you cant blam islam for that though bcause the koran itself says that they cant do that type of shit..which means the people doing it are not muslims there just terrorist.
Man, the fact that some of them are willing to come over seas and blow you, them and half the street you're on to shit should be enough to think twice about publicly insulting a group of people like that, especially on something so simple. I don't even see the humour in a depiction of Mohamed other then it pisses off 1/6th of the worlds population(I'm sure some Muslims see humour in it though). Then you whine and cry when they try to blow you up, when you know full well what they're going to do, or make an attempt at at least. You guys are throwing the cause out there, they're just giving you the effect. This is only different in that kid probably won't strap a bomb to himself when he goes on his rampage, and he probably won't "vent" in the middle of a busy street. What do you imagine the casualty numbers would have been if that Times Square bomb had have actually worked? And that's just the first of many by the looks of things. It's sad that some people would bring themselves to such acts, but they're still going to do it anyways. How many lives is your chuckle worth, friend?
I'm quite a supporter of Draw Mohammad Day. I don't think it's nice to go out of your way to do something that is insulting or otherwise against the core of someones religion... but fuck, that's THEIR values, not mine. You can't expect me to respect such a ridiculous doctrine, I'm an artist and I've always had the belief that nothing is off limits. Things can be distasteful, rude, obnoxious, offensive and plain shitty, but if you don't like it then no one's making you look at it... I can see why Muslims would be sensitive - the West doesn't very well conceal our cultural war against the East, and Muslims could easily and perhaps justifiably take this as just another assault on their culture. That's why I don't think people should set out to make it offensive - I believe that it should be done respectably enough to give the message that in our culture, artistic expression is a very important right and the personal religious/moral convictions of the individual is something for the religious individual to practise individually. You can't expect society to lay down and go "No, no, you can't do that, people could get offended!", especially when they would laugh to the point of hysterics if one of us went to the Middle East and asked them please not to draw anti-Semitic cartoons because it is morally repugnant to us... Yes, I'm all for being sensitive and not oppressing an already horribly oppressed culture, but not when artistic freedom is at stake.
I find it incredibly disheartening to know that thousands of people are intentionally disrespecting the population of Islam.
That's not free speech, that's semi-free speech. The simple fact is, words are given meaning only because society says they have a particular meaning. Words such as the infamous 'n' word are highly offensive because society says they are. People CHOSE to take offense to these kinds of words. Yes, I realize there is a historical meaning underlying to such racial slurs as the 'n' word. So what. When someone says a word, you can chose to accept it, or you can chose to deny it. Being offended is a choice. And yes, you did prove my point. It's clear you support Draw Mohammed Day, but you don't support individuals using their First Amendment right (the freedom of speech shall not be abridged) to say racially insensitive slang. The double standard is as clear as the sun in the sky.
So, what's your opinion on people using racially insensitive slang, like the 'n word'? Or do words like the 'n word' get in the way of 'nothing being off limits', being rude, distasteful, obnoxious, etc.?
I don't like the idea of racist slurs being thrust about or used in a racially perogative way on TV, but I support the artists right to use such words in music, paintings, sculptures, literature and whatever else. Art is too important to censor, it's a reflection of culture and the human experience. You can't and shouldn't try to police what people express. No one wants to see offensive, unpleasant and racially bigoted art anyhow, especially not members of the race being targeted, and if they do see it and get offended then the artists deserves every bit of retaliation he gets for sharing such an offensive work. We can't walk on eggshells and censor freedom of expression and artistic liberty, lest we slip into foul and murky waters...
Because you just have to be in the room with a TV to be subjected to its evil charms. For instance, when I was a kid we watched a lot of old Disney movies. Rewatching them a few months back, there's a few scenes that stand out. One was in a movie (could of been 'The Aristocats'), it had a scene featuring a whole heap of black 'jazz' crows that were unmistakeably representing black people. It was pretty bad, they were trying to do 'the jive' and generally babbling unintelligebly. It was condescending and patronising, to say the least. Watching Gumby, I remember an old scene where Gumby was getting chased by 'Peskies', which were obvious satires of Indians. They too were depicted as being stupid, bumbling and incompetent, while being vicious and relentless in their bloodthirsty hunt for Gumby. See what I mean? Music, visual arts, literature - these are things that you somewhat LAUNCH yourself into, you make quite a conscious decision to pursue. TV is flitting, cheap entertainment that is mindless enough without dropping crappy racism into it. I can understand and don't mind racist stuff in late night shows or adult shows etc, but beyond that there's no need for it.
