Portrait of the Artist as a Dhimmified Man
Here's an analysis of self censorship out of fear of retaliation by Muslims who can be angered by just about everything. Until the West stands up to this intimidation, it will only get worse. Cowardice breeds cowardice.
IT IS BETTER TO DIE ON YOUR FEET THAN TO LIVE ON YOUR KNEES.
FROM PAJAMASMEDIA.COM:
Portrait of the Artist as a Dhimmified Man
Given the history of Islamist violence directed at European artists, writes David Rusin, their fear of critiquing Islam is justifiable. However, the current level of self-censorship is deeply problematic. “Their eagerness to assume the role of subjugated infidels living under Islamic rule can only demoralize the population and embolden the extremists.”
by David J. Rusin
“Art is not what you see,” noted Edgar Degas, “but what you make others see.” Ninety years after his death, a new maxim applies to Europe: The art that you do not see reflects what everyone already sees. And what we see is the preemptive surrender of public freedoms in the name of appeasing the continent’s restive Muslim underclass.
Grayson Perry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grayson_Perry
serves as the ideal poster boy — or perhaps poster girl — for this discomfiting trend. A Turner Prize recipient and England’s most famous cross-dressing potter, Perry has been heralded for his controversial explorations of religious imagery, which include a vase entitled “Transvestite Brides of Christ” and a portrayal of the Virgin Mary that is best left to the imagination. Yet apparently there are some boundaries that even groundbreaking artists dare not cross.
“I’ve censored myself,” Perry told the Times, admitting that he treads lightly around radical Islam. “With other targets you’ve got a better idea of who they are but Islamism is very amorphous. You don’t know what the threshold is. Even what seems an innocuous image might trigger off a really violent reaction so I just play safe all the time.” Self-censorship thus boils down to self-preservation. “The reason I haven’t gone all out attacking Islamism in my art is because I feel real fear that someone will slit my throat.”
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