Just added Bridget Au's review of
Split Second in TVB section. Something not quite right with the fonts/words but Blogger didn't register the problems, just after posting it got problems. Need time to fix it.
Anyway I am sure everyone around the world would have known about the overblown issues of
the cartoons (
see it for yourself here). What amazes me is by word of mouth, anger can spread like a disease. Perhaps stupidity is the right word to describe why the cartoons were published in the first place but by the rabid reaction and in the end the universal agreement by governments that freedom of press is not absolute and must be curtailed and monitored (which really is a slap back to the old dark days of regulated press freedom but then, they asked for it), I can only conclude we have all been blinded by our prejudices, our biasness, our stupidity, our anger and we have undermined the power of hate and resentment. Years ago it was racial, now it is about religion. Whilst I can perfectly understand the anger of those who are offended, I see no logic why a newspaper company had to be suspended indefinitely and 300 odd people out of job because of publishing some cartoons that anyone can take with a pinch of salt (plus offers of few kgs of gold to kill certain classes of people as offered by the ones who are most happy with these incitement and you all know who) when the editor has resigned, people has apologised and the cartoons were published to accompany an article which kinda said there was lack of severe reaction in my country over the cartoon when of course, it was the opposite. I am dismayed by the turn of events but I am more dismayed by the indiscretion of those who chose to in the very first place draw AND publish these cartoons and further dismayed by the fact that somehow all these get connected back to the Jews and offers of drawing funny cartoons of Holocaust has been made and offered. The hatred will never end until at least one side learns the art and the true meaning of compassion and protest without violence and without incident. Clearly we know which side must exercise this and which side is certainly most expected not able to exercise this.
This incident reminded me of that time when a certain undergarments company out of the blue chose to insult the Buddhists by blatantly reproducing the exact image of the Buddha on their 3 piece bikini suit. It was far more offensive if you ask me but the items were cancelled and production stopped when peacefully thousands signed some online petition, me being one of them.
Nowadays it seems the art of peaceful demonstration has been taken over by blinded fury. I am not even sure those who are picketing has ever seen the cartoons but words are far more powerful than being able to see something with your own eyes. We live in an age where we trust the words of others but not what we can see with our very own eyes and this is the saddest of it all.
I will not call it a disgrace nor will I term it as an utter failure of humanity. But all I can say is the problem may have started small but now has been blown out of proportion. The blame is not only on those who reproduce the cartoons, but on every one who chose to ignore the boiling tensions and chose to encourage it, stroke it, fuel it and then take advantage of it. What has humanity come to when people die and people threaten to take the lives of another over offensive cartoons which did not merit such reaction? What will the Man up there think of us, His children? We are all people from the same book, but we disintegrated into such huge fractions of sections of whatever, I am not even sure if it is ever polite to even mention a certain religion or a certain class of people.
If there is a lesson I learn from this, it is that IT IS RUDE TO TALK ABOUT RELIGION. In fact it is even more preferable to discuss about our opponent's mothers and fathers than talk about religion. I wish for a more tolerant world. I believe religion teaches good things, God in whatever name and whatever shape and form is tolerant, kind and compassionate. I believe that there are good people, bad people and people who uses the fear or anger of others for own personal gain. And I believe there are people who thinks making fun of other people's religion is funny whilst making fun of their own favoured religion is not. And this speaks for both sides. Maybe John Lennon was right. Just read the lyrics to the song Imagine and I suppose that may prove to be a better solution.
It is true I guess. It is rude and even deadly to talk about religion. This will be my last post about religion and from now on I shall gossip on the personal lives of other famous and non lethal people whilst I leave to the rest of the world to fight themselves silly over the cartoons and everything else. My sympathy goes to those who may not have work anymore because of the suspended newspaper company. It just shows life can be quite mean sometimes when it is not really your fault.
In other words, life stinks but guess what? People stink more. Why have we descended into such savages? Why have we become such fools? Why provoke those who are easily provoked in the name of funnies when you know the reaction will always be in the extreme? Does it restore the image of a certain religion? I am afraid not. I am even more afraid of them now. I wonder what Gandhi will think of us? But then Gandhi's problems were not about religion.
1 COMMENTS
We’re living in an increasing hostile environment. Rioting, burning down embassies and chanting death threat are not the ways to protest. If the newspapers are low to publish those pictures, aren’t they lower than the all those newspapers with their kind of protest? They could have retaliated with peaceful demonstration but what the world is witnessing now is violence and threats and it scares me because I don’t see many condemning those acts.