We'll be laughing at you all the way to your grave

NEWSFLASH: The Muslims are not ignorant mountain gorillas. I know that might come as a surprise to some, but for real, they are people just like you and me.

Recently there has been a lot of commotion over some Dutch cartoons of the prophet Mohammad with a bomb strapped to his head. The Muslims are pissed, and the rest of the world is laughing at them because of their 'ignorant' reaction to it.

To start off, it goes without saying that to kill over a cartoon is just plain stupid, to kill over just about anything is stupid, but comedy is about the worst. I don't support the riots, the blood or the death that is occurring in reaction to this in the least, but I do want to point out a few things that I feel are necessary to understanding this situation. First of all we in the western world are used to making fun of each other on a daily basis. We use comedy in a way to smooth uneasy situations and differences we have over. The Arabs don't necessarily have this custom that we have grown into for generations. We listen to racial comedy on an almost daily basis now, it has been taking this country by storm. I wholeheartedly support this use of humor to help bring people together, if we are laughing about our differences we are less apt to hate each other for them. With our history I'd say that it's more easy for us to "take a joke" than it is for them.

We also have a diverse religious background here which has exposed us to ridicule from other religions and non-believers. The Muslim religion is by far the most prominent religion in all of the Arab countries (yes there's different sects, but they are very similar). They are just not as used to people who would have unfriendly thoughts about their prophet.

It does however deserve to be brought up that people in America would be significantly outraged if a horrible cartoon was created depicting for instance Jesus performing an abortion. Fucking with peoples beliefs tends to bring outrage to a new level. I would not be surprised if a cartoon posted at the "right time" could spark huge protests or even riots even in this so comedy oriented place we call America. If we look over at Iraq right now, I think we could conclude that it is the "right time" for a riot to take place. They have been destroyed by a country of mostly non-Muslims. I bet there's a little bit of anger stored up in these folks...

I have rambled on for far too long, but in short I ask take a minute to think about the circumstances before you consider a whole people barbarous, and don't forget to take a look at yourself either, you might just find the same faults there.

I hate hate.