February 21, 2006

• News and Notes

  A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT CARTOONS AND MUSLIMS

  (Revised from a comment I wrote on another blog last week.)

  I was going to write an article about the cartoons that so offended the Muslim world, but there are so many political blogs that said the same thing I wanted to point out, that I never wrote the article.Still, I wanted to put my two cents in, and will use this space as the vehicle for my views.

  Here are my thoughts. In Sept. 2005 a Danish newspaper commissioned the "cartoons". In October of 2005, DURING the holy month of Ramadan, an Egyptian (Muslim) newspaper reprinted the cartoons. I don't remember any backlash until recently. What I think happened is some radical Muslim group brought up the subject, in order to cook up resentment against the West, which is what radical Muslims do. I'm talking "radical" here, the kind of Muslims who plan flights into tall buildings, for instance. They are not indicative of the entire Muslim population, just as Jerry Falwell is not indicative of Christianity. (Or Pat Robertson, for that matter, a guy who seems to want to write his own "fatwas" as he approaches senility. (Sorry, I meant to say "dementia".)

  In response to the news articles of Muslims "protesting" the cartoons (almost six months after originally published) the European press republished them. Like a perpetual motion machine, the "response" to the reprinting fueled Muslim anger, and that's when the protests accelerrated into burning flags and embassies. You will notice that the American press, for the most part, has not printed the cartoons. I have seen them in the Egyptian paper, and they aren't that "offensive". What is offensive, if you are a Muslim, is that the prophet Muhammad is not to be pictured AT ALL, much less satirically. It is in places in Europe like France, where there are large Muslim populations, and where riots broke out not too long ago, that the dichotomy of having a religious minority in countries that support free speech is being tested by the publication of the cartoons. The most offensive shows a head shot of a bearded Muslim, supposedly Muhammad, wild eyed with a bomb shaped turban. It isn't even drawn that well. I wanted to feature my own cartoon on my blog, with "radical Islamist" subsituted for "Muhammad". I also wanted to show some of the more bloody and disgusting political cartoons in the Arab press, which show terrible images of hook nosed Jews killing Palestinian babies. The Muslim press which is pressuring the "man in the street" to riot in the name of religion is doing so without regard to the fact that they libel Christians and Jews all the time. It isn't sacriligeous to show Jesus or Ariel Sharon in a satirical political cartoon, however.

  So the "average Muslim" is going to be incensed, because he is being told to be angry, and he is responding. Remember, this is a religion where the religious Imams call for prayers six times a day. They are INTENSELY religious, and they see the portrayal of their prophet as EXTREMELY sacriligeous. Now they had to be "told" about the cartoons, since they obviously didn't see them when the Danish newspaper printed them first. And they weren't "upset" in Egypt when the Muslim press in Egypt ran the cartoons. This is a classic case of propaganda. Radicals on all sides of a question try to promote anger and the lack of tolerance in all parties fuels the fire. What has to be "fixed" is the fact that Muslims want to live in "free" countries, but still want to cling to thier antiquated religious dogmas. As I know by living in America, even with a supposed separation of Church and State, we have constant problems when it comes to seemingly undermining a person's belief system.

  AllThingsMike UPDATES

  The main page of AllThingsMike, my personal website, had been redesigned again, in case you haven't been over there in a while. I highlight some of my blog entries, and feature some of the new pages I've created, including the complete series so far of "My Sexual History" which is being serialized here on the blog, and the new Streaming Videos which are accessible through the MikeVideo site and my YouTube page. There is even a copy of my new "Video Blog" entry, which is also featured in the entry below this one, for those who missed it when I put it up on Saturday. I intend to create a "video blog" each week if time permits. The response was overwhelmingly positive. I don't think I received one RYC but only wonderful postivive feedback in 21 comments on the entry. Thanks a lot you guys. I'm glad you enjoyed this newest creative endeavor, and visit the YouTube page for more videos. I currently have 12 "original" videos online. There is a History of MikeVideo on the MikeVideo site for those of you who are interested or who didn't read the article when I featured it on WhenWordsCollide (this blog). I've added the Jukebox This Week feature to the webhub page, and also have a new guestbook element, with no comments. It's located all the way down the left hand module, under the image of the guestbook that says: "Please Read Me Like a Book, and Then Sign This One". Perhaps somebody would like to leave the first guestbook entry? (Only interested parties, obviously)

  IS THE INTERNET ISLAND A VIABLE BLOGRING?

