Daily Cal Racist Cartoon Spurs Sit In - 18 Arrested

The cartoon is both racist and sexist. I think a great deal of fuss should also be made about the obvious sexism, referring to sex with virgins. What kind of pornographic trash, as well as racist trash, is this that is appearing in the Daily Californian? It is clear that the Daily Cal has been taken over by a group of reactionary illiterates and it is time the progressive students at UC Berkeley take journalism classes so they may be on the staff of the Daily Cal and restore it to its position of being the voice of the peace, anti-racist, feminist and generally progressive community as it was during the Vietnam War. In other words, it is long overdue that the Daily Cal and UC Berkeley, a public university paid for with our federal and state tax dollars, be the voice of the workingclass that makes that university possible, that it be the voice of the dispossessed, the disinherited and the disenfranchised. Progressive Students: Take those journalism classes and become members of the Daily Cal staff.

Bell's cartoon in the Daily Cal is disgraceful. Apart
from the sterotyping and inflammatory aspect, which is so
dangerous, is that it is religiously so offensive and
insensitive. I'm not even religious but it seems pretty
obvious that Allah is imagined as residing in hell and that
Islamic paradise is equated with that hell. Bell, if you
ever read this, I'd say you are dangerous, people like you should join the army, we don't want you outside. And you
Daily Cal editors, maybe you should take some classes and talk to some folks and learn about the real world. You make the US not worth defending.

Great Work to those that protested against the racist cartoon! We need to stamp out racism and sexism wherever it rears its ugly head. To those that that created this cartoon, do everyone and yourself a big favor, GET A LIFE!!!

i don't get it. i would have expected folks who read indymedia to be a little more intelligent than this. i just looked at the cartoon in question, and i find it impossible to understand why everyone is so upset about it. no, i don't find it impossible. but i find it disgusting that people can allow themselves to be so carried away by "PC" bullshit and so blindly ignorant to what free speech really means.

1. the cartoon doesn't depict a couple of random guys who are supposed to represent the entire muslim community. it depicts *THE HIJACKERS*. correct me if i'm wrong, but the hijackers were muslim, were they not? so how does a drawing of two specific and evil people suddenly become a representation of their entire religion? (notice the flight manual next to the one guy - this is clearly supposed to be those who committed this evil act)

2. it's *SATIRE*. satire is defined as "A literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit". this cartoon depicts the hijackers, revelling in the fact that they performed their duty for Allah and expecting to be rewarded for such with eternal paradise. INSTEAD, they are slapped in the face by the reality (as depicted) which is that the only place such an act will send you is straight to hell. that hand they're standing in? that's the DEVIL'S hand, not Allah's. the whole point of the cartoon is that these people who thought their evil act would send them to Allah found out the hard way that Allah doesn't want to have anything to do with evil.

how can all of you not get this? it's mind boggling. someone was outraged that the cartoonist depicted "islamic paradise as hell"
umm...HELLO??? he's not depicting "islamic paradise" AT ALL!! he *is* depicting hell, cause that's where you go when you slam a plane into the world trade center and kill thousands of people.

if i were muslim, i would be glad to know that finally, SOMEBODY was recognizing the fact that not all muslims believe killing innocent people leads straight to heaven. i would be glad to know that somebody was getting the point.

and yet, instead of applauding this cartoonist, we're hunting him down with torches and pitchforks. have we grown *that* sensitive? have we really become *that* PC?

it's not the cartoon that's sickening.

I think the point is that it was irresponsible to print the cartoon - it was morally wrong to print it - but not illegal.
I don't think many people are saying that the daily cal broke the law by printing the cartoon (a few are saying it was a hate crime).
The main gripes people have is that it was dangerous, irresponsible, and insensitive to print it.

At a time when Arab American, Muslim and middle eastern people are being scapegoated, attacked, and killed for wearing turbans(?), long beards - for the way they dress and for the way they look - it is very irresponsible to print caricatures like the ones that appear in this cartoon.
A weak minded man in Arizona saw photos of Bin Laden on TV and killed a Sikh gas station attendant:
http://www.indybay.org/display.php?id=104299

I feel that the Daily Cal has a legal right to print such a cartoon - but the editors should have considered the danger they could be putting people in by doing so and made the decision not to print it.
The daily cal should apologize for putting Arab American, middle eastern, and Muslim people (and those -wrongly- perceived to be so) in more danger than they already were.
You can call it "pc" if you like.
If so, "pc" has become a matter of life and death for many.

I agree with the poster above who (wisely) noted that this is SATIRE! Immediately when I saw the cartoon, I understood that the creator was tweaking the hijackers WARPED vision of Islam.

As all people with half a brain understand, Islam is a peaceful religion which has been regrettably twisted (gee, maybe like Christianity over the ages?) by many fanatics.

So in this cartoon, the two hijackers, expecting to find paradise and rewards from Allah, instead get their just desserts of Hell and the Devil.

Is this a brilliant cartoon? Nah, I don't think so. Is it particularly hateful? Not that I can see.

What's more despicable, IMHO, is the knee jerk reaction by the "I want to protest anything and everything!" college crowd. This is the same group who have likely protested against the "Oriental Dressing" at the salad bar because of the perceived pejorative nature of "Oriental."

Get a grip, people. There are real, horrific examples of hate crimes going on, and they sure as hell aren't in peoples' heads. People that are killing folks wearing turbans, setting fires to Mosques... those are the ones that need to be locked up.

But just because you find a sentiment to be offensive or upsetting or whatever doesn't give you the right to wail and scream, not to mention disrupt the lawful operations of Berkeley's student paper.

If you don't like it, don't read it.
Or better yet, peacefully write a letter to the editor. Or (gasp) become one of the journalists that writes for the paper?

