An Open Letter to Dilbert Cartoonist Scott Adams’ Racist Rant

I won’t hate you, but I’m filled with pity as a Black Cartoonist.

Dear Scott,

You described Black people as members of “a racist hate group” during an online video show and ranted about how white people should distance themselves from all Black people.

Now that newspapers are, unsurprisingly, dropping your Dilbert comic strip and your syndicate is letting you go, you’re complaining about a lack of free speech in America and surprised you’re being “canceled?”

Listen, Scott, you can go on all the ridiculous racist rants you’d like in public, but you still have to deal with the consequences of your actions. You don’t get a pass.

No one is that famous.

As a Black cartoonist myself, not as famous as you are, of course, but my comic strip Little Fried Chicken and Sushi is syndicated online, also through Andrews McMeel on GoComics. I know how hard the weekly grind can be for publishing new strips consistently, and they must be funny and topical always without even a week off or break.

Making a syndicated comic strip is enjoyable but an endless marathon.

It can drive you crazy, but you’re also smiling and trying to make gags that get a laugh. Your over thirty years of drawing Dilbert for over two thousand newspapers worldwide is mighty impressive.

Why would you ruin all that, even though the pressure can drain you, by saying racist crap for attention? You’re already getting plenty.

It’s obvious you’ve been going too far for a while now, and perhaps you haven’t noticed how offensive you are. Some things aren’t funny, though.

Losing your career is a painful way to learn.

I don’t like what you did and am pretty pissed about it. But I’m not going to hate you. That would be too easy.

Let’s see if I can understand you. After all, I’ve read plenty of your comic strips and two of your books over the years, and I’d like to think I was one of your fans.

So what went wrong?

You play the victim like you’re expecting something from Black people.

On your Coffee With Scott Adams online video show, you said Black people are a hate group, citing a Rasmussen survey which shows nearly half of all Black people do not agree with the phrase “It’s okay to be white.”

Adams stated, “I would say, based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from Black people.”

I’m not sure if he’s trying to make a joke, but he states that at one time, he chose to identify as Black and didn’t get any respect for it. What the hell, Scott?!

Apparently, he had been identifying as Black “because I like to be on the winning team” and that he used to help the Black community. I’m not sure how, though.

Adams said the results of the Rasmussen poll changed his mind.

“It turns out that nearly half of that team doesn’t think I’m okay to be white,” he said and decided it was time to return to being white. “I’m going to back off from being helpful to Black America because it doesn’t seem like it pays off,” he said. “I get called a racist. That’s the only outcome. It makes no sense to help Black Americans if you’re white. It’s over. Don’t even think it’s worth trying.”

“I’m not saying start a war or do anything bad,” he added. “Nothing like that.
I’m just saying get away. Just get away.”

Do you want us to give you a medal for being a good person toward a minority group? Once again, I don’t know what he did to “help” Black people. I hope you don’t think finally adding a Black character to your comic strip counts.

I’m a Black man and a cartoonist. I don’t hate white people. I do dislike people who are racist and unwilling to see how closed-minded they are.

I guess you feel you should have the freedom to say whatever you want about Black people, and we won’t get angry or upset with you because you decided to care about us. That’s never going to happen. Being rude and racist is never okay. No matter how much you believe, you’ve done for people.

Think about it. What if you were friendly and helpful to women? Does that mean you can call them names or openly talk negatively about women just because you decided—in all of your high and mighty white male privilege—to be a good human being?

And doing all of this during Black History Month?

You should have expected severe backlash. Or, maybe that’s what you wanted.

You want to escape drawing a daily comic strip that isn’t working anymore

Leaving such a successful comic strip must be a challenge. I bet you’re sick of it and couldn’t figure out a way to escape. Writing gags about working in an office when you haven’t worked in one for years.

You can’t relate to today’s office worker. There’s no authenticity to your gags. Just idiocy. How can you get away from it all? Make everyone think you’re a racist, so they have no choice but to drop you.

