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 …

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.

Nair mind, keep those writing/blogging going!

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?!

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.