February 8, 2006

Dr. Cole on "The Hypocrisy of the West and Cartoongate"

Another interesting comment from Dr. Juan Cole:

"For those waxing holier than thou over the Muslim caricature riots, it is worth looking at the (very incomplete) Wikipedia list of riots for the late 20th century and early 21st century. The answer is obviously "yes" to the question of whether Westerners riot. Mostly over race."


Update: I was amused by Ottnot's comment to Dr. Cole's post:

Riots? Here? In America? Never. We are human beings, not Muslims. /sarcasm

Kee-rist. What do you think happens in the U.S. after many pro-sports championships?

What do you think happens every New Year's Eve in some cities, just for the hell of it.

How would you described what happened the day after Thanksgiving at effing Walmart, for eff's sake?

Would we riot over some cartoon? Hell no. We choose other, equally stupid, reasons for our riots.