Maija had the pleasure of interviewing one of her univeristy professors recently regarding the college program at York University. After he found out she was a Christian, all he wanted to discuss with her were the infamous Muhammad cartoons.
Ahh cartoons. Sweet sweet cartoons. Much like alcohol; the cause and solution to all of life’s problems. My wife recently commented on my cousin’s blog (regarding this issue) that she secretly likes reading cartoons, as they get away with saying all kinds of things.
But… as we all now the Mohammad cartoons have developed into a serious issue. Heck, they’re in Wikipedia! If that’s not a serious enough issue…
So who’s right? Who’s wrong? My cuz says:
“Anyway this whole thing makes me feel really annoyed because I know that Islam does not respect the rights of any other religion, especially Jews and Christians, yet they demand a western country respect their rights, they don’t understand that the state cannot interfer in what the newspaper publishes. So the whole arguement about whose rights are the most valid are now raging. Also it proves again just how widely apart the west and the middle east are in terms of worldview. I fear we will never understand each other, or even try too, it seems that Samuel Huntingtons ‘clash of civilizations’ is coming true.”
I tend to agree, but my thoughts are as follows:
- To the dude who wrote the cartoons: “Wouldn’t it better to leave well enough alone?”
- To the countries who demand “free press” and permit the cartoons: “There’s got to be a limit, especially if people’s lives are at risk. Which they now are.”
- To the company and countries defending the artist: “That’s admirable, but there is a difference between condoning something, and protecting one of your own. You got half of it right.”
- To the Muslim individuals burning buildings, attacking people, writing death threats: “Congratulations on playing exactly into the stereotype the cartoons painted of you.”
- And to the professor at York University who asked how we’d feel if people made fun of Jesus: “Tell me something new.”
And to the first person who reveals where the title of this post is from: “Biggups!”
And Now for Something Completely Different?
nah I don’t think so, but that’s the best I’ve got.
As for the cartoons, yeah I’d tend to agree with what Jonny P said, although I’d also tend to go so far and say that really no one’s right. If you go ahead and do something stupid like that Danish guy did, the people you offended will proove how stupid it was by going ahead and doing more stupid things. If society goes ahead and stupidly lets everyone get away with insulting the 2-thousand-year dominant Western religion because it’s 2-thousand year dominant and Western and a religion, then the next step is for people to assume-not necessarily as a conscious next step mind you-that they can insult the dominant Eastern religion and get away with it just as easily. Not because it’s dominant or a religion, but maybe because it’s Eastern? Who knows-we’re all too dumb (or to euphemise, our minds are too small) to really understand this universe-it’s just too simple for us to get it.
well said Pudd. I guess the muslims can’t take a joke. A former co-worker used to say “If they can’t take a joke ,f***’em”. I mostly agreed with him. I don’t care much for people who can dish it out, but can’t take any of it back.
Hehehe
I don’t think the Danish guy knew what would happen, I mean everyday all over the world cartoons are published degrading practically everything and there is no world wide outcry, it seemed this somehow blew into a big issue.