Scan barcode
A review by carleesi
Palestine by Joe Sacco
challenging
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
2.0
The stories in this book are incredibly important but good god I hate the author.
He is so misogynistic. The way he speaks about women is disgusting, and he even ends the measly chapter he writes about women (that’s right, they get a separate chapter because they’re obviously not part of the whole story) with a sexist joke. He acknowledges his sexism and delivers it anyway. He constantly comments on women’s appearances as if that is a sign of whether they deserve respect or attention and he is so dismissive of the women he speaks to. He even admits that he doesn’t see the Palestinian women as people, and is shocked when a Palestinian woman actually speaks to him (so shocked that her dialogue gets a super respectful “blah blah blah”).
He is clearly on the side of Palestine and I really appreciate having access to Palestinian perspectives but he is also super islamophobic sometimes. He critiques the anti-semitism of the Palestinians he talks to, but then jokes about terrorism and repeatedly questions women about their head coverings in a way that’s at best condescending and at worst outright offensive.
He simultaneously positions himself as “in the story” and “above the story”. Like he tells about people begging him for help, crying, pleading, and then makes a flippant comment about forgetting their name or trying to keep the conversation upbeat. He complains about the over enthusiastic hospitality but takes food and shelter from refugees.
To go into this community and take the stories from people for his comic to succeed (as he repeatedly says) and then portray that it was beyond him to offer help… it’s sickening. His blasé attitude towards the stories he shares is enraging. His treatment of people is nothing short of unethical and his view of himself is so beyond inflated.
He is so misogynistic. The way he speaks about women is disgusting, and he even ends the measly chapter he writes about women (that’s right, they get a separate chapter because they’re obviously not part of the whole story) with a sexist joke. He acknowledges his sexism and delivers it anyway. He constantly comments on women’s appearances as if that is a sign of whether they deserve respect or attention and he is so dismissive of the women he speaks to. He even admits that he doesn’t see the Palestinian women as people, and is shocked when a Palestinian woman actually speaks to him (so shocked that her dialogue gets a super respectful “blah blah blah”).
He is clearly on the side of Palestine and I really appreciate having access to Palestinian perspectives but he is also super islamophobic sometimes. He critiques the anti-semitism of the Palestinians he talks to, but then jokes about terrorism and repeatedly questions women about their head coverings in a way that’s at best condescending and at worst outright offensive.
He simultaneously positions himself as “in the story” and “above the story”. Like he tells about people begging him for help, crying, pleading, and then makes a flippant comment about forgetting their name or trying to keep the conversation upbeat. He complains about the over enthusiastic hospitality but takes food and shelter from refugees.
To go into this community and take the stories from people for his comic to succeed (as he repeatedly says) and then portray that it was beyond him to offer help… it’s sickening. His blasé attitude towards the stories he shares is enraging. His treatment of people is nothing short of unethical and his view of himself is so beyond inflated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Ableism, Sexism, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia