Don't tell me boycotts don't work. Just heard on radio that the Danes

[cantstandbush]

are really suffering in many businesses (especially foods) from the Muslim boycott because of the Mohammed cartoons. One business owner said it took 40 years to build up their business and only five days to destroy it...no bombs, no killings, just boycotting. It appears that across the Muslim world in every country, Muslims are boycotting anything Danish.

Now this should say a lot to the money-grubbing, greedy RW folks who believe they are untouchable.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Also shows that non-violence works

I was disturbed by the cartoons, which I construed as hate speech against all Muslims. I do not condone hate speech against any group. But I would never resort to violence to get my point across when LTTE and boycotts work.

[esbelt]

17. How do we in DK see the boycott

You have to know the stories behind the pictures.
Here in Denmark a writer had published a new book on the religion Islam, He failed to find any cartoonists to make
any pictures in his book, simply out of fear!
then the newspaper Jylland-posten took up the story of salman Rushdie etc. and asked the question if simple cartoon pictures would be censured out of fear in DK.
so they asked some professional cartoonists to make a picture and printed them out of respect of our free speech.
The paper have now made several apologizes and they have published that in fact we do not have free speech in DK
simply because they regret it and would never had don it if they had calculated the effect!

It is not the "art" or the outlook of the pictures that is the issue in DK, more than the fact that we do not have free speech when it comes to religion!

About the boycott, we are from Denmark exporting 1.5% of our total export, to this countries that now are boycotting us. It would have more effect if the US
was boycotting us, so our PM problem is more political than economic as you can see.

[Cobalt Violet]

20. We don't have free speech here either. n/t

[malaise]

2. You should see the massive signs in Muslim

businesses across the world - Do not buy Danish products. They even have web sites telling people where to find alternatives. It's hurting so bad that the Danish PM has been on TV trying to calm all sides.

The Civil Rights protests and boycott of those buses was all the prooof we needed.
I never support businesses that defend issues that can affect me or mine. Thanks to DU's lists last year, I only buy from blue businesses.

[Bluzmann57]

3. Boycotts certainly do work

But enough people have to be totally commited to the said boycott and they all have to be very serious about it. It sometimes requires sacrifice. I was involved in a nationwide Union boycott against a certain food processing company in the early '80's and it was effective. The company was on almost every Union's "hit list" because they refused to bargain in good faith, didn't treat employees fairly, etc. This company is now recognized as a leader in Union/management relations and makes pretty good products as well. They capitulated in part because of the nationwide boycott. I won't tell you the name of this company, but it is located in the upper Midwest. So, as I said, boycotts can, and do work.

[Arugula Latte]

4. I side with the freedom-of-expression folks on this issue.

Then again, I have a very negative outlook toward religion in general.

[Jack_DeLeon]

12. I dont have your outlook on religion...

but I definately support freedom of speech.

[CJCRANE]

5. These RW

f*ckers really need to be taught a lesson for stirring shit up. (Although I feel sorry for the innocent Danes caught up in this).

It's just not acceptable to insult a billion people in a mainstream newspaper.

Freedom of speech is all very well but would these same people allow a mainstream newspaper to publish something that the insulted the entire Chinese population?

[Gato Moteado]

6. i'm sure i could find something insulting to me every day in the press

but my skin is thick enough to take it.

if a religion isn't tolerant enough to deal with stuff like this, then it's the religion's problem.

on DU i see people run christianity down all the time. all religions are equal and should be treated the same.

personally, i'm not religious, i think all organized religion is just politics. if some cartoonist wants to draw mohammed in his cartoon he should be free to do it...if somebody doesn't like it, they don't have to read the cartoon. i saw some of the cartoons in question and it seems to me they were attacking the fundy muslims that use islam as an excuse to kill or terrorize. if some muslim clerics or followers have a problem with that then they should be mad at the fundies that have twisted their religion, not at the cartoonist that points it out.

if a cartoonist portrayed pat robertson with his head shaped like a bomb or used some christian symbol to express the horrible nature of fundamentalist christians in the US and the fundy christians got all pissed about it, how much sympathy would be expressed here at DU? zilch. this situation deserves about the same.

