Friday, December 14, 2007

The Difference Between Us and Them


After reading the above Pearls Before Swine strip, how did it make you feel? I giggled pretty hard at it. But then I wondered how others would take it. I’m not practicing any religion at the moment, but I grew up in the Baptist church and know plenty of other Christians and I can’t think of any that would be offended by it. I’m sure there are some that will, but over all, I don’t think you are going to hear calls for Mr. Pastis’ head.

Now consider the recent plight of Gillian Gibbons, the British teacher who merely allowed a student to name a teddy bear Muhammad while teaching at a school in Muslim Sudan. She was arrested and immediately sentenced to 15 days in jail. If the British Government had not stepped in, the sentence would have included lashes and could have been punishable by death.

So which is worse, illustrating your Savior as a comedic crocodile or naming a teddy bear after your chief profit? Either way I think the reaction speaks for itself. This is just another reason why Western cultures are seen as superior to others. We don’t want to kill people for making a joke.

Personally, I would have slapped some boxing gloves on the bear and said I was just a big fan of 1970’s boxing.

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