Nah, that'd actually require REAL WORK instead of shouting lame slogans, now, wouldn't it?

Anyway, in the meantime, why not count to ten next time and THINK before you cry wolf?!?

i think we all understood that it was supposed to depict the terrorists and that they were in hell, in the devil's hand. the problem is that the type of people who are most likely to be caught up in a wave of racist sentiments and actually act out against arabs, muslims, middle easterners, or south asians, are the same type of people who wouldn't make the distinction between the terrorists and the muslim community as a whole. the hijackers are belived to be muslims, yes, but to use the name of allah, a god specific to that religion, groups the entire muslim community together with the terrorists.

While people are protesting sophmoric satire that was apparently not intended to be offensive, John Ashcroft is trying to take away our civil rights and monitor our e-mail. The real threat to the protesters, the Daily Cal and the rest of us isn't a cartoon, it's government restrictions on our freedom that will be put in place if the "anti-terrorism" law proposed by the Bush administration is passed.

This whole situation is pathetic. The most serious threat to us right now is that war has repeatedly been used by authoritarians as an excuse to attack the Bill of Rights. It is happening again and these fools are squabbling about a misunderstanding.

Wake up!

George, Kauai

the catroon was clearly not racially stereotyping people. It was aimed at the terrorists based on the assumption that it was bin-laden's group. I wonder why the protestors are too stupid too make this distinction. I support the fight against racism and war. I believe in FIGHTING REAL RACISM not this mealy mouthed college pc shit.

I will have to agree with the other statements being made that this wasn't overtly racist or sexist. I think it is wrong and probably not the smartest cartoon to have at a time like this--but it's not really racist. Just a bad cartoonist...

The part that is glaringly wrong is that it assumes this 70 virgin thing is really believed in Islam. Everything I've heard suggests this is a lie and misconception on the part of the west. Those that fight for Islam are believed to be given a special place in heaven--or something similar... that's all.

Anyway, I'd say that the college paper should be thinking more before they print something but we really need to focus on the real threats right now. We are entering a dangerous-ass time. Thanks.

The artist who created the cartoon has made a statement here...

http://www.dailycal.org/article.asp?id=6354

I think it's clear that he isn't racist. Every one needs to calm down and devote their energy to something a little more productive.

Great Cartoon...Can U Buy it in Poster Size?

That is the difference between us and them, we have free speech and they don't.

Why is it so offensive to people? The individuals who perpetrated this horrible act of war on innocent civillians beleived in the idea of going to heaven and having 70 virgins. How is it that this group is not condeming what happened on 9-11. Please remember in the great U.S.A. everyone has a right to speak his or her mind but also look at pictures of the crosses at Arlington Ntl. cemetary and the Punchbowl in Hawaii. YOUR rights to protest and demean the loss of over 5000 of your citizens was earned in the sacrifice of Americans who did not hesitate to stand and fight fascism, communism and now terrorism. Lend a hand to America and support our government and leaders or join up with the repressive Taliban.

Please People get a life and stop being so politically correct. Instad of making the country worst for every body we really need to start profiling agaist middel eastern people (sorry) if you people cant control each other BIG brother is gonna hav to step is and kick soma ass. well like some people say the truth HURTS.And as for all those Libs protesting the war its not a war its a another man hunt maybe we need to select those libs ex-attorney general Janet Reno and what she did in Waco was worng but for you libs we can user her just right about now to burn out that Bastered out the moutans of Afiganistan.

The folks who invade college newspapaer offices, shout down speakers and otherwise intimidate and stifle free speech should be condemned by the supporters of these pages as thoughtless morons who threaten our existence. Many writers on these pages believe they have a moral obligation to supress opinions they believe to be "racist", "sexist" or nameyourflavor. At the same time, they believe they have the right to maintain a web page advocating the destruction of capitalism or whatever one wants to call the current economic power structure of the west. More power to you, but how can so many presumably educated people fail to see that, if you claim the right to shut down speech you deem offensive others will claim the same right? And guess, dear readers, whose speech they find offensive? Principles should be defended, not applied only when they are convenient.
As an aside, how many of you think that this web page would be allowed to operate in the home of your new Taliban heros, even assuming they hadn't banned radios, television and, of course, computers?

It's kind of scary how not-shocked I was to see this little gem. We get this all the time in Nebraska lately. It's gotten so that I can't even ignore the flag waving "patriots" anymore, since they're constantly pushing "you're with US or against US" in my face at work and on the road. Sad how the media has goaded the people into this blind alley of counter productive racism and it can't even rightly be called a conspiracy of the powers because it's undoubtedly what the populace wants right now. I watched the flapping heads push the "need for total justice at any cost" in the faces of the numb, hurt, traumatized american people until there was no room in their sitcom-sized heads for rational thought beyond what they were getting from the TV - as we all know, a highly valuable resource for distributing propaganda. It didn't have to be this way, but the US people have made their choice to follow strangers on a screen into the slaughterhouse and kill brown people yet again in the illusory hopes of "bringing those responsible to justice." Well, who's going to be brought to justice for all this propaganda and the harm it causes? Race crime is up yet again thanks to these yahoos. I have personally witnessed an attack on an Indian woman by an irate redneck who mistook her for a "towel-head sand nigger" and blamed her for the bombings. People are angry and they'd have public lynchings of foreigners if the ratings were high enough on the programs that condone such acts. The USA is so naive as a people, and the illogical, emotional way that its citizens have allowed their wonderful capacity for imagination to stray from "how can we recover" to "how can we get that delicious revenge" shows me that we are far less evolved from the now-despised days of slavery and genocide that bought with blood this beautiful land than we have led ourselves to believe. My only hope is that I can find other people who were not poisoned on the 11th, or at least reach some of the more sensible cattle before the slaughterhouse doors are fully opened. Some may call me anti-American, but I like to think that they are the ones who do not understand a patriotism so deep and aching that it withstands even the treachery that wears the red white and blue flag as a disguise. Leave this country? Hell no. My ancestors were here first, so by the logic of the very idiots I'm daily set against, I have to fight for it. I'm going to do all I can to make it livable again. I dare any so-called American Patriot to put down the convenience of the racist cartoons, tampered headlines, boring flag worship and flapping-head newscasts, and try to do the same. Or is it just easier to lay down and let it wash over me, like 78% of the sheep are doing? Some patriots, to go with the flow because it's easier than thinking.