[Erika]

7. I was raised by my Xian mother, never to mock the religious

beliefs of others.

It abhors me that anyone would make a cartoon figure out of Islam's beloved Prophet to Allah.

The Jews believe Christ was only a prophet to our God. I would be equally outraged if any Jew or Arab made a similar cartoon of Jesus.

[billbuckhead]

8. If a god can't stand ridicule, then it's not much of a god

But then, I'm from the reality based community and I believe in freedom of expression.

"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for
people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."
-Noam Chomsky

[Jack_DeLeon]

13. WOW...

something I can agree on you with?

God doesnt need someone to protect him from people calling him bad names or making fun of him.

[Yupster]

10. Your mom gave you good advice

and being polite is generally nice.

However the first amendment is there to cover the other stuff.

It's there to protect the insults and challenges. We don't need a First Amendment to protect polite speech.

[rockymountaindem]

11. Jews do not believe that Jesus was a prophet

Muslims do, however.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bluebear]

16. I think anything linked from Michelle Malkin is highly suspect

[NoPasaran]

21. Amen to that!

My motto has always been "Fuck you if you can't take a joke" and applies equally to Pat Robertson and Mulluh Omar.

[jmowreader]

24. We run CHRISTIANS down, not Christianity

There's a difference.

[Yupster]

9. I don't agree with that

I think it's perfectly acceptable to insult a billion people any time you want to, and I think the billion people would soon realize that their lives and families and religion would survive just fine and when they see something they don't like they just don't have to look.

Haven't we all long ago learned that lesson?

[tabasco]

23. Free speech isn't free if we only tolerate what doesn't offend.

Sorry if the Danish cartoons upset some Muslims, but the newspaper has the absolute right to print controversial cartoons.

A boycott against Danish products is a civilized and reasonable response.

Launching insane jihads and burning down buildings is much, much worse than the offensive (to some) cartoon.

I fail to see how a cartoon criticizing Muslim treatment of women is "hate speech."

[Nutmegger]

15. I wish us Americans can organize like that

Just think of how much influence we would have! Hit 'em where it hurts!!

Why won't anyone organize?! ORGANIZE DAMMIT!

[laheina]

18. I agree with you.

Maybe if someone canceled American Idol, we could get some momentum out of people.

[fujiyama]

19. Simply boycotting all Danishh goods is stupid

Itt's evident thaht those living in thhe Muslim world don't underestand thaht what appeaerrs in newspapers is independnant of the goverernmeent. But then agaain, many are used to hhaving a tightly controlled press so I'm not surprised.

But I see nothing wrong with boycottingn the adveretisers. And I would certainly enourage them to write letters to the editor, tthough threats aand violence and unacceptable.

[FlaGranny]

22. It's evident that they don't understand

freedom of speech and thought and they do not understand democracy at all. They understand and want to live with theocracy. I would never go out of my way to insult anyone for any reason, but I certainly have seen and heard many things that have insulted me in my lifetime. I also understand freedom of speech and the right of someone to speak his mind even if someone else doesn't like it.

People who believe in theocracy and people who believe in democracy are totally alien to one another in their thought processes about this, and I don't know if there is an answer to the problem.

[Orangeone]

25. Did you ever think

That maybe Muslims are fed up with being disrespected? The reaction to the cartoons may seem over the top, but I guess it's more like the straw that broke the camel's back. After the Palestinian's Elected Hamas, Europe & America are threatening all kinds of things. Iraq is destroyed. Iran and Syria are constantly being threatened. I'd say Muslims have a reason to be sensitive.

[FlaGranny]

26. Yes, they may be fed up.

I would personally NOT insult anyone. I also would not personally want to riot, kill, kidnap, and maim because someone insulted me. No one gets through life without being deeply insulted at some time, and probably multiple times. How many times have Catholics been deeply insulted by the comments about priests or the Pope - right here on this board? How many times have American liberals being insulted for how they think? How many times have American conservatives been deeply and completely insulted right here on DU? How many, right here on DU, have insulted Christ and those who believe in him? "Jesus on a trailer" comes to mind. How many of them are rioting?

What I said stands, FANATICS do not understand or want democracy OR free speech - that includes our very own homegrown fanatics.

[fujiyama]

27. .

.