Smiling woman hitting a man in the face with a club

[stands2p]

The Minneapolis Sunday paper is 5lbs. of liberal, politically correct, feminist tripe wrapped around the Sunday comics and the T.V. listings.  I usually pull out what I need and drop the rest straight into the bin.  Yesterday however, a cute drawing caught my eye.  Accompanying a group of "lifestyle" columns about the color and flavor of life in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, USA was a cartoon of a smiling woman hitting a man in the face with a club (this was to illustrate the concept of "passive-aggression," a character trait held by many Minnesotans.)
The on-line edition of the paper does not carry the cartoon so I have scanned it, you can see it here.  
http://hadleya1504.blogspot.com/

(Is it possible to post small images here?how?)

The credit reads: Illustrations by JOE ROCCO- Special to the Star Tribune

I wonder if Joe Rocco submitted sketches of other gender pairings for this concept; a woman hitting another woman, a man hitting another man.  But of course not a man hitting a woman because anyone could tell you that would just be wrong.

Here http://mpls.startribune.com/dynamic/feedback/form.php?opinion=1
is the email address of the editor of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  Please feel free to drop these folks a line to let them know just how much you appreciate their perpetuation of double-standards regarding gender violence.

(Here are the sappy ramblings which accompanied the cartoon: http://www.startribune.com/389/story/434045.html)

[gwallan]

(Is it possible to post small images here?how?)

The image host I use - http://www.theimagehosting.com/ - will create a thumbnail when you upload and also provide you with the BBCode necessary to get the desired result. Presumably other similar hosts provide the same service.

Help stuff for the codes here are at SYG http://standyourground.com/forum/faq.php?mode=bbcode

[stands2p]

Thanks gwallan

[MacKenzie]

So... when did "passive-aggressive" start to mean physical violence?

Passive-aggressive behavior

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Passive-aggressive behavior refers to passive, sometimes obstructionist resistance to authoritative instructions in interpersonal or occupational situations. Sometimes a method of dealing with stress or frustration, it results in the person attacking other people in subtle, indirect, and seemingly passive ways. It can manifest itself as resentment, stubbornness, procrastination, sullenness, or intentional failure at doing requested tasks. For example, someone who is passive-aggressive might take so long to get ready for a party they do not wish to attend, that the party is nearly over by the time they arrive.

Someone who is passive-aggressive will typically not confront others directly about problems, but instead will attempt to undermine their confidence or their success through comments and actions which, if challenged, can be explained away innocently so as not to place blame on the passive-aggressive person.

In some instances the passive-aggressive person will solicit the confidence of others as to their ability to perform duties, and then purposely sabotage those duties through procrastination or mishandling responsibility. Subsequent demands for performance are laid aside with claims of interference by the demanding parties or some other condition outside the control of the passive-aggressive's influence, when in fact the delays and poor performance are due to the passive-aggressive's internal perception that to perform the task at another's demand is a demeaning insult to them. The omission of performance leaves the passive-aggressive person in control of the situation, and allows that person to continue the aggressive behavior toward others. These behaviors can persist even if it means personal loss to the passive-aggressive person, i.e. job loss or loss of esteem by others.

Some passive-aggressive behavior may result from society's conditioning of individuals; direct confrontation can lead to harmful consequences. For example, confronting one's manager may lead to the loss of opportunities, such as being passed over for a promotion or even losing one's job.

Often passive-aggressive behavior manifests itself in individuals who view themselves as "peaceful." These individuals feel that expressing their anger through passive-aggressive behavior is morally favorable to direct confrontation.

The lack of repercussions resulting from passive-aggressive behavior can lead to an unchecked continual attack, albeit passive, on one's acquaintances. The treatment of this disorder can be difficult, mostly because efforts to convince the person that they have this problem are met with resistance, and the passive-aggressive will frequently leave a treatment regimen claiming that it did no good.

Find me the part where "passive-aggression" involves cheerfully commiting acts of violence against people. Anyone?

Somebody at this paper didn't bother to do their research...

[stands2p]

Just so there's no confusion, this cartoon went along with a "fluff" piece that involved no research at all.  The cartoon is meant to juxtapose an act of aggression with a pleasant smile.  What is just wrong is that, of all the ways one could portray that combination, the cartoonist chose a woman hitting a man in the face with a club and the editor approved it for publication.

A typical example of "Minnesota Nice" is wheeling a huge basket of groceries into the check out lane and pretending not to notice the person two steps behind you with a single item.  Once the cashier has begun ringing in your items, you turn and say "oh my, I would have let you go first if I had only seen you!"  You get to go first and still get to portray yourself as considerate. Give me New Jersey any day.