Ted Rall posted:

I know it’s not all about me, but it’d be nice to get “credit” for the chances I took and the price I paid for political satire after 9/11.
1. This past week’s events reminds me of being interviewed for a job as a cartoonist at the Asbury Park Press in New Jersey.
2. The editorial page editor had been trying me out as a freelancer for months. Finally the editor was considering hiring me on staff.
3. The interview went very well. Finally, he said, “I have just one last question:”
4. “Will I ever look outside my window and see people protesting a cartoon that you drew?” I was caught by surprise.
5. I answered truthfully: “I don’t know. Maybe. Not intentionally, but it’s certainly possible.” He replied: “wrong answer.”
6. Naturally I didn’t get the job. Eventually they hired someone else. Perhaps he answered the question correctly.
7. Shortly thereafter, this was in the 1990s, the newspaper in Harrisburg Pennsylvania flew me out to be interviewed for a cartoonist job.
8. There weren’t any questions like that, but close. They decided to add another sports writer instead of hiring a cartoonist.
9. I was considered for a job in St. Louis, but the editorial page editor said that her readers didn’t want to be challenged or offended.
10. Then there was the Sacramento Bee. They flew me out, but the editor there said that the decision came down to a choice:
11. Did they want to rattle “the good burghers of Sacramento,” or give them something fun to read over breakfast? They chose the latter.
12. Every political cartoonist has stories like this. Cowardice is the dominant personality trait in the press in the United States.