  EDIT: 8:03 p.m. pst. Well, I've decided, after reading all the positive comments in a short period of time, that I will not "sink" the Island. It does serve a purpose, and I am too hard on myself as usual. So before reading further, the answer to  this next article is: No, I won't sink the "Island".

  I created the Internet Island as a participatory blogring where the members would constantly be visiting each other and everyone would participate in the topic posts. People with only two or three comments on each entry would find that their readership would increase. People who write would receive readerships that they never imagined. The interactivity would fuel everyone's talents and we would all make new friendships. What happened? Is it just me? I'm quite disappointed, and sometimes I think I should just pull the plug on this latest "experiment" which didn't work. From the very first "discussion board" element I put on AllThingsMike years ago, till now, on Xanga, with the "Island" I have tried to create some kind of autonomous "Internet Community." Perhaps it's because I'm just not interesting, and nobody really cares about anything "I" do, that has caused the failure of this blogring. I constantly see "popular" blogs here on Xanga, where the blogmasters have hundreds of comments on each post, they create narcissistic blogrings with hundreds of members. What do they do that I do not? I try to visit everybody. I write long comments. I READ BACK POSTS. I want to make some kind of difference!

  But it's not working, and frankly, I'm getting tired and frustrated. I've written six topic posts. The last one had only 26 entries. (Out of 124 blogring members.)  I'm pretty sure I visited each blogger and commented on his entry. (I haven't commented on the last one, forgive me, I'll comment soon) I try to go to new members whom I haven't visited before. I write up to 15 comments a day. A lot of these are on new blogs in the ring. I still manage to keep up with commenting on those sites to whom I subscribe who are not part of the "Island". Somehow that "sense of community" of which I am always writing does not seem to exist anymore. The first couple of posts had many many entries, and I thought I would be inundated with interaction so much so that it would overwhelm me.

  I'm a bit underwhelmed at the moment. What am I doing wrong? Should I just chuck this idea into my pile of overactive internet ideas? One comment I received really struck me. One of my blogring members, and regular readers told me she visited each and every one who responded to a topic post, and didn't hear from too many in return. That frustrated her, and me too. I don't really like it when I go out of my way to try to make new friends by way of the "Island Blogring" and don't get ANY FEEDBACK at all. I admit, it takes a while for me to personally visit each new member, as I approve them, and I do eventually. Sometimes I get feedback, most often I do not. I don't "rant" too much on this service. I'm going to write my articles, stories, reminiscences, and present photos, videos and artwork, just as I have before I ever heard of blogging or Xanga.  This is the way I exercise my creativity. I'm not "personally" upset at a lack of comments on my own blog. I get enough comments, and my readers usually leave me "quality" feedback. It's the "Island" that I don't think is working.

  Is anyone reading this?

  Tomorrow I will announce Internet Island Topic Post #7.00. In this post, I am going to ASK FOR TOPIC SUGGESTIONS. Perhaps the lack of interest is because most of the blogring members (not the ones who respond, but the ones who do not) do not like or cannot write responses to my "questions." I'll ask for other suggestions, then, and let's see if this bubbles up some support. I've written about my frustration with running Yahoo Groups before. I didn't think I'd get burned out so soon on the blogring, but I'm at my wit's end. I feel like I'm failing when I visit a blogring site that only has three or four comments an entry. Perhaps it's the "fault" of some of these bloggers themselves, who aren't responding. The "idea", of the "Island" , again, and I repeat, is to stimulate interaction. Why don't I think this is happening? Do I have a plug up my perception or what? Comments would be appreciated. ESPECIALLY IF YOU DON'T USUALLY COMMENT.

  Now, here's something weird. Each time I do put up a Topic Post, somebody whom I don't know, and who isn't part of the blogring will answer the topic post. I will go to them and ask if they want to join the ring, and guess what? They never respond.

  Well, that's enough of this rant. And that's quite enough of this entry. Sorry if I upset anyone with my observations. Some "Islanders" are quite special, and I beam with delight everytime I visit a site and see another blogring member comment "I'm dropping by from the Internet Island." A lot of you are quite wonderful and are exceeding my expectations. An old high school classmate who was helping me set up a "reunion website" back in the 90s (another failed internet endeavor) once told me that there are only a few people who go out and get things accomplished, and a great many just sit by idly. We couldn't get enough people interested in the idea of the "virtual yearbook" idea I had. As usual, I think in broad strokes with global ideas, and perhaps I set myself up for failure.

  I wanted to see the Internet Island succeed beyond my wildest expectations. I don't feel as if it is happening. What else can I do?

  Thanks so far for all the great answers, folks.

  • 7:21 pm
  • 32 Comments