I'm a "Self-Righteous Attack" Diarist

I was a "front-pager" (a person with the privilege to post on the main section) at the American lefty blog Booman Tribune for a few months last year, until I realized that personal differences behind the scenes made it impossible for me to continue my role there. I said farewell, moved on and took a break from blogging until this month.

I stop in there now and then because I know it's a good source of information about current events. That's what I was doing on Feb 8, 2006 - trying to find out when the next NSA spying scandal hearings were to be held. That's when I saw an entry by one of the front-pagers with a picture of the Prophet Mohammed with a bomb in his turban - the same picture I'd already seen as a result of the Danish cartoon controversy which was in the news at the time.

This picture had been posted on a flier and the front-pager, who had found it on someone else's site, expressed the following:

I'm with Dan. I consider this poster an objective example of real free speech. I.e, whoever posted it has the right to post it publicly. And we liberals should not -- NOT! -- self-censor ourselves if we object to some Muslims' over-reactions to these cartoons.

By the way, I found screenshots of the original cartoons via Wikipedia. As for the humor? To each his own. But they're nothing worth dying for.

I took exception to that call to action and wrote a diary titled, I Take Offense, in which I implored members to think about their responsibilities as liberals regarding the cartoon issue - to get beyond the free speech aspects. A discussion ensued. Later, the front-pager who had written the entry I took offense to apologized to the community and removed the offensive image. I moved on.

However - there's always a "however" when it comes to complex issues like this - the situation left some members of that very tight-knit community feeling unsettled.

Booman Tribune is a place where people make lifelong, real life friends; a place run by a man who is very sensitive to the concerns of his members - you'd be hard-pressed to find another political web community leader who is so in touch with his readers; a place that has a variety of people with global perspectives and a deep committment to setting things back on track in the US and in the broader world. It's not surprising then, because of those deep bonds, that an incident that shakes things up as this one had continues to be discussed there. And, that's what's been going on at BT the last couple of days.

In his latest entry about the divide in the community, Booman mentioned my name in reference to what I had written about Canada's hate speech laws:

I had written:

I'm proud to live in a country (Canada) that has hate speech laws so that those who choose to defame others to the extreme have no public voice. Let their hatred fester in their sick minds. It doesn't deserve a public forum.

That's what I believe and I stand behind it.

Booman wrote:

Personally, I find the laws as offensive as the cartoons, if not more so. I have been questioning my feelings about this after reading Catnip's Canadian take on hate speech and the observations of many of the people at European Tribune.

Perhaps it is my American upbringing but I can't countenence laws banning the printing of speech, hateful or otherwise.

I don't have a problem with that. We have differing opinions. No big deal. And I have to say that he nailed it when he wrote these words:

It is not for Anglo-Saxons to question the reasoning behind the cartoons or Rushdie's novel causing offense, it is enough that they do in fact cause offense. And to lament this fact, or to argue against it is to display arrogance, insensitivity, and a colonialist mindset.

That's the sentiment I wrote about in my diary.

Reading through the comments attached to Booman's diary, I found one person who thought my "I Take Offense" diary was a "self-righteous attack diary". Interesting - since I went back to reread the comments in my diary and found that, although the same person participated in that discussion - even posting a photo of the Buddhas demolished by the Taliban (weren't these cartoons just as offensive as that act?) - they did not express this type of angry sentiment towards me whatsoever. Suddenly, it's open season on catnip again. And for what?

Do I write "self-righteous attack diaries". You bet I do. Just read my entry on this blog about the new civil war coming to America over the new anti-abortion laws in South Dakota. I'm sure the person who accused me of writing an attack diary has also written things along the same lines when she's opposed the latest move by some wingnut Republican.

I am very clear about this though: The diary "I Take Offense" was in no way a "self-righteous attack diary". It was a call to people on the left to rise above the issues of free speech - to look at the broader implications in a world already so divided by fear and hatred. Was that an attack? I don't think so.

I was also accused of being "like Michael Moore" instead of George Clooney in my style. Like that should or would bother me? Moore has done more than many people on the left to expose the inanities of the Bush administration. I admire him. I like George Clooney too. Whether I'm like one or the other isn't the point - or it shouldn't be.

The point is that people on the left need to figure out where their values lie. Are they strict constructionists? Defending the Constitution as it's written with no room for interpretation? Or are they willing to engage in recognizing nuance? Didn't we just have a big debate over this when we watched the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justices Roberts and Alito? Isn't that the same attitude that now threatens a woman's right to choose? It's not in the Constitution, after all.

The world is not black and white. And, we on the left don't want it to be, do we? We ought never make the mistake of standing on that imaginary "moral high-ground" because the first step off is a killer. We must, however, stand up for the marginalized and disenfranchised and we must stand on facts.

I'd ask any of my opponents to go back and read what I wrote in that diary. I'm a liberal. I expect certain things from others who label themselves as "liberals", "progressives" or "Democrats". My expectations were not met on that day. That's all.

I wish the Booman Tribune community the best. I do have a publicly available e-mail address for those who wish to discuss anything with me. I don't bite - not too hard anyway.