Cartoonist voices views

Americans have lost control of their government. Al Gore is a loser. Rev. Al Sharpton's needs a haircut, and the Republicans killed Paul Wellstone.\nThese topics and a laundry list of others were discussed Thursday by renowned comic strip writer and social activist Aaron McGruder, the keynote speaker for IU's celebration of Black History Month. \nMcGruder, 28, is the creator of "The Boondocks," a comic strip featured in more than 200 newspapers nationwide. The often controversial comic, the story of a group of African-American city kids adjusting to life in white suburbia, is used by McGruder to convey his openly leftist political views and take on American pop culture.\nMcGruder, a Green Party supporter, spoke for over an hour to a diverse crowd of about 150 people. He devoted the majority of that time to addressing questions and candidly discussing his political outlook.\n"The focus of Americans should be, how do we get our government back?" McGruder said. "The illusion of freedom is far more dangerous than the realization that we live under a dictatorship."\nIn the lecture's opening, McGruder said he is not a motivational speaker and in no way interested in being a black leader, but was interrupted by applause several times and received a standing ovation at the lecture's conclusion.\nHe said while no Americans are sold on a war in Iraq, it is going to happen anyway. He called the Republican Party "dirty, underhanded, messy and violent," and said the party was responsible for the death of former Senator Wellstone, a vocal opponent of the Bush administration. He said the Democrats are overly concerned with money and that Gore is a "loser," who "won the election, and still lost."\nFollowing the Sept. 11 attacks, McGruder's comic was pulled from the New York Daily News due to its controversial content. IU staff member Kathryn Propst, who attended the lecture, said McGruder's contentious views made him a good speaker choice.\n"I think the controversy is good because it sparks debate and gets people talking," Propst said. "I don't know if people are here because they agree or disagree with him."\nMcGruder addressed political leadership as a major problem in the United States. Although he voted for Ralph Nader in the 2000 election, McGruder said Nader's poor television presence made him the wrong candidate. He said the 2004 Green Party candidate search came to him about two months ago.\n"The list is short, and I know this because the Green Party asked me to run for president," he said. "This is exactly how bad the leadership is on the political left."\nMcGruder spent several minutes discussing the potential Democratic Party presidential nominee Rev. Al Sharpton and his hair.\n"I think he really does have the right stance on the issues," he said, adding that Sharpton is a great speaker. "But he has that perm."\nIn addition to politics, McGruder discussed the creation of his comic strip, "The Boondocks." The strip began in 1999 out of McGruder's necessity for a job. He said his intent was to write things in newspapers that had never been written before. He contemplated leaving the strip prior to Sept. 11, but the reaction that followed gave him material.\nAllen Burnett, the husband of an IU student and avid fan of McGruder, flipped through one of the author's three books containing his work. Burnett said he has read every "Boondocks" comic.\n"He is funny, you know, his comics kind of go back and forth between cutting edge and hilarious," Burnett said. "Nobody is safe in his comics."\nMcGruder advised the crowd on how to make change in society. He said if a person has the power to make change they should do so, but must persuade the right people, as he said his comic strip has done.\n"I have never tried to convince people who don't get it," McGruder said. "That is just a waste of time"