Someone in the US newspaper business finally had the courage to tell it like it is.
You might think this means that a newspaper had the courage to publish the Danish Muhammed cartoon caricatures but you would be wrong.
Instead, what we have is The Phoenix, a Boston alternative newspaper, printing the following editorial, "Our primary reason," the editors confessed, is ''fear of retaliation from . . . bloodthirsty Islamists who seek to impose their will on those who do not believe as they do . . . Simply stated, we are being terrorized, and . . . could not in good conscience place the men and women who work at the Phoenix and its related companies in physical jeopardy. As we feel forced, literally, to bend to maniacal pressure, this may be the darkest moment in our 40-year-publishing history."
Whatever happened to folks like Patrick Henry who were willing to declare, "Give me liberty or give me death!"?
Thus far only the Weekly Standard, the Philadelphia Enquirer and a handful of college and minor subsistence papers have shown the courage to publish the cartoons.
American newspapers ridicule and insult people and opinions every day. It appears that radical Islamists are the only exception. Those that say they are being "sensitive" to the feelings of Muslims are lying hypocrites.
The Phoenix, while choosing not to print the cartoons, at least had the "courage" to tell the truth.
While in its own way this honesty is commendable, it is not enough.
When your neighbor tells you that he will burn your house down if you plant tomatoes in your back yard you get a restraining order on your neighbor and plant tomatoes in your back yard . . . even if you never had a garden before!
At the moment I feel like growing tomatoes just so I can throw them at the editors of our American newspapers. We either stand tall or bend over for those who threaten us. At the moment I see the American press bent over and bowing towards Mecca.
Edited: [!--GH--]
Article comments
1 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
I like your idea about the tomatoes, but I hate that it has to come to that sentiment, that kind of "courage." Good article.
2 - Bing
Very good article indeed.
I yearn for the day when we see pictures of "Piss Mohammed" or elephant dung allah.
What is it going to take for the world to realize the danger that radical Islamists pose?
It is all the rage in this nation today for those on the far left to say that the current administration is using the fear of islamic terrorism to garner support and that the threat is greatly exagerated. Sort of like Michael Moore saying there is no terrorist threat.
However democrats and liberals seem to be talking out both sides of thier mouths. In one breath they say we can't wiretap phone conversations of suspected terrorists, we can't have subway baggage checks, the patriot act is a horrible infringement upon our rights, and in thier next breath they place all of the blame for 9111 on Bush, they whine that we haven't captured bin laden and they say that the country is no safer than pre-911.
Yet they offer nno real solutions of their own.
So when there is another 911 type event the blood of those who died will be on the hands of the ACLU, Code Pink, Answer and all of the other far left groups that have hindered the fight against terrorism not to mention the new york times and all the media who have done the same.
3 - Mark Schannon
Bing, I sometimes wonder from where you get your news. You haven't read about the conservatives who are just as concerned about Bush's abuse of powers? You haven't heard of the former CIA operative's book detailing how the administration distorted information to drag us into the Mesopotamia?
Your notion that only the right understands the threat from bizarro Islamists and that all the blame is to be put on the liberals would be quaint if it weren't so dangerous.
In Jamesons Veritas
4 - gazelle
I would like to see a survey of all the newspaper editors of their reasons for why they decided not to print the cartoons, by keeping this an open question, without jumping to conclusions beforehand.
There are possibly other reasons such as the respect for religions that the US law has keeping it either as private matter, or a cultural one for a section of its citizens - hence the symbols and holidays on important days for major religions. This is an american tradition and a good thing, notwithstanding the occasional harrasmment such as with the Patriot act, domestic spying, FBI against Koresh in Waco, etc, about which concerns have been raised.
Two lessons are generally drawn from this:
One is that if the government goes after one religion or sect too strongly, the government begins to threaten others' religious freedom as well, in its general principled approach. There is an internalised awareness of this among journalists as well.
The second is that the US is a religious country in general and citizen lobbying to an extent works. Hence a mature approach is taken of non-involvement in religious affairs by the government, particularly to keep church/mosque/synagogue/temple and state separate. Thus to invite the government to consider intervening would not be a wise idea, if the cartoons are piublished widely, well considering the rights and reactions of a not insignificant portion of its citizens.
All this despite the fact that most newspapers are ideological one way or another, and mix religion and politics. This is truly fascinating. The US is conservative on this, and the Europeans the extremists in this regard. This is worth making a note of!
Also the UAE, a small arab country with a huge number of immigrants and expats, from which a company intends to be involved in US ports, also has strict freedom of religion laws. Practise anything. There are other less stark examples.
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5 - Joan B. Rickey
I came across the cartoon that has made all the ruckus. I immediately enlarged it, printed it out, and now use it on my target sheets when I go to the shooting range. I sure hope this doesn't offend any muslims or other idiots!