“This is called racism”, with the last word written in capital letters, which in social language means shouting a concept. Thus, the vice-president of the Board Matteo Salvini, on the social network X, commented on the decision not to participate in Lucca Comics. Thus, the circle inaugurated by Zerocalcare the day before yesterday with the announcement of its defection to the festival dedicated to comics and games is expanding. The reason why the NGO will not go to the Tuscan city is the same as the cartoonist’s: «The sponsorship of the Israeli embassy in Lucca Comics – they explain – leads us to renounce our presence. We understand that sponsorship of the embassies of the countries of origin of the artists who create the festival’s image is a consolidated practice, but we cannot ignore that Israeli forces incessantly besiege and bomb the Gaza Strip, with enormous civilian losses”.
Then the response to Matteo Salvini: «With his comment, Salvini demonstrated on this occasion that he does not know what racism is. Strange, because, as demonstrated by Amnesty International Italy’s various “hate barometers”, he definitely seems to be an expert on this subject.” Cartoonist Maicol&Mirco oscillates between no and yes. First, with a comic published on his Instagram profile, he announces his absence from the festival, then changes his mind and announces that he will participate. The sponsorship of the Israeli Embassy is always at the heart of the matter. The choices not to go are absolutely legitimate, but the crux of the issue (and which is probably the basis of Salvini’s accusation) is the extent to which the issue is omitted in this chain of defections. An embassy of a democratic state also represents a people, and Israel’s was injured by the massacre on October 7th. It is clear that no one would like to see the dead in Gaza, but not even in the kibbutzim or in the Negev desert, where a horde of Islamic assassins descended, killing and kidnapping young lives. Before reducing matters to confusion, it is necessary to reflect on this. And the mobilization, promoted in this way, certainly does not do justice to the universal value of peace.
Meanwhile, yesterday, Zerocalcare highlighted its decision, in an exchange of posts on «X» with the deputy director of Foglio Maurizio Crippa. “What a disgusting thing”, accused the latter of Zerocalcare’s gesture. Who responds: «I have been to Syria several times when ISIS was there to support the Kurds and those fighting jihadism on the ground. I still do this every day whenever I can. Friends of mine who were braver than me shot directly at the jihadists. Exactly – Zero says to his opponent – what are you doing? The political controversy is also increasing.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