I would like to add that, since my previous post, I have read the explanation for the cartoon in question by the artist and have come to the conclusion that, taken together with his perfectly logical explanation and a sense of humor, I think that the cartoon is - properly understood - a fine statement. I would like to amend my previous comment to reflect my new understanding of the situation and also thank the artist for having the grace to explain without apology. If all people were smart and level headed, this would not be a racist cartoon. As it is, in this nation of angry anti-immigrant white people, my sorrow is that it pushes so many buttons. I recommend all people who are offended by the cartoon (as i initially was) to do a logical exercise and see what can be taken from the picture before doing as I did and condemning it without using my brain. Yes, it is unfortunately a sensitive matter. But honestly, there is no other way the artist could have depicted his cartoon. Clown hats are not politically sensitive, but they would not represent his subjects properly. Therefore I wish to state that my disdain for the propaganda in the media is far more owing to the reactionary people who WOULD assume all Arabian and middle easterners are terrorists than to the artists themselves, some of whom actually DO have good reason to make their statements as they do. It is unfortunate that so many brown people are suffering because many whites do not understand the difference between a caricature of a person, and a condemnation of a people. With so many other artists drawing blatantly racist filthy-arab cartoons all around us, we are all a little oversensitive. Perhaps we should take the annotation as a necessary appendage to the cartoon, thereby giving those offended an opportunity to understand that by the artist, no racist action was intended. I applaud him for being courteous when I, an artis myself, would have sent out a "fuck you" to anyone who didn't understand me. His patience is to be commended, and once properly understood, so is his commentary. Face it, wouldn't you like to believe that the hijackers (as humans, not as moslem radicals) were punished after death? How delicious, to have their glorified ideal of an eternal reward (which shows in itself how twisted their own interpretation of their religion is) torn away from them as they find out that they have betrayed Allah and are now being punished instead! Viewed in this light, and if no other truly racist media were bruising our sense of outrage, I think that this is a brilliant way to smile for a change at the idea of a justic that, unlike that of the USA, actually WILL get those that deserve it! Bravo, free speech. Let's celebrate it, and learn from it. Enough of this squabble over political correctness. What's important is that we lear& to see from al, points of view, even t ose tha$ are in)tially $aunting. I orde crow s!lad for myself. Anyone !are to "oin me )n the m%al? We #hould a$l conte%plate t(is as a lesson /n the d%pths of silline#s that "eing im roperly informe$ can lo'er a pe"son. Th% lesson brought by this decepti&e edito ial car$oon is $hat the well-me!ning co&demnati'n of a #carcely underst'od crea$ion is !lmost t e same #ind of prejudice that the media is even now lowering in all seriousness against our Middle Eastern brothers and sisters. Can you see my point of view? I'd like to see people shake hands over this, I really would. It would make me feel better about my initial response. How hotheaded of me, to prove myself as irrational and emotionally goofy as the very "patriotic" spirit that I've been loathing all along. Talk about a valuable lesson in humility!

Seems clear that the cartoon is lampooning those who do evil in the name of god and in expectation of spiritual reward: such people exist in every religion and are perfectly valid targets for a satirist. Whether this cartoonist correctly reproduced the exact beliefs about the nature of heaven entertained by the hijackers (or by the protestors for that matter) is beside the point. The media-literate do not look to satirists for definitive ethnographies. I'm curious: do the protestors also think the Onion article is also racist? http://www.theonion.com/onion3734/hijackers_surprised.html

And can someone please explain to me what is sexist about saying that some men hope that a major feature of heaven will be copious sex with virgins? Oh--I begin to see. It *is* rather sexist to suggest that men would be so silly.

Upon reflection I have to add my voice to the protests. Darien Bell's cartoon is unfair to religious bigots and men everywhere!

Now that you have all had your say about how *great* this cartoon is, let me say this.

First, it is interesting how quickly you all can dismiss the voice of this group of people who were angry enough to go down to the Daily Cal offices. I doubt many of you have bothered to find out exactly what these folks went down to the Daily Cal. Your rush to judgement unveils your bias.

Second, you have to understand the relationship between the Daily Cal and the student body at UC-Berkeley. The Daily Cal has elected staff, and so there is an element of democracy within the newspaper, in a way that everyone on campus has a *right* to make their voices heard.

Third, at a time when anti-Arab hatred is at an all-time high in this country, do you have any respect for the DANGER facing people here? Coming from a part of the USA which is not as "enlightened" as the Bay Area, I can testify that there are MANY white redneck men who want to take retribution out here against innocent Arabs and Arab-Americans, just as the US government is going to kill innocent Arabs (and, in fact, just did today).

And, in another fact, this violent and racist retribution HAS occurred across the country. Innocent Arabs and Arab-Americans have been killed, attacked, vandalized, and made to fear for their lives by RACISTS in this country. At a moment like this, when a student newspaper at UC Berkeley runs a cartoon with a stereotypical drawing of Arab people burning in hell, what the hell do you expect??

