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rhuSome thoughts on the upcoming "Everybody Draw Mohammed" Day.
At first, it sounds like a fun bit of protest. "After all, it's just a picture, right? And if they're going to be so ridiculous as to be offended by a picture, even if the depiction itself is respectful, then...."
But the mode of what's offensive isn't really the point here. The point is that we've been told that something is offensive in another culture, and so many people have decided to do that specific thing.[1]
Since the origin of this can be reflected in the Danish political cartoons and in South Park, let's do a thought experiment. Remember Feb. 2009, when Sean Delonas penned the now-infamous political cartoon in the New York Post, depicting the chimpanzee who was shot in Connecticut and tying it to President Obama? Americans of all stripes were outraged.
Now imagine if someone had started "Everybody Draw Obama as a Dead Chimpanzee Day."[2] They would have been entirely within their constitutional rights, I suppose, but most if not all of us would have been deeply offended by this, and rightly so. That would have been the intent: to offend us, to dismiss our worldview as unworthy of respect, as utterly contemptible.
That's the message of "Everybody Draw Mohammed" Day. If that's the message that you intend to send, that Islam is contemptible and you want to offend its adherents, that's certainly your right. But don't act surprised when people take you up on that, and get offended.
And don't be self-righteous about it. Your goal is to offend, and you can't get off by claiming the other person shouldn't have been offended.[3]
And of course there are consequences. First and foremost, it diminishes the person who has intentionally given offense.
At a broad level, it makes the class against whom the offense was committed look less favorably on the group doing the offending. When I'm offended by something in the media, I stop reading that publication, which has financial consequences for their circulation rates. In this case, it will make it harder for our communities to work with Moslems, both in our communities and abroad, on areas of common goals.
And in a small but important number of cases, it can push individuals into a murderous rage. This is not specific to Islam by any means. Look at the origins of gang violence; read "Romeo and Juliet"; think about why Cain killed Abel. When people feel not only wronged but fundamentally disrespected, some of them decide that only blood will suffice.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying "Don't do it just because someone might get killed." Never give in to terrorists. But if and when the chickens come home to roost, understand why. Don't turn around and claim that it had nothing to do with you. Don't say "If Israel would give up Gaza, Moslems will stop trying to kill us" because it just ain't so -- the psychopaths are targeting us for much more than the question of who controls the land between the Jordan and the sea. That's not a justification, just a strategic fact.
If you choose to intentionally offend millions of people, go ahead; but don't do it as a lark. Be mature about it and weigh your actions.
And I hope you'll choose to take the high road. Not out of fear, but out of self-respect.
-
Notes
[1] - Interestingly, there seems to be significant overlap between people who plan to participate and those who insist on understanding and respecting the differences among peoples.
[2] - Or "Confederate History Month"
[3] - How many times have you yourself cringed when an athlete, TV star, or politician starts off with "I'm sorry if anyone was offended by my calling so-and-so a ____."?
At first, it sounds like a fun bit of protest. "After all, it's just a picture, right? And if they're going to be so ridiculous as to be offended by a picture, even if the depiction itself is respectful, then...."
But the mode of what's offensive isn't really the point here. The point is that we've been told that something is offensive in another culture, and so many people have decided to do that specific thing.[1]
Since the origin of this can be reflected in the Danish political cartoons and in South Park, let's do a thought experiment. Remember Feb. 2009, when Sean Delonas penned the now-infamous political cartoon in the New York Post, depicting the chimpanzee who was shot in Connecticut and tying it to President Obama? Americans of all stripes were outraged.
Now imagine if someone had started "Everybody Draw Obama as a Dead Chimpanzee Day."[2] They would have been entirely within their constitutional rights, I suppose, but most if not all of us would have been deeply offended by this, and rightly so. That would have been the intent: to offend us, to dismiss our worldview as unworthy of respect, as utterly contemptible.
That's the message of "Everybody Draw Mohammed" Day. If that's the message that you intend to send, that Islam is contemptible and you want to offend its adherents, that's certainly your right. But don't act surprised when people take you up on that, and get offended.
And don't be self-righteous about it. Your goal is to offend, and you can't get off by claiming the other person shouldn't have been offended.[3]
And of course there are consequences. First and foremost, it diminishes the person who has intentionally given offense.
At a broad level, it makes the class against whom the offense was committed look less favorably on the group doing the offending. When I'm offended by something in the media, I stop reading that publication, which has financial consequences for their circulation rates. In this case, it will make it harder for our communities to work with Moslems, both in our communities and abroad, on areas of common goals.
And in a small but important number of cases, it can push individuals into a murderous rage. This is not specific to Islam by any means. Look at the origins of gang violence; read "Romeo and Juliet"; think about why Cain killed Abel. When people feel not only wronged but fundamentally disrespected, some of them decide that only blood will suffice.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying "Don't do it just because someone might get killed." Never give in to terrorists. But if and when the chickens come home to roost, understand why. Don't turn around and claim that it had nothing to do with you. Don't say "If Israel would give up Gaza, Moslems will stop trying to kill us" because it just ain't so -- the psychopaths are targeting us for much more than the question of who controls the land between the Jordan and the sea. That's not a justification, just a strategic fact.
If you choose to intentionally offend millions of people, go ahead; but don't do it as a lark. Be mature about it and weigh your actions.
And I hope you'll choose to take the high road. Not out of fear, but out of self-respect.
-
Notes
[1] - Interestingly, there seems to be significant overlap between people who plan to participate and those who insist on understanding and respecting the differences among peoples.
[2] - Or "Confederate History Month"
[3] - How many times have you yourself cringed when an athlete, TV star, or politician starts off with "I'm sorry if anyone was offended by my calling so-and-so a ____."?