Sep 6 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A cartoon depiction of the Mexican Flag which shows the eagle from the true flag of Mexico, laying upside down in the middle of the flag, with bullets holes all over and bleeding from it’s wounds has caused mixed reactions from both Mexican as well as American citizens. The flag was reportedly meant to reference the drug wars which have ripped the country apart and left over 28,000 Mexicans dead in under four years’ time.

The drawing was done by MSNBC’s political cartoonist, Daryl Cagle, who is famous for his controversial, yet to-the-point renditions of political views. Although Mexican government officials say that it is offensive to taint their national flag with such images, Cagle maintains to ‘CNN’, “Editorial cartoonists look for readily recognizable metaphors and that’s an obvious one for Mexico.”

Although the Mexican Embassy, located in Washington, DC had a spokesman, Ricardo Alday said Thursday that they “respect and defend freedom of speech and freedom of expression” they “differ with Cagle on the use of the Mexican flag and the message it conveys.” Several American citizens expressed their displeasure with any flag being disrespected, as the American Flag is a source of pride for it’s citizens regardless of the strife which the country may face.

But the response to the cartoon on Cagle’s blog was mixed. Surprisingly, some Americans were very much against the use of ANY flag to depict such a point, and several Mexicans liked the cartoon and found it “funny.” Maribel Lackey stated, “It is important to bring this situation to people’s attention and I appreciate you trying to do so, but to do this by defacing the flag is in very bad taste and completely disrespectful.”

“Abraham” exclaimed, “Excellent cartoon. I’m mexican… aplausos!”, and “Eugenio Ciurana stated, “To Daryl Cagle: great cartoon. It holds a mirror up to Mexican society and the violence problems in the country. The analysis as to how the problems came to be, and how they could be solved are fuel for a different discussion. I liked the cartoon and hope that you continue this type of criticism. I just wish that Mexican cartoonists had the huevos* to do something like this.

To my fellow Mexican citizens: get over it.

The cartoon is more than appropriate, and if we had freedom of speech in Mexico such displays would be allowed. This isn’t a matter of disrespect. You can respect a symbol and still use it to effect pointed criticism. The cartoonist’s usage of this symbol within the context and commentary brings needed attention to issue of violence in Mexico. The Mexican government isn’t doing enough to squelch the violence, and the media are very selective about what they publish (I can see that first hand since my whole family does media-related work).

Freedom of speech would be nice, a reduction of violence would be welcome. Neither is pervasive in Mexico, where political theatre is the name of the game. I invite you to direct your energy and indignation toward demanding the government and authorities that they stop their half-hearted measures and corruption, and get to work toward building a better Mexico for all.”

There has been no mention by Cagle that he would consider taking the cartoon down. Regardless of the opinions of those who see it, Cagle managed to do exactly what he most likely was attempting in the first place..he has everyone talking about the issue.