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Stay Beautiful last night was so close to being good, if it hadn't been for a few too many people with a variety of attitude problems. Some of them blatantly townie types, but others looking like they belonged there. Even among a generation only a little younger, there's a real...discourtesy these days. Which in turn makes one feel like a disapproving old person, which doubtless only encourages them.
The great thing about the Sudan teddy incident is the way it has totally mainstreamed 'islamophobia' aka the legitimate realisation that just maybe this religion is not in fact making legitimate demands, but is dangerously insane. The Danish cartoon row...well, I guess political cartoonists aren't as sympathetic a focus for British public opinion as a well-meaning teacher overseas with good intentions, are they? In a sense they are setting out to offend, so protecting their right to do so isn't quite such an easy sell. Of course, the average liberal acquaintance is one thing - but you can be sure that if anyone is prepared to defend the islamic outrage, they'll be a Guardian reader. Step forward Tom Snow, who places the blame for the incident not with a bunch of psychos looking for offence wherever they can find it, but with the European tendency to like animals! "Many Muslims find our relationships with dogs particularly distasteful", he notes - so to avoid the risk of offending these reasonable chaps again, let's not have any tedies at all, and all shoot our pets!
Tosser.
In fairness to the Guardian, they have also printed Martin Amis' latest word on the absurd accusations recently levelled against him. Realising that everyone except the very slowest children in the class should already understand that islamophobia is not racism, but aware that said children really do need to be brought up to speed, for everyone else reading he really cuts loose with the rhetorical fireworks. I've always liked him more for his essays - and no, not just on this topic - than his fiction, and suspect that's how he'll be remembered.
Speaking of the slow children - Frank Miller seems to be making it increasingly clear for their benefit that All Star Batman And Robin is a comedy book. Not that I mind, because it's bloody funny. Even if the goddamn Batman didn't describe himself as the goddamn Batman once this issue.
The great thing about the Sudan teddy incident is the way it has totally mainstreamed 'islamophobia' aka the legitimate realisation that just maybe this religion is not in fact making legitimate demands, but is dangerously insane. The Danish cartoon row...well, I guess political cartoonists aren't as sympathetic a focus for British public opinion as a well-meaning teacher overseas with good intentions, are they? In a sense they are setting out to offend, so protecting their right to do so isn't quite such an easy sell. Of course, the average liberal acquaintance is one thing - but you can be sure that if anyone is prepared to defend the islamic outrage, they'll be a Guardian reader. Step forward Tom Snow, who places the blame for the incident not with a bunch of psychos looking for offence wherever they can find it, but with the European tendency to like animals! "Many Muslims find our relationships with dogs particularly distasteful", he notes - so to avoid the risk of offending these reasonable chaps again, let's not have any tedies at all, and all shoot our pets!
Tosser.
In fairness to the Guardian, they have also printed Martin Amis' latest word on the absurd accusations recently levelled against him. Realising that everyone except the very slowest children in the class should already understand that islamophobia is not racism, but aware that said children really do need to be brought up to speed, for everyone else reading he really cuts loose with the rhetorical fireworks. I've always liked him more for his essays - and no, not just on this topic - than his fiction, and suspect that's how he'll be remembered.
Speaking of the slow children - Frank Miller seems to be making it increasingly clear for their benefit that All Star Batman And Robin is a comedy book. Not that I mind, because it's bloody funny. Even if the goddamn Batman didn't describe himself as the goddamn Batman once this issue.