The people who went down to the Daily Cal got a few articles, a few pictures, and of course, indymedia coverage. Meanwhile, the chorus of white american rhetoric dominates everything: the cartoonist "isnt racist," the cartoon was meant in good fun, the politically conscious arab voice is hysterical and irrational even as hysterical and irrational rednecks terrorize their families... and NO, this isnt RACISM.

Well then what the fuck is?

Boy, you have no sense of humor. Are you sitting-in at the offices of the Onion as well? http://www.theonion.com/onion3734/hijackers_surprised.html
For such a liberal media group, it is surprising that you are obviously supporting certain ethnic groups over others. Would you have protested such a cartoon if it had been about fantatic Christian abortion-clinic bombers?
Are you dismayed and confused that the US military is dropping food for the Afghan civilians? Probably more food that the UN ever manage to muster up,; certainly more help that anyone at your group has provided, because you're so busy causing trouble at sit-ins and bailing yourself out of jail (I bet the courageous women of RAWA don't have wealthy parents to bail them out of Taliban prisons though).
Ah, but the food delivered by the US military is no doubt laced with poison, right?

That the cartoon image in question could be called dangerous and possibly incite threats to the personal security of those who look Middle Eastern or wear turbans by the Guardian's readership is simply a fear reaction and not a legitimate reasoned position.

What's truly pathetic is the ease with which terrified, reactionary, so-called voices of the left can organize and attack, with the purpose of oppressing, a freer than standard press.

I guess maybe you p.c. types ought to go to someplace where free speech isn't allowed and see how it is over there (like Afghanistan under the Taliban) or is it that only you people can decide what is worth saying and what is not. You truly bring shame to those who are really trying eradicate racism and sexism. Grow up.

Did you ever consider the term "redneck" is a classist slur against working class white men? The cartoon was aimed at the terrorists not at muslims or Arabs or middle easterners etc.. I thought it was pretty obvious. We should fight real racism.

Should the media not show photos of Bin-Laden because some idiot killed a Sikh man in Arizona of course not. Same with the Daily Cal cartoon which was clearly targeting the terrorists and not Arabs or muslims. The line of reasoning by the campus liberal-left his HELL OF WEAK and regular people in the real world know it.

UC Berkeley,
Is that the same place where the local authorities ordered the removal of The American Flag from all fire and emergency response vehicles because they don't want them destroyed by bricks and bottles thrown by the local Student Peace Protesters?
It's too bad that you focus your energies on such petty things as newspaper cartoons. Do you feel more important when you are in "a pack"? I shouldn't blame you for your "mob rules" mentality because you think that is what young people and students have to do in order to be heard.
When you act like this remind me of another group of students, found thousands of miles away. Literally translated, their name means "students". They are also known as The Taliban...

http://www2.acc.af.mil/music/patriotic/memorial.html

to the protesters: try to maintain something resembling a sense of humor, because in your knee-jerk reaction to the cartoon you've made yourself look like jackasses.

It's an editorial cartoon, for heaven's sake! Caricatures and stereotypes are tools of the cartoonists trade. You can't convey a message using bland nondescript characters and unprovocative language. An effective political cartoon is by definition something that is going to shock or offend some people.

If you truly value a free press, then don't express your disagreement by shutting down the offices of the newspaper for half a day, or by insipidly demanding that the Californian make some sort of reparations to aggrieved parties. Maybe if you would calm down for a moment and reflect on the nature of a free press you would realize that your protest was a mob act displaying the very same sort of intolerance that you're railing against.

Not in agreement? Good. You're free to write a scathing letter to the editor, draw your own provocative cartoon, publish your own strongly-held beliefs on a web site, an alternative publication, over the airwaves, or by holding a public rally ... try doing the same in Afghanistan, Syria, Algeria, Libya, or the Sudan.

I wonder this. Have any of these people who feel free to complain and moan that a protest was held at the Daily Cal, any of you ever feel in fear of your life from a hostile, white war-mongering majority which is attacking your ethnicity on tv, radio, newspapers? Ever feel like an angry, racist mob might attack you? Ever feel like your family might be bombed by the U.S. Government?

If not, THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD SHUT THE FUCK UP. the racism in this country is SICKENING, and no one talks about it because it isnt "patriotic" at this time. its fucking bullshit and then when people stand up against this stuff, they are "whining" and should "start their own newspaper"

as a REAL AMERICAN, i demand that the racist pieces of shit and THEIR APOLOGISTS, like those on the message board, go join up with the Taliban, where discrimination and persecution are allowed.

C'mon, folks-- there are much more important issues to be protesting about right now than this dopey cartoon. It's pretty obvious that Bell intended to make fun of the warped mindset of the hijackers, who thought fundamentalist violence would get them into heaven. The analogy to a comparable cartoon about a "Christian" abortion-clinic bomber blowing himself up is entirely valid: would my fellow students at Berkeley be so up in arms about THAT cartoon? (OK, so Bell mistakenly implied that the "70 virgins" thing is actually an accepted belief in Islam. He knows better now, which is a good thing. But aren't we freaking out here, just a TAD?)

We're not going to get anywhere in this peace movement if we start pointing fingers indiscriminately. This kind of stuff is precisely what turns people off to the left in the first place. Leave the overreacting to Bush & Co.; those who oppose the war are under a particular obligation-- fairly or not, in the current war-fever environment-- to maintain a calm and cool demeanor. We're the ones who actually THINK first, remember? The American mainstream isn't too inclined to listen to the left anyhow, and strident protests (complete with bullhorns!), based on silly misunderstandings and knee-jerk reactions, aren't exactly helping the cause.

"Dissenting Opinion", by Mr. Anonymous, presents precisely the cool, temperate and intelligent kind of thinking that makes the new left gestapo so appealing. As an aside, there is an apostrophe in "it's" when used as a contraction for "it is". I assume you omitted it as an ironic comment on the perceived illiteracy of your tough-guy group-think, but some readers might mistake you for an idiot. Get out that (illustrated) dictionary!

