Thorough comment, as always. I've been chewing on the racist argument since I read DeAnader's postings in this thread. I think you're totally correct in that we should take care that our freedom of speech doesn't get hijacked by xenophobes for nationwide indoctrination. History has been there before and it didn't end so well. And even although xenophobia appears to be on the march in Denmark, I don't agree that the cartoons were intended as a 'fuck you' to their Muslim minority. In fact, that would also undermine the racist argument, since there are plenty of Muslim minorities which are NOT Arab. Given, the Arab/Turk/Persian minorities are the largest ones. If I take the gist of this it is partly about the rise of fundamentalist Muslim regimes like Saudi Arabia and their dangerously narrow vision, reminiscent of Christian imperial times. It all comes back to oil again, BTW. And the violent responses to the cartoons argues against the racism issue as well, since all the violence was especially founded on the blasphemous content of the cartoons - not the caricaturing of the people an sich. If there were protests on that, perhaps they went through official channels as well, I don't know. Fact is, the demands of the fundamentalists is not based on contempt of race - so right now, I see it as a side issue. One we should be watchful for, but not the one that's at hand.
And the violent responses to the cartoons argues against the racism issue as well, since all the violence was especially founded on the blasphemous content of the cartoons - not the caricaturing of the people an sich. If there were protests on that, perhaps they went through official channels as well, I don't know. Fact is, the demands of the fundamentalists is not based on contempt of race - so right now, I see it as a side issue. One we should be watchful for, but not the one that's at hand.
Come to think of that, I've never quoted myself before.
In that case, I think we understood DeAnander's 'racist' argument differently. In my interpretation, races don't exist anyway, and there is always some idea of grouping human geographical diversity first - that is, in this case, 'Muslim' has became 'dark-skinned immigrant with strange habits', which fits Arabs and Iranians and Pakistanis and Turks equally well.
And the violent responses to the cartoons argues against the racism issue as well, since all the violence was especially founded on the blasphemous content of the cartoons
First, I note you (again) took the violent responses as representative for the wider reaction (in choosing what to react to). Second, these groups have their own agenda, and just like here in Europe, it is not necessarily what they say - for example, as Detlef pointed out in Sirocco's thread, the Gaza offices of the EU weren't attacked by militants of the religious fundamentalist Hamas, but of the nationalist Fatah, which just lost the election and was trying to gain new profile. Third, even for the common Muslim, the issues of blasphemy and racism shan't be that clearly separated - semi-racist cartoons depicting Muslims are a personal insult, blasphemy is a religious insult, a semi-racist cartoon depicting Muhammad is both plus a semi-racist insult to Muhammad, so what will you emphasize first? *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
"I'm not sure which side is most childish"
My Father as a non practicing Muslim was;
"I thought cartoons were supposed to be funny"
so a mixed reaction from Muslims all round really, of course it sells no newspapers to show that view when there are 20 - 30 people protesting outside the BBC with banners demanding the beheading of cartoonists..
But race has never been about a scientific study of your genes, it is about defining groups as higher and lower. And 'immigrants' are the group defined as lower in Denmark today, with connotations of muslem darkies. I would not be surprised if christian or other persons with darker-then-pink skin and an accent find themselves being perceived and treated as muslem by danish society. It is racist, the race in question being (as always) 'the others'.
I can say that in October this publication was clearly perceived in Swedish MSM as a symptom of the growing xenophobia in Denmark and indeed as a "'fuck you' to their Muslim minority". Remember that this was before any violent reaction. Being MSM now appear to have changed to a position were it was justified by the reactions it caused four months later. A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
First, indeed in racism, perceptions are all that matter. As I said earlier in some other thread, I got my lesson in this in my first few months in West Germany - my non-tendy, 'shabby' communist-bloc clothes, thin composture, and ununderstandable babbling in a foreign language, and possibly the nose, was enough for being identified as a Turk (and treated with the disdain and stereotypes then reserved for them), even with a blue eye and a pale skin.
Second, I got an inside view of the earliest stages of this development in Denmark, via a Danish member of a discussion group I frequented then. She was actually so much fed up with it that she moved to Sweden. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Similarly, I believe there is a strong co-relation between these attacks on "Islam" in the Netherlands and Germany as substitures for directly racist attacks on those from the Dutch East Indies or on Turkish "guestworkers".
I won't deny that more xenophobic sentiments with the minorities don't play a possible part, but bringing religion down into a twisted subverted race issue doesn't strike me a convincing argument.
Lastly, when you speak for the Netherlands you are plain wrong. I don't know how I can put that strong enough.
Firstly, the Dutch East Indies and Turkish immigrants are overall well respected and have a good rep. That's one.
It is the Moroccan, dominantly Berber origin, minority that has been cause of extensive scrutiny, in a truly Dutch nothing-held-back way. And drug-dealing, unemployed youth on the streets, a majority Moroccan, does cause trouble. In Rotterdam, the Aruban minority have a similar problem. Naming that is not racist; that's a consequence of the multicultural society where a number of groups drop out for various reasons. It would be if the Dutch began to point out the troubles in Morocco all the time. The Dutch have ignored the growing problem for a while, but after Fortuyn things changed. And Dutch are pretty blunt, especially in their criticism. They call the beast what it is.
Secondly, research that investigated whether the Dutch press was writing more negative about their minorities after the Van Gogh murder found an increase of positive reportings, not a reversal. The message has practically always been: we cannot tolerate militant islamist when they preach to destroy the western, non-islamitic world. That has been the focus. And as I muse below thread, there has been developing a cycle that the majority of Muslims get the feeling they get part of the blame. Which seems a consequence of it.
I am very well, I hope you are too. Been busy in the real world lately, mostly fun stuff though.
I have been over here a few times before, and had a snack between the drinks over at the moon. But I have not commented before. This place is just so big and fast.
And bright. Hissing sound like a vampire seeing the sunlight A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
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