Why aren't we talking about "Draw Muhammad Day?" May 20th

These eye for an eye attitudes over religions are why the world has been at war with each other for eons.

Will you take responsibility for your actions when someone's loved one is killed by a car bomb because you thought it would be keen to poke a stick at one of Islam's religious idols?

Cycloptichorn wrote:

Quote:

Worth re-stating.

No, it really isn't. You are trying to avoid taking responsibility for a childish decision by refusing to discuss the heart of the matter. You can substitute (x) for whatever group you like; discussions of what real-world groups actually do has no bearing on a judgment of your decision at all, and really is an attempt to change the subject.

Cycloptichorn

I'm perfectly willing to take responsibility for my Childish Decision. What IS, exactly, the "heart of the matter," in your opinion?

Letters from a Christian extremist last week threatened the lives of evolution biology professors at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The letters claimed to be on behalf of a group, but newspapers and at least one blog have reported that an individual, Michael Korn, a Jew-turned-Christian extremist, is likely behind the threats (an image from his web site is at right).

...

The Colorado Daily describes some of the perpetrator’s escapades:

Last weekend more than a dozen envelopes bearing the image of skull and crossbones and containing letters threatening the lives of
CU-Boulder evolutionary biology professors were slipped under the doors of CU-Boulder buildings….

Several sources say Korn has distributed flyers on campus and has barged into offices of biology professors and administrators in the past year.

But in recent days the threatening e-mails and letters have occurred with increasing frequency and intensity.

On Friday an e-mail sent to CU-Boulder’s evolutionary biology department bore the subject line "a final CU Boulder EBIO appeal” and repeated the line "every true Christian should be ready and willing to take up arms to kill the enemies of Christian society."

That line, as well as “they must go,” have been repeated in a number of communiqués, said a source.

Pensacola, FL: This city was a focal point for anti-abortion crime from mid 1984 to mid 1994:

1984-JUN: An abortion clinic was bombed.

1984-DEC: The same clinic was bombed again.

1986-MAR: A second clinic was broken into and vandalized; two female employees were assaulted. John Burt, a former member of the KKK, and his daughter were tried and convicted. John Burt became the local leader of Rescue America.

1993-MAR: Michael Griffin, allegedly a member of Rescue America, assassinated Dr. David Gunn outside an abortion clinic. Griffin's lawyers claimed that Burt had brainwashed Griffin into committing the killing. (There is a consensus among mental health professionals that this sort of "Manchurian Candidate" programming is impossible). Griffin was convicted and given a life sentence.


1994-JUL: Paul Hill, a former Presbyterian minister and leader in Defensive Action assassinated a physician and bodyguard outside another abortion clinic; he also wounded the wife of the bodyguard. He was sentenced to both life imprisonment on federal charges, and execution on state charges.

1994-AUG: Five KKK groups demonstrated adjacent to an abortion clinic in Melbourne FL. They were opposed to abortions given to whites; they encourage abortions to persons of other races. They named Hill their hero of the month.

... nobody questions your right to draw a picture in America.

That's the thing that gets me - there's no persuasive reason to make a drawing of Mohamed. The only motivation for doing so is pissing people off.

Just this month Comedy Central announced their plans to create a cartoon show, and there are already threats of boycott of the network and advertisers in reaction to one of the episode descriptions:

So let's all draw Mohammad!

I for one have no intention of obeying the demands of any religious extremist.

Lusatian did a topic that I posted about it in...but it was withdrawn by its progenitor.

On Lusatian's thread i have posted links to actions I believe are more useful.

Cycloptichorn wrote:

That's the thing that gets me - there's no persuasive reason to make a drawing of Mohamed. The only motivation for doing so is pissing people off.

This depends on how much you value free speech. Death Threats literally took an episode of South Park off the air. Personally, I find the idea of government censoring what I watch unacceptable; so I'll be damned if I'll let some religious extremist make up my mind for me. Just think for a minute how slippery that slope could become and I think you'll see the point.

It is a pity that the show of solidarity runs the risk of offending a billion people. That really isn't the point, and it's relatively harmless collateral damage anyway. The point is that the relative few extremists that would literally lose their minds and start killing cartoonists; cannot kill us all if we stand together. I for one have no intention of obeying the demands of any religious extremist. Neither should you.

So let's all draw Mohammad!

@OCCOM BILL,
Quote:
So let's all draw Mohammad!

There is no productive reason to do so.

Me neither. But, I refrain from drawing Mohamed not because some religious extremist threatens me, but instead because some very nice and regular Islamic folk politely ask that we do not do this. And they mean something to me, whereas the other guy does not.

Cycloptichorn wrote:

Me neither. But, I refrain from drawing Mohamed not because some religious extremist threatens me, but instead because some very nice and regular Islamic folk politely ask that we do not do this. And they mean something to me, whereas the other guy does not.

That's a perfectly reasonable reason for you to refrain from standing up for the artists; but offers no liscense for you to attack others for doing so.

When Larry Flint bashed religion in his "smut mag", the Supreme Court of our land found there is an important public interest in defending unpopular speech. There is.

P.s. You’d probably enjoy watching The people vs. Larry Flint.

I think that the real test for how strongly you believe in the right of free speech, BK, is to set up a street stand in Iraq, Afghanistan or other similar country and sell images of Mohammed.

Lusatian did a topic that I posted about it in...but it (the draw Mohammed Day) was withdrawn by its progenitor.

On Lusatian's thread i have posted links to actions I believe are more useful.

http://able2know.org/topic/144132-1

:
Hey!!! I found a venue for action:

Sign this petition here:

http://www.irshadmanji.com/petition

The woman sponsoring it has fascinated me for ages, anyway, and her site is worth a look!

She is publicising a new manifesto against totalitarianism,

http://www.irshadmanji.com/im-muslim-refusenik-letters-archive-part-105

She is a Muslim woman who speaks out against repression in the name of Islam.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irshad_Manji

When things are worth defending, they are so because the actions or items are themselves inherently valuable.

I do like that movie, actually. And it brings up a good point - there were a lot of people who supported Flint and his right to free speech, for both specific and general reasons - but the vast, vast majority of them didn't go around publishing nude pictures in order to show support. They just - as I am here, re: the cartoonists - quietly affirmed his right to do so.

Quote:

@BorisKitten,
I think that the real test for how strongly you believe in the right of free speech, BK, is to set up a street stand in Iraq, Afghanistan or other similar country and sell images of Mohammed.

I'm sorry to say I don't live in those countries. If I had been born and raised in those countries, Free Speech might be meaningless to me.