Oh yes. Hating Muslims and listening to Michael Savage and raging against something you don't even take the time to understand ... THAT isnt groupthink.

And going to war and marching in a patriotic line humming the star spangled banner as the bombs fall on innocent people, THAT isnt groupthink.

Sacrificing civil liberties, minority protections, etc also isnt groupthink.

But standing up to a cartoon which is racist at a time when people are in fear of their lives from the racist attacks in this country, that IS groupthink.

Thanks for clearing that up, Chris.

ps- you're a dumbass

The cartoon was (in my view clearly) aimed at fundamentalist terrorists not muslims in general. The people who claim its racist should be very specific with what you find objectionable-- something the last poster (typically) fails to do. Personally i find the liberal-left embarrassing in its knee-jerk reaction

whatever.
i found the cartoon quite amusing.

and how pray tell is it sexist?
idiots.
suicide bombers are in fact told that they will get 70+ virgins when they get to heaven. i think the exact number is 73, but whatever.

how is merely quoting that a sexist statement?

morons

Berkley has again shown why they are perceived as a bunch of whining elitists more concerned about political correctness than substance. The hell with freedom of speach for others. If we don't like it we can not just refuse to buy the paper - we can PROTEST (how kewl!) and use intimidation (of course Ashcroft can't do exactly what they are doing - he's bad, Berkley people aren't)

Carefully made-up faces, chic black outfits from The Gap. Yup, these folks are truely out to make a statement.

I'm glad now that my company, like so many others, has quietly stopped recruting at Berkley.

I will just repeat once again that there have been numerous murders in the Fremont and greater Bay Area which are being investigated as crimes against people who look middle eastern. Stores have been defaced and vandalized. This is not an abstract thing we are talking about. White right-wing assholes on this site need to think about that before going off again and again. It is not something you can just dismiss or ignore --- well, maybe you can because YOU look like the people doing the aggression, not the people who have to fear it. Pigs. Get the fuck off this site.

Please reference some of these many, many crimes against ME looking people.

I am interested, Mr. Anarchist, because I want to know how many crimes you think it takes to justify suppression of free speech.

1. We've been bombing and starving Iraq for 10 years. Most Americans dont even know this.

2. On September 16th, a Sikh man was killed in Arizona:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2001/09/104289.php

3. On Oct 3, an Arab American man was killed in Fresno, a reknowned right-wing haven:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2001/10/105284.php

4. An Arab American person was killed in Fremont on Sept 30th also:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2001/10/105348.php

5. On Oct 19, Peggy Noonan warns us to be suspicious of Arab-looking people:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2001/10/106880.php

6. On Sept 27, City Blend Cafe was vandalized:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2001/09/104971.php

7. More about attacks in Fresno:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2001/10/106230.php

There have been more reports of attacks against Arab and Arab-looking people. But for you to know about them, you would have to get off your ass and contact one of the organizations which is keeping track of that and working to defend those folks.

As for your ignorant "free speech" comment, I believe the racist, white, fascist demographic in our society has more than enough representation in corporate media: Fox News, Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, or just about any other talk radio host, etc. To the extent that the Daily Cal is at least partially funded by the university, it should be at least *one* institution in UC Berkeley students lives which is accountable to them. Now, dont you feel dumb? Get out of here, troll.

Your a self -righteous twit. 99% of Americans ignore you cause you can't communicate worth a shit. I have no problem using force against violent racist assholes for your info and have been there when these assholes occasionally hit the streets. I agree with Nessie. Do you advocate intimidation and censorship against people who don't agree with you? Are you for mob rule? Are you to dumb to see that the cartoon wasn't aimed at muslims?

Dear Mr. Anarchist;

First, let me say that one death or one act of violence is far, far too many.

However, you should look at the sites you referenced. What you need to do is click on the site name and then read what opens up. I think you called it "get off your ass and contact .."

If you did so you would see that these sites reference only (again, too many) one murder, and that one has not had 'hate' ruled in or ruled out as a motive. (note: FYI sometimes news media report murders in more than one article, (now read this closely) that does not make them multiple murders).

I think you wrote "that there have been numerous murders in the Fremont and greater Bay Area ." The dictionary defines numerous as "consisting of great numbers of units or individuals". While one is too many, it is not usually considered a great number. Since you have trouble with this concept I suggest you enroll in one of UCB's Math classes (Unfortunately I don't think they teach Arithmatic at the University level).

Similiarly I only found one act of vandalism and one attack on an anti-war group in those other sites. I don't think Peggy Noonan counts as a physical assault yet.

I count these only to see what your standards are. I thought you may be another Ashcroft, but I was wrong. You will be happy to know that your standards for suspending freedom of the press is actually a good deal looser than Mr. Ashcrofts. I'm courious, why didn't you advocate detaining the editors?

In fact you have added a new even more flexible standard. That of 'equal time'. It seems that your basis for invading a newspaper office is no longer related to crime but to whether or not there are other newspapers or radio shows in that genre.

(I'm still a bit puzzled at how this particular cartoon is considered 'right wing'. I imagine that some 'left wing' people might think the WTC perps are in hell right now.)
v
Now what was the other deep thought you had? Oh yeah, "Now, dont you feel dumb? Get out of here, troll."

the "hecklers" on this site are only adding to the debate at hand in a relatively constructive manner, save for the occassional ID thief or flammer.

a group of thugs who take over a building, or some fascist wannabe's who threaten to pull a newspapers funding in the name of PC-nazism are a different breed altogether

"I think you wrote "that there have been numerous murders in the Fremont and greater Bay Area ." The dictionary defines numerous as "consisting of great numbers of units or individuals". While one is too many, it is not usually considered a great number."

