The Dragon's Eye View: Draw Mohammed Day
May. 20th, 2010 09:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
athelind"Draw Mohammad Day" offends me, despite the fact that I read Gods Playing Poker, which depicts Mohammad in every single strip.
GPP is irreverent and snarky, but it isn't in the least mean-spirited, and this "crusade" most certainly is.
(Of course, it's in "defense" of one of the most mean-spirited shows in U.S. television history, so yeah.)
This little stunt offends me because it's not just aimed at the Fundamentalists; this is a deliberate slap at moderate and progressive Muslims, as well (not that many of the Draw Mohammed Day crowd actually bother to acknowledge that there's a difference). It's a wide-sweeping smackdown of an entire group, and it's saying the same damned thing that the real offenders keep saying: "all of them hate all of us."
Gods damn it, people. how hard is it to grasp? If you're really opposed to an ideology, don't let its adherents frame the argument.
I'm not saying "don't do this". I'm not saying "it shouldn't be allowed". I am saying that we need to examine the motives and sincerity behind it. So much of the output is a tedious repetition of hackneyed Prophet-As-Terrorist memes that it's hard to see it as a statement of "artistic freedom".
If this were really about "free speech", we'd be following it with "Draw Christ Getting Raped In The Nail-Holes Day".
Wow. I think that's the most Regrettably Appropriate use of the word "crusade" I've invoked in a long time.
GPP is irreverent and snarky, but it isn't in the least mean-spirited, and this "crusade" most certainly is.
(Of course, it's in "defense" of one of the most mean-spirited shows in U.S. television history, so yeah.)
This little stunt offends me because it's not just aimed at the Fundamentalists; this is a deliberate slap at moderate and progressive Muslims, as well (not that many of the Draw Mohammed Day crowd actually bother to acknowledge that there's a difference). It's a wide-sweeping smackdown of an entire group, and it's saying the same damned thing that the real offenders keep saying: "all of them hate all of us."
Gods damn it, people. how hard is it to grasp? If you're really opposed to an ideology, don't let its adherents frame the argument.
I'm not saying "don't do this". I'm not saying "it shouldn't be allowed". I am saying that we need to examine the motives and sincerity behind it. So much of the output is a tedious repetition of hackneyed Prophet-As-Terrorist memes that it's hard to see it as a statement of "artistic freedom".
If this were really about "free speech", we'd be following it with "Draw Christ Getting Raped In The Nail-Holes Day".
Wow. I think that's the most Regrettably Appropriate use of the word "crusade" I've invoked in a long time.
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no subject
Date: 2010-05-21 03:28 pm (UTC)I did not at any point say that it shouldn't be allowed.
I'm saying it's RUDE. And I'm saying that, whatever the original motives, a lot of the people are participating not out of any Brave Devotion To Principle, but because it's a way to be an asshole to an out-group while claiming high motives.
And I'm not going to be cowed into suppressing my protest just because of peer pressure from the cool kids.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-21 05:55 pm (UTC)Also, it's not even in the Qur'an. It's in their equivalent to dogma.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-21 06:10 pm (UTC)A deliberate act of trolling caused the targets of the trolls to react in an entirely predictable manner.
This, of course, justifies the trolling.
It's obvious, once you point it out.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-21 07:59 pm (UTC)I hardly *KNEW* about this day until my IRANIAN coworkers brought it up because they thought it was HYSTERICAL. I've seen two people on my LJ list draw him and they were decent, non-hostile, non-'troll' pictures of him.
Meanwhile I've seen about 20 LJ entries like this one waggling fingers over offending people who as far as I can tell haven't been offended.