I suppose in America we are not victim of religious mockery (as much?), but in the same respect, burn a flag on 42nd street in NYC, and sure enough you will have a riot... If the arsonist? meant it as a joke, he would most likely be spending a few nites in prison for sure (and if the arsonist is a muslim, I doubt he would survive the 1st nite at all)... We are all the same, hit us where it hurts, and sure enough the sparks will fly...

I find at times we tend to be a bit hypocritical and closed minded to situations of indifference.

Just my .02 cents...

Your two cents are duly noted and appreciated, Digital Surrealist. My comment was not meant to pass any sort of judgment on the outrage we saw in response to the Mohammed cartoons. Rather, it was simply to point out that there is always a gulf between a thing and commentary on the thing. We cannot judge a work of art based on what others have said about it, and certainly not based simply on the fact that they are speaking.

I found the cartoons boring, and I continue to find them boring. The commentary, however horrible, is exceedingly interesting.

Likewise, your scenario of flag-burning (which isn't arson, by the way - the crime would be having an open flame, not setting fire to property) would be boring. But it would certainly not be seen that way by some people, and their outrage would potentially be just as horrible and interesting.

Though I should say for the record, we are not all the same. An old professor of mine, commenting on the Mohammed cartoons to a drawing class, made the point that if you could make a drawing that would catalyze such large scale destruction and violence in the United States - well, you would have done something rather remarkable.