Wow what a bunch of cowards...would make the French proud.
Posted at 2006-03-30 04:40:17 [PermaLink]All one can wish for, at this point, is for some really large-scale, outrageous attack on the West by the Islamonutters. This is what it will take to galvanize the indolent masses. And I don't mean another metro bomb, or even another 9/11. I'm talking about the kind of attack they hypothesize on "24". Otherwise we'll just continue giving a little more ground, every day, until we wake up one morning to the sound of muzzins chanting in every friggin' neighbourhood.
Posted at 2006-03-30 05:02:11 [PermaLink]""For us, the safety and security of our customers and employees is a top priority, and we believe that carrying this issue could challenge that priority," Borders Group Inc. spokeswoman Beth Bingham said Wednesday."
Safety and security... from what? Spontaneous combustion? Or from spontaneously "insurging" Muslims? The point being, Bingham believes that Muslims are dangerous when "offended".
In other words, it is Bingham & Borders who hold the view that Muslims are intolerant and dangerous. Otherwise, how in G-d's name would "safety and security" come into the equation? By contrast, the Western Standard's action showed a great deal of trust, a trust that assumed mature behaviour and tolerance on the part of Canadian Muslims. So who's corporate action amounts to racism and bigotry?
IF Bingham had pulled out Kinsella's lame "We don't believe in offending peoples' core values" line, the Borders' action would have been simple hypocrisy. As it is, they chose pure dhimmitude, a dhimmitude based upon a cowardly, bigoted fear of Muslims.
It is Borders who should apologize.
Ran,
"a dhimmitude based upon a cowardly, bigoted fear of Muslims"
I agree with "cowardly", but "bigoted" ? Why ? There are numerous, numerous examples of Muslims going ballistic for perceived offenses. Can you guarantee that some Islamonutter won't lob a Molotov Cocktail in a store carrying the drawings of their so-called prophet ? I find them commendably honest about. They're saying that they're afraid for their safety, and it's a very legitimate fear in this day and age when police in the West go out of their way to pretend that Muslims are no more likely to engage in violence than other groups, and therefore cannot be counted upon to protect businesses from this specific threat. I despise the cowardice of the chain also, but their reasons are perfectly valid.
With due respect to your challenge Gapper, Muslims in Canada are, in the vast majority, peaceful and tolerant. Many have come to Canada precisely to integrate peacefully and as a rejection of their extremist homelands. Others had the fortune to have been born in Canada. Borders has nothing to fear from them... except a boycott.
There may be a few nutters amongst them... But then again, there remain members of the Irish community in Canada who believe the IRA are a "legitimate backup plan". There are likely members of just about every community with the potential for guerilla violence to be coddled. You'd think that Borders would just stop selling books.
Perhaps I'll be proven wrong... Perhaps Canada's Muslims will prove to be violent in large part. So far, the evidence points to their civility and tolerance in comparison to their European and ME brethren. Thus I conclude that Borders' cop out is a bigoted one.
I'm not buying from Borders down here, not any more. I'm boycotting them. I'm voting with my dollar.
Ran,
Fair enough, it's a (more or less) free country. However, much as in the rest of the world, Canada's Muslims are essentially silent when it comes to dealing with their own loonies, and those loonies make up, unfortunately, a fairly significant minority. Whether the rest remain silent because they silently agree with the loonies, or because they're afraid of them, remains an open question. But the fact remains that close to 100% of terrorism today is conducted by Muslims, and they've been shown to get excitable in a hurry when they feel they've been wronged. And just about everything offends them these days.
You mention the Irish and IRA. Have you ever worried about some mad Irishman bombing your local bookstore because it carried a book written by, say, Maggie Thatcher ? Do you worry when you see Hasidic Jews on your flight ? Does the sight of a gang of young white preppies cause you to change sides when you walk down the street ? Me neither.
It is a false analogy to compare Muslims to every other group. Unfortunately, they've shown a growing propensity to violence, and our behaviour is only encouraging them. Rather than say "hey, f**k you, this is a free country. If you don't like it, get the hell out", we bend over backwards to accomodate them because we're generally nice guys, but also because, increasingly, we know there's enough crazies among them that a threat on our life is real possibility.
A state security apparatus should be established so that bookstores won't have to worry if the publications they sell could possibly cause upset.
The government could ensure that no book would upset any group that might resort to demonstrations or violence.
Books that advocate women's rights should be banned as one of the first priorities of the security apparatus because anti-abortion protesters have been known to be violent. Uppity women will appreciate this the most, they can feel secure in the knowledge that the government will take care of them.
Can someone (Damian - you're a lawyer) explain how and/or where the various "Human Rights Commissions" fit with respect to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms". The following is from the Charter (Section 2 Fundamental Freedoms):
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
a) freedom of conscience and religion;
b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
d) freedom of association.
It seems clear to me that the Western Standard has every right to publish the cartoons - hurting someone's feelings isn't inciting hate. Does the HRC try to get around this by using Section 1 of the Charter:
1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
Thanks in advance for any answers.
Gapper, I hear you. What you've said makes sense.
Posted at 2006-03-30 07:48:57 [PermaLink]I suggest Mr. Levant:
1) Find out if those boycotting bookstores carried The Satanic Verses during the height of that particular frenzy, and if so, ask what the difference is between then and now;
2) Call Salman Rushdie as a witness (by satellite link if necessary);
3) Bring with him a copy of The Da Vinci Code, which is actually BLASPHEMOUS as opposed to merely sacrilegious like the Islamic cartoons, and query the double standard that is currently being practiced with regard to hurt feelings;
4) Bring along some samples of antisemitic cartoons from Middle Eastern papers, as an example of what REAL hatred looks like. The Danish cartoons will appear tame by comparison.
Text of an e-mail sent this morning to Ms. Beth Bingham, Public Relations Manager for Borders Group, Inc.:
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March 30, 2006
Ms. Beth Bingham
Borders Group, Inc.
100 Phoenix Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Dear Ms. Bingham:
This is to advise you that I intend to make no further purchases at Borders Books and Music outlets or at any Walden Books store. I have made this decision after learning that Borders Group, Inc. has instructed these stores not to carry the April-May issue of "Free Inquiry" magazine because that issue includes four of the "Mohammed cartoons."
[External Link]
[External Link]
Your statement that ""We absolutely respect our customers' right to choose what they wish to read and buy and we support the First Amendment," is transparent nonsense. Only the most stupid or ideologically blinkered individual could believe that the right to read is being respected or the first Amendment supported when a major book seller refuses to carry a publication, particularly when its own spokesperson admits that Borders Group, Inc. has acted out of fear.
I regret being forced to this decision, because I have never received anything less than courteous service from professional and knowledgeable staff at any Borders store. However, I cannot continue to make purchases in good conscience from an enterprise whose corporate management have forfeited my respect through publicly admitted cowardice.
Very Sincerely,
David H. Lowe
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Ms. Bingham's e-mail address is
bbingham@bordersgroupinc.com I learned her proper title only in an automated reply which indicated that she will be away from her desk for most of today, March 30.
David H. Lowe; she's "away from it" or under it? ;)
Posted at 2006-03-30 13:07:16 [PermaLink]