I know how getting tired of a project feels and wanting to let it go. My Little Fried Chicken and Sushi strip on GoComics wasn’t working right, and I worked hard with my editor trying to improve it for two years.

After seven years of trying to find my humor and voice through the characters and gags, I ended the strip. Fortunately, GoComics runs the repeats twice weekly so new readers can find it and, hopefully, enjoy the years of work I put into the comic.

Admitting it wasn’t working was hard, but instead of going on a rant and blaming my readers, I fessed up to failing to make the comic successful.

Stopping production on my strip was easier because it wasn’t a big hit. If it were, maybe I would have felt the pressure to keep making it and trying to improve. I might feel trapped. Living inside that small comic-making factory might drive me to say insane things too.

But I doubt I’d turn to fear and hate like you, Scott. You should be ashamed of yourself.

The only upside to this is that you will get people rereading your comic strip and buying up all your books. Controversy, unfortunately, is a powerful drug people want to snort up their noses.

Look at me; I can’t stop talking about you.

I hope your next chapter includes more kindness, but I doubt it.

Unlike most cartoonists, you like to draw your cartoons and write blog articles and books. I respect that as someone who also clearly enjoys doing the same.

I hate to admit it, but you’re interesting.

You’re someone I’ve enjoyed watching and reading to hear your take. Also, I’ve learned how pushing to the edge of culture, and free speech can backfire on you. It’s a slippery slope, and I get that.

You may end up with only an alt-right white supremacy fan base from here on out, but I bet you’ll be able to make plenty of money speaking at Klan rallies and Donald Trump appearances. Probably not as much as you’re used to from those fat Dilbert paychecks rolling in over the years.

I hope you’ve saved your money.

Or, maybe it’s time to retire. You know, stop talking.

Yeah, the allure of the spotlight is too much to turn away from at this point. You’ve tasted success, felt the burn of controversy, and loved the attention. I’m looking forward to seeing how you spin this into something new.

Once again, I don’t hate you, but I’m happy you’ll stay away from Black people. We don’t need your racist rants or fake attempts at “helping.”

I don’t promote segregation, but in your case, I’m fine with you keeping your distance. Just leave us alone and do you.

All the best,

Khalid Birdsong

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Get more articles and comics on making art, world travel, and culture from a cartoonist’s point of view in my newsletter A New Creative Life right here:

https://khalidbirdsong.substack.com/

Tire Pressure

What Losing a Writing Job in Tech Taught me About Impostor Syndrome

You are who you decide to be.

Photo by ABDULLA M on Unsplash

Three years of freelance writing on the side while teaching full-time finally got me noticed by recruiters and hired as a copywriter for a major tech company in silicon valley. I was considered a contractor, though, not a salaried employee.

And it was only for three months — with a possibility of extension.

I’m embarrassed to admit; this messed with my self-worth and confidence as a writer. Even though I’ve been out in the world of work for over twenty years, my positions have either been as a salaried teacher or freelancer.

Being a contractor felt like a weird in-between. You do the job with hours just like salaried coworkers, but you don’t get paid time off or health benefits. Everyone is so excited about that three-day weekend coming up, and you’re thinking about how it’s one more day of less pay.

Even though you’re working just as hard.

I will say I enjoyed the fancy office space and the nice laptop they provided. The free coffee from the latte machines was convenient and delicious. Lunch wasn’t free where I worked, but you got a full meal for cheap each day plus dessert.

Yes, I gained a little weight during my first few months.

Writing in a cubicle at a desk that raises and lowers at a push of a button was glorious. I loved the flexibility of either writing while standing and then lowering the desk to sit whenever I wanted. These small perks were good.

Maybe too good?

As a contractor surrounded by people who seemed to have more experience, stability, and confidence in their jobs, I realize that I had a serious case of impostor syndrome.

Impostor syndrome-

People who struggle with impostor syndrome believe that they are undeserving of their achievements and the high esteem in which they are, in fact, generally held. They feel that they aren’t as competent or intelligent as others might think — and that soon enough, people will discover the truth about them.

