Tension Rises Over Cartoons of Muhammad

In a country where evangelical christians FREAK OUT about Britney Spears Christian character on "Will & Grace" making "cruci-fixin's", it's not really that hard to understand the furor over this.

I kinda have to agree with this guy, Mahmoud Hashem:

"Anybody who wants to get some press uses Muslims as a punching bag."

His method of protest: calling for a boycott of Danish products (so much for the view that ALL Muslims are bombthrowing freakies).

I personally found the cartoon in question to be incredibly racist, painting Arabic Muslims with the wide brush of "terrorist" and stoking the fires of conflict between Western culture and Islamic culture. Not a smart move in a world where cultural differences can lead to such incendiary reactions.

And while I support freedom of speech, I also believe wholeheartedly in taking responsibility for what you put out into the world, and understanding the possible implications of your actions before putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys...whichever).

That said, does anyone else feel like the world is going freakin' insane?