On Tue, 28 Sep 1999 10:33:48 +0100, Jane wrote:

        Part of John Bing's posting:
>>>What would be the reaction of the writers if there were a Star of
>>>David  in a plop of elephant dung, or a Buddha  in a pan of vomit or a
>>>copy of the Koran in.....  I think the point is clear.   Each and
>>>every one of us has sensitivities, and to insult any group  in the
>>>name of art doesn't fit my definition of the word.
>
Jane's response:
>While I would support this person's balanced approach and attemt to be
>sensitive to different cultures, I think it is absolutely crucial to not
>to consider these issues in isolation.

        Of course, why do you think I brought in three other
religions, one of which has the largest following in the world.

>In a Christian dominated culture, offending chrisitan sensibilites is
>NOT equivalent to offending Judaism or Islam etc. One is pushing against
>a dominant ethos which demands that everybody live by it's precepts,
>whilst the other is a minority culture trying to retain it's integrity
>and beliefs in a hostile environment.

Jane, you are treading on very thin ice.  In effect you advocate and
justify rebellion  over any majority.  Does that mean you would attack
the sensitivities of Jews in Israel because their religion is dominant
and it certainly does invoke it's  culture on all who live there.  Or
how about the sensitivities of the majority of Hindus in India, or the
Muslims in Pakistan,  and on and on.   I do not buy your argument
above any more than if one were to say it is OK to offend the feelings
of Afro Americans if you do it in Harlem, where they are in the
majority, but it's not OK if you do it in lower Manhattan.

My own feelings on this matters is that artists and writers are free
to do their thing, but they should not expect any public support ($)
if they choose to be exhibitionist, and flaunt the sensitivities of
the communities in which`they live.

John Bing

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