While I understand that dogs are seen as unclean in many moslem faiths, I tend to agree with the posters who advocate culturalisation. If I moved to an imaginary country where men wore pretty little frocks, I would not assume a right to say “Real men wear boot cut jeans” (not something I believe, btw, but for the sake of argument…), or to take offense at ads showning the citizens of that country in pretty little frocks. When in Rome and all that…
Here in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, we have an entire neighbourhood that has for at least 25 yrs gone all out with Halloween Decorations. It is called Halloween Alley. They raise huge amounts of money and food donations for our local food bank by encouraging the people who wish to drive through and see these decorations to drop off a donation while they “visit”.
A few yrs ago a church at one end of this sytretch was bought by a very conservative religious group, who started (after they bought it) to try and have the annual display outlawed (as it was, according to them, a celebratiopn of occult and satanic ideals).
They more or less got laughed out of court/city hall as they knew full well what the neighbourhoods well documented and even historical activities were, and had no civil right to expect change to suit their minority views.
The response sounds reasonable to me. The owners of the shops have decided not to display something they find offensive. Color me silly but I would imagine that for some Muslims a poster of a dog put up in their shop would be like putting up a poster of a pig in a Jewish butcher shop or maybe a poster with a string-bikini-clad model in Deseret Book.
The bit above about eating dogs in Korea doesn’t address the rationale behind that particular outrage nor the animal rights groups in Korea against the incredible abuse involved. Nor does it even mention that dog is not regulated here as a food item. That’s a whole other (sorry) kettle of fish than mild displeasure over an unintentionally offensive poster gaffe.
By the way, didn’t some charity or government agency make headlines not so long ago for sending “Christmas Hams” to a number of members of a Jewish group? I recall hearing about it but not when or where. Sometimes the gaffes are unintentional and sometimes the reaction is subdued, regardless of how the British tabloid in question decides to tro…er, get potential readers interested in the day’s issue.
The outrage over the whaling is that they’re blatantly lying about killing whales for “research purposes.” And they don’t do their whaling in their home waters, they go clear to the other side of the world and screw with the ecology there because they’ve already killed off too many in their region. There’s plenty to be pissed off about without invoking the cuteness factor.
Can we deport everyone in America who’s outraged at other people’s saying “Happy holidays,” or who’s outraged about Halloween celebrations? 'Cause that would be sweet.
Also those people who are outraged because some of us like our pets “too much.”
I find it ironic that you are unaware of our antidiscrimination laws.*
Big deal about the “advert” - but what happens when Tariq and Mustapha are making a drug run in Dundee and their Mini-Cooper is stopped by the police? Do the cops have to use drug-sniffing cats?
*although they might not apply to the bookshop in the basement of the Fred Phelps Church Of The Self-Basting Hellfire.
Augh! People who take Daily Mail “Muslims try to ban <X>” stories at face value ought to be fucking deported. The various stupidities on display in this thread are positively heartbreaking.
Anyone still outraged by this shameless lack of “acculturation” (beg pardon?) should read Tanaqui’s first post over and over again until they understand. Jesus fuck indeed.
Neither; there’s no such thing as “objectively offensive,” as nothing can be offensive without a subject who might take offense. It’s an entirely, inherently subjective description.
I am, however, totally visualizing this situation. Possibly as cast by Broken Lizard.
Cat is brought out of cage, ceremoniously placed on roof. Walks around, decides the bonnet is nice and warm, settles for a nap. “Aha! Right, that’s it!”
No, I’d consider it a logical extension of the question of what police agencies should do to accomodate the cultural mores of dog-loathing immigrants, phrased with my usual biting wit.
Do British cops even use drug-sniffing dogs in such searches? What do you do if an “unclean” animal has been roaming over your vehicle, leaving paw prints and drool on your upholstery? Are there car-cleaning services that will restore a sufficiently unsullied interior to allow the faithful to use their vehicles again?
I suspect that any serious objection from Muslims would only be because the dog in question is black. While dogs in general are repeatedly referred to as unclean in the Islamic Hadiths, there is permission for the use of dogs as work animals (such as hunting, herding, and guard dogs, more recently deemed also to include police dogs and guide dogs). just not as pets or kept in a house. However, there are repeated statements in the Hadiths that black dogs are instruments of Satan and should all be killed.