Facing reality

There I was, finally getting an opportunity to work as a writer all day, every day, and get paid more than my teaching salary. I was concerned about what my position said about me as a person and a professional.

I could get in the door, but not in all the way.

Fortunately, I did a good enough job to add three more months to my contract, then six more after that. Once a year was up, I wasn’t offered a salaried position as I’d hoped.

Another hit to my ego.

The work I was doing was good enough to keep me there but not enough to bring me on fully, I suppose. I stayed there, got another six months added to my contract, but the company could only keep me legally for a year and a half in total.

I’m sure this kind of thing happens all the time with contract work, but it felt like I wasn’t good enough. I felt like an impostor.

Thoughts of not possessing enough talent to be a legitimate part of the team flowed through my mind constantly. In other words, impostor syndrome hit like a ton of bricks.

Until a friend helped me look at it differently.

Every job is temporary

A friend of mine who works in tech came to visit at the time for lunch. I discussed not getting hired for a salaried position and these feelings of inadequacy plaguing my confidence.

How come I can only stay a contractor? He stopped me abruptly and shared the truth.

In silicon valley, everyone’s a temp.

Even people who seem secure in their position can be let go tomorrow. Sure, it could be because of poor performance, but internal changes and just bad timing can come into play.

I was accustomed to the world of education, where you normally can stay on the job at least through the academic school year. Getting fired in the middle of February, for example, rarely happens. Unless you’ve done something crazy, I could count on staying employed between August and June every year.

In the corporate world, you never know when you could be let go. Even if you’re a superstar. Things happen. In fact, I saw other hard-working contractors get let go at the end of their contracts before me.

I understood that appreciating the skills I learned and the people I met on the job was most important. Not whether or not I stay for many years.

Besides, I noticed a lot of people change jobs every year or two now. They learn what they can, make connections, and move on.

That’s okay. As long as you know and respect who you are inside, you can succeed anywhere.

Knowing it could end at any time is the reality for everyone.

Save your money and prepare for the worst. Enjoy the experience and learn all you can in the meantime.

I had to stop equating hard work with stability or guaranteed success.

They’re not necessarily connected. Just because you work hard doesn’t mean you’ll always succeed in everything. You’ll definitely have better chances for it, but life doesn’t always work that way.

When the pandemic hit, we were all sent to work from home, and my department announced a hiring freeze. The writing was on the wall.

I wasn’t going to get hired on “permanently,” and when my contract was up, I’d have to say goodbye.

I required a new mindset to move away from the idea that I was never a good enough writer for the position.

Only you can decide you’re a writer

I’ve been writing comic books and comic strips since I was a kid. It never felt like “real writing.” You know, the kind novelists or journalists do. Learning how to write to get people to take action, copywriting opened my eyes to writing being more broad and open than I once thought.

Maybe I am a writer after all. I thought getting paid to write full-time would finally bring that home. It helped, but I still had to repeat in my head, “I’m a real writer” to accept it fully.

Only you can decide you’re a writer. Once you do, you’ll see writing can look many different ways.

Creating emails and promotional copy is just as much “real writing” as prose. I see that now. The truth is, I enjoyed writing in a corporate setting much more than I thought I would.

I spent some time at my desk each day, focused on writing and editing copy, and then met to discuss strategy with my team members. I was a writer then, and I’m still a writer now working on this article.

As long as I choose to be.

Final thoughts

I might have lost the writing job, but I was able to move back into education. The world is crazy, and teaching in a school is a safe place, I understand. Having the opportunity to also write for the school in their communications department helps me feel like my skills will not get all rusted up.

Even if I’m not writing all day, I know in my heart I’m a writer. It feels great to have worked in different positions as a freelancer, contractor, and now part-time writer.

Experience can help you feel less impostor syndrome, especially if you work with kind and helpful coworkers. Who knows, though, my next position might feel too big for me, and I have to convince myself I’m worthy of it all again.

I’m not worried. Accepting the fact that I’m a writer always helps.

