Friday, February 03, 2006

Get Over It

Just because you hold something sacred, do not expect everyone else to so the same.

Muslims the world wide are on a rampage. Some European papers have published cartoons containing a picture of the prophet Mohammad. To them this is offensive, and a violation of Sharia law.

So what.

The nations where these were published are not under Sharia law, no one has forced any Muslim to publish these cartoons, and no one has force anyone to read them.

Get over it.

I find many things offensive. I don't like the US flag being burned, I don't like depictions of violence and gore on television, I don't like the hate filled speech that so many republican talking heads engage in.

That doesn't mean I have the right to stop a flag from being burned (it is just colored cloth). If you own it, you can do what ever you want with it. If I don't like what is on TV, I can turn it off, and no one forces me to listen to or accept the screwy world view of the republican noise machine.

I live my life, they live theirs.

I do question the reason of the papers who have printed them. I know that they claim it is in support of a free press, but wonder if it might have been more about getting notice, and in a few cases a cheap shot at the Islamic populations in their area.

In any case, Just because you find something offensive, doesn't mean that it is (or should be) illegal, or should even be controlled. It isn't just Muslims, many people can find offense over just about anything. Don't buy the painting, watch the show, or attend the event, but please;

Just get over it.


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2 comments:

Deacon Tim said...

Weird, isn't it, this Muslim pre-occupation with blasphemy? At least until you realize that it is sign of how weak the control of the mullahs over people really is. Why else would they have the need to constantly whip people up into a frenzy? Modernization and secularization are eroding the power of pre-enlightenment religion everywhere. The rocking and rolling of Islam is only a cover for the tectonic shifts below the surface.

They will get over it, and when they do Islam will either join the modern world or fade like the religions of the ancient pagan world.

Anonymous said...

Well, in all fairness, it isn't just Moslems who are paranoid about blasphemy. Remember John Lennon's remark that Beatles was more popular than Jesus Christ, nearly 40 years ago? And remember what happened afterwards: hundreds of radio stations stopped playing Beatles records, not to mention the publicised bonfires of Beatles records and paraphernelia.

More recently there was this other outrage in Austria and so on.

Granted, Moslems look more threatening and mean when they protest, but their feelings are just those of any other deeply religious group whose beliefs have been challenged/offended. I wonder how many Christians would go up in arms if someone claimed Christ was illegitimate and Mary was screwing around or something like that. Looking at it purely scientifically, how could anyone be a virgin and carry a child? It's obvious nonsense scientifically. But most people, including myself even though I'm an atheist, respect Jesus because he was, if historical accounts are accurate, trying to promote love and understanding among people and died a painful death for having tried to do that.
Who cares how he was born.

Religion is not rational. It cannot be. If it were, it wouldn't be religion but science. Yet people have a need to believe in imaginary things to feel dignified and special. We're all sort of like kids who believe, and/or want to believe in Santa. It hurts to find out the truth, and in the case of the cartoons, what is depicted is not the truth but just a cheap shot to humiliate Moslems-- and get the name of a second rate newspaper all the way up there among icons of free speech. Cheap trick, but works like a charm every time. Remember Salman Rushdie? Too bad Moslems are the unwitting accomplices of this game, thanks to the knee-jerk reaction they give to every amateur con artist.