Cartoons as Free Speech
Written 2/7/06:
The other day, I was asked about my views regarding the Danish and French Cartoons that have inflamed the Islamic world, I wasn't as clear as I should have been with my friend so I wrote the note below:
I generally prefer freedom of speech. There should be some limits, such as I don't accept the outing of an undercover agent, or disclosing military plans durring a time of war. Otherwise, I tend to agree with George Soros and the Open Society Institute.
That said, the cartoons were an incredibly stupid act at an incredibly stupid time. The newspapers that published them should be doing a mea culpa on the order of the NY Times with Jason Blair. They fired the low-level responsible parties, but everyone who saw it from the most senior editor on down should be fired, and the publisher should have to explain why this was allowed to continue. (Unless it is the perspective of the News Paper that Muslims and Islam is wrong, in which case the public should stop purchasing from them and advertisers should leave.)
We've seen where Salman Rushdie's book 'The Satanic Verses' got him a Fatwa of Death from the Ayatollah. Iran not exactly an open society. We would all condemn the New York times publishing a cartoon (like Nazi propaganda did) showing fat jewish bankers stealing from children. According to the New York Times: a small but vocal Muslim immigrant organization responded with a drawing on its Web site of Hitler in bed with Anne Frank. 'Write this one in your diary, Anne,' Hitler was shown as saying.
In my view, the real problem is that it was allowed to continue for as long as it did, without being challenged earlier by responsible individuals. Denmark and France have much bigger problems than a cartoon if this truly represents the readership of their respective major daily's.
The other day, I was asked about my views regarding the Danish and French Cartoons that have inflamed the Islamic world, I wasn't as clear as I should have been with my friend so I wrote the note below:
I generally prefer freedom of speech. There should be some limits, such as I don't accept the outing of an undercover agent, or disclosing military plans durring a time of war. Otherwise, I tend to agree with George Soros and the Open Society Institute.
That said, the cartoons were an incredibly stupid act at an incredibly stupid time. The newspapers that published them should be doing a mea culpa on the order of the NY Times with Jason Blair. They fired the low-level responsible parties, but everyone who saw it from the most senior editor on down should be fired, and the publisher should have to explain why this was allowed to continue. (Unless it is the perspective of the News Paper that Muslims and Islam is wrong, in which case the public should stop purchasing from them and advertisers should leave.)
We've seen where Salman Rushdie's book 'The Satanic Verses' got him a Fatwa of Death from the Ayatollah. Iran not exactly an open society. We would all condemn the New York times publishing a cartoon (like Nazi propaganda did) showing fat jewish bankers stealing from children. According to the New York Times: a small but vocal Muslim immigrant organization responded with a drawing on its Web site of Hitler in bed with Anne Frank. 'Write this one in your diary, Anne,' Hitler was shown as saying.
In my view, the real problem is that it was allowed to continue for as long as it did, without being challenged earlier by responsible individuals. Denmark and France have much bigger problems than a cartoon if this truly represents the readership of their respective major daily's.
posted by Les at
4:55 PM
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