Michael Leunig Monday - Long Live Michael Leunig 🖖

Leunig out for a duck; Clapton strums the wrong chord.

There was plenty of activity on the river last weekend as campers arrived in a steady stream; the cafes and restaurants looked busy, according to The Boss; there were people playing tennis and cricket - and then Verry Elleegant won the Melbourne Cup in front of an excited crowd.

The only thing cancelled were a couple of creators who, The Boss says, have brought him great joy over the years. So he’s been in a black mood all week - and when that happens, he can forget to feed me.

First it was Michael Leunig, the cartoonist, who was fired from the editorial pages of The Age after 50 years.

This followed a fuss over one of Leunig’s anti-vax cartoons, where he depicted the famous, big-nosed (and confused) Leunig man being confronted by a shadowy tank, it’s gun a giant needle.

He included in the corner of the cartoon the well-known “tank-man” photo from Tiananmen Square in case anyone missed the point. Leunig posted the cartoon on his Instagram account and it was never published in The Age but, after it blew up a social media storm, the editor, Gay Alcorn, apparently called him to say he was not in step with The Age readership anymore.
The Boss is no anti-vaxxer but he laughed when he saw it. He reckons Leunig, like him, would have had a polio shot when he was a nipper because they were compulsory (and plenty more since so he could travel) but the cartoonist’s job is to provoke, question and make people think - preferably with a witty observation.

"Australians have generally accepted change for the greater good, General," he says."Seat belts, lower road speeds, pool fences, smoking restrictions and mass covid vaccinations among them. But regularly reflecting on how much power the state should have over an individual is an essential undertaking."

The Boss tells me that, when he first met Leunig back in 1970, the young cartoonist was a draft resister, taking that courageous position when people were becoming increasingly divided over conscription and our participation in the Vietnam War.

His cartoons have been anti-war ever since; he has a soft spot for dogs and ducks, which is important; and his much-loved themes include a passion for the planet, wonder at the universe and a deft feel for the average punter, who is slightly vexed by life most of the time. I put The Boss in that category, of course.

Despite his leftish views and working class background, Leunig has offended "the correct woke folk" – first with his cartoon last year of a mum so engrossed in her smartphone she failed to see the baby fall out of the pusher; and now his anti-vax and anti-Dan cartoons.

Next out-of-favour is the great guitarist, Eric Clapton, who is also failing to observe the desired norms. No less than Rolling Stone magazine, after lauding the brilliant musician for four decades, published a hit-piece on him last week, accusing him of making money from his anti-vax position.

Eric suffered a severe reaction to his first AZ jab earlier in the year, The Boss says, which started him on a personal campaign against compulsory jabs. Now he refuses to perform at venues that insist on patrons being vaccinated.

After his experience, Clapton compounded his incorrectness by releasing an anti-vax song with Van Morrison; The Boss fully expects Van to be cancelled by Christmas as well.

The Boss reckons that quote attributed to Voltaire, from four centuries ago, bears re-visiting: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Woof!
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