Sitting on a Barbed-Wire Fence

Apologies for the silence, young ones. I have been once more indolent in the updating of the blog and probably would have continued my indolence if not for this rather intriguing post at the Lair.

First of all, thanks very much, you bastard, that wasted an hour of mine morning. In fact, I got momentarily confused by being diverted to his ‘the friend of my friend…’ post which linked to Orson Scott Card asshattery (which is always entertaining) and almost then commented on that post. Which was almost two years old. Sigh. Nonetheless, I managed to veer back on track and uncover the motivation for the post, for I was profoundly curious about what had got Amin posting about things one cannot (or should not) say.

And whack me with a large stick, was I entertained by it. So much so that I was going to piss on the Lair’s comment rug but then swiftly realised that it would be a lengthy pissing. And while conceding that a weighty tome about that entertainment is not the central point of this post, I must offer my own tangential comments. I do concede that being lashed forty odd times for calling one’s teddy bear Mohammed is somewhat excessive but must say that I find it rather ridiculous that Muslims get a hefty whack every time something illiberal takes place in an Islamic country. And note… this is Sudan, which is about one of these least progressive countries in the world. So everything is relative, and there are far more progressive Muslim countries and yet I’m not going to make any sweeping comments about how what the Islamic world needs is a Reformation (I believe Fareed Zakaria has made that argument in both the revised edition of Future of Freedom and his post-9/11 essay, The Politics of Rage: Why Do They Hate Us?), because I have no real idea as to whether that would do it good or bad. So I will simply not pass judgement.

And there you are. I have arrived at the point of the post, and indeed, the point that itty bitty amin was making: when does one go out there and say something even knowing that it will evoke a potentially rabid response? Some people, of course, don’t actually ‘go out there and say something’. They just do. There aren’t any calculations made. They just make the remark without thinking about the consequences. I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about here. Rather, on a topic as emotive as the present government or a ‘military solution’ or the role of civil society in Sri Lanka, one tends to hedge one’s responses knowing the likely reaction of the recipient of the remark. Most of the time, it’s just not worth the effort of an argument where the vast majority of people stick to rigidly adhered to positions, that are actually not open to debate.

I, for one, have a proclivity for having my ass sit snugly on the fence in certain situations and especially so when putting words down on paper (or on the internets, presumably). It’s not a healthy habit but it’s an understandable habit.The Colombian Dictator has repeatedly noted that I have a tendency to hedge, and not be as liberal/forthcoming in my description (or analysis) of events and situations. Therefore, it’s refreshing to see someone like Unprotected Thoughts do exactly as his name implies he should. There was also something else refreshing about that post and that’s the fact that he actually responded to the riposte put forward by one irked reader. And that applies whether or not you think what he wrote was ‘garbage’ as the riposte charged.

Mind you, it’s not always so comfortable on the fence either. Often, taking no sides is about as useful as those rabid types who can only see one side.

Gah. I feel the tingle of barbed wire on my ass!