Those pesky cartoons...

[logansrogue]

I'd been thinking about those Danish Cartoons this morning. I'm very divided about it, it's very strange. I wanted to comment on it cause it was causing such a fuss and, as an artist and a peace-loving person, I didn't want to ignore it.

The artist in me, the idealistic 'creator type' that studied the nitty gritty of fine art and explored the big questions in art school (What IS art? What ISN'T?!) thinks that this Danish cartoonist should be allowed to draw what he bloody well likes. I didn't get most of the cartoons, and there was only one that actually got a chortle out of me (the no more virgins one, I couldn't help it). I didn't think it was very accurate or clever to make cartoons like that about an entire people, but hey - his paper, his pen, his money. His conscience.

The stronger part of me, the rest of me, is truly sad that some people have been hurt by this. When reading the words of someone who deeply loves their prophet, someone who is reasonable and peaceful, it's clear that they're deeply hurt by the cartoons. And anyone that knows me knows I hate deeply offending or hurting anyone.

The answer to all this is beyond me. The artist apologised. Many people are angry and hurt. Some are even using the backlash as an excuse to throw even more shit on Muslims, to which I wonder - when will people stop throwing their fellow human beings in carefully labelled boxes? Yeesh.

Well, at least this proves one thing: Art CAN be powerful.

Comments

[sakurakiss.livejournal.com]

I think that there is one thing to be serious about how an individual themselves behave with their religion, but in order to be an Islam in this day and age, you'd have to have a thick skin and a sense of humor to survive. Kinda like the Jews and all the cheapscate jokes and WW2 blaming and stuff.

Yes, the artist should have been more socially aware of the reprocussions of what he was doing, but he should also have the freedom to say, or draw, what was on his mind. People really just take EVERYTHING to seriously. I'm Cristian, but I don't threaten to kill someone for making a Christian joke. Hell, most of the time I laugh I laugh at them, too! XDD

And now I am off my opinion box! ^.^

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

I agree with you completely. Yet, expecting people to share ones sense of humour is like expecting them to believe the same things as one does. They simply *don't* find it funny, so they're gonna be offended, no matter how much levity was intended. It's like - sure, I have the freedom to laugh at someone and say, "Hah, you're a fucktard." But SHOULD I do that, if I know they're not going to like it?

The difference between you and some of the people that are offended is that you come from very different cultures. Not all cultures share the same ways of thinking or behaving. To expect them to be like us is arrogant, yet they're being just as arrogant in saying that we can't publish things like this. Aah, it's a shit-messy situation.

[sakurakiss.livejournal.com]

It really is. I think EVERYONE needs to lighten up. We all have stuff we got insulted over, even me. I find c*** derogatory as Hell, and I'd make anyone who ever used that word referring to me pay big time. I guess that's kinda what the Muslims are feeling right now.

EVERYONE needs to just lighten up, even me with the c*** thing! We need a world block party thing one day with hula dancers and karaoke.

[starfyre01.livejournal.com]

I agree with the everyone needs to lighten up. We're all so tightly wound up these days that it's ridiculous. Religion, however, is always going to be a touchy subject, unfortunately. There's no way getting around that one. It's all a big mess and there really is no easy solution to fix this messy problem.

Little Joe! Much love for your icon :-D

[sakurakiss.livejournal.com]

XDD You are like the first person to know Little Joe on LJ! ^.^ <3<3<3<3

[starfyre01.livejournal.com]

LOL! It might be my age (36) that's the dead giveaway, though I was still a bun in da oven when Woodstock happened & man walked on the moon. Much much love for Little Joe *nods*. We used to watch Bonanza when we were little kids :-D Michael Landon was hot back then...

[sakurakiss.livejournal.com]

My mom got me into it about six months ago. I'm only 20, so I guess that's why my age group really doesn't appreciate such things. My mom and I watch the Bonanza marathon every Saturday on TV Land together. She likes Adam so there are many an argument over who's the sexier brother! =^.^=

[shadzane.livejournal.com]

Now, this story is just starting to surface in the USA so maybe I'm not as up on it as I should be, but I thought the Muslims who are mad about this are mad because someone (several someones actually) drew and published a picture of Mohammad, not because the cartoons are insulting or offensive. They aren't hurt because their prophet has been defamed, they are angry because no one is supposed to draw the guy.

Or am I misunderstanding?

[jakie-em.livejournal.com]

heres more on it http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18046853-2,00.html

[shadzane.livejournal.com]

Thanks. That's a good overview.

[jakie-em.livejournal.com]

occassionally news.com.au is good or something

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I barely get it myself.

[starfyre01.livejournal.com]

shadzane's got it right. They're angry about Mohammad being drawn (bomb for a turban = bad idea/bad taste!). God/Allah is not supposed to be drawn in human form, as it smacks of idolatry and it got extended to Mohammad as well. That's taking "You shall not worship false images of me" (paraphrasing that) a little far, but different strokes for different folks and all that, as they say.

I did like the virgins comic, though. That was funny!

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I felt bad for laughing but it just cracked me up!

[shantari.livejournal.com]

You know what bothers me about this situation? One cartoonist in one newspaper in one country drew this. But the shit is going to land all over Scandinavia! It wasn't a Norwegain paper, nor a Swedish, but we get pulled in anyway. (Sweden less than the others, beause we've got such a good name.)

The truth is though that all religions get a smackdown every now and then. For the Muslims it's just more difficult because for the whole start of the millenium, they've gotten more than their fair share.

The news editor apologised for hurting the people, but not for printing it. Because it is his right to print whatever, thanks to the freedom of press. And I support that. And being that it was this individual newspaper that printed it, their suffering should be that they lose a huge part of their demography in readers, of Muslims and other Islamic supporters. I don't see the need to pull entire countries into it. (To be honest I laughed when I saw that they were burning Norwegian flags. I just supposed that they had difficulty seeing the difference between them. Now that I know why Norwegian flags were burned too... -_-')

(To be honest, that link of yours was the first time I finally got to see these pics. Man, where they boring! If you're gonna insult someone, at least be funny when you do it. Yeesh.)

Ohh, and did you read the comments on the link? The second one is rather interesting.