Mick Hartley: Shafting the Ostrich

What's Steve Bell getting at here?

The cartoon, we are told, is "on the sexual assault allegations against Julian Assange". Uncle Sam is (possibly) sexually assaulting an ostrich with its head stuck in the sand, while pointing off to the right and shouting "Rape! Rape!"

So, the accusation of sexual assault is a diversionary tactic by the US. That bit's clear enough. But who - or what - is the ostrich? The rest of the world? The rest of the world that has its head in the sand unwilling to confront the truth that it's being shafted by Uncle Sam? (Wouldn't it know, though?) Or the media, perhaps? But then why the head in the sand? He's hardly being ignored, our brave hero Julian. And with its head in the sand, the stupid bird can't here the "Rape" cries anyway. Or is that the point?

I don't know. Certainly Uncle Sam looks cruel and aggressive, like a Francis Bacon pope, and he's assaulting something, and being horrible, so it ticks all the right boxes for Bell's admirers. Since the happy days of Bush-as-chimp it's been thin gruel for them, but here we are again, back on form: another work of genius from the master.

It's clear enough from the comments that no one else really knows what it means either, but at least it's obviously being nasty about the US, which is all that really matters. Even though (minor matter) it's Sweden that's making the rape accusation. Whatever you may think about Sweden it isn't the first country that comes to mind as lapdog-of-the-US, doing its boss's dirty work.