Is this Della? (Also, what IS this?)

[Minotaur]

I often feel it's a terrible terrible idea to talk about politics with people, so forgive me if I'm being inappropriate. But, could we just stop comparing 1945 atomic bombing with Titanic or 911? I hardly know any people feel sorry for Germany being divided into two countries after the war, or for Vienna being bombed into ruins. If the civilian deaths of Germany or Austria were not viewed as a tragedy, then I can’t see why Japanese deserve more symphysis. I am trying my best to not be emotional, but the comparison itself made me very uncomfortable. What would you feel, after your grandma told you she witnessed a pregnant woman killed by Japanese soldiers to see whether she had a girl, when you hear people saying 1945 Japanese civilians were as innocent as passengers on the Titanic?

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Oct 8, 2018 11:55:28 GMT Minotaur said:

I hardly know any people feel sorry for Germany being divided into two countries after the war, or for Vienna being bombed into ruins.

Perhaps not in America (I can't speak for that), but here in Europe I have seen plenty of mourning for the bombings. Germany being divided too, for that matter — the Berlinermauer's story (in dumbed-down, child-friendly version) was covered both in our History class and German classes. And that's in France — probably one fo the last countries you'd expect to be sympathetic to the Germans' woes — except it's been seventy years and we've grown up.

Oct 8, 2018 11:55:28 GMT Minotaur said:

I am trying my best to not be emotional, but the comparison itself made me very uncomfortable. What would you feel, after your grandma told you she witnessed a pregnant woman killed by Japanese soldiers to see whether she had a girl, when you hear people saying 1945 Japanese civilians were as innocent as passengers on the Titanic?

See those bolded words? They are universally considered opposites. I quite understand your emotional reaction — and equating the two situations is wrong for a number of reasons, including unrelated ones like the fact that a natural catastrophe and the actions of mankind in times of war are two different things.

But the fact that the Japanese army were unspeakably barbaric (and… yeah, they were, by most accounts) doesn't mean there weren't at least as many innocent non-soldiers in these cities as there were people on the Titanic. Even if you make the argument that as Japanese citizens not building a revolt, they were complicit to the crimes of the army… there were still many children and babies in those cities. 

Oct 7, 2018 21:39:15 GMT Orora said:

Then again, people tend to be less sensitive about great tragedies the farther away they are in the past. Not much people will get upset about jokes involving the Titanic compared to World War II aftermaths or terrorist attacks in the new millenium.

That's a good point. And to answer Scroogerello 's concern It's not even so much a matter of time as it is a matter of how people see things. Whether it's viewed as "recent past, concerning you and people you know" or "History". Strictly speaking, something like Neil Armstrong walking on the Moon isn't that old — but for quite a while now people have been viewing it as History, on the same level as Napoleon and World War I. And for a lot of people, only the "my past" hurts, not "History". I'm… not one of those people, because I'm the type who'll tear up if you make me think of Socrates’ death or just the fact that a great number of caveman kids died in infancy… but it's a common sentiment and an understandable one.

Going back to Don Rosa, it's clear that he considers the Titanic and (even more egregious) the Karkatoa Eruption count as History in his book, no different than when he brings in the Dalton Brothers. It's exactly the same phenomenon as when he brings Hanging Judge Roy Bean into Prisoner of White Agony Creek, or, for that matter, the Conquistadores in Last Lord of El Dorado.

Whereas 9/11 is still "my past", and thus he absolutely will not joke about it and how dare you.

Now the question is, is that paper-crane story we're discussing “History” or “my past” for Don Rosa? Well — here's the thing — I don't well see how it could be “History” when World War II is still clearly “my past”-y enough for him that he categorically refused to even touch upon it or N.azis in his otherwise-exhaustive biography of Scrooge.

One thing to consider, perhaps, is that this cartoon may be a commission, as I know some of the other Don Rosa pieces on Comicartfans are. Perhaps someone with poorer taste than Rosa paid good money with a specific request for him to draw this cartoon, and he couldn't say no.

[Matilda]

Yes! It's possible a fan asked for this! Rosa has often drawn what a fan asked him to draw, even without being paid money to do so.

Also, I'd say that he left World War II out of the L&T because it would have involved the Duck family themselves and/or people they knew personally in Very Sad Things, and because the N azis' acts & intentions are too horrific for a Disney comic book. The sinking of the Titanic and the Krakatoa eruption caused a lot of tragedy, but it wasn't tragedy that impinged on the Ducks, and it wasn't the direct result of evil human intention.