Peter Utsey: I’m directing this commentary directly to you and the anti-Catholic comic you drew that was shown by the ODE on April 12. What were you thinking? Or, were you thinking at all? Your editor said you wanted to spark a debate, but there was no debate in that comic. There was no other viewpoint expressed but your warped sense that attacking and maligning a religious group is OK. I saw no interview done with any Catholics asking them how they feel about pedophile priests. There was nothing journalistic about your comic. It was prejudicial, one-sided and bigoted.
I know freedom of speech is very important to all American citizens, so I will not attack your right to print your opinion for the viewing public. However, with that freedom, as with any freedom, comes responsibility to use it wisely and prudently. We have laws for this reason including a law, which protects me as a Catholic from religious persecution. So at what point did your right to free speech supersede my right to be free from the fear of religious persecution? I was so concerned after your comic was released that I feared for my personal safety on campus from some nut that may associate me as being a sexual predator because I’m Catholic.
The University stresses the beauty of diversity and the need for cohesiveness so I must ask: How do you see that comic as supporting diversity ideology? I am not saying that the University is perfect when it comes to diversity issues, but I’ve not seen any other campus work as hard to try to get it right. Why work so hard to dismantle it?
As a Catholic, I have been called a cannibal, idol worshiper, statue worshiper and a Virgin Mary worshiper. I have seen my faith repeatedly and openly mocked and ridiculed in Eugene and Springfield. Mr. Utsey, when you splash such hatred and stereotypes about Catholics in a “comic” (if you can call it that), you propagate hatred, fear and stereotypes about my faith. This has a ripple effect like a pebble being thrown into a pond and soon the “us” vs. “them” dichotomy comes into play: Christians vs. Muslims, men vs. women, blacks vs. whites. I could go on ad nauseam. It’s people like you that continue distrust and hatred between people of all faiths, cultures, races, genders, sexual orientations and ethnicities.
Since you didn’t bother to do any journalistic investigation, let me tell you how I, as a Catholic, feel about what’s happening to my faith: I am glad it’s being dealt with, but so sad for those poor people and families who have suffered. I feel betrayed and outraged. I want any clergyman involved in the abuse of innocent children to be defrocked, excommunicated and sent to prison for a very long time, if not indefinitely. Many people in the Catholic community feel this way.
Someday, Mr. Utsey, your ignorance and prejudice will come back to bite you in the butt, and when it does you will have no one to blame but yourself. You desperately need to heed and understand why comics like yours are a bane on both the local community and on a larger scale, the United States.