I don't think that I understand the word offensive. I cannot think of ever being offended in the sense that some people seem to enjoy on a regular basis. I know that there are things that I do not like or disapprove of, but to say that I am offended would have little or no meaning.
There are moves afoot to produce an exhibition of cartoons that some sectors of society may find offensive, and there are others who find the idea of offending others as offensive and so the intention to offend in itself has become a contentious issue. Why is the idea of such an exhibition being held up as an affront? Those who many take offence surely are not dragged screaming and kicking to experience such an exhibition and the majority of us probably don't give a damn one way or the other, so by reacting to the intention, the act itself is being given the oxygen of publicity.
I find it very hard to understand why those that follow religion should be upset when others attack or make fun of their beliefs. Are they so deeply insecure in what they have been told that they are angered at any sort of challenge? I am a great devotee of the process of evolution, it seems so clear that this is the way that life on earth has come to be. It is supported by overwhelming evidence as well as sound and logical argument and yet the doorstep evangelists who tell me that it is nonsense and that the earth was created a few thousand years ago, do not offend me or even anger me. Please all you fundamentalists mock me all you like, print as many anti atheist cartoons as you like and I will laugh along with you.
If your belief is based on anything other than flimsy dogma passed down the generations, then it should be solid enough to stand up to any counteractivity thrown at it. If the skin is so thin that you have no tolerance for the beliefs and values of others then your belief is fatuous and worth challenging.
There are moves afoot to produce an exhibition of cartoons that some sectors of society may find offensive, and there are others who find the idea of offending others as offensive and so the intention to offend in itself has become a contentious issue. Why is the idea of such an exhibition being held up as an affront? Those who many take offence surely are not dragged screaming and kicking to experience such an exhibition and the majority of us probably don't give a damn one way or the other, so by reacting to the intention, the act itself is being given the oxygen of publicity.
I find it very hard to understand why those that follow religion should be upset when others attack or make fun of their beliefs. Are they so deeply insecure in what they have been told that they are angered at any sort of challenge? I am a great devotee of the process of evolution, it seems so clear that this is the way that life on earth has come to be. It is supported by overwhelming evidence as well as sound and logical argument and yet the doorstep evangelists who tell me that it is nonsense and that the earth was created a few thousand years ago, do not offend me or even anger me. Please all you fundamentalists mock me all you like, print as many anti atheist cartoons as you like and I will laugh along with you.
If your belief is based on anything other than flimsy dogma passed down the generations, then it should be solid enough to stand up to any counteractivity thrown at it. If the skin is so thin that you have no tolerance for the beliefs and values of others then your belief is fatuous and worth challenging.
