Der Hexer*

I never actually said it here, but a few months ago I made a conscious decision to talk less about politics on this site. While there are certainly things that concern me, I feel that I need to focus more on the here and now in my life instead of something happening in Washington, D.C., or Iran, or Israel, or Darfur. These things do worry me, but how can one help fix the world's problems if they can't fix their own?

Even though I made this decision, I still feel the need to comment on a recent issue. Unless you've been under a rock for the past two weeks, you're probably aware of this hullabaloo concerning the political cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed which ran in a Danish national newspaper. If you're aware of that, then you're probably also aware of the global outrage caused by it. People are burning down KFC restaurants in Pakistan for christ's sake!

No, seriously, this is fucked up. We will fight to the death for freedom of speech/press unless it offends someone. That's what it really comes down to here. A Danish editor decided that too much of the media were pussyfooting around the issue of Muslim violence. So he invited political cartoonists to submit artwork with no rules.

In case you aren't aware, portraying the Prophet is forbidden to prevent idolatry. You know how there are people who fanatically have pictures of Christ all over their homes? The point is to avoid that sort of thing from happening within Islam. If you idolize the person, you tend to miss the point of their teachings. So, many Muslims took the cartoons as an insult against their religion. Apparently they're unaware of how much publicly-funded artwork around the world portrays Christ in a negative light.

What gets me is that the Muslims who are burning down Western and Danish businesses and killing people over this are living up to their portrayal in the cartoons. I just don't get why that isn't obvious to people who choose to risk their lives or possible imprisonment burning down Danish embassies.

In Iran, you can no longer buy Danish pastry. Much like the U.S. re-naming French fries when France wouldn't go along with the Afghanistan conflict (or war, whatever), pastry is now referred to as 'The Roses of the Prophet Mohammed'. Seriously.

How often do you read political cartoons? Personally, I read something almost every day, but that's my interest. I know not everyone is like that. But if you're offended, do you burn down buildings and kill people? I guess it just sounds too irrational to me. Undying devotion to your religion is understandable to me - it's a good thing to have faith in something...but this is outta control.

How many Jews flip out over their portrayal in Hollywood and on TV? If the Pope is made fun of in an editorial cartoon in an American newspaper, Catholics don't show up at the newspaper office with Molotov coctails.

I really thought that the politically correct discomfort of the '90s was starting to fade. I guess I was wrong.

*Der Hexer = The Evil Magician