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| Spare the lash, spoil the teddy | |
Every statist knows that inciting religious hatred and insulting religions is a
dreadful thing. So dreadful that responsible governments must lock up their
citizens for doing so. It might have taken Australia some time to catch up with the trend, but the
various Australian governments have followed in the footsteps of great nations
like Sudan, which have had such laws for centuries - as demonstrated by the
recent jailing of school teacher Gillian Gibbons. She was charged with
'insulting Islam' after she allowed her students to name a teddy to be called
Mohammed. They were going to publicly flog her and jail her for a year, but in an
uncharacteristic moment of compassion, they sentenced her to 15 days, followed
by deportation. Uncharacteristic presumably because of the hordes of angry
machete-wielding protesters demanding her immediate execution. One local quoted as saying "She is a teacher and should be teaching her pupils
to be respectful and have morals but instead she is doing the opposite."
Morality is truly in the eyes of beholder. While it's easy to foam at the mouth at the latest excesses from the members of
the Religion of Peace, one has to question the motives of 56 year old Gillian
Gibbons. What would possess someone of sound mind and (rather overweight) body
to go to Sudan to teach? Any intelligent person would either avoid the world's garbage dumps entirely,
on at least minimise their time there to a few shonky arms deals before flying
out to somewhere more civilized. But it takes all kinds. Some people feel the
need to educate the Muslims. Perhaps she thought that familiarity would breed
consideration? Perhaps she thought that she could make them more tolerant by
letting them know about western feminist theory? Or (if the nature of school
teachers in Australia is any indication) perhaps she is just stupid. Teachers are fond of saying that you're never to old to continue your 'learning
journey'. Now she is about to enjoy a few weeks of 'learning journey' herself.
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