Want to Learn to Nap on a Train? Here’s how

Sometimes you need to sleep. I’m talking about amongst the people, on a train or bus, or even in the park. Life can be exhausting. Why can’t we do some of our recharging in public? 

Well, now you can, with this simple three-step method inspired by my years living in Japan. The word “inemuri” means being present while you sleep. It’s synonymous with sleeping on the job or in public places. The Japanese are so overworked that it’s become commonplace to see a large number of people sleeping just about anywhere.

Taking naps is said to be a good thing. Even though accepted in Japan, it’s not allowed at work—even though that rule is mostly ignored all the time. If you’re in a location where you can set an alarm to wake you, it’s relatively easy, but what if you’re on a train or the subway? Not waking up in time for your stop can be frightening. 

Listen in as our Japanese raccoon, Tanuki, from Fried Chicken and Sushi comics explores how to nap on the subway in three steps. 

1. Decide to give it a try with the intent to master inemuri with help from others.

2. Pick a friend or family member who you know would never let their guard down.

3. Ride on a train with a loudspeaker that penetrates your soul.

Great job! If you follow these Tanuki steps, you too will be sleeping on the train in no time. Just imagine the freedom you’ll have to get the rest you need anywhere you have to wait. 

Take these tips to the cafe, while waiting for your coffee, or to the DMV, waiting for your number to be called. There are so many uses, and you’ll feel well-rested and ready to tackle whatever life throws at you daily.

Now, get out there and nap.

Meditation is amazing but, what if you hate being with yourself? 3 powerful ways to tolerate time alone with your thoughts

Life can be stressful. People say, “Make time to meditate. Quiet your mind, and it will melt all your worries away.” That’s nice and all but, what if you can’t stand being with yourself?

I’m serious, what if you feel like a jerk inside and want nothing to do with that person?

Let’s say you sit down, in that awkwardly uncomfortable folded legs position—lotus I think it’s called—puff your chest out and close your eyes. Your annoying mind keeps yelling at you.

Not even about important topics. Just dumb stuff, like what to eat for breakfast and which podcast you’ll listen to on the way to work.

Annoying.

You’ve heard some of those benefits of meditation; a focused mind, inner peace, and more patience to approach the challenges of daily life. It’s estimated that stress is the cause of 90% of doctor visits. That is insane.

We all definitely need more time for mindfulness in our lives. How can you shut off the mouthy jerk inside your head and focus on that sought after quiet? 

1. Accept that your emotions want all of your attention and will try and distract you while you meditate.

This is normal. You’re not doing it wrong.  

Let yourself be who and what you are at that moment. Be present. Even if all the mess in your head is driving you nuts. 

Make peace with the anxious, emotional, and overly fearful part of yourself. It only wants to be heard, felt, and acknowledged.

2. Make those emotions stronger

If you have a lot on your mind, sit there and listen to yourself. If you notice strong feelings, pay attention to them. In fact, amplify them and make the emotions stronger. 

Give each emotion and thought inside your head some of your time, notice where in your body the feelings are, and they will gradually dissolve away. 

You’ll see that by sitting with your annoying voices and negative emotions and giving them your full attention, it will help you release and move on to the more positive ones.

When I started meditating regularly several years ago, this was tough for me.

I knew that I was never going to get rid of feeling crappy sometimes. Having the courage to sit with the mess of my thoughts was no easy task and I’m still no expert. 

I have found, though, that giving all of those thoughts and their emotions, time in the spotlight then shining several other lights directly on them, helps them to disappear. 

Meditating is generally pretty simple. Sit in a comfortable position with your legs folded, or on a chair with your hands in your lap. Breathe slowly, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Focus on your breath. 

When the thoughts start flooding in, treat them like that annoying coworker you barely know, who likes coming up and telling you all of their problems. You smile politely and nod, give them their time, until they finish and go away. 

Know that you don’t have to be in total control. Even though it’s hard to let go and tune in, do your best to stay present.

3. Meditate for at least ten minutes 

There’s something magical about getting to the ten-minute mark.  