And that's right, there have been way too many racist attacks in this country. Your nitpicking of the articles I referenced only shows that your level of knowledge here extends only to what you have seen on this site. I did not intend to provide a comprehensive list, just links that I quickly found here. I am not wasting my time to educate you -- as I said, there are any number of Arab support groups you can call to find out more details, including the massive FBI harrassment and detentions that are taking place ... and yes, those do count as "physical assaults". And the murders, vandalism, attacks, etc. Its so obvious, you can see it in everyday interactions. Arab people are afraid to walk home by themselves. But you did not choose to get off your ass and research it, you chose to sit on your ass in front of your computer and type a half-assed reply to what I wrote.

"I'm courious, why didn't you advocate detaining the editors?"

Maybe they could be detained in the same detention centers as the 1200 Arab Americans who arent being racistly discriminated against. Maybe we could get them in a 5400 person dragnet of "voluntary interviews". Or maybe we'll just spew racist shit on the television so that small-time racist organizations can harrass them? Oh, wait, we're talking about the Daily Cal editors ... and those are rich college kids who dont have to worry about stuff like that. Huh.

"It seems that your basis for invading a newspaper office is no longer related to crime but to whether or not there are other newspapers or radio shows in that genre."

Absolutely. A free press is critical for a thriving democracy (or anarchy, as one prefers). If you live in a totalitarian state with one mass media, you should destroy it. And if you live in an autocratic state with mass medias owned only by the richest class of people, you should destroy that too. Or hadnt you heard of Indymedia??

The rest of your comment being sufficiently irrelevant as to ignore, I will repeat my original statement with even more confidence: dont you feel dumb? Get out of here, troll.

You better not mess wih the Anarchist. She'll put you in your place real quick. Like the rude fellow who asked for (gasp!) verifiable information to back up her assertions. She properly told the lout that she's too busy to "educate" him (my mind reels pondering what sort of schedule such an astounding intellect must keep). But her coup de grace was to lay down the law by demanding the (insubordinate dissident) and all other "trolls" get out of indymedia. Bravo, Anarchist, you'll certainly get no argument from me!

What of the rewards in paradise? The Islamic paradise is described in great sensual detail in the Koran and the Traditions; for instance, Koran sura 56 verses 12 -40 ; sura 55 verses 54-56 ; sura 76 verses 12-22. Sura 56 verses 12- 39: "They shall recline on jewelled couches face to face, and there shall wait on them immortal youths with bowls and ewers and a cup of purest wine (that will neither pain their heads nor take away their reason); with fruits of their own choice and flesh of fowls that they relish. And theirs shall be the dark-eyed houris, chaste as hidden pearls: a guerdon for their deeds... We created the houris and made them virgins, loving companions for those on the right hand..."

One should note that most translations, even those by Muslims themselves such as A Yusuf Ali, and the British Muslim Marmaduke Pickthall, translate the Arabic (plural) word Abkarun as virgins, as do well-known lexicons such the one by John Penrice. I emphasise this fact since many pudic and embarrassed Muslims claim there has been a mistranslation, that "virgins" should be replaced by "angels". In sura 55 verses 72-74, Dawood translates the Arabic word " hur " as "virgins", and the context makes clear that virgin is the appropriate translation: "Dark-eyed virgins sheltered in their tents (which of your Lord's blessings would you deny?) whom neither man nor jinnee will have touched before." The word hur occurs four times in the Koran and is usually translated as a "maiden with dark eyes".

Two points need to be noted. First, there is no mention anywhere in the Koran of the actual number of virgins available in paradise, and second, the dark-eyed damsels are available for all Muslims, not just martyrs. It is in the Islamic Traditions that we find the 72 virgins in heaven specified: in a Hadith (Islamic Tradition) collected by Al-Tirmidhi (died 892 CE [common era*]) in the Book of Sunan (volume IV, chapters on The Features of Paradise as described by the Messenger of Allah [Prophet Muhammad], chapter 21, About the Smallest Reward for the People of Paradise, (Hadith 2687). The same hadith is also quoted by Ibn Kathir (died 1373 CE ) in his Koranic commentary (Tafsir) of Surah Al-Rahman (55), verse 72: "The Prophet Muhammad was heard saying: 'The smallest reward for the people of paradise is an abode where there are 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine, and ruby, as wide as the distance from Al-Jabiyyah [a Damascus suburb] to Sana'a [Yemen]'."

The cartoon is racist how? Blowing yourself up in order to kill as many as you possibly can may very well give you eternity in hell...if there is such a place.

clearly the cartoon captures what hundreds of millions of americans and more hundreds of millions of citizens worldwide know is the truth. a religion is at war with the world outside itself.
theres no defense for the way islam runs itself. it has created a sickness of spirit unlike anything else the world now knows. every last person on the face of the world is a potential victim of this actively barbaric dogma.
islam cheers the planned killing of children. islam cheers the stoning of women. islam lashes out violently at all that isnt islam. islam creates and distributes illness onto the rest of the globe. islam cant take a joke. islam wants to issue a fatwah against a cartoonist. .."better the pride that resides in a citizen of the world, than the pride that divives when a 'silly old scroll is unfurled' ". i believe islam doesnt want to participate in the rest of the world. islam wants the rest of the world to be islamic. a couple billion people have a big problem with that. this cartoon speaks to them, us. this cartoon rings true.

Racist, Dangerous, and Irresponsible

The stereotypical (racist?) caricatures drawn by Darrin Bell, the cartoonist, and the real danger people may have faced (and may still face) because of the cartoon is the issue.

Did the men who skyjacked/crashed the planes on 9/11 have long beards like that?
Were they wearing clothing like that?
-I don’t think so.

