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Read other letters about this article
I'm sure others have already said this here, but I have to get this out: Why violence?
Were the Danes who published the cartoons jag-offs? Probably. Should the Danes open up to more freedom of speech? Yes.
Do Muslims around the world have the right to dislike the Danes, boycott their goods and services and so on? Of course.
Nonetheless, I feel no need to understand or sympathize with those who take to violence over cartoons. We on the left feel no sympathy for fundamentalist Christians when they attack abortionists. We don't say, "Well, its understandable, because one of the central rules of Christianity states that people shall not kill." We say, "Lock them up." Maybe even "Restrict how close to a clinic abortion opponents may protest." We say, rightfully, in my opinion, "Those guys are assholes."
