Cartoon Protests

[Enit]

What are your thoughts on the recent explosion of protests against the Danish Cartoons?

BD SP
~Enit

[Buttercup]

I don't know anything about that...can you provide a link that gives a little background info or a personal opinion?

[Barry]

I don't know anything about that either. I stopped watching cartoons when I turned 30.

The only time that I do see them is when I
go to a neighbor's house and see their kids watching them.


Your friendly Dragon…

— Dwaggie "Barry" Mazaanakolas

[aric]

From what I gather, a Danish newspaper published a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammed. Apparently, local muslim clerics in that country fabricated some pictures of their own, making the alleged depiction worse than it actually was. And apparently, depicting muhammed (or anything else in nature) is bad. So, you have all the protests.

I personally don't mind protests, but when it devolves into riots, then those people with an issue with a simple drawing really have a problem. Is it really necessary to burn down embassies and threaten foreigners just because of religious sensibilities?

Utter insanity. The violent protestors simply need to be less reactionary and fanatical.

At least, that's what I gathered from it. If anyone can post a good article summing up the situation, that would be great.

I'll try to look for one myself and post it up if I can.

- Aric

[Buttercup]

Ah, thanks Aric, I do seem to remember hearing a tiny scrap of something about that now that I think about it. Based on the brief description that you gave, it would seem that there are two major problems,

1) Some people have too much time on there hands when all they do with it is blow things out of proportion (if I am correct in assuming that they did it deliberately.)

2) Too many people misunderstand things and forget that they need to be more tolerant towards ignorance. Not everybody knew that it was against their beliefs to depict Muhammad ( I didn't) and so now they start to jump down peoples throat for it? I don't think that is how it is supposed to work but that is just me.

[Vorchia]

What, this didn't reach the US untill now???!!!
Its been one of the major headlines in the media for a while as well as a subject of much debate and some worry over here.

[Enit]

I read the BBC, and CNN websites everyday, supplemented by some Fox News on TV, and once a week I read The Week magazine... And when I'm horribly bored, (everyday), I read The Economist, The Journal of Foriegn Affairs, and Ananova an online British News Soruce... And I did notice that American news has given limited coverage on the Cartoon protests, which have been going on throughout the world for nearly a month now...

When I find something that sums up the entire episode I'll post it...

BD SP
~Enit

[aric]

buttercup said:

2) Too many people misunderstand things and forget that they need to be more tolerant towards ignorance. Not everybody knew that it was against their beliefs to depict Muhammad ( I didn't) and so now they start to jump down peoples throat for it? I don't think that is how it is supposed to work but that is just me.

Meh. I don't think they care that the Danes were or were not ignorant of muslim beliefs. The primary sense I get from the protestors are that their religious sensibilities were offended. The Danes, and by extension the West, offended them. And they think it's cause to burn embassies and put out million-dollar bounties on the cartoonists.

It's classic extremism in some of its most violent forms.

vorchia said:

What, this didn't reach the US untill now???!!!
Its been one of the major headlines in the media for a while as well as a subject of much debate and some worry over here.

No, it's been off and on the news almost since it first began. It's just not a big surprise. We've been dealing with the "Death to America, death to the Great Satan" bit for decades now. We already had our own embassy crisis back in Iran 1979.

- Aric

[Buttercup]

aric said:

And they think it's cause to burn embassies and put out million-dollar bounties on the cartoonists.

It's classic extremism in some of its most violent forms.

Why is it that when the majority rules, however temporarily, they are usually acting pretty stupid?

[Azonthus]

*rolls eyes* Stupid people just like to find reasons to riot. Those cartoons were published last September for crying out loud! According to Thereisnosaurus, athiests have started rioting because a blank piece of paper was found on a Danish cartoonists desk.

[Vorchia]

admin said:

According to Thereisnosaurus, athiests have started rioting because a blank piece of paper was found on a Danish cartoonists desk.

Ok that was the most ...random... reaction I've heard to the matter so far...

[Buttercup]

admin said:

According to Thereisnosaurus, athiests have started rioting because a blank piece of paper was found on a Danish cartoonists desk.

ROTFL

I'm sorry, but that is just so out there that I think it is hilarious.

On second thought, maybe it is just really sad that people can actually think of that as a valid excuse to possibly cause damage...you mention rioting, and there is no such thing as a safe riot.

So on second thought, it is really sad that some people feel that they have to go to such extremes over something such as that just to jump on the bandwagon for attention.

[Barry]

It's 'cus people like that don't understand. They're just lost.

[aric]

vorchia said:

admin said:

According to Thereisnosaurus, athiests have started rioting because a blank piece of paper was found on a Danish cartoonists desk.

Ok that was the most ...random... reaction I've heard to the matter so far...

I think she's trying to say that since atheists don't believe in anything (not strictly true, but such nitpicking is not relevant with generalizations) they're getting worked up over nothing on paper. It's a joke on how Muslims (Mohammedians) are getting worked up over a cartoon of Mohammed.

- Aric

EDIT -

buttercup said:

On second thought, maybe it is just really sad that people can actually think of that as a valid excuse to possibly cause damage...you mention rioting, and there is no such thing as a safe riot.

So on second thought, it is really sad that some people feel that they have to go to such extremes over something such as that just to jump on the bandwagon for attention.

Well, since most of them don't live in democracies, they probably haven't learned yet to express their differences more civilly. That's not to say being in a democracy necessarily makes you more nice, but when you have outlets where you can affect change (something a lot of Muslims don't have in their countries), then you're more likely to take legal and normal actions rather than resort to violence because that's generally what you're taught by liberal democratic societies. A lot of muslims still live in tribalistic societies where vengeance and retribution still make up a HUGE part of their culture.

As it is, a big chunk of this has to do with their religious fanaticism as well. When you believe that something is absolutely right and ordained by God (like never depicting Mohammed in any way) then you're going to get really angry. Remember, the folks rioting don't think they're hooligans. They think they're right. Contrary to what Azonthus' joke cracked at, if all those muslims were to suddenly turn atheist, the riots and rage would pretty much stop instantaneously. It's precisely because they're overly religious, mixed in with that cultural tribalism, that they're acting like this.

EDIT 2 -

buttercup said:

aric said:

And they think it's cause to burn embassies and put out million-dollar bounties on the cartoonists.

It's classic extremism in some of its most violent forms.

Why is it that when the majority rules, however temporarily, they are usually acting pretty stupid?

Huh? I don't understand what majority you're talking about.