Remember, this was a week after 9/11 -
Muslims, people of Middle-Eastern decent (and those who may appear to be of Middle-Eastern decent) living in the U.S., were afraid to go out of the house (some still are)
- they were afraid they would be attacked by Ignorant Homicidal Racist Vigilantes out for blood.

At least two people were killed. One, a convenience store clerk in CA’s central valley, was targeted because he wore a turban and had a long beard. He happened to be a Sikh of East-Indian ancestry.

Is the cartoon racist?
Probably.
The way the figures are drawn can easily be seen as racist caricature, given that the 9/11 attackers looked and dressed nothing like Darren depicted them.

Was running the cartoon in the Daily Cal on September 18th dangerous and irresponsible?
Yes, without a doubt.

Getting killed, beaten, harassed, and discriminated against - because of the way you look, the way you dress, or the religion you practice IS NO JOKE.

IDIOCY SQUARED. THINK FIRST.

The carciture in the cartoon clearly looked like Osama bin Laden. Is it really irresponisble for the cartoonist to draw the terrorists this way?

The cartoonist points out that the terrorists took their insipiration from Islam. This is the truth whether you like it or not.

The cartoon clearly was aimed at the terrorists and not Muslims or Arabs generally. He is not responsible for dumbshits who misinterpret it. If you can't see the difference along with knuckleheaded mob that crashed the Daily Cal its your fucking problem.

And finally the left is so fucking pathetic to think that it can fight racism by being society's thought police.

your assertion that it is "clearly" aimed at terrorists doesn't make any sense. There is nothing in the cartoon at all that gives any evidence whatsoever of it being aimed at terrorists. No bombs, no guns, no talk of Israel or suicide or anything at all. The cartoon very clearly and explicitly makes fun of the religion of Islam. Your accusation really holds no water.

The characters in the cartoon look like Osama plus one of them is holding a "flight manual". Maybe its not clear to to you-- but it was to me. The cartoonist also clarified that the cartoon was aimed at the terrorists and not muslims in general.
Personally i'm for bashing all fuckin religions including Islam. I'm an atheist, why don't you find out what the Koran says about atheists?

Anyone so far out in PC land that they think this is pornographic has no credibility anyhow.

PAUL THORNTON
<http://www.dailycal.org/images/nothing.gif>
Off the Beat: Respecting Our Standards
<http://www.dailycal.org/images/nothing.gif>

TUESDAY,
SEPTEMBER 24, 2002
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Usually, I don't enjoy "sitting" in the student rooting section at Memorial Stadium. There's something about standing up for three hours, yelling until my throat is raw and having the sun slowly burn my skin that just doesn't appeal to me.

Mix in a few racist and homophobic remarks, and I'm almost ashamed to say I'm a part of the same student body for which I'm supposed to brandish my pride at these games.

A few rows up from where my friends and I were sitting were a handful of kids (why I call them kids you'll understand later) who were being, well, a bit too outspokenly honest about how they felt the Bears were doing. It was annoying, but I got into the act for a while and let it all go at times when Cal just wasn't living up to its No. 23 ranking.

Halftime came and the Cal Band's performance came and went accompanied by several card stunts. As expected, no one honored the "pass your cards to the right" rule and instead threw them up in the air after all the stunts were completed.

Back to those kids.

"There's a fucker in a turban over there!" one of them yelled.

I looked and saw a student who was wearing a yellow turban with a navy blue Cal visor around his head.

I thought it was a creative way to show school spirit while honoring his religion. Apparently the kids thought that it was an unacceptable deviation from the norm that warranted a public flogging.

"Hey, hit turban boy, man!" one of those kids screamed angrily.

I looked up a few rows and noticed one of the kids wadding up a pretty large, jagged ball of the cardboard distributed for the card stunts. His makeshift projectile seemed large and dense enough to injure anyone on the receiving end.

"Dude, hit that turban boy!"

The kid with the cardboard ball wound up and released his paper missile at the student wearing the turban.

He missed.

Apparently, this kid was so bent on making the fan wearing a turban feel unwelcome that he threw another cardboard ball. From how he reacted, this second attempt was successful.

"Did you get turban boy?"

"Yeah dude, I got that fucker hard."

The situation made itself somewhat ironic when I turned around and noticed that the kid who threw this cardboard ball was wearing a Hooters T-shirt.

Which is strange, considering he was so offended by someone who was wearing a turban. Now, I don't know about these kids, but something tells me that nine out of 10 people would find a T-shirt promoting a restaurant that apparently objectifies women more offensive than someone who honors his religion by wearing a headpiece.

These kids weren't the only letdowns in the student rooting section. At several points during the game, several other students screamed "You faggot!" to the players and even their own fellow students.

Even at football games, where emotional and testosterone levels run high, most UC Berkeley students direct their frustration at referees and players; usually, this doesn't involve screaming racist and homophobic remarks at other students (or even at the people on the field).

But as usual, a small minority tends to speak for the rest of us.

At last year's Big Game, I chatted with a UC Berkeley alumnus who was lamenting the loss of class on the part of UC Berkeley students who attend football games. Despite the inconsistency of the football team's performance, the alumnus said Cal fans during his day were always proud of their student body's class at sporting events.

Not anymore, this alumnus said. As a student, I have to agree shamefully. Class and respect should remain a staple of Cal's student rooting section despite our team's performance.

At sporting events, we students are not only supporting our players, but we're also representing our student body to other universities and our own alumni.

Instead of giving them a student body they can respect, we're trampling on several aspects of a reputation that should precede any UC Berkeley student: those of tolerance, respect and enlightenment.

With a prestigious UC Berkeley education as our pedigree, it shouldn't be too hard a reputation to uphold, even when rooting passionately for our sports teams.

