Pagoda Circle at Dawn
Haters got to hate, I just wish that they wouldn’t do it in my town. Pam Geller and her Southern Poverty Law Center certified hate group, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) is at it again. Today, Geller announced that 100 billboards have just gone up around Saint Louis that depict the winning cartoon from her Garland, Texas “Draw Muhammad” cartoon contest. This is the same contest that was attacked in April, by two shooters. The drawing depicts a caricature of an angry Prophet Muhammad, waving a sword and shouting “You can’t draw me!” Also illustrated is the artist’s hand holding a pencil with a speech bubble saying “That’s why I draw you”. Additionally, on the billboards is the slogan, “Support Free Speech” and the AFDI logo. With all that Saint Louis has been through this last year, this is the last thing that we need. It is true that depicting the Prophet is perfectly legal under American law, but so then is using the n-word, but that doesn’t mean that you should do either. Both are examples of hate speech. Geller used Breitbart as her mouthpiece and so far this news has remained in the extreme right’s echo chamber, but it is sure to come out in the mainstream media soon. I only heard about it, because I work with people like that. I could have swung by after work and gotten a picture of the one on Banshee, but I chose this more peaceful photo from my morning bike ride in Forest Park instead.
I’ve often wondered – Who decides exactly WHAT is free speech and WHAT is inflammatory? Being as names for different ethnic groups changes like the wind – who makes up with the rules?
If a group makes it clear that they don’t like a name or as in this case an image, it is common courtesy to respect that wish.
But – who are they? Do THEY have a meeting once a month. I’ve often heard people of the same ethnic background arguing over just such a topic [that’s where I got the question from, by the way.]