re: #202 b_sharp

There is absolutely no difference between the Mohammed cartoons and this Jesus/Pope cartoon.

Both were created to make a pointed and blatant statement about a religion and the consequences of that religion’s practices.

The objections I see to the Pope cartoon are of the same type and just as visceral as those we saw when the Mohammed cartoons were released. Those trying to say this current cartoon is worse than the previous cartoons are simply wrong, the implicit ‘dirty’ ‘homo’ sex in the Pope cartoon is viewed by the faithful just as Muslim’s viewed the Mohammed cartoons.

These cartoons are not objectionable because of what is depicted in an objective sense but in how the members of the religions view the depiction. Catholics were quite upset when PZ Myers threw a consecrated wafer into the garbage (he also threw a page from the Koran and Origin of Species in the same garbage) even though it was just a frakkin’ cracker.

They were upset because of the significance they give this symbol of their belief, which they consider part of their being. This is exactly how Muslims reacted to the cartoons of Mohammed.

Claiming that the cartoon with the Pope and Jesus is essentially different and/or worse than the Mohammed cartoons is hypocritical and in some cases disingenuous. Either both have to be accepted or both have to be rejected to remain consistent.

Nope.

Unlike the Mohammed cartoons, no one has objected to the publication of the offensive cartoons. In fact, that has never been an issue. The objections now are to the content and implied message. There have been no calls to violence or death threats.

That alone makes a huge difference. There is no moral equivalence here.