Cartoon controversy returns to campus
It seems that “The Cartoons that Shook the World” may shake Yale’s campus again.
Both Jytte Klausen, the author of the book about the violence surrounding Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, and Kurt Westergaard, the original author of one of those cartoons, will be on campus Thursday. The events, each organized separately, will occur at different times and different locations.
Westergaard, whose visit to campus has been promoted by the International Free Press Society, will speak in conversation with Branford College Master Steven Smith, though the Master’s Tea will be held...
Hate speech IS free speech.
Considering the last few years' "track record" of muslim extremists, cartoons seem pretty mild.
@ "the lesser COPTER": Tell that to the US constitution.
Funny how none of the Muslim students say anything about the violent reaction TO the cartoons. Guess they should be "comfortable" since anyone who disagrees will simply have his throat slit.
Of course if I draw a fat businessman with a star of David, I am an anti Semite but if I draw the prophet with a bomb in his turban I am a propagator and champion of free speech. What hypocrisy!
Considering the last few years track record of American imperialism, Muslim extremists seem pretty mild.
Gawker sums this one up pretty well:
http://gawker.com/5371060/big-scary-cartoonist-coming-to-scare-yale
Yale's "Lux et Veritas" and the First Amendment are precariously close to being officially sanctioned as secondary to religious sensitivity.
The cartoonist is obviously a huge douchebag. And I wouldn't want him to speak at Yale.
EXCEPT, of course, that I want to stick it to the people who think they can intimidate free speech out of existence by slitting a few throats and bombing a few embassies.
If people could only turn the other cheek.
Insulting any religion is not a good thing and should be avoided.
Other activities that should "be avoided" I assume, are murder and mayhem, terrorism, and threats of nuclear destruction in the name of Allah … or is this "turn the other cheek" business only a rule that applies to our side?
interesting that moderate muslims, like those on our campus, get all upset about a cartoon, yet say NOTHING about muslim terror against men, women, and children
done in the name of Allah in NYC, London, Madrid, Paris (the lynching of the French Jewish boy), Jerusalem, Bali, Mumbai, Kabul, etc. and what about the so-called "honor killings" even in the United States...
methinks- they just want to take over the world and impose sharia and put women in burqas and gays behind bars.
as a non-muslim, i'm pretty sure most moderate muslims are not silent on those issues. and as intelligent people, aren't we supposed to be above this petty bashing, fear mongering.
yes, everyone agrees Islamic terrorism is evil. But how do petty caricatures really make the world a better place? Many of the comments on this board distress me. Issues of this import require thoughtful conversation without resorting to insulting stereotypes and alienating rhetoric.
i am sorry to disagree with BR'11:
NOT everyone (in fact, a plurality of muslims in the west and a vast majority of muslims in dar al-islam) agrees that Islamic terrorism is evil.
until the MAJORITY of Muslims SPEAK out and ACT out against Islamic terror, the entire world will be engulfed with Muslim terrorism.
the leader of that Muslim non-violence/tolerance movement surely would deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.
i am afraid, from my perch now in Europe, that will be a long, long, long time.
“As an institution purportedly committed to making our campus an educational environment where all students feel equally comfortable, we feel that by hosting Kurt Westergaard Yale is undermining its commitment to creating a nurturing learning environment by failing to recognize the religious and racial sensitivity of the issue, the group said.”
Aw, whip out the violins, boys! But I have some advice for these Brainiacs: DON’T ATTEND THE LECTURE! Problem solved!
Of course the reality is, they’re not worried about being “offended.” They’re worried about their fellow students hearing a point of view they don’t like! It is very much about free speech, and about controlling speech they don’t like.
“Certainly, it would be unlikely for a white supremacist or a holocaust denier to be a distinguished guest speaker at Yale; hosting individuals who propagate hate is not only a disservice to the minorities that hate is directed towards but to the campus community as a whole.”
Let’s compare like to like here. Forget “white supremacists.” If Yale wanted to invite a guest to dispute ANY OTHER RELIGION, ranging from some fringe cult to Catholicism, no one would have a problem with it. It’s only Islam that’s off-limits.
As far as Kurt Westergaard, he’s fortunate he doesn’t have to stay in hiding like Salman Rushdie. Certainly the invective being directed towards him by these students and others doesn’t help.
And notice that the Muslims, as usual, are protesting a cartoonist and a writer, NOT the religious intolerance and violence of their own comrades around the world!
I'm sure everyone is quite cognizant by now that the "religion of peace" label is just a big pile of BS PC propaganda worthy of Goebbels.
Funny how events in which Muslims have been "insulted" always require high security. People are afraid of the potential for violence by Muslims, and rightfully so.
Hum. Interesting stuff. I wonder what it's like having to deal with all that.