The Pet Hamster Escaped the Cage and is Now a Pest

By: Donald V. Watkins

Copyrighted and Published on December 26, 2025

Caricature of Donald V. Watkins spinning the hamster wheel.

I talked with my son Light Watkins in Mexico today.  He explained why many people within MAGA World view me as a controversial and hated public figure.  Here is Light’s theory:

MAGA World views outspoken, well-educated, and articulate persons of color as pet hamsters.  They are comfortable watching these hamsters spin the wheel inside of their cages.  They will even feed these pets and marvel at their ability to spin the wheel – as long as these hamsters are confined inside the cage.

In my case, MAGA World views me as the hamster that escaped the cage.  As such, I am no longer an entertaining pet.  I am now an undesirable pest who is roaming freely inside the house. I am annoying the residents and involving myself in "white folks" business.  MAGA has traps set up throughout the house to recapture and re-cage me.

I guess I should consider myself a lucky man. In 1999, the Birmingham News depicted me in an editorial cartoon as a blood-sucking insect that then-Birmingham Mayor Bernard Kincaid squashed to death. At least MAGA World is no longer publicly advocating for my death. Is that progress?