Comments Posted By CBDenver
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IN THE END, IT'S ABOUT EMPATHY
A Danish newspaper prints cartoons depicting Mohammed in a negative light and Muslims urge the boycott of all Danish goods. An American television network creates a sitcom depicting Christians in a negative light and Christians urge a boycott of the show and its sponsors. Is there any difference between the two incidents?
I think there are significant differences. The Christians launched a targeted protest against those whom they felt directly responsible for the offensive program. They did not urge a boycott of the entire television network, the entire entertainment industry, or the United States as a whole. On the other hand, the Muslims have urged a boycott against the entire country of Denmark to protest the actions of one newspaper that chose to print cartoons they considered offensive.
The reaction of the Muslims is far out of proportion to the original act. I believe this disproportionate response is the essence of terrorism. The goal is to get the Danes to turn on each other. By punishing the innocent who had nothing to do with the cartoons along with the guilty, the great mass of people is taught a lesson. The lesson is that they should rigorously suppress the speech and actions of their fellow citizens. Similarly, the publishers of the cartoons learn a lesson as well – they should impose self-censorship lest their actions cause harm to innocent third parties.
Recently I watched a movie about a Nazi concentration camp. Some prisoners successfully escaped. The guards rounded up the remaining prisoners and randomly shot 30 or so. The lesson? (1) Don’t try to escape or others will be killed as punishment for your act. (2) Don’t let others try to escape or you may pay for their actions with your life. How different is this from the Muslim response to punish all of Denmark for the actions of a few?
Comment Posted By CBDenver On 5.02.2006 @ 20:43
