I get all kinds of interesting, and sometimes bizarre, feedback from critics. In some cases, it turns out to be unintentionally funny. Pretty regularly (to paraphrase former U.S. vice-president Spiro Agnew), these naysayers of negativity end up setting themselves up for (at least by my standards of engagement) a gentle whipping’. The following is one of those not-atypical exchanges.
—The complainer:
“From: [name deleted]Date: Thursday, February 22, 2018 at 8:32 PMTo: ‘Benson, Steve’ <steve.benson@arizonarepublic.com>Subject: NRA-GUN LOBBY
“Yawn…. So Heston era. Got anything new?
“Been a long time since 1993, huh? [the year I won the Pulitzer due to a clerical error]”
[name and location deleted]
—My reply:
“It is not my job to draw your preferred views for you. You, of course, can always learn to draw your own cartoons; that way, you won’t have to attempt to channel your opinions through my drawings.
“By the way, when I was president of American Editorial Cartoonists, I invited Heston to speak to our national convention when he was president of the NRA. He obliged and, over dinner, told me that “gun registration is coming.”
“Thanks for your continued interest in what I do.”
I get all kinds of interesting, and sometimes bizarre, feedback from critics. In some cases, it turns out to be unintentionally funny. Pretty regularly (to paraphrase former U.S. vice-president Spiro Agnew), these naysayers of negativity end up setting themselves up for (at least by my standards of engagement) a gentle whipping’. The following is one of those not-atypical exchanges.
—The complainer:
“From: [name deleted]Date: Thursday, February 22, 2018 at 8:32 PMTo: ‘Benson, Steve’ <steve.benson@arizonarepublic.com>Subject: NRA-GUN LOBBY
“Yawn…. So Heston era. Got anything new?
“Been a long time since 1993, huh? [the year I won the Pulitzer due to a clerical error]”
[name and location deleted]
—My reply:
“It is not my job to draw your preferred views for you. You, of course, can always learn to draw your own cartoons; that way, you won’t have to attempt to channel your opinions through my drawings.
“By the way, when I was president of American Editorial Cartoonists, I invited Heston to speak to our national convention when he was president of the NRA. He obliged and, over dinner, told me that “gun registration is coming.”
“Thanks for your continued interest in what I do.”