June 26, 2007
Rage Boy
Christopher Hitchens in Slate:
If you follow the link, you will be treated to some scenes from the strenuous life of a professional Muslim protester in the Kashmiri city of Srinagar. Over the last few years, there have been innumerable opportunities for him to demonstrate his piety and his pissed-offness. And the cameras have been there for him every time. Is it a fatwah? Is it a copy of the Quran allegedly down the gurgler at Guantanamo? Is it some cartoon in Denmark? Time for Rage Boy to step in and for his visage to impress the rest of the world with the depth and strength of Islamist emotion.
Last week, there was another go-round of this now-formulaic story, when Salman Rushdie accepted a knighthood from her majesty the queen, and the whole cycle of hysteria started up again. Effigies and flags burned (is there some special factory in Karachi that churns out the flags of democratic countries for occasions like this?), wounded screams from religious nut bags, bounties raised to suborn murder, and solemn resolutions passed by notional bodies such as the Pakistani "parliament." A few months ago, it was the pope who was being threatened, and Christians in the Middle East and Muslim Asia who were actually being killed. Indeed, Rage Boy had a few yells and gibberings to offer on that occasion, too.
More here. [Thanks to Tariq Khan.]
Posted by S. Abbas Raza at 09:48 PM | Permalink
Comments
"is there some special factory in Karachi that churns out the flags of democratic countries for occasions like this?"
no its in the US actually:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkQ-mHJzNyY
Posted by: Michael D | Jun 26, 2007 11:21:20 PM
I want to respond to this in some kind of intelligent and reasoned way. I want to criticize Hitch et al for being too simplistic. I want to blame my own society.
But honestly: I can't.
This is just scary.
Posted by: Frode | Jun 27, 2007 12:10:31 AM
I hate being all ad-hominem & such, but Ann Coulter looks terrible in a beard.
Posted by: Guest | Jun 27, 2007 12:34:33 AM
Hitchens hits it square on the mark.
Too simplistic?
No!
Religious extremism, any kind of extremisim, is VERY simplistic.
And it's simply wrong.
Posted by: beajerry | Jun 27, 2007 11:47:43 AM
These poor primitives infected with toxic memes need mental health not media attention.
Of course, we could fly over on Mohammed's horse and rescue the martyr, and then go visit the talking snake.
One of the few things Mao got right:
"Religion is Poison"
Posted by: Scott Ahlf | Jun 27, 2007 11:04:48 PM
What mind-boggling logical contortionism this man is capable of:
"our media regularly make the assumption that the book burners and fanatics really do represent the majority, and that assumption has by no means been tested. (If it is ever tested, and it turns out to be true, then can we hear a bit less about how one of the world's largest religions mustn't be confused with its lunatic fringe?)"
What media is he talking about? Not any that I've read. And Hitchens knows they don't do this -- as the second part of in that sentence in fact tacitly admits. Our media (rightly) describe these people as a lunatic fringe.
And so he goes on in self-contradiction. The demonstrations consist of "a little gang", but somehow they anyway demonstrate the unreasonableness of the entire Muslim world in its "generalized self-pity and self-righteousness".
Have the cake. And eat it. Who cares about logical consistency as long as we can harp on about the Muslim world and Danish Cartoons and how, because there are some ludicrous protestors there can't possibly be any legitimate grievance among any Muslims, anywhere, ever.
Heavens, if anybody's burning effigies it's Hitchens -- who seems addicted to attacking straw men.
Posted by: per | Jun 28, 2007 6:48:50 AM
Sorry Jun, I don't know what media you watch. It sounds nice, but it's not the media that dominates. Hitchens is right on this, unfortunately.
Posted by: beajerry | Jun 28, 2007 9:29:26 AM
Jun--
What color is the sky on the planet you live on?
It is Blue on Earth.
Posted by: Scott Ahlf | Jul 4, 2007 11:16:38 AM
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