I've read all of those already. Again, I know that most moderate Muslims do not blow people up, and there are plenty who stand up against terrorism. But the numbers are still scary. The site I'm linking to here is biased [EDIT: See next post], but they link to a number of studies from much more reputable sites. The fact is, "moderate" Islam is not quite the same as moderate anything else. There are a lot of people who think we should die, even thought they aren't going to strap on the bomb vest themselves.
[Another edit: I will restate again, I know that most moderate Muslims do not support terror, as your articles show. But look at the polls shown in the link I have below and tell me that I'm wrong here. You have a few good examples of Muslims who oppose terror. I have dozens of links showing that far too many do not oppose it.]
A cartoon didn't kill them. A lot of people died because some crazy pissed off terrorists intentionally killed them to make a statement. Their statement was, " If you intentionally insult our god and the people of Islam just to stick your middled finger at us you deserve to die and it will honor our god if we do kill you." Choosing to offend extremist Muslims is a choice we all are allowed to make in a free society. I also have the right to stick my hand in the mouth of a lion at the zoo if I want to or hand feed great white sharks in open water if I want. Does that mean I side with the terrorists? Hell no, it just means I think 99% of the world is crazy and I am trying to survive in this world long enough to grow old. Intentionally insulting billions of other people just because you don't agree with their religion is childish and dangerous, especially if you are expressing your insults in media for everyone to see.
I didn't say the CARTOON killed them. Obviously, the extremists who can't bear being offended by a cartoon were the ones responsible. In this sentence: "I also have the right to stick my hand in the mouth of a lion at the zoo if I want to or hand feed great white sharks in open water if I want" you are doing what we call "blaming the victim." Also, you are making a ridiculous comparison, and saying that people in a free society should bow down and kiss the boots of the extremists just so they don't get upset. Fuck that. I'm sorry, you are completely wrong on this, and I think your point of view is dangerous if we actually value free speech.
I agree that most Christians think of the Old Testament as more of a group of stories than the truth. I guess if you take it as gospel there is a lot of kill them all stuff in there as well as in the Koran. So you are saying we are more civilized because we have filtered our bible and chose to follow the parts we agree with and ignore the parts we don't? Not all Muslims take the kill them all stuff to heart, just the real pissed off ones looking for a spiritual reason for revenge.
Regarding the bolded part, yes, I am exactly saying that. Even better would be if we stopped basing our morals on ancient dogma and behaved like actual civilized, modern people. That goes for Christians who won't make a cake for gay men as well as it does for Muslims who want to blow up gay men. OF COURSE not all Muslims take the genocide to heart, as I have repeatedly said in this thread. In fact, I'm sick of saying it. But reality is that we would be better off without religion, because aside from food drives, it mostly leads to bad things.
Yes there would be cartoons without terrorists. So, you are saying if we don't agree with their religion or their beliefs we should offend them? No Nodack, I am saying we should offend the crazies, not the lukewarm moderates. How do you do that? Make more cartoons insulting Islam? That offends them all and what purpose are you hoping to achieve?
Cartoons of what? Muslims praying quietly and not killing people? What cartoons would there be? Do you think there would be cartoons of Catholic priests raping boys if Catholic priests didn't have a history of raping boys? Of course there wouldn't. Religions are only ridiculed when they prove to be faulty and dangerous. And extreme Islam (and, since I brought it up, Catholicism and its long history of silence on that subject) are dangerous.
All I wanted was for the news outlets to show the cartoons that were enough to trigger the murder of those people. Show exactly how minor the "offense" was. So many of those so-called journalists were too cowardly to show what caused the terrorists to kill those people. Don't have to make more, if you don't want to. If you have a point to make that means a cartoon that will offend someone, then make it. Free speech is more valuable than appeasement.
They didn't show cartoons insulting Islam therefore they helped kill those journalists? Are you sure you are the old Andy?
I didn't say that; please view my earlier reply to Indy on that matter.
I don't get it. Endorsing the tactics? A cartoonist and media outlet offended the entire Muslim world consisting of billions. Some crazies from the Muslim side took it personally and killed them in retaliation because the Koran says to do just that. To those guys they were being devout Muslims sacrificing themselves for the honor of their god and their people. So, your answer to this mess is to go out of our way to insult more terrorists/Muslims even more to show them that their tactics aren't going to stop us from insulting whoever we want?
Accepting the tactics, and appeasing by bowing down to them. Not endorsing. Again, refer to my previous post. But let me deconstruct what you just said in more detail. This post is about to get longer.
A cartoonist and media outlet offended the entire Muslim world consisting of billions. Some crazies from the Muslim side took it personally and killed them in retaliation because the Koran says to do just that.
If the Koran says to do it, they aren't "crazy," just believers. And if believing in that means you kill over a cartoon, then your belief is royally fucked up and should not be defended. Moderate Muslims do not kill, and would oppose this. Why are you defending it, because they believe? That's messed up.
To those guys they were being devout Muslims sacrificing themselves for the honor of their god and their people.
Well, good for them. They are still murderers, scum, and terrorists. If what they get from their religion is that they should kill cartoonists because they get a little butt-hurt, then they are wrong and their particular brand of Islam is poisonous. Again, I do not understand how you can take a fence sitting point of view on this. They are completely, without a shadow of a doubt, the guilty party here...not the cartoonists.
So, your answer to this mess is to go out of our way to insult more terrorists/Muslims even more to show them that their tactics aren't going to stop us from insulting whoever we want?
My answer is to show the cartoons that triggered this bloodbath. Show exactly how benign, how lame, how non-murdering they were. And through that, what response it caused. The response was, again, without any debate, WAY off the charts. Cartoons do not equal murder in any sort of rational society. None, ever. We cannot, in any way, accept the idea that they do. Several things that you have said go back to the victim blaming point I brought up earlier...
If that offends some Muslims, sorry. Hopefully, a few will see the cause and effect, being cartoon and murder, and back away. The ones who don't...well, be offended. Anyone who is more offended by seeing a cartoon of Mohammed than by seeing someone killed for drawing a cartoon of Mohammed is a really, really scary person.
I am not a Muslim or a Christian. I am agnostic and think you all are crazy, so I am just hoping you guys don't start another religious war.
I'll do you one better...I'm an atheist, and I think you are talking like Neville Chamberlain reincarnated.