Article #41
Bugs
Bunny, Civil Rights Activist?
OR…
Elmer
Fudd, Oppressor?
The
holiday season is fast approaching and you know what that means! That’s right, cold and flu season! So forgive me if my update is a bit wonky
this time around as I’m a bit under the weather and… you know what, I don’t
think anyone visits this site to find out how I’m doing, so onto the update!
Judging
by the title to this article the brighter folks out there may be dreaming up
dissertations or theses about the roles eternal foils Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd
play in their eternal struggle between animal and vegetable. The vegetable being Elmer for always getting
the wrong end of the rifle pointed at his head again and again and again. Seriously, anyone who gets blasted that often
must have serious brain damage, which explains his ‘weally, weally’ weird way
of talking. But I digress, this entry is
much more straightforward than people much smarter than me would have you
believe. See, Bugs Bunny REALLY IS a
civil rights activist, or so says a story in Bugs Bunny #160 from 1974.
Before
I begin, I would like to introduce an iconic image that I would like you to
remember while you continue to read today’s article…
Yes, it’s
none other than iconic Abraham Lincoln, the president of the United States
during the Civil War and largely acknowledged as having “Freed the Slaves.” It’s a really nice drawing (thank you
Google!). I say iconic not for who he
is, but for the image. Abraham Lincoln
was well known to wear a stovepipe black hat (although a quick Google search
showed 99.9% of available images had Lincoln without his hat!). As I said, please keep this image in mind as
the story in Bugs Bunny #160 progresses…
And there
you have, ladies and gentlemen, the reason for the eternal struggle between
Bugs and Elmer. Kind of eerie, eh? In Bug’s eyes the poor rabbit is a slave to
Elmer. It makes me wonder what he thinks
about folks who enjoy rabbit on the menu.
Guess that would make those people cannibals.
How
does Bugs counter Elmer’s verbal assault?
Knowing Bugs, it’s something witty and off-kilter…
And
there you have phase two of the civil rights activist – getting your ass kicked
by the man after having an oral debate (get your minds out of the gutter). This is quickly followed by phase three - rebellion. Bugs moves to swift and righteous justice by bypassing
Elmer’s state-of-the-art 1974 security system and letting the BABY RABBIT OUT
THE WINDOW! Yes, I’m positive that the
little critter would be much better off on his own in the city where he could
become a decorative hood ornament after getting run down, or a nice meal for
the neighbor’s dog, or… well, you get the idea.
Brilliant!
And as
for my theory on Elmer suffering brain damage, in one panel he’s freaking
staring directly at Bugs as he hands over a carrot AND DOESN’T RECOGNIZE HIM! Look folks, if you can’t recognize your
life-long enemy at point-blank range, then maybe you shouldn’t be driving.
After
running over only 7 pedestrians (a new record!), Elmer and Bugs arrive to their
destination…
And so
Bugs proves he is the better man by freeing the poor baby rabbit and
volunteering to help Elmer of his own free will, not slavery. I don’t know what a frilly looking lamp has
to do with magic, but what the hey, it’s Elmer’s money, not mine.
You
know, for landing on his head twice in the same story, Bugs is pretty lucid as
he enters phase five of civil activism, cooperation.
Man,
cooperation sucks. For Elmer anyway.
Still
have the vision of Lincoln in your head?
Good, let’s keep going…
Oh, for
shame! How could Elmer rebuke Bug’s
attempt at cooperation so readily? How
could he ‘Flip his Framipan’? And what
the heck is a Framipan anyway? Guess
Bugs hit his head harder than I thought.
You
know, when Elmer gets really worked up he sure emits a large amount of flatulent
gas. No wonder the folks are so pissed
off. By the way, if you’re ever playing
cards with Elmer, he has a very distinct ‘tell’ when things aren’t going his
way. See, he tries to eat the fingers on
his right hand, as you can clearly see above and in the next page…
And
remember, Abraham Lincoln…
Ah yes,
blissful cooperation between formerly opposed parties can be grand. Thank you Abraham Lincoln and… uh… Gandalf I
guess.
And as
we bid adieu to Abraham Gandalf and Bugs Frodo I’d just like to thank you all
for visiting and wish you all the best for the coming flu and cold season!