News CommentaryFriday, 3 February 2006 01:25 pm
Two notable quotes about the Islamic cartoons controversy
It seems to me that there are many who disagree with the point that I’m trying to get at in my two previous posts (Scenes from a school yard, and Freedom of Speech works both ways).
I’ve even been ridiculed on my comment in this post.
So I’ll just pick out two quotes that sum up my feelings on this.
From Danish writer reflects on uproar – Europe – International Herald Tribune, Rushy Rashid says:
“I’ll fight in the name of free speech but not without respect for the consequences. Even if this freedom of speech is very broad, it is not unlimited. You have limits where your morals come in.”
And from Annan: Press freedom should respect religion, Kofi Annan says:
” … the freedom of the press should always be exercised in a way that fully respects the religious beliefs and tenets of all religions.”
There. That should be my last post on this topic. I will just agree to disagree with everyone else who believes that the sanctity of freedom of speech is paramount, no matter what the costs are to humanity.
Update 3:41PM
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Q&A: Depicting the Prophet Muhammad
Technorati tags: Freedom of Speech, religion, Islam, Denmark
5 Responses to “Two notable quotes about the Islamic cartoons controversy”
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Sweetie, ignore the idiots. Reading the comments on the other blog gave me a right headache. Who knew that there were so many ignoramuses running around the internet?
I do support freedom of speech – but like you said, freedom of speech also warrants freedom of reactionary expression. Just because you were born with a mouth, it doesn’t mean you have to use it at every opportunity. You were also born with a brain to use to judge when and where to say whatever if you want to say. And whether it’s appropriate to be said at all.
This whole freedom of speech scenario is quite akin to little kids wanting to own a pet. They will whine and whine about how much they want it, how much they’ll love it and take care of it. But at the end of the day, it’s the grown ups who have to end up cleaning up the dog poo.
starry: *sob* thanks!
I don’t know why it’s so hard for ppl to understand “cause and effect” in this scenario.
It’s like they stir up a hornet’s nest and then complain when the hornets sting them. “See, I told you that they would be like this. We were right in stirring them up in the first place.”
Like huh?!
Nadia’s right. Ignore them. I read what they wrote about you. One ear in, one ear out. Though I’m sorry they did that to you.
Nair mind, keep those writing/blogging going!
I find it amusing that people who rely on that old “freedom of speech argument” seem to have just enough brain cells to learn how to spell the phrase but not do much else.
In any case, it is a serious matter. I do think that the root cause of the problem, in the very first place, was an assumption made that different cultures / faiths have identical sensitivities to one’s own. Everything else that followed was reaction after reaction, rational or otherwise.
It’s a mess, for sure, but sometimes we human beings need to learn things the hard way.
kynne: i wasn’t affected by what those ppl said. but I was dissapointed that there are seemingly intelligent ppl who believe that the cartoons can be drawn and published without any consequences, and that any consequences that follow are because the militant Muslims are being militant as per usual. Kinda like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
tigerjoe: exactly. they say the most outrageous things and then act bemused about the reactions or worse, pin the blame on the offended. No one is saying that Islam cannot be criticised but potraying Mohammed to be a terrorist is going far beyond mere criticism.
It’s a god-awful mess (pun intended) alright. This only inflames the situation and does no one any good. The fanatics will feel justified to being fanatic, and moderates may be hardened because of this. And the bigots on the other side then say, “See? Told you this would happen.” And the cycle continues …