# Muslim riots over cartoons--is political correctness going overboard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 3, 2006, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887 "2006-02-03T19:52:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/141 "2006-02-06T21:49:08Z")
I’ll say. Boy, when **gum** starts telling her Muslim friends that Islam is a “xenophobic, homophobic, anti-semite, female oppressing, conservative, RIGHT-WING, religion” whose adherents may be suffering from brain-damage caused by inbreeding, and her friends respond with “KILL AMERICA, KILL ISRAEL”—let me tell you, I don’t wanna be at **that** party. :eek: Things a-gonna get ugly. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/142 "2006-02-06T22:33:38Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I’ll say. Boy, when **gum** starts telling her Muslim friends that Islam is a “xenophobic, homophobic, anti-semite, female oppressing, conservative, RIGHT-WING, religion” whose adherents may be suffering from brain-damage caused by inbreeding, and her friends respond with “KILL AMERICA, KILL ISRAEL”—let me tell you, I don’t wanna be at **that** party. :eek: Things a-gonna get ugly. Hehehehehe 🙂 AND I’m still alive. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/143 "2006-02-06T22:36:19Z")
(That’s because I’m not America, nor Israël, I guess 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/144 "2006-02-06T22:39:45Z")
o what **do** you and your Muslim friends talk about when you aren’t threatening to kill each other, anyway? The weather? Food prices? KNVB? Go Orange! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/145 "2006-02-06T22:41:00Z")
Sorry, that last post should have begun with “So”. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/146 "2006-02-06T23:24:41Z")
Paging Salman Rushdie…paging Mr. Rushdie I think this may have been said, but the use of “politically correct” here (in the OP & in several posts) seems wrong, wrong, wrong. Politically correct refers to being overly sensitive in order to keep from creating controversy. As far as I can tell, we’re way past that. Refusal to print these cartoons _now_ is not politically correct; it’s just a matter of safety. Before the embassy burnings, I might have had a different opinion, but now… ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/147 "2006-02-07T03:38:01Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#): > > As far as I can tell, we’re way past that. Refusal to print these cartoons _now_ is not politically correct; it’s just a matter of safety. Before the embassy burnings, I might have had a different opinion, but now… Just do what the nice Muslim says, and no one gets hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/148 "2006-02-07T04:23:14Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Yeehaw, I [caught another one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7065392&postcount=16)! 🙂 > (And **jjimm** : thanks! :)) I don’t get it. What did you ‘catch’? Are you disputing that Serrano’s ‘Piss Christ’ was NOT a picture of a crucifix in a glass of urine? I’ve seen the picture many times - I think it’s quite compelling. In fact, [here’s a link to it.](http://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/comm544/library/images/502.html) And I think Serrano’s point was valid and the way he chose to illustratee it to also be valid. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/149 "2006-02-07T04:37:28Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Let’s be a little more clear about what those pieces actually were. Meither one of them was intended as a deliberate insult to Christianity or to Christians. Both pieces were just attempting challenging uses of meduims in order to transcend preconceptions about them. Sorry, I answered Kimstu before I saw this. If you read that, you’ll see that I’m not one of those who attacks these pieces of art. I rather like them. Serrano was making a valid point about the current state of his faith. More power to him. Unlike a lot of ‘shock’ artists Serrano has real gifts. I also agree about the Kanye West picture. We’ve been using Christ iconography ever since the big guy left. This is just more of the same. Nice picture, too. The worst thing I might think about that picture is, “Man, Kanye must have an ego the size of Rhode Island.” ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/150 "2006-02-07T04:40:29Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Let’s be a little more clear about what those pieces actually were. Meither one of them was intended as a deliberate insult to Christianity or to Christians. Both pieces were just attempting challenging uses of meduims in order to transcend preconceptions about them. The challenging use of urine as a medium… hahahahaha. That’s funny. SNL couldn’t have lampooned bullshit-artists any better. Urine is a universally repulsive subject to associate with anything. Only a moron would make something like this under the pretext of art and expect the public at large to swallow it. At best, it was a taxpayer-funded practical joke. The cartoons, on the other hand, were not art. They were political commentary on the violent radical aspects of Islam. The people rioting over them are validating the commentary. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/151 "2006-02-07T05:16:32Z")
The pieces were obviously over your head. “Piss Christ” is a beautiful image. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/152 "2006-02-07T05:30:22Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The challenging use of urine as a medium… hahahahaha. That’s funny. SNL couldn’t have lampooned bullshit-artists any better. I’ve got no strong feelings about the thing one way or the other, but this is just too simplistic. “It’s piss, it can’t mean anything, haha.” Doesn’t really work as an argument (especially when it sounds like so many other jokes about modern art). ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/153 "2006-02-07T05:48:03Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > The pieces were obviously over your head. “Piss Christ” is a beautiful image. Dang, and I wasted all that money on photography classes. All I had to do was toss something in the john and take a picture of it with a staggered focal plane. Maybe the trick is to eat just the right amount of asparagus before I set up the shot. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/154 "2006-02-07T06:50:16Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Dang, and I wasted all that money on photography classes. All I had to do was toss something in the john and take a picture of it with a staggered focal plane. Maybe the trick is to eat just the right amount of asparagus before I set up the shot. Sure is easy to think of an idea once somebody else has done it, eh? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/155 "2006-02-07T09:02:43Z")
**Kimstu** , believe it or not, we talk art. 🙂 \*(I am - or I should say was the owner of an art-gallery. I [used to] sell art) And talking about art and the insulting of a religion: In March 2001, the Islamic Taliban ordered the demolition of two statues of Buddha carved into cliffsides at Bamiyan, one 38 metres tall and about 1800 years old, the other 53 metres tall and about 1500 years old. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/156 "2006-02-07T09:03:56Z")
That was awful coding. Can someone help me out? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/157 "2006-02-07T16:34:45Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > Just do what the nice Muslim says, and no one gets hurt. What, as opposed to “just infuriate the fanatics and incite violence”? I vote for my plan. ---
**Author:** ![EEMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a6a055/32.png) [@EEMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EEMan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/158 "2006-02-07T16:47:54Z")
> [@gum](#): > > That was awful coding. Can someone help me out? Thank you. you need the open before the close… and evey open MUST have a close… add to all of these but U /U and I /I So you can do \* this\* if you like ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/159 "2006-02-07T16:59:12Z")
> [@gum](#): > > In March 2001, the Islamic Taliban ordered the demolition of two statues of Buddha carved into cliffsides at Bamiyan, one 38 metres tall and about 1800 years old, the other 53 metres tall and about 1500 years old. Ok. I don’t think anyone here is claiming that radical, fundimentalist Muslims are tolerant, so what’s your point? That the _Taliban_ are the bad guys? No news flash there, no great debate. The issue is what these sort of fanatical groups do to Western democracies and if freedom of the press has been abridged by them, which, in my opinion is a topic worthy of debate. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887/160 "2006-02-07T17:12:28Z")
In a [related story](http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/02/07/international/i063257S96.DTL). I see that ending poorly, don’t you? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-riots-over-cartoons-is-political-correctness-going-overboard/342887.md?page=9)