Questioning the motives of cartoon publishers

[Sasaki Kojiro]

As very few have actually noticed, the whole affair started with a writer of children's books named Bluitgen. A socialist writer of children's books who lives in the middle of Copenhagen among a majority Muslim population and who, out of multicultural solidarity, sends his children to a local school with predominantly Muslim children. Last year Bluitgen began looking for an artist who would illustrate his new book, a 'life of Mohammed as told to children'.

As it happened, the first three illustrators turned down his request because they were afraid to be killed like Theo van Gogh. Bluitgen publicly complained about this, and that is why the editor in chief of Jyllands Posten set out on his quest to find illustrators willing to take the risk.

That is what this is all about. It is about artists afraid of being killed by some crazed Muslim over a drawing in a children's book. That is how low we have been brought by the idiot section of the Prophet's followers. It is very easy and cheap, and also very unjust, to try and reduce this issue to a deliberate right-wing provocation.

This is a matter of principle, and like all matters of principle it presents itself under a most unpalatable aspect and we are forced to chose between options and rivals none of which appear particularly appealing. But we have to.

Oooh, I didn't know that. Thanks for the information. This is a tricky topic.

Edit: Actually, I'd like to know where you got that. Were the 3 illustrators who turned him down afraid or did they think it offensive? Doesn't the fact that 12 artists were willing to draw the cartoons negate the "artists being too afraid of being killed" bit?

Now that they've been printed it has become a matter of freedom of speech. I'm not convinced they should have been printed in the first place though.

[solypsist]

on a so-so similar issue (ie. didnt want to start a new thread)

Ted Rall is a cartoonist. He was invited to be interviewd on Fox tv show. video here.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Oooh, I didn't know that. Thanks for the information. This is a tricky topic.

Edit: Actually, I'd like to know where you got that. Were the 3 illustrators who turned him down afraid or did they think it offensive? Doesn't the fact that 12 artists were willing to draw the cartoons negate the "artists being too afraid of being killed" bit?

Now that they've been printed it has become a matter of freedom of speech. I'm not convinced they should have been printed in the first place though.

I've read about the book illustration too, and the artists declined out of fear. The cartoonists are now in hiding and in fear for their lives.

The cartoons needed to be printed. It is essential that it is shown that the western world is not afraid. Silence, self-imposed through fear, is no different than the end of freedom of speech.

Crazed Rabbit

[Adrian II]

I've read about the book illustration too, and the artists declined out of fear. The cartoonists are now in hiding and in fear for their lives.

The cartoons needed to be printed. It is essential that it is shown that the western world is not afraid. Silence, self-imposed through fear, is no different than the end of freedom of speech.

Crazed Rabbit

Aarrr! Well said, brother Rabbit! Three cheers and a barrel 'o' rum for that man!

Meanwhile 'ere's a shanty for ye:

Then beating up their colors,
The fight they did renew;
And turning to the Spaniards,
A thousand more they slew

[AntiochusIII]

Now, I can't help but comment on this. The world (at least around the .org) has certainly gone wrong with this event escalating. We see people like AdrianII "outraged" (for lack of better terms I could think of) at the Muslim outrage and agreeing with Crazed Rabbit and others and Redleg defending the outrage on a fundamental basis, agreeing with, for example, Paul Peru's viewpoint--of course, he's not advocating the violence itself. What's more, the European newspapers reprint the cartoons to, depending on your viewpoint, me being the former, stand up for Freedom of Speech or fanning the flames (or both?) and administrations like our gung-ho White House mumbling about how offensive that is.

And so on and so forth...

What's best, everyone's fundamental beliefs don't seem to really be affected at all, save for the part that deals directly with the practical applications of the real world view of Islam.