Kos misses the mark

Over on DailyKos,* I came across this story. The author is discussing the controvery over the Danish cartoons (follow their links if you are unfamiliar with it), but attempts to equate the current Muslim reaction to the reaction of religious conservatives in the United States to Ofili's "Virgin Mary", or the ABC's "The Book of Daniel". At least one commentor draws a parallel between the cartoons and the WaPo cartoon depicting a wounded soldier and the reaction by the Joint Chiefs.

The situations are quite dissimilar. When conservatives protested "Virgin Mary" or "Piss Christ" or "The Book of Daniel", they did so by organizing boycotts, writing letters, and so forth. (I am sure that there were a few who espoused violence, but let's be honest - that's fringe, and wasn't exactly common.) While I disagree with a general boycott of Danish products, that at least makes sense, and is in the same ballpark. After all, if I don't like "The Book of Daniel" (haven't watched it, but don't care about the controversy), then it is fully in my rights to inform the advertisers that I will avoid their products because of the show. Likewise, Muslims are quite within their rights to inform Denmark that they won't buy Danish products.

Conservatives did not, however, riot in the streets, take people hostage, or toss grenades. Civil disagreement is fine - armed disagreement isn't.

* I read a variety of political sites, both left and right, US and international. When the son sleeps, I surf (and do housework) - and I can read a lot in an hour or two.