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Sir Salman Rushdie
The author of The Satanic Verses has been knighted, and swaths of the Muslim world are angry.
I have basically two things to say about this.
First, yeah, I get that they're angry. I'd be angry too if a celebrity I reviled were given public honors. I might even write a blog post railing against the authorities responsible. When a society celebrates someone, it states that their public face represents ideals of that society, and I wouldn't want those ideals endorsed.
(For the record, I don't care about Salman Rushdie – haven't even read the book. It's just a hypothetical.)
The second thing is a reply to this:
I don't care if the guy took it back. That ideal, that acts of terrorism can ever be justified, is one I never want to see again.
(How's that for a tepid start? I promise, I'll try to be more interesting in the future.)
(Wow, Everything2's link-happy attitude is affecting me everywhere.)
I have basically two things to say about this.
First, yeah, I get that they're angry. I'd be angry too if a celebrity I reviled were given public honors. I might even write a blog post railing against the authorities responsible. When a society celebrates someone, it states that their public face represents ideals of that society, and I wouldn't want those ideals endorsed.
(For the record, I don't care about Salman Rushdie – haven't even read the book. It's just a hypothetical.)
The second thing is a reply to this:
"If someone commits suicide bombing to protect the honour of the Prophet Muhammad, his act is justified," the minister said, according to Reuters news agency.
I don't care if the guy took it back. That ideal, that acts of terrorism can ever be justified, is one I never want to see again.
(How's that for a tepid start? I promise, I'll try to be more interesting in the future.)
(Wow, Everything2's link-happy attitude is affecting me everywhere.)