White cartoonist manages to steer a storyline about discrimination against blacks towards the subject of discrimination against whites
-Friday May 23, 2014

Mason "Tailsteak" Williams, the artist behind popular internet webcomic Leftover Soup, turned the tables on expectations today, when a storyline that initially appeared to be about systematic discrimination against African Americans changed focus to specific discrimination against his white protagonist instead.

In the comic, a perfectly normal traffic stop spirals into a surreal horror story, as the police officer who pulled over a black driver for being black identifies Caucasian male character Jamie Halligan as a suspect in an assault that he actually did commit. What follows is a nightmare of discrimination, as the officer's prejudice against Halligan causes him to shift focus away from the black driver and towards his unfairly victimized white passenger.

Williams, who has a black friend who totally reads his comic, said this storyline reflects his own concerns. "It's a very real hypothetical problem", he stated, "I'm just trying to do my part to raise awareness about this thing that could possibly happen to somebody somewhere."

Williams is no stranger to controversy. Prior storylines in his comic feature equally plausible scenarios such as a straight white male protagonist dealing with an angry misandrist, or a straight white male protagonist facing the possibility of maybe having been molested by a woman while in a drugged stupor.

"I don't consider myself a hero", Williams said, "I just think it's important to acknowledge the perspective and the experience of a straight white cisgendered able-bodied male between the ages of 18 and 45. Finally, our story can be told. Or, at least, the story we would have, if this sort of thing were to happen."

"Reverse racism.", he added.

Members of the African American community could not be reached for comment.