tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939540709666345656.post4271998873032676086..comments2023-05-29T05:39:03.467-04:00Comments on private matters and public things: Foul is FairSammy Wheelock aka "SW"http://www.blogger.com/profile/12838650350541903735noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939540709666345656.post-50067349636769773962011-05-02T22:04:44.061-04:002011-05-02T22:04:44.061-04:00Thanks for the comments - yes, Steven, cf unspeak....Thanks for the comments - yes, Steven, cf unspeak.net; much of what I write is a sort of shadow of unspeak.net, although crueler readers might say it is <i>in</i> the shadow of unspeak.net.<br /><br />And thank you Jeff, yes, that is the point! I actually really appreciate your comment, because I <i>almost</i> edited the line out, concerned that some might think it would strike an anti-Muslim note. I really don't think it has anything to do with Islam except in one broader sense: we are being told very earnestly that something is being done in the "Islamic" tradition, but there are of course many traditions, coupled with many cultures, and why shouldn't there be some weird subsect? The joke contrasts the po-faced earnestness of the religious claims about Osama's burial with its assumptions of a particular respect towards religion and the underlying potential wackiness of religions. And yes, it is very much intended to be at the expense of Osama bin Laden. The use of "goat" is probably more of a Pakistani/Afghan stereotype.Sammy Wheelock aka "SW"https://www.blogger.com/profile/12838650350541903735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939540709666345656.post-37212762961895856692011-05-02T20:39:23.071-04:002011-05-02T20:39:23.071-04:00'although I understand they were following the...'although I understand they were following the practice and tradition of one of the smaller Islamic sects by sodomising the corpse with a goat trained specifically for that purpose.'<br /><br />I found this line hilarious. (I should say for the benefit of people who may happen on this remark in the future and wish to take it out of context that I deem the remark to have nothing to do with Islam. It is rather a joke that works by ending a sentence in an incongruous way, at the expense of Osama bin Laden.) (Analysing why things are funny is part of the purpose of this blog, right?)Jeff Strabonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13381289400378450933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939540709666345656.post-67093939323930955592011-05-02T12:59:22.066-04:002011-05-02T12:59:22.066-04:00"Justice"?"<a href="http://unspeak.net/justice/" rel="nofollow">Justice</a>"?Stevennoreply@blogger.com