It's a cartoon world

I'm having difficulty being concerned about the Muhammad cartoon uproar. Yes, I understand that offensive images of Muhammad are, well, offensive to Muslims. And, yes, I understand that Denmark, and then Germany and France are laying claim to their systems' emphasis on free speech. And so on.... Blah blah. I work on these sorts of problems all day long. I don't want to have to blog them too.

The fact remains: it's a cartoon. Cartoons are not real. They often do not even simulate reality. How many people do you know who've had an anvil (with the poundage marked on the side) fall on their heads, thus burying them halfway into the ground?

The fact also remains: mocking images of Muhammad are offensive to many Muslims. You print something like that, expect to pay the price.

I started by thinking this was a really important issue: the demands by one culture for respect for its most hallowed figure vs. the demands by another culture for free speech, even when offensive. Then we spend much time trying to figure out where the line is between free speech and hate speech when some groups are more sensitive regarding what images can be shown than others. Anyway... I'll sit this one out and let the irony of photos do the talking for me.