Muhammad Cartoons
Posted February 4th, 2006 by Chip Bok
Click image to enlarge.
The membership of the Association of American Editorial cartoonists frets about the declining importance of editorial cartoons. After a recent round of cartoonist sackings the AAEC organized a cartoon protest called Black Ink Monday. World-wide rioting failed to materialize
Meanwhile, the Jyllands-Posten, a newspaper in Denmark, commissioned cartoons of Muhammad. World-wide rioting big time.
Investors Business Daily thinks "the controversy has brought to a head the long-anticipated clash of civilizations". IBD, by the way, now employs one of those recently sacked cartoonists, Mike Ramirez, late of the L.A. Times.
Buck up, fellow AAEC members.
February 6th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
Like many "major controversies", this is cartoon thing is multi-faceted, manufactured insanity.
On one hand, I must applaud Bok for standing up for cartoonists. On another hand, Bok's "unrepentant boldness" reminds me of a "troll" on the Internet — people who intentionally spew nonsense in chat rooms, designed to spur a reaction — or prank newsrooms with fake 'live' reports ending in a "Howard Stern" remark. The mainstream media does that too.
Mature adults consider this behavior "immature 'schtick'", not profound cleverness.
On yet ANOTHER hand, American culture FREQUENTLY bashes religious icons. Maybe Muslim's ought to just "get over it". I'm thinking of TV shows including South Park, which frequently depicts "Jesus" wrestling Santa, hosting a talk show, and other silliness.
Yet on ANOTHER hand, three words - "Janet Jackson's breast". MY, what a hypocritical CONTROVERSY that was!! People were SO OFFENDED!! And the media stood up for … er, buckled under, to the 6 offended people.
In further hypocrisy, FBI resources have been redirected from "terrorism" to cracking down on legal adult pornography, and officers acting on behalf of the President arrested Gold Star Mother Sheehan (and other protesters) for wearing a T-shirt they found "offensive".
The main factor that gives "Muslim offense" over nasty *symbolism* slightly MORE relevance is the FACT of government "authority" — a hysterical and truly dangerous psychopath, burning the Constitution daily — inflicting harsh punishment on Arabs for spurious "crimes" mostly based around "offensive words" and meanings (shades of Camus' "Stranger"). That IS serious because real people are harmed for garbage reasons! WE need to GROW UP, TOO!
The War on Terror is a RACKET foisted on Americans and the World. See LINK.
February 10th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
Gary - Women in Afghanistan might not see it that way. Certainly Libia took it quite seriously. How can you be so passively take in the crock thrown at you by the hollywood morons. Read the real news.
February 13th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
Gary,
One point you forgot. When Cindy Sheehan was removed from the gallery for wearing an anti war shirt, another woman was also removed for wearing a pro war shirt. House rules prohibits displaying of political statements by house or gallery members, pro or con any subject matter.
February 15th, 2006 at 12:09 pm
Genius!!!! I love it!
February 23rd, 2006 at 1:50 pm
sss
September 30th, 2006 at 10:35 am
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…i woulda read it but too long..cant u ppl shorten it up a bit..like this…sheesh