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Maynard says:

In having this ongoing discussion, it’s useful to pause now and then and remember how we got here. It’s not as if Bosch and his pals just decided out of the blue to go offend Muslims. This business of not being allowed to draw Muhammad just sort of magically appeared one day, like a mysterious cancer.

“South Park” proves the point. “South Park” is an old-school equal-opportunity offender, with (for example) occasional appearances by Jesus, and some fun with Mormons. A “South Park” episode from 2001 included the “Super Best Friends”, consisting of Muhammad, Buddha, Moses, Joseph Smith, Krishna, Laozi and Sea Man. So we all got to see a goofy animated Muhammad (“with the powers of the flame”!), and nobody cared. Another day in America, and another bit of silly irreverence.

The scary thing today is we’re getting used to abnormal things; things that would have been branded un-American a few years ago. We’ve long been awash in text and imagery that seriously offends us, and the strong American law and (ahem!) liberal tradition has been to shrug it off. And suddenly some foreign religion comes along and tells everyone else to be silent or die. Non-believers must submit to our rules! Huh? When do foreigners get to redefine our law and culture and heritage to make it conform to their religion? There is no reason, other than fear and cowardice, that Americans should consider acquiescing to such restrictions.

As Bosch says, he draws Muhammad because someone told him he couldn’t, and threatened him. If not for the threat, there’d be no reason to draw the cartoon. Bosch isn’t provoking, he’s reacting. He’s reacting as any good American should. To deny this is to deny one of America’s most sacred values.

There’s been some talk of “Piss Christ” and the like, and those analogies are apt and important. Taranto makes another interesting analogy to Martin Luther King. King staged a number of peaceful but “provocative” protests, and indeed there were some violent reactions…including King’s own murder. Does anyone want to say that King should have stayed home instead of doing those things that anyone could see might trigger violence? Would those that condemn Bosch likewise condemn King? I doubt it.

Of course, the analogy is imperfect, in that King was protesting government thuggery, and Bosch was protesting private thuggery. But Jihad, Inc. isn’t just a war on individuals; we know it’s a war on America as well (as 9/11 reminds us). America and Bosch are on the same side, in theory at least, since it’s the same army that aspires to destroy both of them. And yet, Obama’s government was a no-show in protecting Bosch…which in itself justifies a protest against government that turns a blind eye to would-be murderers.

To the extent that Bosch was part of a protest that wasn’t about the American government…what if, for example, Bosch had been protesting the Mafia instead of the Jihadists. If it was 1931 and Bosch drew a caricature of Al Capone, and some Mafioso shot at him, would you blame the incident on Bosch and condemn him as a hater? Yeah, Bosch, just shut up and leave the Mafia alone.

What am I trying to say here? I’m meandering, but I hope it’s not random; I’m just trying to put current events in proper perspective.