Political incorrectness alert:
This is what I think about the "cartoons of death," published in a Danish newspaper and elsewhere in Europe, that have lead to riots, vandalism and general mayhem in the Islamic world:
It seems to me that certain Muslims want to grant themselves a unique dispensation from ever having to be offended by anything referencing their religion, and will do absolutely anything to coerce persons of other religions and cultures into compliance with this. Oh -- and this doesn't work both ways; it's still perfectly fine, even virtuous, for these same Muslims to blaspheme other religions and belittle their followers.
As the Church Lady might say: Well, isn't that special.
I'm offended plenty by a lot of things, including both a general attitude of contempt levied at my own faith by the "cultured despisers of religion" and the tacky dreck spewed out by the Kristian Krap industry, which in many ways is more offensive than the former, and is certainly more culturally pervasive. Yes, I get angry. Then I get over it. Because if I have to choose between living in a world where freedom of expression means we all run the risk of having our feelings hurt, and a world where there is no freedom of expression because people are too terrified to express themselves, I will choose the former every time.
9 comments:
This has been a huge issue here in England. It was funny (only for those with a messed up sense of humor of course) seeing the protestors in London. They walked around with signs reading "Behead those who insult Islam & Butcher those who mock Islam & Slay those who disrespect Islam" and so on, and they were being escorted by a bunch of Bobbies who were protecting their freedom of speech... I don't know the idea of someone using their freedom of speech (protesting) to threaten other people using their free speech seemed a little weird to me.
Peace,
Chris
We treasure our freedom of speech or expression but we also have laws against hate crimes. Our courts and law-makers have decided that there is a line that shouldn't be crossed when exercising our freedom of expression. It just seems that we in the west have become callous in the way we regard Islam and Arabs so that anything goes and we can hide behind freedom of expression or the war on terror or homeland security or any other excuse. We preach the golden rule but we still get our backs up when we don't live by that rule and some Muslim/Arab protesters point it out to us. I stand (actually sit) in solidarity with the protesters if not with their threats and acts of violence.
Well said about the fanatics' attitude--Allah's supposed superiority, etc. Too bad moderate Muslims aren't doing (or at least saying) more to address this.
Also, it is funny about name associations--another weird example, I took Linda Darnell off my own website, simply because she comes from Texas (!)
Tom, I'm really surprised, and frankly disappointed, at your response, especially in light of the experience of your countrywoman Irshad Manji, an extremely brave human being I admire a great deal, who is under real threat of death every moment of her life because of fundamentalist maniacs. Her "hate speech"? Daring to criticize retrogressive, anti-intellectual, intolerant and oppressive elements within Islam. Again -- the Islamist fanatics want to engineer a world where they will never have to be religiously offended. And everything offends them. The very existence of other religions offends them. Capitulate to their psychotic group hysterics, and they'll just up the "blasphemy" and "offense" antics. What's next -- bombing art museums with artwork depicting God? Setting fire to supermarkets that sell pork and alcohol? Assaulting women who don't wear hijab?
Again -- I'm certainly offended by things I personally find blasphemous -- the infamous "Piss Christ" and other works of art, music with blasphemous lyrics, etc.; as well as the Kristian Krap so beloved of certain segments of Christendom. Do I want to kill the artists and manufacturers? No. Do I want The Authorities to silence them? No. Do I want to head to the barricades with thousands of equally offended people and "start the revolution"? No. How do I deal with it? Sadness. Scorn and derision.;-) Getting over it. There is something drastically wrong with people who react to "offensiveness" with murder, arson and mayhem.
And -- these same radical Islamists have absolutely no inclination to model the behavior they demand in others. I've seen some of their anti-Semitic cartoons, and they make the Nazi propaganda machine look like Marvel Comix.
Honestly, Tom, if there is anything that could push me over the fence into agnosticism, it is religious fanaticism like this. And I've been there before: "If this is what religion does to people, then fuck religion." Sometimes I need a reason to believe that I was wrong when I told myself that before.
Christopher: They do seem to be an irony-impaired group of people, don't they.
BTW, that should have been "upping the ante," not "upping the antics," in that other response. I'm so pissed I can't even write coherent sentences.
I could not agree more, LC. I understand that the world of Islam does not want to make images of Mohammed. Fine. That is religion. But to enforce that with violence on the non Islamic world is not about religion, it is about power and bullying. In contrast, Jews NEVER spell out the word "God", believing it is too sacred to pronounce. Yet they don't threaten slaughter when Christians do.
Lumping all Muslims in with the fundamentalist fanatic violent ones is wrong, just as we wouldn't want to be lumped in with the Falwell, Robertson crowd of Christians. The Muslims burning embassies and uttering death threats are nut-jobs and are wrong. The protestors in some European centers included some level headed people who objected to the portrayal of their prophet in those cartoons and unfortunately there were some kooks carrying placards promoting violence who became the focus of the media.
As for blasphemy against our Lord, crucifixes in urine and shit smeared on images of the Virgin Mary? I think we're entirely too silent about our feelings toward that kind of thing. Maybe we're afraid that we'll appear like fundagelicals so we quietly stew when something offends us instead of speaking out against it.
I don't have a problem with some idiot drawing and offensive cartoon of Mohammed. I guess it's his/her right to do so. But does a paper have to publish it just because it can?
As for Irshad Manji, there are thoughtful Muslims all over the world reading her work and not calling for her death. Maybe the lunatic fringe is more than a fringe among Muslims, and they certainly are vocal, active, and violent but there are peace loving faithful Muslims who probably feel about them the way we feel about our faith being characterized by the likes of Pat Robertson (my God, he wanted to be president).
So, if the Muslim community (not only the nut-cases) says that the depiction of their prophet in that cartoon was offensive I believe them and I think they have a right to protest (peacefully). I'm a pacifist so I'll never support the rioting, vandalism and general mayhem but I support their right to protest and ask for an apology.
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