If you’re a regular reader of Patrick McDonnell’s comic strip Mutts, you’ve probably noticed a number of characters/animals asking people to vote on something called “Proposition 2.” What exactly is Proposition 2? The Oregonian and the LA Times, among several other papers, offer an explanation:
Patrick McDonnell devotes his strip this week to messages he hopes will sway voters to vote “yes” on Proposition 2, which sets size standards for cages housing hens, veal calves and breeding pigs. The New Jersey artist is on the board of the Humane Society of the United States, the major backer of the proposition.
The eight-day series depicts chickens, calves and pigs going door to door. In the opening strip, a chicken asks a man for “some sun and a little piece of Earth.”
Over at The California Majority Report, McDonnell talks about why he’s stumping:
MM: Why is Prop 2 important to you, and what can your readers do to help?
PM: Because 20 million animals will be directly impacted, suffering less, if this measure passes. It will also send a clear message to the factory farm conglomerates that, once people are made aware, they will not tolerate the way most animals raised for food are treated in this country.
Prop 2 sets a new standard. If you live in California, you can be part of the solution by voting YES! If you do not live in California, you can tell your friends and associates who do live there about the importance of Prop 2. You can also work to get similar ballot initiatives started in your own state. Hopefully it will also make readers think about their own eating choices.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:08 am
I think it’d help his cause if he had a little tag under the comic that read “Vote YES on Proposition 2″ or something.
October 14th, 2008 at 11:35 am
When I saw it in the Ottawa Citizen on the weekend, I have to admit that I was puzzled by the strip. No context for the story, you see.
Thanks for the context.
October 14th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
I agree completely with what McDonnell’s doing, but think he has to put context to what his characters are saying in his strip or many casual readers will just shrug, think ‘uhh, not all that funny this week’ and move on to Garfield.
He may be planning to explain later on, but chances are most will have forgotten the strip before they even reach the sports section, let alone a few days down the line.
October 14th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Did all of you context requesters not notice the URL in the bottom of the second-to-last panel?
You’re supposed to be intrigued enough to check out the website and get some real information about the proposition, I’d assume.
October 14th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
“Did all of you context requesters not notice the URL in the bottom of the second-to-last panel?”
Obviously, the answer to your question is yes, we didn’t notice it.
It’s not prominent, and catches the eye in the same fashion as the artist’s signature, which some comic strip readers have “trained” to ignore.
October 15th, 2008 at 2:10 am
The URL got ignored by me because I just assumed it was the address of the cartoon syndicate or something. The lack of context is an issue that raises its head whenever you get people, particularly activists, who have worked on the same issue for so long that they can’t see past it. Others, who are unfamiliar, often look at something like this as a little obtuse. I’ve encountered it quite a bit campaigning for political and social change and for candidates.