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[quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
I feel just as comfortable defending that as the Jewish attorney from the ACLU who defended Neo-Nazis in National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, 432 U.S. 43 (1977).

Jeff I think you are missing the point here.[/quote]

Agree. This thread seems to be about reasons for the attack. (Correct me if I'm wrong!) Going down the rabbit hole of asking "were the cartoons offensive?" implies there might be a legitimate discussion to be had about these stereotypes as possible reasons for the attack. IMO, there's not. I think we all agree that these particular caractures might be offensive. But, satire is by definition offensive, and at least CH offends everybody (I posted the three links to CH cartoons above). Also, whether we like it or not, satire often goes beyond somebody's political stance to the point of mocking W's big ears or Boehner's yellow skin. Finally, freedom of speech. So, if you want to have a discussion about whether satire should be limited to somebody's political or religious views, and cartoonists should leave out the size of the nose (Muslims or Jews) or ears (W), that seems like a very different discussion. [/quote]

I think both of you are missing my point. I am quite sure that the Jewish attorney who defended the Nazis in Skokie made exactly the same distinction I have been discussing. He was defending the right of Nazis to march, not defending Nazi ideology.

Distinct from that, Boehner does have orange skin, Obama has big ears, etc. Exaggerating those characteristics is normal and not offensive. But, not all Arabs and certainly not all Muslims have big noses. What's being displayed in those cartoons are not individuals, but stereotypes. I find the perpetuation of certain stereotypes offensive and not the sort of thing that I want to defend. However, I will defend the right to create and disseminate offensive material, even if I won't defend the material itself. Also, to be clear, material that I don't want to defend includes parodies of the Holocaust.

Again, as much as I dislike some of the cartoons produced by Charlie Hedbo, I strongly support the magazine's right to publish them and totally, unequivocally condemn the murders.

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