Warning: This Cartoon May Be Harmful to Stability in the Region

If you are like me, the insanity revolving around cartoon depictions of the prophet Muhammad has you shaking your head in bewilderment. This article goes a long way in explaining the situation. Also, today's episode of Democracy Now! features an excellent segment exploring the controversy. I found two aspects of the story particularly interesting.

1) The western media is misrepresenting the story when they report that the outrage is about the mere depiction of Muhammad. The outrage is, as you may have suspected, about offensive and insulting depictions of the prophet.

2) The violence and riots were NOT incited by the cartoons in the Danish newspaper. Those cartoons certainly upset a great many Muslims, but the violence began when Islamic extremist agitators faked and circulated cartoons that were even more offensive.

There is blame aplenty in this sad tale. The Danish newspaper has essentially admitted to the fact that they wanted to offend people. Nice job, dumbass. See what hate speech does? Meanwhile, the rioters and agitators who are spurring them on have gone a long way reinforce the very stereotype illustrated in the cartoons. Maybe everyone should stop asking, “Why do they hate?” and ask, “Why do I hate?” The situation will only get worse until both sides admit how they worked together to create this mess. Sadly, that kind of introspection is rare and unlikely.