Ben Garrison

Ben Garrison is an American alt-right[1][2][3] political cartoonist.[4] His cartoons have been promoted among the alt-right for various depictions of alt-right ideology. He has produced controversial cartoons that have been widely characterized as sexist, racist, Islamophobic, anti-vaccine and antisemitic by media commentators, the Anti-Defamation League, and others. They have also been criticized for attempting to deny climate change, and promoting conspiracy theories.[5][6][7][8][9] His cartoons often lionize conservative figures and politicians such as former President Donald Trump.[10][4][11] Some alt-right activists have edited his comics to incorporate antisemitic content, including the antisemitic "Happy Merchant" caricature.

Ben Garrison
Garrison in 2011
Born
Benjamin Garrison

1957 (age 63–64)
NationalityAmerican
EducationAngelo State University (B.A. in History and Fine Art)
Occupationpolitical/editorial cartoonist
Years active1978-present
Employerself-employed
Known forPolitical cartoons, fine art, trolling campaign
Spouse(s)Tina Norton
Children1
WebsiteGrrrGraphics.com

In a 2015 interview with Breitbart News, he said he did not support any presidential candidate in the 2016 election, but said he admired Trump for "shaking up the neocon-controlled Republican Party."[8] He lives in Lakeside, Montana.

Education

Garrison attended Angelo State University in the 1970s, completing a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in art, and graduated magna cum laude in 1979.[12]

Career

Garrison originally wanted to pursue a career in the fine arts, but later began working as a graphic artist at the San Angelo Standard-Times instead, where his first editorial cartoon was published in 1980.[13] He only began making political cartoons after the financial crisis of 2007–2008,[14] which prompted him to resume drawing after a 20-year hiatus.[13]

In 2010, Garrison uploaded a cartoon to the Internet depicting the Eye of Providence kicking members of the public with its legs, which correspond to both the Democratic and Republican parties. Subsequently, an Internet troll on 4chan posted an edited version of the cartoon in which the Eye of Providence has been replaced by an anti-Semitic caricature of a Jewish man ("Happy Merchant" by A. Wyatt Mann). Internet trolls later edited some of Garrison's other cartoons in a similar fashion, and he has since been called the "most trolled cartoonist in the world".[6][15][16] Garrison is often linked to white supremacy and anti-Semitism,[17] leading to his refuted[18] inclusion on a list of alleged Ku Klux Klan members leaked by Anonymous.[19]

In May 2016, a cartoon of Garrison's comparing Michelle Obama and Melania Trump drew national attention.[20][21][22] The cartoon showed a "scowling, masculine and dowdy" Obama contrasted against a smiling and feminine Trump, with the caption "Make the first lady great again!"[23]

The Anti-Defamation League found Garrison's 2017 cartoon depicting a withered green hand, coming out of a coat sleeve labeled "Rothschilds" with a yellow-triangle cufflink, as puppet master to George Soros who in turn controls puppets H. R. McMaster and David Petraeus, to be anti-Semitic.[5] Garrison replied that he was being "smeared as anti-Semitic".[24]

In July 2018, former Texas congressman and presidential candidate, Ron Paul, tweeted a comic attributed to Ben Garrison that depicted racial stereotypes assaulting Uncle Sam.[25] However, the comic was found to not be Garrison's; instead it is a 2008 cartoon by Carlos Latuff, edited with faces taken from A. Wyatt Mann's works.[26]

His online attacks on survivors of the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting have also drawn criticism.[27][7]

On July 7, 2019, he was invited to the White House for a "Social Media Summit",[28] but he was then subsequently uninvited four days later on July 11 following complaints from the Anti-Defamation League and others. They took issue with a cartoon he drew, commissioned by Mike Cernovich, that has been widely condemned as anti-Semitic.[29][30][31]

On April 16, 2019, Garrison was banned from Instagram for violating the platform's terms of use,[32] and on January 8, 2021, following his support for the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, he was permanently banned from Twitter and temporarily suspended from Facebook.[33]

