Cartoonist Fired For Being Pro Farmer

In what is a true testament to the thin skin of our corporate overlords and an indication of their raw power, a cartoonist for the Farm News in Iowa was fired for creating what was essentially a pro small farmer cartoon. Thankfully, the cartoonist is also a small farmer so he at least has that to fall back on.  The cartoon in question simply pointed out that the CEOs of Monsanto, DuPont, and John Deere made more money collectively than over 2,000 Iowa farmers combined.  Despite the fact that this is arguably true, some unnamed seed company complained to the paper and withdrew its advertising and the paper, in turn, fired the cartoonist. It is a sad day when simply pointing out the vast income inequality in our present society is enough to get you fired. You can only imagine how many other workers out there are constantly self-censoring their views because they fear for their jobs if they express their First Amendment rights. And it is a short but slippery slope from that kind of self-censorship to a truly repressive society – we have seen it happen many times before.