[04/16/2012] - I feel like I've learned a lot since I wrote this, and it now no longer 100% represents my views on the subject;
they aren't enraged because we burned some books.
Funny story; my internet died about an hour after I posted last time.
I really am starting to hate Charter Communications with the type of passionate dislike that I usually reserve for classmates who, upon buying hot chocolate, proclaim that it tastes, "Too much like coffee."
Anyways....
I guess what I was trying to say before is that burning the Koran = bad
Threating to kill people over burning the Koran = Worse
I hate to boil it down to a doltish formula like that, but over the last week I realized that I really don't care. I much prefer drawing the Prophet; rather than destroying something Islamic you are creating an image so as to express yourself. And when I see how upset the global Islamic community becomes over petty insults I honestly believe that the only reasonable response is to continue the petty insults in the most benign way possible.
The fact that Molly Norris has had to go into hiding is an absolute travesty. I don't care that most Muslims are great people. I don't care that they will be insulted too. And it doesn't make sense to say that we should all treat Muslims with respect rather than insult them. Until the Islamic faith and community can be freely mocked or critiqued without fear of death it is impossible to truly communicate with them in a respectful way. Politeness at the point of a gun is a survival mechanism, not respectful dialog.
So I say that drawing the Prophet Muhammad is a good thing. It's a peaceful way of saying, "Welcome to the civilized world. You will be mocked. You will be insulted. And until you learn to deal with it in a civilized way nobody will have any respect for you at all."
Nobody should be exempt from that either. Freedom of speech is not a promise not to be insulted.
More importantly Halo: Reach is a quality product that I readily endorse :D
I'm going to go play it now.
