Bizarro is brought to you today by Taliban's Discount Clothiers.
Since yesterday's cartoon sparked such a lively debate about religion's place in law making, I decided to post this cartoon from last January, which, if memory serves, appeared on this blog back then. I'm too lazy to look it up.
When this first ran, I got a couple of complaints from people who accused me of bigotry toward Islam. This plays into yesterday's theme about gay marriage because less important than my silent respect for another person's religious beliefs is the rights of the victims of those beliefs. The burqa robs a person of her identity, as this cartoon shows, and places her irrevocably as a second-class citizen. I don't believe religion is an acceptable excuse for oppression, bigotry, murder, imprisonment, or any number of other atrocities visited upon the world by people, and I think it is important to make a stand against it, both here and abroad.
That being said, I think this cartoon is funny. I've often thought of one of those cheesy photo studio shots taken of a Taliban man, his wife, and their three daughters, with all the women in burqas. Does he carry it in his wallet to show people? Does he remember which ghost is which kid? Can he even be sure that the people under the robes are his family?
15 comments:
I like the cartoons that are funny because I can see it happening. On one hand this could just be a plain boring slice of life shot. On the other hand, I could see people getting up in arms about this for no apparent reason. This one wasn't laugh out loud but it certainly brought a smile to my face. Thank you!
Well, as a best friend to two Muslim girls I can tell you that a lot of the time it's women who actually keep other women 'down'. It's sad truly but I know it first hand. Other than that, a lot of women here (not a lot abroad) choose to wear the niqab (not burqa) and they are dead serious about their beliefs, as oppressing as they might be. One of the two best friends told me just a week ago that women were inferior to men but at the same time equal...I was so shocked that I just didn't say anything..hmm..
Either way, continue with your freedom of expression Mr. Piraro. I agree with 99% of your things (usually vegans agree with each other in most subjects).
and then in all seriousness, would he get the picture in the first place? seriously, do you think iraqi men carry pictures of their families in wallets?
VeganDeisy-- it's written into their beliefs to know they are inferior, and must live in fear of practicing the right way (like most religions, really). i could definitely see the women making a bigger deal about wearing the niqab because they don't want to suffer whatever consequences would follow.
you don't see many muslim women around the suburbs of ohio, and you DEFINITELY don't see the women wearing the full garment with the little eye window (is that a terrible thing to say?). i went shopping with my boyfriend's family a while back and there was a group of muslim women, only one of which was in the full garment (the rest of the women had their faces showing). i had never seen it in person, but knew what i was looking at and respected their privacy (hell.. they were shopping like the dozens of us other sheep). the rest of the people in the store though, that was a different story. everyone was staring at them and mostly keeping away from them. oh yea, we were in a childrens' clothing store, so there were a tone of kids too. ALL of the children were taken totally aback by these women, and my boyfriend's niece would not stop looking at them. though it didn't turn into anything and nobody really cared, it still was a memorable moment. i felt bad because everyone was staring, and it got me thinking about how much i hated religion because of the role it plays in so many societies. so basically, i agree with you yet again, sir.
rant. sorry all that crappy crap happened to your computer. i love technology, but sometimes i wish it wasn't created to this extent. we could lose everything we hold dear in a split second because the hard-drive crashes and we're screwed. and THAT is how the robot apocalypse is possible.
You don't believe that there's any excuse for imprisonment? Like, in any case?
What do you recommend we do with criminals? Sure, some of them can be rehabilitated, but what about the ones who can? And yes, some criminals are literally beyond rehabilitation. Most serial killers, for example, have a deficit in their frontal lobes which makes it impossible for them to learn from their actions.
Anonymous, pay attention to what you are reading. He said that religion is not an excuse for imprisonment. He didn't say that people should not be imprisoned under any circumstance.
Anyway, I very much enjoy this cartoon. Keep it up.
"...less important than my silent respect for another person's religious beliefs is the rights of the victims of those beliefs."
Wow. Truly well said!
Nick is correct. More specifically, there is no excuse for imprisonment based on a person's failure to adhere to religious doctrine.
pretty funny actually, in fact many sects consider photographs engraven images that are forbidden. the taliban blew up the buddhas for that pitiful excuse.
This cartoon brings to mind a story that a friend of mine told me. She is Muslim, and has family in Lebanon.
Her cousin called from home to recant this particular tale.
A husband and wife, married many years. He is devout Muslim and goes to mosque every day. Because of beliefs held by this family, he does not leave his wife at home alone, one of her friends comes to spend the time with her while he attends religious services.
So, every day for 20 years, his wife, who wears niqab, is attended by another friend of hers, who also wears niqab.
One day, in 2007, the husband is returning home from worship to find ambulances and police cars lining the road around his house. Horrified and wondering what has gone wrong, he makes it to his front step just as they wheel out a body bag on a trolley. He grabs an officer who informs him that his wife's friend has had a heart attack and died. The wife is in hysterics inside the house.
He goes into the home to console his wife, and asks the officer to see the body to pay his respects to his wife's friend. The officers look at each other, and unzip the bag.
It is a man, dressed in full niqab, with the veil, of course, now removed.
Turns out that the wife has not only been cheating on her husband, but has been doing so for many, many years.
This is allegedly a true story, although the information was told to me by a co-worker, this had happened down the road from her cousin's house in Lebanon around this time last year.
Yes, the amazing true story that for some reason always involves a friend of a friend whose cousin lives down the road in a land far far away.
Last year I was on a plane and sat next to this guy who told me of a friend whose neighbor read a want ad concerning a 1965 Chevy for sale for $1000. It was placed by an old lady whose son when to Vietnam right after he bought the car new. It was placed on blocks and a month before he came home he died. She kept it for 40 years under a sheet. She finally decided to sell it. The guy bought it when out to the barn and found a brand new Corvette. Don't know how many vette's were bought that year but I am amazed how many times I have that story.
Awsome! This just made my day.
Cheers from Sweden.
you should read khadra's swallows of kabul.
As usual, I'm late to the party~ but I just wanted to add my agreement with the BS perpetrated by small-minded righteous religious folks (the same can be said for small-minded righteous non-religious folks, too...)
If it's okay with you, Dan, I would also like to add my own cartoon into the fray: http://tinyurl.com/9ctgr3
Many professing Christians are what are known as "Cafeteria Christians" because they pick and choose which Bible verses to follow and ignore ones that don't suit their agenda.
The most fundamentalist Christians, are probably the Amish in my opinion.
Jesus forbade killing so I won't allow people who bomb abortion clinics to be considered Christians
What bothers me is that liberals tend to make excuses for Muslims when they riot, make death threats over Mohammed cartoons, but vilify Christians when they organize letter writing campaigns over a negative portrayal of Jesus on television.
Amyranth, your "true story" is just a joke that someone making fun of the culture of Islam made up. It doesn't even make sense - just because a woman has 'died', doesn't give a strange man the right to see her body to "pay respects". That's just ridiculous. Have a little common sense.
Aside from that, Muslim women are not supposed to take pictures to begin with; it is against the teachings of Islam. So I doubt that Muslims who wear the burqa really have a problem deciding what picture to put in their wallets.
You guys are really quick to judge; have a little respect - there are other people, other languages, other traditions, and other religions that those in America.
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