in some ways, I agree with David, that we should value free speech. But we're not quite talking about free speech here. liberty occurs in a context in which everybody has equal access to the media, when some people can pretend to be virtuous defenders of liberty, while subjecting others to vicious stereotypes.
I would like to see a world in which all religions could be mocked. Could you imagine what would happen to a major paper or television network if they mocked Jesus? Just think of the pressure when they portray gay people too positively. I doubt that David would support the repression of certain ideas and images in the US and in the West in general, but given that situation, isn't the outburst somewhat understandable. finally, I have heard reasonable people speculate that some Middle Eastern countries promoted the attack on the cartoons to deflect criticism that they were too friendly to the NATO powers. Attacking Denmark was not particularly dangerous policy. Other countries have better means of retaliating. On Mon, Feb 13, 2006 at 10:56:19AM -0800, David B. Shemano wrote: > I guess that is a difference between me and Mr. Proyect -- I highly value > living in a culture where I can mock the ideas of others without fear of > being killed, and Mr. Proyect has other priorities. > > I should also add this is another reason why I am a big Leo Strauss fan -- he > wrote "Persecution and the Art of Writing." The man thought things through. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
