That's right folks... and the reason I'm doing this is because this newest information comes straight from the Grand Poobah's mouth and does clarify things upon which a lot of us were speculating.
First, to clarify what the story arc is actually about and shed light on why supporters of the Tea Party movement would be upset and offended, the issue follows Capt. America and Falcon as they head out to locate and neutralize a "right wing, anti-government, White Supremist Militia called the Watchdogs.
Now here's where things get sticky... in the cell where Cap and Falcon stumble upon a protest that is rumored to be populated with members of the Watchdogs, one of the secondary artists at Marvel took it upon him/herself to draw in a singular protest sign "Teabag the libs before the libs Teabag you" that identifies this group as the Tea Party. The bit with Falcon's comment doesn't help (and it turns out that Cap comes up with the idea to disguise Falcon as an IRS agent with the hope that the presence of a black gov't agent will ignite their anger), but in it's self is not intrinsic to the debate... without the direct reference to the Tea Party it is all irrelevant.
People in the entertainment industry are going to inject their views and beliefs into their work, it's inevitable, we all (including myself) have to deal with it or take a long walk off a short cliff. The other side of the coin is (and I'm talking to people in entertainment now) if you fail to do it in a clever and subtle way you are inviting backlash from those who disagree with you. As much as the consumers shouldn't be surprised by propaganda in entertainment, people in entertainment shouldn't be surprised when people are clever enough to figure out what you're doing.
In addressing the issue Joe Quesada says that there was "zero discussion to include a group that looked like a Tea Party demonstration" into the comicbook and that he could "absolutely see how some people are upset about this..." "Quesada then went on to say that Marvel would "apologize for and own up to" a series of "stupid mistakes" that led to them "accidentally identifying" one of the members of the protest group "as being a part of the Tea Party instead of a generic protest group." He explained that they were on deadline to get the issue to the printer for publication, and in the course of sending it off it was noticed that the signs in the scene contained no words or phrases. He said the editor then asked the letterer to "fudge in some quick signs" and that in the "rush to get the book out of the door," the letterer "looked on the net and started pulling slogans" from signs captured in photographs at Tea Party protests in order to make them appear "believable."
In reaction to Joe's statement the founder of the Tea Party, Judson Phillips, decided to stand his ground by saying the apology "sounds less like a genuine 'we're sorry' than it does a 'we're sorry we got caught' statement... When I was a child in the '60s Captain America was my favorite superhero," he said. "It's really sad to see what has traditionally been a pro-America figure being used to advance a political agenda."
If people wish to debate the issue please do, but remember we're not discussing which political affiliation has the most racists, womanizers, corporate whores, liars, cheater or backstabbers because they both do... we're not debating which political philosophy is more enlightened because they are like Yin and Yang, a country full of war-mongering republicans will destroy itself and a country full of tree hugging democrats will be destroyed. We are discussing the "Bully Pulpit" better known as the entertainment industry and the responsible use of it.
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