One of my general policies in life is not to give offense. Yes, yes, Cant provides a certain refreshing loosening of that stricture, but in general I abide by my mom's dictum: "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all." When my neighbor, for instance, tells me that he reads the Washington Times, which is a cult-funded reactionary piece of trash with which I would not deign to wipe my ass after ten bowls of bad chili in a hundred degree port-a-potty devoid of paper, I don't tell him that. I simply nod, and reply "Ah".
Recently there has been a flap in Europe and the Muslim world about a series of cartoons, published first in the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten and subsequently in other European magazines. These pictures, which you can see here, have so offended Muslims around the world that they are not only boycotting Danish products but are burning Danish (and Norwegian) diplomatic buildings and tossing out bomb and death threats as though that were an Olympic Event.
Well. I'd just like to offer my two cents about the whole flap, couched in the most diplomatic language I can muster:
Hey, rioting Muslims:
Fuck you.
Fuck you, fuck your outrage, and fuck the goat-raping afterbirth of a religion you worship. Fuck all of you and your mothers.
Fuck.
You.
Now, when I refer to a "goat-raping afterbirth of a religion" let me be clear; I'm not referring to Islam. Islam is a cultured, civilized religion, whose practitioners were for centuries the beacon of civility and progress in the world, and still today are scholars and men of principle. Islam is a noble religion of thought and of faith and of culture. No, what I am referring to is whatever Islam-based death cult these so-called "Muslims", the rioting ones, are actually practicing. The one that embraces suicide bombing and murder in the name of faith.
I'm a liberal, and as such tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. But now and then something like this pops up to remind me that large swathes of the world's populace are not just stupid but uncivilized. Normally I am merely painfully aware of the stupid - Republican voters in particular. But what this little incident proves is that beneath the stupid there are still millions, if not billions, who are not civilized. And I don't mean that in the elitist, don't-know-which-fork-to-use way. I mean fucking Neanderthals. People who are really only a slight step above beasts, governed by their passions, using their intelligence only as an excuse for their emotion-dictated behavior.
That last also describes Republicans, come to think of it, particularly when the emotion referred to is greed. But Republicans are a lot less likely to murder people.
It's become passe, almost offensive, to speak of the West as being more advanced than the rest of the world. Oh, sure, technologically and economically, perhaps, that part's obvious, but culturally we must now view all cultures as being of equal worth.
And taken as a whole, I would argue that such a claim is impossible to verify. All cultures have positive aspects and all cultures have negative aspects, and few are the people who would change nothing about the culture they live in. Cultures are simply too complex and large and overlapping to be compared one-to-one, and anyone who does compares them wholesale is a demagogue and not to be trusted.
But when it comes down to certain specific cultural aspects, I'll tell you what: Western culture, my culture, beats hell out of most others. And that's never more obvious than when it comes to freedom of speech.
Let me put it this way, in reference to the current fracas:
You're Muslim? Great. It's a venerable yet vibrant religion with many positive qualities and lots to admire and emulate.
You're offended by these cartoons? Sure, that's not a surprise, although I would advise you to write the creators and publishers off as heathen cretins and not worry about the matter further. After all, ultimately they will answer to Allah, won't they?
You're so offended you're going to boycott Danish products? Well, okay, but you're an idiot. Boycott the paper and their advertisers, sure, but most Danes had nothing to do with this and the Danish government doesn't control what Danes can say. If you think the government should restrict what people say, well, fuck you, you obviously don't understand this whole "freedom of speech" thing.
You're so offended you're going to burn down Danish buildings, and threaten and perhaps kill the Danes who did this or even Danish people who had nothing to do with it at all?
Yeah. Go back and see the first part of this screed. When I talk about "goat-raping afterbirth of a religion", it's you I'm talking to. I'll make this real clear: in my culture, there is no excuse for harming or killing people because of what they say. None. Period. And on that topic, my culture is better than yours. Superior. More advanced. Better. Period. Fuck you, and fuck the violent deity you rode in on.
I apologize if you're part of the civilized Muslim world, which is most of it, and were offended by this Cant. To be honest it's the Muslims who have spoken out against the rioting who I admire the most. That takes real courage. Clearly, it's not the religion that is evil. It's the practice of that religion. And there are far, far too many adherents of Islam who subscribe to the murdering, burning, hateful practice. The uncivilized practice.
The evil practice.
- Sun Ra
P.S. And a big "Fuck You" to the administration, too, who came out with the most pusillanimous, cowardly statement about the fracas that I could possibly imagine, short of "Please don't hurt us." Wow. "We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable.... Anti-Muslim images are as unacceptable as anti-Semitic images, as anti-Christian images or any other religious belief."
Just when I think there are a few things that this administration might stand up for. Jesus H. Christ, what a bunch of cowards. "Unacceptable". No. "Offensive" and "unfortunate", perhaps. Certainly "not representative." But "acceptable" is exactly what this sort of cartoon must be.
You assholes.