The Seafarer Files Part II: Marlette Manipulation 5.0

This cartoon has been manipulated to reflect the reality of the situation with respect to attempts to block Escambia Beach Access #4.  The people want it opened, though, and it will be opened.  That is what is going to happen.... 

Today's cartoon in the PNJ by Andy Marlette provides me another opportunity to make a funny cartoon even funnier, and more relevant at the same time.  I've manipulated a lot of his cartoons over the years.  Today's offering shows a cat representing commissioner Doug Underhill swinging an axe at a mouse, represented by me.  The mouse, sporting a chainsaw, is simultaneously attempting to slash the cat.  In the background sits an idled beach mouse just watching the action.

This is a direct play on the marginal characters from the Simpson's series, Itchy and Scratchy.  from wikipedia:

"The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a show within a show that appears occasionally in episodes of The Simpsons. They appear in the form of 12-60 second cartoons that are filled with gratuitous violence, usually initiated by Itchy the mouse against Scratchy the cat; Itchy is almost always the victor.^[5] Itchy & Scratchy airs as a segment on The Krusty the ClownShow, and also aired on its brief replacements, Mr Burn's Cavalcade of Whimsy and Gabbo.^[6]"


But "Itchy and Scratchy" is nothing more than a violent, updated play on the old Tom and Jerry Cartoon series from the 1940's and 1950's.  Interestingly, as I remember the old cartoons, none of Tom's (the cat in Tom and Jerry) sadistic plots against Jerry (the mouse in the cartoon) ever succeed.  As I remember it, the Tom was just a goofy, angry, vindictive bully, always trying to hatch a new way to try and injure Jerry.  The Wikipedia write-up describing Tom is funny:

"The plots of each short usually center on Tom's numerous attempts to capture Jerry and the mayhem and destruction that follows. Tom rarely succeeds in catching Jerry, mainly because of Jerry's cleverness, cunning abilities, and luck..The cartoons are known for some of the most violent cartoon gags ever devised in theatrical animation such as Tom using everything from axes, hammers, firearms, firecrackers, explosives, traps and poison to kill Jerry. On the other hand, Jerry's methods of retaliation are far more violent due to their frequent success, including slicing Tom in half, decapitating him, shutting his head or fingers in a window or a door, stuffing Tom's tail in a waffle iron or a mangle, kicking him into a refrigerator, getting him electrocuted, pounding him with a mace, club or mallet, letting a tree or electric pole drive him into the ground, sticking matches into his feet and lighting them, tying him to a firework and setting it off, and so on.^[2] Because of this, Tom and Jerry has often been criticized as excessively violent..Tom is no match for Jerry's wits. Jerry also possesses surprising strength for his size, approximately the equivalent of Tom's, lifting items such as anvils with relative ease and withstanding considerable impacts. Although cats typically chase mice to eat them, it is quite rare for Tom to actually try to eat Jerry. Most of his attempts are just to torment or humiliate Jerry, sometimes in revenge, and sometimes to obtain a reward from a human for catching Jerry. By the final "fade-out" of each cartoon, Jerry usually emerges triumphant, while Tom is shown as the loser."


  Marlette's cartoon play of art imitating life on Itchy and Scratchy, imitating Tom and Jerry, is below.

Although it is funny--like many of Marlette's cartoons it simply misses the mark or could be funnier and even better.  The one I manipulated above at the top of this piece hits the mark.

The beach is currently off limits to visitors with signs mounted and a locked gate.  A paper trail is now established showing this has been an ongoing effort, to  actively try to prevent public access at this site by attempting to sell this site away along with the public's right to access it.  This fact was uncovered via a public records release of emails and contracts from 2017 illustrating this--- despite protestations and denials of this from  2018.  And this video denial from from 2018

The key to the entire issue is simple and is not funny..we, you and I the taxpayer, own this 300' of Gulf-Front Beach property since we bought it in 2013.  It was purchased in part for public beach access.

But this beach was never opened and there are some special interests that DO NOT WANT it to be opened to you and I the taxpayers who bought it.

Meanwhile----- the people do want it opened, the BCC has voted to make this accessible to the public, the staff is bringing plans for us to consider, and at the end of the day--just as I said at the end of the last meeting--we will #OpenOurBeach.

No, it's not some "Tom and Jerry" histrionics:  No, it is not "politics".  It's just ridiculous reindeer games and delay tactics that sadly resulted in a comfortable status quo for nearby condo owners that allowed them to use our beach while the rest of us were/are locked out.

That is ending, because what really matters is that we do what we voted to do, it's about doing what we said we would do with this property.   And we are going to do this.

Watch and see.