the STRAW that BROKE the camel's back
"The violence is spiraling out of control."This CANNOT be just over cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.
Thousands of protesters rampaged through two cities Tuesday, storming into a diplomatic district and torching Western businesses.
[They] burned down four buildings housing a hotel, two banks, a KFC restaurant and the office of a Norwegian cell phone company, Telenor.
[R]ioters also damaged more than 200 cars, dozens of shops and a large portrait of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Vandals broke the windows of a Holiday Inn, Pizza Hut and McDonald's . . .
A security guard shot and killed two protesters trying to force their way into a bank . . .
[P]rotesters smashed street lights and burned tires while chanting "Death to America!"
Sure, the cartoons are offensive. But, a Danish paper printed them. Why would they torch McDonalds and KFC and storm banks?
And General Musharaf repeatedly condemned the cartoons. In fact, so did the United States government. Why would they chant 'Death to America' if it was just over cartoons?
[Today in Peshawar,] a crowd of 70,000 marauded through the streets, burning three cinemas, scores of cars and a KFC outlet.Notwithstanding the chants of 'Death to Denmark,' it's obvious that had these people been content with their lives, they wouldn't sacrifice them merely to challenge some ink on paper thousands of miles away.
[This time, as if cued by my remarks, they shouted] "Death to Denmark," and "Hang those who drew the insulting cartoons."
[An] eight-year-old boy died after being shot in the head . . [and a] 35-year-old man was killed by an electric cable that was snapped by gunfire . . .
MAYBE, they're tired of being bombed to smithereens and sold into economic slavery.
MAYBE, just maybe, behind every angry face is a burning desire to be free from oppression and a determination to defend their culture against invasion and their dignity against insults.
Remember that thing called dignity? Our founding fathers knew it.
“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”In the struggle for dignity, these cartoons were the straw that broke the camel's back.
--Samuel Adams
posted by qrswave @ Wednesday, February 15, 2006
7 Comments:
I agree it's not about the cartoons. The toons were just an excuse to riot. You won't see me disputing that!
Calling it "an excuse to riot" is a mischaracterization and implies that the cartoons did not have a strong impact in and of themselves.
This is not true.
The cartoons were a deliberate provocation, with very predictable results, albeit for various reasons.
The people who set off this firestorm knew that it would result in this kind of rioting and that it would be perceived by the west as having been caused solely by a cartoons, causing further alienation between the two cultures.
It is not just the cartoons, but the cartoons played a significant role in symbolizing decades of degradation and oppression by the west of muslim culture and society.
I disagree. But we can agree to disagree.
Agreed. That is far more offensive than the cartoons. (at least to me, a non-Muslim)
It's outrageous, what is going on at Abu Ghraib. I actually felt sick, looking at those pictures.
Hey qrswave, why not get busy and fulfill ur promise for the "Comparing Apple and Oranges" blog, retrieving text. It's not like u have anything else to do, eh? No one seems to want to discuss anything on ur so-called "blogs" which are just re-hashings with ur same old Jew buddies and -collaborators. Thor
Thor...thats just sad. Notice how everyone here has an intelligent coversation, and even if you think its not intelligent...at least its polite. Go do your 5th grade namecalling somewhere else please.
Well drac, it doesn't matter where u go, does it? Ur above contributed nothing; u're just more chaff. Jews are the problem: note this isn't u land but our Christian land, and we're going to rule, comrade. Internet fails u. Thor
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