Back then the Danish Mohammad cartoon controversy erupted, I remember no shortage of people saying “Well Americans make fun of Jesus all the time!” I’m not sure whether they were suggesting they should riot and murder as well, but at the very least, people seemed to really want some kind of validation in their perceptions of a double standard.
It’s still happening, with people apparently thinking their completely superficial reading of imagery translates to a deep intellectual point. Take this letter from today’s Lincoln Journal Star (in response to this cartoon):
Man, I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I saw Neal Obermeyer’s cartoon spoof of Jesus throwing bugs out of a sack, down on Nebraska (LJS, June 22).
Say, you know what would be great? Obermeyer could do a cartoon spoof of the prophet Mohammed doing something silly! Oh, come on. It would be fun.
Please, Mr. Obermeyer, do a cartoon spoof of the prophet Mohammed. Pretty please with a cherry on top! Think of the belly laughs that will get!
People will love you for it. Oh, don’t be shy. Do a cartoon spoof of the prophet Mohammed. Pleeease!
Mark Scheetz, Lincoln
Commenter “TS” got it:
To Mark Sheetz: Good Lord, how clueless can you get? Obermeyer wasn’t spoofing Jesus. He was spoofing the morons who can’t (or refuse to) understand the natural causes of global warming. The image of Jesus was in their imagination — you did notice the enclosing balloon, didn’t you? Since this country is about 95% Christian, it is natural to put an image of Jesus in their understanding of the effects of global warming as somehow supernatural if anything. If Obermeyer had put an image of Mohammed in the cartoon, what sense would that have made in this country?
Next time you criticize, first try to understand what you’re talking about.
Also check out the rest of those comments for some great, but unrelated, debate on why Bush is a true Christian and Obama isn’t.