If I May Say So

There's a lot of protest against the Da Vinci Code for whatever irrational, faith-based reasons one may generate. Fine. Happily we haven't gone down the path of censorhip and we can all still acknowledge peoples' right to protest the film, I hope. Now, what should happen if the protestors start getting violent? Will we yield and pull the film, or apologize profusely to the Christian zealots? I should sincerely hope not. Just as they have the right to protest, the movie has the right to be shown. Does anyone remember those cartoons concerning the prophet Mohammed that those silly Danes made? Old news, I know. I had to scour all the internet to actually see them for myself. Or, if not scour, at least it was harder to find such popular art than I assumed it would, or should be. I suspect I had such a difficult time finding the cartoons for the same reason people are upset with the Da Vinci Code, they were offensive. The lesson here is clear, if the Christians really don't want the Da Vinci Code shown they should just riot and kill some of the producers and/or actors. On the other hand, we might decide that while the pictures of Mohammed were offensive, every person who believes in the freedom of speech should accept that they should not be kept out of print on those grounds. Groups, any groups, have the right to bicker in a non-violent manner. We might hope that people do no want to offend each other but, if I may say so, people are entitled to say what they want, even if it is objectionable.