowing the details of the graphic novel. Reminds me of when the conservatives got in a big hissy over "The Day After Tomorrow" saying that it was environmentalist propaganda, when it was really just a mindless action film with cool shots of everything being destroyed. think Independence Day but with the weather destroying stuff instead of aliens.

I wish it had been environmental propaganda. If sound evidence can't convince willfully ignorant climate deniers from a political coalition disdainful of science, perhaps hollywood garbage can get their attention. Pop culture can and should have a role in shaping public discourse. Some people are beyond the reach of reason, and action movies can appeal to a lower common denominator, so why not use them?

[toddx77]

This sounds interesting, and I will certainly consider getting it. But something really puzzles me. It's stated that the protagonist is a conservative, right-wing pundit, who goes undercover to find out about a plot to kill a black President. Now, I don't know if it's stated whether that President is liberal or conservative, but given the current state of things, I imagine he's on the liberal side. So my question is--why would a conservative care at all about a black, liberal President being assassinated? I imagine that he'd welcome it. It would be a message, wouldn't it, to those Godless, progressive, irreverent, history-hating, tradition-destroying liberals that they can't have their way, and that there is a price to be paid for going against the Right Way.

Maybe he realizes that killing the president is wrong and wants him out of office the proper way or something along those lines. Or maybe it starts out with him wanting the president dead but changes his ways, or perhaps there is something deeper we don't know yet.

[LightningBug]

This sounds interesting, and I will certainly consider getting it. But something really puzzles me. It's stated that the protagonist is a conservative, right-wing pundit, who goes undercover to find out about a plot to kill a black President. Now, I don't know if it's stated whether that President is liberal or conservative, but given the current state of things, I imagine he's on the liberal side. So my question is--why would a conservative care at all about a black, liberal President being assassinated? I imagine that he'd welcome it. It would be a message, wouldn't it, to those Godless, progressive, irreverent, history-hating, tradition-destroying liberals that they can't have their way, and that there is a price to be paid for going against the Right Way.

I'm pretty sure that even the most loony political pundit wouldn't advocate the assassination of a sitting president. This type of incendiary idiot doesn't believe half of the vitriol that he spews, and this sort of thing isn't good for the country. Also it could backfire for the party in opposition. I would imagine that a party that loses it's leader could turn him into a martyr pretty easily.

[avenging son]

To illustrate how far off the map the tea party is: they're the guys that didn't let Ann Coulter speak at one of their events because appartently she's a left-wing, homo-loving liberal. Must have come as quite a shock to her.

Right, the tea party is off the map. Meanwhile at occupy movement events there has been reported numerous acts of violence, including rape,and recently in chicago the stabbing of a police officer

[Johnny P. Sartre]

Look, both parties can be dumb shits and it's dumb pointing out the faults; does nothing for society. What we need is more moderation, both parties have great ideas and if able to work together, they can do a whole lot of good.

So this back and forth y'all are doing is pointless and get people nowhere.

Sad this is what politics have evolved to.

[Johnny P. Sartre]

After reading the article, I don't give a flying @#$% about Mat's point of view or what he believes in because I can over look that and enjoy this books (with the artists that he works with). I have both of his graphic novels from Vertigo and enjoyed them a lot.

I'm down for this new graphic novel.

Remember people, comic books are pop culture, they reflect our times.

But that reflection isn't always true and is at times biased.

It takes a very skilled writer to be neutral and to truly reflect out times and how it's the crazy on both sides.