Satirizing Mohammad Is Like Poking A Stick At A Caged Dog

After the terrorist attack on French newspaper,  Charlie Hebdo,  we should have learned by now that Muslim terrorists will go to extremes to suppress the  freedom of expression.

And though as an American, I would like to think that our press is brave and cannot be intimidated, the cover of Charlie Hebdo after the massacre was not shown on television.  

Because most national news outfits did not print the "offending" caricature,  I had to do a Bing Image search to find the cover which was very subdued  in what the surviving editors could have drawn after their colleagues had been murdered.

Let's face it all the "great" religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)  have had their epoch historical moments of terrorizing non-believers.  But I like to think that mankind has advanced and that murder and terrorism  is not an accepted tool for handling those who do not believe in a particular religion's tenants.

But sadly I am wrong.  

Yesterday, in Denmark, Swedish  artist Lars Vilks maintains he was the intended target of a would be terrorist attack at a Copenhagen panel discussion, called "Art, blasphemy and freedom of expression." 

One man was killed at the site of the panel discussion and another at a Jewish synagogue.   Fortunately for the world, the police eliminated a piece of trash by killing the shooter.

Vilks has drawn sketches pictures characterizing the Islam prophet and has been threatened before.

Source of Photo: Aftonbladt

Freedom of expression in art, the press, religion, and speech are rights that citizens of most western nations just take for granted.  Those of us who are Americans should be very alarmed when any of those aforementioned rights are curtailed either by our government or the violent actions of religious fanatics.

But today's flavor of the month for satirists is extreme Islam. 

Participants of ISIS  advocate violence not only against non-believers but also people of their own faith.  ISIS participants are just thugs who enjoy sadistic brutality and  are the lowest piece of human trash.   They are no more religious than a deranged serial killer or the German Nazis.  

But are some satirists and pundits like Vilks and the editors of Charles Hebdo just pushing the envelope  to torment a group of people?  

When a person or a publication keeps attacking a particular group of people has their satire become out and out vindictive viciousness? 

How many caricatures of Mohammad need to be drawn to let the viewer of the cartoon know that the artist has little use for Islam?

The right of free expression needs to be guaranteed no matter how distasteful. And absolutely no one should be brutalized for expressing their opinion.

However, some of the satirists of Islam are much like the fool poking a stick into a cage with a very vicious dog,  They seem to be surprised when the dog gets out and grabs them by the throat.