Draw the Prophet Muhammed Day

Apparently today has been proclaimed to be the first annual "Draw the Prophet Muhammad" day. I had originally planned on participating but decided not to for several reasons.

One was, of course, because of my insistence on perfection. I would not publish such a drawing unless I was absolutely satisfied with it. I don't have the time to devote to such perfection so I won't worry myself over it. If I succumbed to less then Borg perfection it would probably have ended up looking like a stick figure, decernable only as the Prophet by an arrow pointing to said figure with the word "Muhammed" next to it. Maybe I would throw in one of his many quotations too. The second reason is more important, albeit my explanation of it might be convoluted at best; I hope I remembered my string.

Out of respect for the Muslims I have known or met, while I was in Turkey or in college, I choose not to draw him. I'm not quite sure why it is forbidden to draw a depiction of Muhammed even if it is something like a picture of him holding down that stone that wanted to come with him to heaven. Or can one draw him if it's for a religious picture? I'm not sure but regardless, of certain things at least, you can't draw him. Fine. I can respect that.
However, if I chose to draw the Prophet Muhammad for any reason, as long as it wasn't a depiction of him banging a donkey or something extreme like that, then I would expect any Muslims to respect my right to freedom of speech and take the drawing with a grain of salt. Freedom of speech is fine so long as you aren't being an asshole about it. If you have a grievance please express it in a mature fashion or, as Jon Stewart said, for all of you that are threatening death in the name of religion or politics...Go #$%@ yourself.
I suppose respect from both sides is what I am saying here. But people oft do chose ignorance over common sense or the truth.

***Hours after the initial typing

I received a message via skype from a friend of mine in which he was cursing Muslims. I tried to correct him in his misunderstanding. I am unsure if I got through to him. All the Muslims I have met have been, as I said, either in college with me or in Turkey. In Turkey they were very tolerant of me, a nonbeliever. The only time I was confronted about my dress was when I didn't wear a headcovering when I entered a mosque. No big deal, it was my own fault. I should have been more mindful of the culture. I wish more Muslims looked to Turkey, a wonderful synthesis of eastern and western culture. I wish people had more respect for each other and understood each other more.

I'm not perfect but I try. You can believe whatever you want so long as it's not hurting anyone. Each to his own, so long as you aren't ignoring the facts of the matter. Pure and simple. I supposed this is why I am a scientist and why I value religion for its stories only.

Tripe

Recently I was told by my boss ( I have not mentioned her before but she is a nice lady. I enjoy her.) that some patrons, one in particular, had some rather biting comments concerning the tidiness of the newspapers, particularly the Plain Dealers. It was about the middle of the month so I really wasn't surprised to hear such a thing. They tend to gradually get more and more disorderly as we approach the middle and the end of the month, after I sort them and throw away the old ones. Now, with all my other responsibilities at work it is important to note that newspapers are the least of my worries.
When I heard that a few patrons had complains about the upkeep of the newspapers I was not quite furious but I was well on my way to being there. Why, you ask? As I stated I have a long list of things that I am worried about doing. I have all these things that I have to worry about, I take my job more seriously than most of the pages working there, I feel like I'm the only one that cares and YOU want to complain about the newspapers? Really? I would love to see that person come and do my job, do all the things that I do and then tell me about the newspapers. These people have no idea what it is like to work for them. They have no idea with what we have to endure: "What's an email?" "How do I get to facebook?" "Do you have this movie?" No, we do not have that movie in but it is also a book. Would you like the book? No?
Curse you people. Plebeians. Philistines. You never want books, real books. The books you want are tripe. TRIPE! You want to read books that are nothing but one long sex scene. Your books have no intriguing plot, with twists and turns. Tripe! To Kill a Mockingbird is a book. Taming of the Shrew is a book. Yours are not books. I'm not saying that the occasional book of this nature is a terrible thing but when it is all you read...truly it fills me with a mixture of despair and frustration. Sex, facebook, and movies...