See also

References
  1. Rogers, Katie (July 14, 2020). "Aide Posts Cartoon Mocking Fauci as White House Denies Undermining Him". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  2. President Trump Invited a Cartoonist Known for 'Anti-Semitic' Images to a White House Social Media Summit, Time.
  3. Egger, Andrew (July 14, 2020). "The Divergent Fortunes of Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx". thedispatch.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  4. Lanier, Amanda (June 25, 2016). "Lakeside cartoonist a player on the political world stage". Daily Inter Lake. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  5. "Anti-Semitism Used in Attack Against National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster". Anti-Defamation League. August 3, 2017. Archived from the original on May 31, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  6. Grey Ellis, Emma (June 19, 2017). "The Alt-Right Found Its Favorite Cartoonist—and Almost Ruined His Life". Wired. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  7. Wilson, Jason (March 26, 2018). "How rightwingers have attacked Parkland students with lies, hoaxes and smears". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  8. Provenzano, Brianna (May 14, 2016). "The Internet Is Freaking Out About This Antifeminist Political Cartoon". Mic. Archived from the original on January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  9. Rosenberg, Eli; Ohlheiser, Abby (February 6, 2019). "Conspiracy theorists insist Ruth Bader Ginsburg is dead despite her appearing in public on Monday". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2020 – via The Independent.
  10. Mathis-Lilley, Ben (July 2, 2018). "Ron Paul Becomes Latest Republican to Post Literal Nazi Content". Slate. Archived from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  11. Edroso, Roy (November 28, 2016). "A Return to Normalization: Rightbloggers Help Numb the Nation to Trump". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  12. "About". Ben Garrison's website. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  13. Hill, Rob (September 30, 2016). "The "Rogue Cartoonist" Ben Garrison on What it's Like to be a Political Cartoonist During the Presidential Election". Life & News. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  14. Sunderland, Mitchell (March 14, 2016). "The Anti-Vaxx Conspiracy Theorist Whose Cartoons Have Entranced Kylie Jenner". Broadly. Vice. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  15. Blumenstein, David (June 2, 2015). "The Internet's Most Trolled Cartoonist". The Nib. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  16. Jones, Kate Davis (July 10, 2015). "How to Fight Trolls Online". Vice. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  17. Ohlheiser, Abby (November 5, 2015). "Anonymous's KKK 'leak' targets the elusive online world of white nationalism". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  18. Hoffman, Meredith (November 5, 2015). "The Anonymous Leak of Supposed KKK Names Is Actually Kind of Lame". Vice News. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  19. Brown, Jennings; Markovitz, Leon (November 24, 2015). "95 Hacktivist Attacks Over 9 Years: What Motivates Anonymous?". Vocativ. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  20. Wade, Lisa (May 23, 2016). "Is Michelle Obama Jealous of Melania Trump?". Pacific Standard. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018.
  21. Cesca, Bob (May 18, 2016). "No limits to Alex Jones' hatred and insanity: The right-wing conspiracy psycho thinks Michelle Obama killed Joan Rivers". Salon. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  22. Allen, Leona (May 18, 2016). "Here's why this Michelle Obama/Melania Trump cartoon is despicable". The Dallas Morning News (editorial). Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  23. D’Oyley, Demetria Lucas (May 16, 2016). "Racist Michelle Obama Cartoon Is Just Another Example of Conservatives' Blatant Hypocrisy". The Root. Archived from the original on January 24, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  24. Dolsten, Josefin (July 10, 2019). "Cartoonist disinvited from White House defends image widely labeled as anti-Semitic". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  25. Birnbaum, Emily (July 2, 2018). "Ron Paul tweets racist cartoon, faces backlash". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  26. "Ron Paul takes flak over 'racist' cartoon on social media, says it was staffer mistake". RT. July 2, 2018. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  27. Nelson, K. T. (March 21, 2018). "The Right-Wing Attacks on Parkland Survivors Are Totally Unhinged". Vice. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  28. de la Garza, Alejandro (July 7, 2019). "President Trump Invited a Cartoonist Known for 'Anti-Semitic' Images to a White House Social Media Summit". Time. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  29. Dolsten, Josefin (July 10, 2019). "Cartoonist disinvited from White House defends drawing panned as anti-Semitic". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  30. Sommer, Will (July 11, 2019). "Trump's Social Media Summit Mortifies White House, Enrages Far-Right Allies". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  31. Palmer, Anna; Sherman, Jake; Lippman, Daniel (July 10, 2019). "Politico Playbook: New: W.H. says cartoonist is no longer attending social media summit". Politico Playbook. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  32. Trent, John F. (April 16, 2019). "Conservative Cartoonist Ben Garrison Banned From Instagram". Bounding Into Comics. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  33. Degg, D.D. (January 9, 2021). "Twitter and Facebook Suspend Ben Garrison". The Daily Cartoonist. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
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