[lit-ideas] Re: Muhammed and the Giant Peach
- From: "Veronica Caley" <vcaley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 11:28:53 -0500
Judy:Incidentally "pluralism" has many meanings but
presumably in this context it implies a certain
sensitivity to the possible feelings of others
Yes, this is true. However, about two years ago, I read that scholars of
any religion, including Muslim, must publish their findings re the Koran
anonymously as they fear being murdered. These are people who look at the
Koran, as they have done with the Bible, the Vedas, etc. from the point of
view of history, literature and archeology.
The point of freedom of speech is that someone or some publication can say
something totally offensive to someone or some group. If we all play nice
and say only wonderful things, what's the point of freedom of speech? My
response to the protests I have seen on TV is that the placards all seem to
say something such as one must burn, slay, attack, boycott with what one
disagrees with. The thousands of protesters with these signs make all
Muslims look like extremists. I haven't seen anything like that here, ever.
A year or so ago the City of Detroit prohibited a performance by Eminem.
He sued and won a couple of hundred thousand dollars for the city's
violation of his freedom of expression. The local imam wrote a letter to
the editor of the Detroit Free Press bemoaning that the city can't censor
the obscene performance and that it had to pay for violating someone's
freedom of expression.
The whole world is slipping into fundamentalism of one kind or another.
The victims of this are people of liberal religion or no religion. Where
are their defenders? And where is the outrage in the world about the
virulent anti-Semitism in the Arab world and on Arab television. I
understand there is even one story line about cannibal rabbis consuming
Muslim children. Interesting variation on the traditional Christian one
about Jews needing the blood of Christian children.
I find this whole thing extremely frightening. It seems like our freedoms
are being attacked from all quarters. The wimpy Bush administration is
giving in to this at the same time as they are spying on us.
The Christian right is busily working on doing away with birth control and
women working. The New York Times waits a year and censors itself before
revealing the internal spying.
The boycotts are irrelevant. Most Muslim countries can't keep up boycotts,
as so much of the things they want and need come from elsewhere. Also,
boycotts can back fire. I purchased something recently that was made in
the United Arab Emirates. In this area there are dozens of Middle Eastern
restaurants, grocery stores, etc. I don't know anyone who wants to boycott
them. But perhaps this is on the way, sadly.
Veronica Caley
Milford, MI
> [Original Message]
> From: Judith Evans <judithevans001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 2/4/2006 6:45:03 PM
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Muhammed and the Giant Peach
>
>
> --- Eric Yost <eyost1132@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > Thanks for posting the Canadian article, Andreas.
> > I think Bush is a jerk for trying to appease the
> > outraged Muslims, who clearly don't understand
> > pluralism.
>
> I was involved, briefly, with a row on a different
> list, all-US except for me, re Chris Ofili's use of
> elephant dung on a Madonna. When I explained, in true
> pluralist fashion, who Ofili was and why he painted as
> he did, the list owner -- who'd been trying to placate
> the baying mob -- was really pleased. But the bm were
> not convinced...
>
> Incidentally "pluralism" has many meanings but
> presumably in this context it implies a certain
> sensitivity to the possible feelings of others
>
>
> > This raises another more general problem: the
> > inability of the West to defend itself
> > intellectually and culturally. Be proud, do not
> > apologize. Do we have to go on apologizing for the
> > sins our fathers? Do we still have to apologize,
> > for example, for the British Empire,
>
> I've known many Indians; I've never felt myself called
> upon to apologise for the British Empire nor have they
> commented on my apparently to them memsahibness -- as
> a British person who thinks I sound posh might do and
> as they sometimes do do. The "apology" is more a
> national/institutional phenomenon.
>
> -- but in rural, mountainous Greece, a long time ago,
> I was made to feel unwelcome by some because of the
> betrayal of its Communist partisans after the War.
> (By 3-4 people, out of the many I met there.)
>
>
>
>
> Judy Evans, Cardiff
>
>
>
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