That darn Mike Du Jour

'Mike Du Jour' has seen better days

Steven Alan Honley, Washington

Washington Post (November 25 2023): A15.

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/24/israel-gaza-parenting-camping-congress-whigs/

For four decades, I've enjoyed the variety of styles and subject matter represented in the comics section. I still mourn the decision to cut the comics from three pages to two. There are a few strips I skip over, and sadly, "Mike Du Jour" has joined their ranks.

That's not because Mike Lester is a conservative cartoonist. I actually enjoy Scott Stantis's "Prickly City," which started out as extremely right-wing but has mellowed over the years. It's because Lester's cleverness has curdled into cheap shots. He recently devoted a week of the strip to equating Black Lives Matter with the black bear that broke into a freezer to eat lasagna. And the Nov. 13 "Mike Du Jour" calls the American Ornithological Society "birdbrained" for its decision to change the appellations of birds that had been named for enslavers and racists.

I'm not asking The Post to pull the strip, but I urge editors to ask themselves whether Lester's brand of humor belongs in its lineup. My answer would be no.