Norway attacks editorial cartoon stirs controversy

An editorial cartoonist in Sydney, N.S., has drawn controversy over his cartoon showing turban-wearing extremists celebrating Friday's massacre in Norway.

The cartoon didn't go over well with some Cape Breton Post readers.

Toby Morris was at first puzzled by what he found on the editorial page, and then outraged.

Morris feels the cartoon is racist and promotes hatred.

"Why illustrate somebody wearing a turban, enjoying the fact that there was a terrorist attack in Norway? Why not put them in a kilt? I notice they are not IRA gunman — they still exist, there still are problems in Ireland with terrorist attacks — but these are not Irish, they are not Basque terrorists in northern Spain."

Morris is not alone. So far, the Cape Breton Post has received four letters of complaint and some angry phone calls about the cartoon.

The man behind the drawing is Sean Casey, who says he is surprised that people are upset. He believes it makes the political point he wanted to get across — that extremists are alike regardless of doctrine.

He also believes it is his job to create controversy.

"If there is a venue for an image that might be despicable or insensitive, that's the editorial cartoon. You can't do that in a regular newspaper. You can't be an essayist or columnist and write stuff like that," said Casey. "A responsible journalism editorial cartoonist is supposed to be like a jester in the king's court who gets away with saying things … where a regular person would have their head cut off by the king."

The newspaper is standing behind the cartoon and the cartoonist.