Auchtoon!Lettin’ in Immigrants…
Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
June 16, 2013
“Seconds tick like boulders whenever you don’t call”
from the song “Greener” by Tally Hall
I love that lyric. I’m not sure exactly what it means — I’m pretty sure it’s saying that life feels heavy and time passes impossibly slowly whenever the guy singing hasn’t talked with his significant other recently. Maybe. Mostly I don’t want or need to know. The more I try to break it down, the less it strikes me.
So, too, with this week’s cartoon, I’m not exactly sure the point I am trying to make. Having the guy deadpan, “Immigrants are gay?” seemed really funny to me. It has something to do with the stereotype of gays moving into and restoring urban areas. I just got done reading the book “Teardown” by Gordon Young about Flint, Michigan and the general theme of the challenges of urban renewal. (See the next blog post for more info on that.) And the has been quite a bit in the news lately about immigration reform and the benefits of immigrants moving into and bringing new life to urban areas. And I think there’s something in there about the similarities and contrasts of these two general groups. I tried like crazy for a couple of hours to rework the cartoon to make more of a direct point. But that only seemed to kill what I found appealing about it. So here it is. Hope it struck you.
Elisira said,
June 18, 2013 @ 8:05 am
I love it, Dad. Which is why it kills me to be the pedantic jerk that tells you Tally Hall did that lyric, not Guster.
Dibs on “Teardown” next.
John Auchter said,
June 18, 2013 @ 8:55 am
Thanks, El! I fixed it (and now spelled boulder correctly. too). Lesson learned today: Don’t listen to Guster song before I write a blog post and expect not to write “Guster.”
Kris said,
June 18, 2013 @ 9:26 am
Excellent comic! Universal in it’s truthiness and struck-ability!