Let's give our alumni and other universities something to respect; let's live up to our own standards.

see chart at: http://www.dailycal.org/article.asp?id=9533

Social Class May Influence Campus Life
Survey: Affluent UC Students Less Academically Minded


By EMMA SCHWARTZ
and BRIAN WHELAN
Contributing Writers
Tuesday, September 24, 2002

Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of articles highlighting the results of the UC Undergraduate Experience Survey administered last spring.

Wealthy students party more and study less than low-income students, according to a recent UC-wide undergraduate survey.

According to preliminary data, the higher a student's family income, the more time a student spends on social activities and the less time on academic-oriented work.

The data is based on a self-reported survey of 17,000 UC undergraduates in a research project called Student Experiences in the Research University?21st Century, conducted by the Center of Studies in Higher Education.

Study investigators said this relationship was a "provocative finding" and signaled a shift in the campus community.

"This shows that partying is a class-related activity," said Richard Flacks, faculty principal investigator for the study and professor of sociology at UC Santa Barbara. "As the university has become more inclusive, social class is now an internal issue."

Survey investigators said information correlating academic performance, including grade point average, with student family income will be released in the upcoming months.

The study also indicated disparities between student family income and satisfaction with UC, in terms of career aspirations, identity and social life.

Students from more affluent backgrounds were found to be more satisfied with UC overall, especially in their social lives. But the satisfaction of students from low-income families tended to correlate with fulfillment of career aspirations, according to the survey's findings.

Officials said affluent students are more confident about pursuing their careers because they have the necessary "social capital" to succeed in the job market while lower income students often do not.

"I wouldn't want to say that low-income students are unhappy," said Genaro Padilla, UC Berkeley vice chancellor for undergraduate affairs. "But they may be preoccupied with other factors they need to keep in place to succeed here, like work or family loyalties."

Investigators said it is difficult to make accurate generalizations from the data about the student body because the sample did not cover the entire student population.

All UC-wide data collected was based on surveys from segments of the student body called "cohorts"?seniors, transfer students and freshmen from last spring.

But the data reveals relevant information regarding students of various backgrounds at UC, researchers said.

Some researchers said the correlations between wealth and social activity came as a surprise because low-income students in high schools tend to study less than their wealthier counterparts, said Gerald Hayward, co-director of Policy Analysis for California Education.

Some students said low-income students often face difficulty when applying to college, which forces them into a hard-working mind-set.

"When you're low-income, you may have had to work (a job) in high school," said UC Berkeley junior Bouaphanh Phahongchanh, who considers herself low-income and is from Laos. "You become more independent and know you can't fool around. If you were raised with everything, when you come to college you just want to be free."

But some students disagreed with the findings and said they work hard despite family wealth.

"I come from a well-off family," said UC Berkeley senior Mike Margolis. "The funny thing is I don't study much. I don't party, but I work hard to be economically independent."

I see this cartoon no different than cartoons created by Latuff or the political cartoonist at the Bay Guardian, Tom Tomorrow and Jerry Dolezal. The only difference is that these cartoon's have a conservative spin to them vs the progressive spin of Latuff, Tom, and Jerry.

Each holds their truths and lies...

The cartoon is not racist and is not sexist.
The cartoon is a commentary on religious militant fanatics who use the teachings of the Q'uran to try to justify their evil actions (ie. flying planes into buildings full of people). The cartoon basically depicts people who have to face reality in the afterlife and confront their religious self-delusions. If you are a Muslim who is horrified by the actions of the so-called "faithful followers of Islam" then I would why you would be attacking such a witty and insightful piece.

And the truth is Islam does promise 72+ virgins in the afterlife. Deal with the sexism of this faith. Don't crucify the messenger.

Putting a swastika over the Star of David is okay. Pointing out that suicide bombers think they are going to heaven and be waited on by virgins is racist. Obviously you won't find the smartest or most ethical people in the country on college campuses. How stupid.

no censorship!!

I hate it when indymedia editors let reactionaries wank on endlessly on the newswire... but since it is a reality i am going to throw in my two cents.

It seems to me that people attacking the demonstrators, have a bizarre idea of what freedom of speech is. No one, i think, is arguing that we want the state to come in and censor what the paper is saying, or what anyone is saying. Although they might silence reactionary racist trash one time, such powers would inevitably be used against the left. So we all are for freedom of speech.

We have to realize though, that freedom of speech does not take place in a vacuum. There are a million things you may choose to say, and, in the current US environment, they will either contribute to racism and stereotyping arabs and muslims, or they will speak out against that. What the cartoonist did, clearly contributes to these oppressive trends in society. We are not arguing that the state should shut him up. But that doesn't mean that he is not a bastard for doing it. And he should be confronted. We have to realize that we have to be a little more sophisticated that saying racism=nazism. Behind every uneducated fascist, is a liberal american more concerned with critiuing muslim fundamentalism than the fucking US empire. I would say that this is the ideological underpinning for that racism. We either fight it, by doing things like what these students did, or we sit back and wonder why the Palestinians don't understand when we demand that Arafat denounce terrorism while his compound is surrounded and bombarded by the IDF.

I dislike identity politics and pointless guilt-tripping as much as the next person, but we have to realize that that is not what this was. This was an act of resistance, that takes part in a general struggle to defend the safety and dignity of arabs and muslims in the belly of the beast.

Solidarity


p.s. Incidentally, I do think that "redneck" is a classist term.

"This was an act of resistance, that takes part in a general struggle to defend the safety and dignity of arabs and muslims in the belly of the beast."

What an infantile statement. Oh, so victumized!!!
Get real, Arabs and Muslims are as often on the giving end and they are on the receiving end. This shrill and hysterical propoganda is laughable.Why are you unable to show the same respect for all religous and ethnic groups as you are for muslims and arabs? It's not rocket science.