Hundreds of US newspapers canceled the comic strip ‘Dilbert’ because of its author’s racist comments. Culture

readers of the otherwise somewhat chronological comic strip section Washington Post Until this Sunday, they’ll remember two of their most familiar appearances: that of puzzled office worker Dilbert and his dog. The newspaper has decided to cancel its contract with its creator, cartoonist Scott Adams, due to comments broadcast live on YouTube last Wednesday in which Adams said the black community in the United States forms a “hate group” and that whites would be better off “getting away from them”.

Washington Post You are not alone in your decision. It has also been adopted by hundreds of other newspapers in which he published dilbert, From Los Angeles Times Till then Cleveland Plain DealerPublishers of nearly 200, in addition to newspapers, which are still part of Garnet Communications Group USA Today and small and medium headers throughout the country. The list includes media such as Cincinnati Enquirer, He detroit free pressHe indianapolis star, He Austin American Statesman Or Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Adams, 65, created the strip in 1989, set in a precarious office, a dystopian setting for the ideological tribulations of what he calls corporate America.

In the video, the cartoonist said: “If nearly half of black people disagree with white people… that makes them a hateful group. I have nothing to do with them. And I would say, the way things are right now, the best advice I would give to white people is to stay away from black people… because there is no possible solution”. “I’m also tired of seeing videos of black Americans beating up non-black citizens,” he said.

The cartoonist was clearly aware of the consequences his words could have on him. reporters of Post Those who handled the news of his sacking asked him on Saturday how many newspapers had he published dilbert, to which Adams replied. “Until Monday comes [por mañana], plus or minus zero. In good times, the answer to that question would have been: “About two thousand headers.”

In another live broadcast on Saturday, Adams predicted that “most” of his income “will be gone by next week.” “My reputation is destroyed for the rest of my life. You can’t come back from this, can you? You can’t go back after you’ve done something like this.”

“With Dilbert, Adams raised nerd From the manual to the category of the absolute hero of isolation that defines the cubicle of a giant office”, explained this Sunday Professor Álvaro Ponce of the University of Valencia, one of the great experts on comics in Spain, the country in which the strip originated aired in some local media in the 1990s.” A decade earlier [la serie] Office, Dilbert became a phenomenon that took advantage of the emerging possibilities of the Internet, pioneering Usenet news stories that preceded the social network, going far beyond influence in the press, and becoming a benchmark for an emerging group of professionals in the new technology. He and his megalomaniacal dog Dogbert fill the staff whiteboard with a clever quip that quickly turns into a well-oiled money-making machine. sales,

The decision to step away from the creator’s services was reported on Saturday by a Washington newspaper, and was justified by a spokesperson for the company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos “in light of recent statements promoting separation”. . The order was immediate, which did not prevent the last notice in some copies of the print edition on Sunday from being slipped until further notice, dilbert, on the website of PostThe domineering office worker has completely disappeared.

In Los Angeles Times, who published a statement revealing that a controversial strip had been returned to Adams four times in the past nine months because it did not meet “standards”, the response would not have been so abrupt: will be suspended most version. But because [la edición del domingo de la sección] Sunday comics are printed ahead of time, dilbert It will appear in the newspaper for the last time on 12 March.

This is not the first time that the cartoonist is appearing in one of these. Last year, San Francisco Chronicle and 76 other newspapers published by Lee Enterprises carried the strip. dilbert When Adams introduced his first black character it was because he believed he was doing so to mock “black culture”. picking “.

On his Twitter, Adams posted a poll on Sunday with the following message: “True or False: The media have encouraged a resurgence of the racial divide and then canceled me out for pointing out the obvious implications of their bad work.” “