Some people confuse caricature with cruelty.
Let’s clear that up.
A caricature doesn’t exist to humiliate – it exists to reveal.
It exaggerates only what’s already visible: arrogance, hypocrisy, cowardice, self-importance.
If the shoe fits, it squeaks louder in the cartoon.
🪞 Satire Is a Mirror, Not a Weapon
The purpose of satire has always been to hold power accountable through humour.
When politicians are drawn with noses growing like tree branches, or kings shown with their crowns slipping – the point isn’t to mock their faces, it’s to expose their folly.
Likewise, when our local “leaders” get cartooned with fluorescent vests, stop signs, or pinocchio noses, it’s not an attack.
It’s commentary – a reminder of how absurd things have become.
🎓 The Difference Between Mockery and Message
Mockery laughs at people.
Satire laughs through people – to make everyone think.
A childish jab ends at the punchline.
A good caricature opens the curtain to something deeper:
Why do we tolerate ignorance in leadership?
Why do we accept incompetence dressed up as authority?
Why does the crowd cheer when truth makes them uncomfortable?
⚖️ The Moral Compass Test
A caricature is only “mean” if it punches down – if it mocks the powerless or the suffering.
But when it points up – at those who misuse power, silence dissent, or manipulate the truth – that’s not cruelty.
That’s courage.
🖋️ Final Word
If people feel insulted by a caricature, maybe they should ask why it resembles them so closely.
Satire doesn’t create the monster – it just sketches the one already on stage.
