Prison rape is such a hoot...

...when Conrad Black is the purported victim. Dan Gardner of the Ottawa Citizen wonders about the fine sensibilities of many Canadians with a liberal persuasion:

A burly, tattooed man in an orange jumpsuit hands a piece of paper to another hulking convict. "I want you to sign this non-compete agreement," the first con says. "The new guy Conrad is all mine."

Ah yes, prison rape.

Always good for a gag. But the really funny thing is who's laughing.

[...]

...the cartoonist who thought it hilarious to mark Conrad Black's incarceration with a gag about prison rape [it's available here at "View larger image and recent cartoons"--update: direct link here, h/t to "blank" in comments] is not some vicious American reactionary. He is Theo Moudakis. And his unspeakably crude joke was published Monday in the impeccably liberal and very Canadian Toronto Star.

[...]

Last year, before Black's conviction, I found myself seated at a dinner table with some grandees of the newspaper industry and the Toronto Establishment. Good liberals all, they despised Black. When they talked about his trial and his subsequent prospects, they were positively giddy. They didn't laugh so much as cackle.

[...]

...nice Canadian liberals usually jump on a chance to condemn the excesses of American justice.

Only in this case did they fail to raise the theme. Only in this case did they find it fair and reasonable that a man convicted of a minor [Norman Spector is not amused by the adejective] white collar crime should serve half as much time as a European murderer in conditions twice as awful.

Only in this case do nice Canadian liberals think prison rape is funny.

That Mr Black is a male white Catholic only makes him an even more attractive target for certain folks.

Meanwhile, Terry Glavin provides some musical accompaniment, and makes a prediction in the "Comments" at his post.

Mark C.

Update: There's an interesting statement from the Toronto Star in the "Comments" at Kate McMillan's post on the subject:

Thank you for your email and for informing us about your objection to Theo Moudakis' cartoon of March 3. Cartoonists reflect on the day's events often utilizing bizarre twists and gross exaggeration. To be sure, it is not everyone's cup of tea each day and sometimes a wrong chord is struck with some readers. We apologize if we have offended you and I will ensure your comments are shared with our editorial page editor.

Sincerely,
Joan Vander Doelen,
Public Editor Associate

Nor, I suppose, everyone's cup of Arabica. So when will the Star show some solidarity with some principled European newspapers and publish the Mohammed cartoons? I'm falling out of the chair for even having the thought.

Posted by markc at March 5, 2008 04:20 PM