Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for February 27, 1986
February 26, 1986
February 28, 1986
Transcript:
Rev. Sloan: So you have family in New York. That's good. That could be helpful. Now, why did you flee to America? Man: To escape political repression in Nicaragua. Rev. Sloan: You mean, El Salvador. To escape repression in El Salvador. Man: No, Nicaragua. Rev. Sloan: That's a problem. My funding comes from liberation theologians. Nicaragua is supposed to be free now. Man: Okay, El Salvador. Rev. Sloan: El Salvador, eh? You poor devil!
Can’t believe it – All these years I’ve remembered this strip BACKWARD. See, the U.S. government at the time was very welcoming to Nicaraguans – who were fleeing an oppressor we opposed – but rejected Salvadorans because they were fleeing an oppressor we supported. Over the decades, I’d gotten to where I remembered the cartoon as depicting Salvadorans who had to pretend to be Nicaraguan. It blows my mind to think that a strip I remembered so vividly, I remembered so inaccurately!