Silence of the Dogs
Silence of the Dogs

It was a close-run thing, but in the end an Australian leftist came up with the single most pathetic and cowardly response to last week’s Islamic terrorist atrocities in France.

But before we hand our winner his coveted yellow sash and official white feather medallion for outstanding achievement in the field of full-body trembling, let’s take a look at the entry from runner-up Francois Hollande, who – when he isn’t desperately avoiding obvious facts – has a part-time gig as the French president: 

Those who committed these acts have nothing to do with the Muslim religion.

Apart from the vengeance against Charlie Hebdo magazine for offending Islam. And the screams of “Allahu Akbar” as the Islamic terrorists advanced on their victims. And the cry of “we have avenged the prophet” following the shooting of an injured policeman. And the armed invasion of a Jewish supermarket. And the terrorists’ wishes, communicated to authorities as they were trapped near Charles de Gaulle airport, to die as martyrs.

Apart from those few trifling matters, Hollande just may be on to something. Here’s the reaction from justifiably revolted US columnist Mark Steyn

I would use my standard line on these occasions – ‘Allahu Akbar’ is Arabic for ‘Nothing to see here’ – but it’s not quite as funny when the streets are full of cowards, phonies and opportunists waving candles and pencils and chanting ‘Je suis Charlie.’ Because if you really were Charlie, if you really were one of the 17 Frenchmen and women slaughtered in the name of Allah in little more than 48 hours, you’d utterly despise a man who could stand up in public and utter those words.

If you really were Charlie... you’d utterly despise a man who could stand up in public and utter those words.
Quite so. Which brings us to our winner, Guardian Australia cartoonist Andrew Marlton, whose pieces run under the curious byline of First Dog on the Moon. In 2012 Marlton won a Walkley award for a cartoon depicting an Australian ignoring a drowning asylum seeker, so you can guess his brand of rubbish politics (and also the quality of judging at the Walkleys in 2012).

Last week Marlton offered this explanation for his own reluctance to mock Islam, which is what inspired French Islamic terrorists to first bombCharlie Hebdo‘s offices four years ago and then to slaughter ten of the magazine’s staff: 

I don’t depict Muhammad because it’s probably racist and also I don’t get to put my family and my coworkers at risk of being firebombed.

Now, I’m not particularly against Marlton’s gutlessness over the non-drawing of old Mo, which regrettably has become an industry-wide standard – although his line about racism is interesting (what race is he talking about?). As well, at this point demands that journalists and publications repeatedly demonstrate their bravery by presenting cartoon Muhammads orCharlie Hedbo covers are sounding more and more like Captain Black’s Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade in Catch-22.

Instead, Marlton is awarded the yellow sash for the second part of his statement – that he fears his family or the Guardian‘s office will be firebombed if Marlton upsets Muslims.

This is a fellow who makes his living frequently ridiculing what he depicts as an exaggerated fear of Islamic terrorism and who routinely describes as bigots and idiots those who condemn Islamic terrorism. While his leftist fans just lap that stuff up, it now emerges that Marlton himself believes he is just one cartoon away from the possibility of fiery death.

Accidently put the word “Muhammad” in a caption nearby to some bloke with a beard and it’s curtains for Andrew. You’d think he’d be sending notes of deep thanks to ASIO instead of sneering at them.

(Incidentally, it’s fascinating that Marlton-level leftists loudly demand action to stop global warming, which may slightly increase temperatures for the grandchildren of people who haven’t been born yet, but when it comes to the more immediate danger of intense local warming – such as might be delivered by a firebomb – they go completely silent.)

Marlton’s efforts to avoid Islamic immolation extend a little beyond his following of orders over the Mo business. Last year Ireported that a large Islamic bookstore in Lakemba was selling works that celebrate Hitler, describe Jews as baby-killing animals and condemn women as worth only half as much as men. Leftists ordinarily erupt over these issues, but Marltonactually took the side of the bookstore, dismissing the titles as nothing much to worry about: “One racist book.”

The bad news for Marlton, besides his inability to count past one and what must be the extraordinary difficulty of living without a spine, is that even his sensitivity and self-censorship might not be enough to save him from Islamic retribution. In 2006, for example, relentlessly pro-Islam Fairfax cartoonist Michael Leunig appeared in a gallery of the hated at an extremist Muslim rally in New York.

Possibly due to translation issues, the extremists decided Leunig was an enemy rather than an ally. Leunig’s photograph at the rally featured a red target on his forehead.

Doomed if you defend Islam, doomed if you don’t. Might be a message there. Marlton has a message, too. Two days into the new year he scribbled an attack on the Pope which ended with this line: “2015: The year of the Catholic Churchcontinuing to tell everybody else what they should be doing.”

Memo to Catholics: if you don’t appreciate Marlton’s views, just threaten to kill him. It works every time.

This article appeared in the Australian Telegraph, reposted with author's permission.