Sunday 16 February 2014

Nick Cohen on Fear

I don't normally recommend him, but he's on the money here.

9 comments:

Bayard said...

I disagree: all you are admitting is that there are some (and it only takes one or two, out of millions) Muslims who are nut cases who want to kill everybody. If you are worried about appearing un-PC, you can make the above point explicit.

Staffordshire man said...

"I don't normally recommend him"

For me he's more often right than wrong.

Tim Almond said...

Staffordshire man,

I disagree. In this subject of freedom of speech, Cohen is pretty good and is prepared to stand up, often against certain prevailing views and make a well-thought argument. But outside of that, he just follows various lazy camps of argument.

Kj said...

B: I refer you to compare the strategically placed blob by Channel 4, the adherent numbers in the world religions, and the occurence of art installations, stand up comedy, film/musicals etc., involving christianity in some form or another in the last thirty years. Then go back to that blob. What stands out?

Bayard said...

M, Kj: From the article: "Seizing their chance to do down a rival, two “community leaders” Mo Ansar and Muhammad Shafiq began a campaign against him". I count that as two, not millions.
We are not talking about suicide bombers here, we are talking about assassins. Are you saying that for every assassin there is a vast back-up network, or are Muslim assassins somehow different, that Muslim idiots-with-a-grievance-and -a-gun only set forth to kill when they have the backing of thousands of their co-religionists, unlike idiots-with-a-grievance-and-a-gun of other faiths and creeds?

Kj said...

Yes, they identified two people campaigning against a person merely referring to the cartoon through a link. That's the only cartoon related incident you've heard about B?

Bayard said...

"That's the only cartoon related incident you've heard about B?"

That's irrelevant. My point was that it only took one or two nutters issuing death threats to create a climate of fear and such threats do not necessarily implicate all the other people who happen to share the nutters' religion. Personally, if someone was issuing death threats against me, I'd be more worried about how to stop them killing me than what religion they were.

Kj said...

That's irrelevant. My point was that it only took one or two nutters issuing death threats to create a climate of fear and such threats do not necessarily implicate all the other people who happen to share the nutters' religion.

Noone is implicating all who share the nutters religion, and are you serious? Was it one or two nutters issuing death threats that lead to a climate of fear regarding publishing controversial cartoons etc.?

Bayard said...

Kj, just because having many people issuing death threats can as easily create a climate of fear as one or two doesn't disprove the fact that one or two can also do it. The fact that a firing squad of ten can execute a prisoner makes no difference to the fact that the job can be done just as easily by a single man with a revolver.