I like it a lot, but probably (?) for idiosyncratic reasons. The receptions of such cartoons … ah, isn’t it almost always about what’s going on in your head?
I like it because it’s not simple. I like it because I can identify myself with both sides. I like it because, to a large degree, I share the stated opinion of the Koran, while at the same time remaining very suspicious about “agendas” and “narratives”.
I like it also because … hmm, are private, stupid, irrelevant associations decisive for your likes and dislikes? Just how important are they?
In my case, the cartoon made me thinking of a girl I used to know a long time ago. We were kids in the same class. She was different indeed: shy and isolated, I barely remember her laughing or talking to anyone. Still, when looking now at the old photographs, I see an average kid. I notice nothing special about her appearance, neither in a positive nor in a negative way. Nevertheless, once the group sensed an alien, everything about her became a target. Focusing on what made her different produced the othering, the ‘us versus her’ narrative. Her hair, her dress, her gestures started looking outlandish and funny. Her school time must have been a nightmare.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever exchanged a single word with her.
Noticing differences is fine. Focusing on them is … well, sometimes fine as well (you can have good reasons!). But sometimes, good reasons or not, you just end up as a part of a group with an ugly agenda.
I like it a lot, but probably (?) for idiosyncratic reasons. The receptions of such cartoons … ah, isn’t it almost always about what’s going on in your head?
I like it because it’s not simple. I like it because I can identify myself with both sides. I like it because, to a large degree, I share the stated opinion of the Koran, while at the same time remaining very suspicious about “agendas” and “narratives”.
I like it also because … hmm, are private, stupid, irrelevant associations decisive for your likes and dislikes? Just how important are they?
In my case, the cartoon made me thinking of a girl I used to know a long time ago. We were kids in the same class. She was different indeed: shy and isolated, I barely remember her laughing or talking to anyone. Still, when looking now at the old photographs, I see an average kid. I notice nothing special about her appearance, neither in a positive nor in a negative way. Nevertheless, once the group sensed an alien, everything about her became a target. Focusing on what made her different produced the othering, the ‘us versus her’ narrative. Her hair, her dress, her gestures started looking outlandish and funny. Her school time must have been a nightmare.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever exchanged a single word with her.
Noticing differences is fine. Focusing on them is … well, sometimes fine as well (you can have good reasons!). But sometimes, good reasons or not, you just end up as a part of a group with an ugly agenda.
Nothing simple here.