What about on the internet. Do you support my right to say a racial slur? Do you support truly free speech, and not semi-free speech?
Sure, say whatever you want, ESPECIALLY on the internet. Being anonymous is one of the last marvels of freedom in the age of information technology
What? You just have to be in the room with an offensive painting or an offensive song. Who's fault is it that your parents let you watch racist tevelvision? It's just like if you went to a rap concert and got offended at fuck and shit and ****** You didn't know what it was and you experienced it. So do some research on it, this is why people developed rating systems. Anything could be offensive to anyone. Once you make one concession, there will be a million more concessions. TV providers set their own standards anyway because they know they will lose viewers, and thus money, if they show material that is offensive.
The thing that scares me about Islam is how they seem unable to accept criticism. Look at all the fun made of all the other religions; how no one bats an eye lid if a fundamentalist Christian was called crazy. Any intelligent human being combats criticism with a rebuttal of equal merit; bringing up points that are valid to the discussion. However it seems that you criticise Islamic beliefs and someone threatens to bomb you. For me it comes down to one thing: let me do what I want, I'll let you do what you want. Just don't hurt anyone or get offended by things that each of chose to do and understand that we have different views on morality and religion.
You're arguing the point without looking at the practicalities of the issue. What reason is there to air racist slurs on television? A drama show depicting gritty inner city racism? Sure! A political interview featuring some racist redneck simpleton denouncing ******s, spics, abos, dykes, fags, the disabled and anyone else who could possibly get offended at his lowly countenance? Sure! Then what? Why is racism so relevant and neccesary that you're arguing in favour of not making any concessions and presumably putting it all over TV? Racism and other offensive things have their place. It's immoral to censor it, but it's plain tasteless to exhibit it all over television when there are more constructive and enriching things (like David Attenborough documentaries) that people can enjoy. ...And you generally walk into an art gallery to see a racist painting. The radio will generally be playing if you should accidentally hear a racist song... well, turn it off, same as if you saw racism on the TV and you didn't like it. That's really about it, I agree with you that freedom of artistic expression is more important and sacred than political correctness. That doesn't mean it's sensible, tasteful or even artistically viable to show/make offensive artworks and things, it just means you CAN do this - not that you must or you should.
no. The Koran gives it's followers every right to terrorize non believers. It says in the arabic lanugage, "terrorize them".
Well I joined the group on FB. As far as I'm concerned, free speech is an inalienable right for all human beings, and any religion that claims intolerance on the issue, is being extremely hypocritical (all religions do this).
I think the particular group of Muslims that seriously considers killing/maiming/hurting people over a drawing of Muhammad are childish and immature, but going out of your way to draw Muhammad just to piss people off is childish and immature too. There's nothing wrong with drawing him, but "Everybody draw Muhammad day" just seems like a ploy to rile people up. Why doesn't anybody draw Muhammad on other days? Most of them are fucking sheep who only do it cause there's thousands of other people doing it. Try painting Muhammad on a mosque with spray cans, then you have some balls.
The point of Draw Muhammed day (a great initiative btw) is twofold. first, it is a clear message to overly sensitive muslims, that no, you can't dictate what we here in the west can or can not say, do, opinionate on, make movies and shows of or for that matter, draw. The second is to demonstrate that they, the overly sensitive muslims, can't intimidate us into silence. When we are many enough, their threats won't work. When thousands if not millions draw muhammed, then it eases the pressure and threats against all who draw muhammed. People like Westergaard, the danish cartoonist who was almost killed when islamists axed their way into his house last Xmas, or Lars Vilks, the swedish cartoonist who recently got assaulted in front of an academic audience when doing a presentation on freedom of speech and the limits of art in totalitarian regimes. Two days later two muslims tried to set his house on fire. The Lars Vilks attack, caught on tape: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyExaO4jzD0]YouTube - Lars Vilks Attacked - FULL CLIP Latest Muslim Muhammad Cartoon Violence Shocking![/ame]