http://www.london-student.net Europe's Largest Student Newspaper Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:09:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://www.london-student.net/newspaper/comment/greate-debate-issue-8-yes/ http://www.london-student.net/newspaper/comment/greate-debate-issue-8-yes/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:31:51 +0000 Comment http://www.london-student.net/?p=4658 The issue of the “Jesus and Mo” web cartoon, currently reproduced by the UCL Atheist, Humanist and Secularist society’s facebook page, is a contemporary example of our fear to question alternative opinions. It would appear that attempts by Richard Dawkins, the late Christopher Hitchens and others to demystify and to re-appropriate atheism as an intellectual stance has been relatively successful. Despite this, many people, when asked to define their religious views, shuffle their feet and mumble that they’re probably atheist, often followed by a quick clarification, “well, actually, I suppose I am agnostic”. For me this is symptomatic of non-religious people’s concern of contesting religion, even passively. Now, before I come across all “Daily Mail”, and “its political correctness gone mad”, I do recognise the clear divide between actively offending someone’s religious sensibilities deliberately, and offense resulting from the reception of a personal belief or expression of this belief. This cartoon was certainly the latter of two situations.
As with the cartoons at the centre of the Jyllands-Posten controversy, these artistic expressions are satirical, intellectually based, and in the case of the current debate, inter-religious dialogue. The fear and panic over causing offense is a very real and a very insidious notion in our societies. This is especially evident within our universities. There is a real belief that as “educated” students we should possess the “self-awareness” not to upset our fellow students or members of the public. Whilst the Daily Mail and other right-wing beliefs may point to this being particularly prevalent in our attitude towards Islam, Muslims and the prophet Muhammad, and I believe there is some truth to this, I don’t think this is the fundamental issue.
The cartoons were created with an intended audience in mind, were posted in a space within which its intended audience congregated, and its intention, as with almost all satirical art, was to stir debate or at least to attract the issue presented with a new viewpoint. In the case of the “Jesus and Mo” cartoon, the artist clearly intends to take the atheistic discourses of religious and dissect it from a new angle. This fear to discuss, dissect and question is demonstrated perfectly by the UCL Union’s initial request for the comic to be taken off the facebook page.
It’s a minor development in the grand scheme of things, but it is indicative of the growing fear to question things other people have told us not too. There is simply no logical reason why the UCL Atheist, Humanist and Secularist society and its members should be forced, or indeed expected to adhere to a religious doctrine that they, as is proclaimed in their group’s title, do not belong to. Such expectations are merely proliferated by our own sense of responsibility not to upset anyone, especially, as is often whispered conspiratorially, minorities. Whilst we may wisely nod our head and quote that democracy burns at “451 Fahrenheit”, instead unbeknownst to us, we are burning our own bridges of freedom of thought, expression and critique by being, for want of a better term, too politically correct!
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