“Today, political correctness and the woke movement have defined words and images as weapons that should be banned for offending political categories and self-defined oppressed groups. It is tolerance of all ideas—except those they disagree with, and it follows the adage that if you can’t win the argument, you change the rules. It treats people as children who must be shielded from conversation, unable to manage a verbal exchange without supervision, and it is a direct threat to freedom of speech and liberty—as well as the truth.”

—Political cartoonist Michael P. Ramirez, whose cartoon mocking the hypocrisy of Hamas for decrying the deaths of Gaza civilians while it used civilians as human shields was pulled by the Washington Post for supposedly engaging in racial stereotypes after its staff objected vehemently.

The original cartoon and the Post’s craven decision to pull it was discussed on Ethics Alarms, here. “How ironic,” I wrote, “now Ramirez can draw a similar cartoon about the Washington Post’s hypocrisy.” Ramirez decided to write an essay instead. He continues in part,

Critics of the cartoon are using racism as a device to “cancel” the truth. When the intellectually indolent cannot defend the indefensible, they pull the race card….The slogan of The Post is “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” When the protest and rancor of a distressed newsroom, offended by a cartoon exposing the truth, causes adults to retreat to their safe spaces clutching their participation trophies and “canceling” freedom of speech, these are truly dark days….

Sometimes, the truth hurts. Journalists have an obligation to keep the lights on and not kowtow to the voices of dissent who want to extinguish the free exchange of ideas and hide in the darkness.

From my perspective, I think it hurt The Washington Post far more than me.

Read it all. Ramirez sees the episode for what it is—another disheartening example of the ethics rot that has rendered American journalism both an enemy of the people (in Donald Trump’s much assailed and spot-on description) and the betrayer of its duty to our democracy.

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Pointer: Power Line.