I wasn't sure if I was going to post anything about this, but after the escalation today I just have to. So now we're killing each other over a cartoon. Yep. A fucking cartoon. Are humans just looking for any excuse to be violent? Trying to get out that primal aggression that modern society has no place for? What is the most insignificant thing you can start a war over? If you don't know what I'm talking about, here are a couple of articles with some details that I won't reiterate right now. (
1,
2) One of the arguments presented by Saudi Arabia's Al-Riyad is, "Freedom of expression does not justify insulting people's feelings and beliefs." Um, what? So every individual on the planet can demand punishment and retribution if their feelings get hurt? I can sit here and say that an editorial cartoon
hurt my feelings and then threaten to cause bodily harm over it and then burn down international embassies? People have really got to relax and just calm the fuck down! Seriously, there are millions of people who get offended/pissed off/irritated by any number of things we read/see/hear regularly, things that are probably more significant than a cartoon. Should every one of those annoyances be outlawed and condemned? Of course not! I like what these two had to say about it (from cbc.ca):
France Soir defended its right to publish in an editorial, saying religious freedom gives people the right to practise their faith, but not to impose the rules of their religion on all of society.
Berlin's Die Welt argued there was a right to blaspheme in the West, and asked whether Islam was capable of coping with satire.
All I can really say at this point is that I'm glad the newspapers are refusing to apologize for running the cartoons, I'll be extremely disappointed if they are forced to by government or by violence. It's bad enough that France Soir was fired for running the cartoon, in fact, that's offensive enough to me that I should probably threaten the guy who fired him and demand a personal apology. Of course, the cartoon critics should be free to disagree, but they should not be able to put themselves on an international stage by rioting and threatening lives. What do they think I will find more reprehensible?
I wasn't sure if I was going to post anything about this, but after the escalation today I just have to. So now we're killing each other over a cartoon. Yep. A fucking cartoon. Are humans just looking for any excuse to be violent? Trying to get out that primal aggression that modern society has no place for? What is the most insignificant thing you can start a war over? If you don't know what I'm talking about, here are a couple of articles with some details that I won't reiterate right now. (1, 2) One of the arguments presented by Saudi Arabia's Al-Riyad is, "Freedom of expression does not justify insulting people's feelings and beliefs." Um, what? So every individual on the planet can demand punishment and retribution if their feelings get hurt? I can sit here and say that an editorial cartoon hurt my feelings and then threaten to cause bodily harm over it and then burn down international embassies? People have really got to relax and just calm the fuck down! Seriously, there are millions of people who get offended/pissed off/irritated by any number of things we read/see/hear regularly, things that are probably more significant than a cartoon. Should every one of those annoyances be outlawed and condemned? Of course not! I like what these two had to say about it (from cbc.ca): 
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