According to the report by Expose the Left (nee Political Teen), Sam Donaldson pontificated that the cartoons were wrong because they made Moslems angry, as if Moslems were rabid dogs. Now it's my turn to pontificate. Four points:
First, worrying about making someone angry as a principle for limiting speech and publishing is absurd. There are always some group of folks who will get angry about something or other. For instance, I get furious when I read the New York Times, yet they continue daily publication, (for the present, anyway). Some people are really pissed off at this and other blogs. Too bad. Are we all supposed to burn buildings to get some sympathy and consideration, and to stop people from pissing us off? Succumbing to people's emotions, especially irrational anger and irrational hatred, is not only cowardly - it makes the very idea of free speech a joke. (And, by the way, don't we all remember Donaldson worrying, years ago, about saying anything to make the Soviets mad? It's a submissive reflex in the guy - probably married to a dominatrix.)
Secondly, I believe in decent, mannerly, and tasteful behavior. Those are important values of civilization. But I reserve the right to speak and write whatever I want, even if someone thinks it's tasteless or unmannerly. Sometimes it's just fun.
Third, I see a coming risk of self-censorship to avoid trouble with Islam, leading the West further down the road to censoring unpleasant truths. PC baloney already rules in many areas of life, witness Larry Summer's intimidation by a handful of hysterical, hypersensitive females at Harvard. If a bright, full-grown guy can be intimidated by that, how intimidated would he be by a bunch of Jihadists? He'd give them the whole dang school in a second, along with honorary doctorates in Jihad Studies!
Fourth, I believe that the so-called "rage" is really an effort to intimidate and silence the world, freeing the Jihad to continue their relentless pursuit of the Caliphate wherever and whenever they have the chance. (They aren't truly angry - they are having an old-fashioned "Hate Party," like the KKK used to have.) Filling Europe with unassimilated Moslems was a good start. Shutting down criticism and satire is a next phase. Wiping Israel off the map is next.
