Soccer Dad

Some thoughts on the cartoon controversy

I opened my Washington Post one day last week to see Abducted Reporter Asks That Prisoners Be Freed, Network Says at the top of the page.

At the bottom of the page was Cartoons of Prophet Met With Outrage.

I'd feel better if the abduction was met with outrage instead of the outrage being expressed with abductions.

And then there's this cartoon that expresses things so well.

The Volokh Conspiracy.David Bernstein similarly points out

Among the many ignorant things arising out of the Mohammed cartoon controversy is the claim emanating from many quarters in the Muslim world that if the target of the cartoons had been important to "the Jews," European governments would have cracked down on the individuals involved.

He then points to the Ariel Sharon eating a Palestinian child cartoon of a few years ago that hardly seemed to have outraged any European sensitivities. (Neither did Jews nor Israelis start violently protesting all around the world.)

It would also be worth pointing out that when European papers and, to a lesser degree, American papers rushed to print the truly damaging but false story about the Jenin massacre, it led to angry letters but not actions, from Jews and supporters of Israel.

Deja Vu has had the classic post on the Buy Danish campaign. (Just to get a sense of how influential that post was check out all the Bloglines references to it.)

But the Volokh Conspiracy.David Bernstein isn't so quick to jump onto the the Buy Danish bandwagon because

Sorry I can't Join the "Buy Danish" Campaign but I still remember that in 2002, in response to Israel (finally) taking decisive military action against a wave of terrorist suicide-murders, the Danish General Workers Union canceled an order from an Israeli company, and announced that "we call for the hundreds of thousands of members of the union to refrain from buying products manufactured in Israel."

Finally Elder of Ziyon explains why the Arab/Muslim world is so upset about cartoons. And Pillage Idiot points to "It's in the Koran," which I think gives voice to the sentiment Elder of Ziyon notes. Pillage Idiot also explains why some are sensitive to the offense taken by Muslims but aren't similarly offended by insults directed at Judaism or Christianity

On the other hand, we have the situation in Denmark. And elsewhere in Europe. And, for that matter, pretty much everywhere in the free world, where people who have been acculturated to treating domestic minorities respectfully are beginning to do so out of abject fear.

Seemingly the riots work.

Technorati Tags: cartoons, Denmark.

Posted by SoccerDad at February 6, 2006 5:48 AM