Shoulds and shouldn'ts

I've been following this whole cartoon row in Europe and Middle East with growing agitation.

What I find really perplexing is the insistence of Europeans to continue re-publishing the cartoons, while knowing the anger it causes. Because I think there are two issues here: firstly the right to publish the material - and I fully agree the papers are within their rights to do that, and I fully agree with the words of Rowan Atkinson who has claimed it should be everyone's right to: "cause trouble, or create discomfort, or offense, as long as your words or behavior are not threatening". But there is another issue here too - what to do with that right and just generally what are good manners.

Some people probably found those original cartoons funny, personally I didn't (not that it proves anything of course). It's just that in the current world situation I don't understand the need to publish such images - they knew they were doing something that would offend Muslims and their religion that forbids images of the subject. They must have known - or they should have - that there are elements in the Middle East that would jump to the opportunity to use this as an example of Western attitudes and use it to incite hatred toward them. And still they did it, knowing the consequences - that's what I don't get. It may have been a surprise that the row has gotten this big, but if so they really hadn't done their research. Surely if you want to make a point about freedom of speech there are better and non-offensive ways of doing it.

I think it's actually very clever in a morbid way for the Iranian newspaper to hold the contest for cartoons about the holocaust. I would then like to see all the European papers that published the Prophet Muhammad cartoons to publish them as well, just to prove that they're not hypocritical about what is allowed within the freedom of speech and what isn't. I would be willing to bet money that they won't do it, which really will prove the point some Muslims are making. And whatever happens, I can't see this ending well.

You can't add any more comments, but if you wish you can email the author.