Give yourself time to move through emotions and reach calm. I’ve read that twenty-minutes of meditation is ideal, but I know for me, reaching ten minutes is where I begin to melt into the moment.

You’ll find those annoying voices will dissipate, and it will be easier to be in a state of tranquility.

You will begin to focus on the moment. You will find yourself. The true self that is always there but buried under all that mess.

Believe me, you’ll like how the “true you” feels. You want to make sure to meet.

What if you can’t spend 20-30 minutes meditating most days? Don’t worry about it. 

If you can only do ten minutes, that’s what you do. Paying attention to yourself is the key.

Scheduling meditation time—making it a routine—is what keeps me on track. Every morning, it’s one of the first things I do.   

I have grown to like my inner thoughts more, and I believe you can too. 

When you go out and face the world, you will notice how much easier it will be to pay attention to one task at a time. You will feel less rushed. Anxiety will take a backseat, and you’ll gain more confidence and acceptance with the process of your regular daily life. 

Do your best to sit in meditation for ten minutes every day. Experience all of your emotions fully. 

Over time, you will understand and love yourself more, and the magic within each day will transform your life.

What to see at Tokyo Disney Sea?

Goodness knows, Disney does not need my endorsement or free advertising, but I had to let you know how enjoyable it was at Tokyo DisneySea theme park in Japan.

Even in a typhoon.  That’s right. A typhoon was ripping its way up the western side of Japan at the time, and we were so afraid of getting weather bashed-out of all the fun. 

Fortunately, the weather cooperated, somewhat.  We did get hit with strong winds and some rain, but generally, it was bearable.  You want to know the best part?

Bad weather means fewer people at the park!  So, there were shorter lines and less wait time for rides. 

I have a feeling that DisneySea is not as famous as Tokyo Disneyland, so there are fewer visitors.  It’s one park where as soon as I entered, I felt transported to another world!

The gorgeous architecture in the harbor grabs you as you first walk in and is influenced by the Mediterranean, with a bit of fantasy flair!  Every area feels like another adventure and even when it’s busy, feels relaxed and comfortable.

I will admit that the rides are not as fantastic compared to Disneyland, but they are enjoyable and imagination filled.  The more intense ones are in the Lost River Delta area where you can explore with Indiana Jones or take a roller coaster ride through Raging Spirits.   

Raging Spirits ride!

One of my favorites was the FINDING NEMO ride at Port Discovery.  It made you feel like you were in a small submarine going on adventures with Nemo and Dory through the ocean.  If you get seasick though, this is NOT the ride for you. Plenty of rocking and gliding up and down!

In the American Waterfront area that looks like New York City in the 1920’s, you have the famous Tower of Terror ride, which we didn’t get on because we’ve been on it in America and the Turtle Talk experience where you can talk with an animated version of Crush the green sea turtle from Finding Nemo.  This one was surprisingly fun, and even though it was in Japanese, relatively easy to understand.

I love the Toy Story movies but the ride, Toy Story Mania!, even in bad weather, was the one ride that was packed all day long with insane wait times, so we had to skip it.  If you had a chance to make it in, let me know what you thought!

The Mysterious Island area looked the coolest, and we had fun riding 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.  We will need to go back to the Arabian Coast and ride Jasmine’s flying carpets -even though it’s basically the Dumbo ride. 

Because the weather was rough due to the typhoon, it was an excellent relief to head over to Mermaid Lagoon where they have an entire indoor play area with rides, food and a playground.

In front of the Mermaid Lagoon

Our absolute favorite show was in the Mermaid Lagoon Theater where a performer, dressed as Ariel, is suspended from the ceiling on wires and swings around over the audience below like she's swimming and sings well-known songs from the Little Mermaid film. 

My eight-year-old daughter loves mermaids and almost didn’t see it.  We waited forty-five minutes to get in and as soon as we sat down, with amazing seats, by the way, she says, “I need to go to the bathroom!”  Really? We were just standing all that time, and you didn’t think about going then?

She couldn’t hold it so my wife, who watched this show here before, was kind enough to take her out to the restroom but of course, the theater needed to close the show so they couldn’t get back in.

They thought it would be best for me to at least stay and watch it since we waited all that time and I’ve never seen it.  I must admit, it was pretty fantastic and felt like a small Cirque Du Soleil show!

When it was over, I was so ecstatic about the experience, my daughter was more than ready to stand in line again.  She loved the performance, and I was glad to see it a second time! Make sure to look for the Mermaid Lagoon Theater, it’s pretty hidden in that indoor play area, and see the show when you go.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip to Tokyo DisneySea even in such a massive storm.  We never got extreme rain, but some pretty strong winds hit us a few times. In the evening, we stayed to watch the Fantasmic Mickey Mouse light show that was pretty fun.  They had to modify it a bit due to the weather but still worth watching.

For a new Disney parks experience, I strongly recommend taking your family there next time you’re in the Tokyo area.  Ta-ta for now. See ya' real soon!

Khalid

My appearance on the Surviving Creativity podcast!

Take a listen to the latest episode of the podcast Surviving Creativity where I'm one of the 'celebrity' panelists on the Match Game (in the last 15 minutes).

A few weeks ago, I received an email out of the blue from well-known cartoonist of Evil Inc., Brad Guigar, asking if I would like to be on his show Surviving Creativity. 

I never replied.

Surely, he wasn't asking me directly.  It must have been a mass email to thousands of fans of the show.  You must know that I love this podcast.   Brad and his co-hosts Scott Kurtz of the webcomic PVP, and Cory Casoni talk about the ins and outs of cartooning and living a professional creative life.  I never miss an episode.

A week passes and Brad messages me on Twitter asking again if I would like to be a part of Match Game on the show.  I was shocked!  

We set up a time and Brad asked questions and recorded it all to be pieced together for the show.  My last answer comes off as a little strange in the context of the game but either way it's so fun to be a part of such a fantastic podcast. 

Hope you listen and enjoy the fun! 

KUBO and the Two Strings Fan Art Process

My Kubo fan art using pen, markers and colored pencils.

A young Japanese boy named Kubo, with his magical shamisen and a monkey companion embark on a journey to find his father’s samurai armor and defeat a vengeful spirit from the past.  Kubo and the Two Strings is the latest stop-motion animated film from Laika studios and is a gorgeous work of art!  Beautifully animated and surprisingly emotional, I was completely taken in by this film.  So much so, that I created fan art. 

My first sketches of Kubo's head.  One looks like a girl and another looks too old.  I had to keep trying!    

After sketching several heads of Kubo for practice, I felt confident enough to try a full body pose.  Using blue pencil first, I sketched out his pose, changed his feet a few times and settled on the final look.  I used Pigma Micron pens, 03 and 05 sizes, to ink over my pencil.  It was fun to use a combination of colored pencils and Copic markers for color. 

The inked version before adding color.  I really wanted the color black added throughout the drawing to add weight and balance.

Kubo plays his shamisen and makes origami paper fold on its own into animals and characters that move.  My goal was to capture that first moment when he begins to play and the magic happens. 

If you haven’t seen Kubo and the Two Strings I strongly encourage you to see it!  I wasn’t sure if it was going to be interesting but I enjoy stop-motion animation so I took a chance.  Within the first few minutes, I knew this movie was a masterpiece! 

My only gripe was that they used white actors to play the main characters.  This is supposed to be ancient Japan.  I know Hollywood feels that it needs famous names to draw crowds but it’s sad when you have someone as well known as George Takei playing a background character with two lines. 

As an actor of Japanese descent, he really should have been given a bigger role.  If they plan on distributing it in Japan, I would love to hear what it sounds like with actual Japanese actors doing voice-overs.       

Even with that in mind, Kubo and the Two Strings is such a great film and the artistry of a story told with animation done by hand is too captivating to miss.  Make sure you go see it and tell me what you think!