[upchuck]

...wondered if this might have been a veiled slur on the world's 1 billion practicing Muslims.

Wow! One BILLION folks practising a religion of peace. Sure don't seem like it, do it?

Perhaps the WP should just drop Mr. Hart's strip.

[Ronaldus Magnus]

This is Marshall Blonsky, professor of semiotics at the New School in New York. Blonsky is an expert in the interpretation of signs and symbols..."It's inappropriate," he said. "You gently close an outhouse door." One does not ordinarily enter an outhouse in anger or with a melodramatic flourish, he said. One utilizes this particular convenience in as unobtrusive a way as possible.

I'm not cutting on all New Yorkers, but I doubt that this city dweller has ever been in a Port-O-Potty let alone an actual outhouse. Every out house I've ever been in, including my current "second bathroom," has had a spring holding the door shut to keep the critters out, and they all have slammed loudly. You only have to have a scared, sewage soaked raccoon jump up through your legs once to forever understand the value of a reliably closed out house door.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

That may well be true, but the 73-year-old cartoonist's history of evangelizing his Christian beliefs through his comic cavemen have left many people doubtful.

Luckily he didn't kill a few thousand people or the Post would really be upset.

[FrankR]

"The reader noted that the cartoon contained six crescent moons -- three in the sky, and three on the outhouse door -- and wondered if this might have been a veiled slur on the world's 1 billion practicing Muslims..."

That's the most ridiculous claptrap I have ever heard.

In the first place, there were only TWO crescent moons in the cartoon...with THREE PANELS. A panel is a continuation of the implied action in the cartoon. For the dense, Panel 2, is a continuation of Panel 1, and Panel 3 is a continuation of panel 2.

I guess if it were a movie, the reader would count the "frames" and come up with several hundred crescent moons.

Like someone just said, some people try very hard to be offended. I must be a miserable feeling to scan the media every day just looking for something to get pissed about.

[FormerACLUmember]

The only toilet in real question here is the fecal depository known as CAIR.

[Marysecretary]

Good grief. Do these people make a living being offended? Cheez.

[Lion Den Dan]

If it was not a slur, it should be.

[lilylangtree]

Another stink for the fanatic islamics and perceived insults. Thin skinned are we? Frankly, I think the same thing every time I enter the outside john. And one more thing for the islamics:

muslim=islamic=fanatic=terrorists

[b4its2late]

No doubt, they're trying to get newspapers across the nation to drop BC. It's another attack on Christians and morality.

[b4its2late]

Broome County ping!

[walford]

"ALLAH" IS THE NAME OF A "MOON-GOD" ALLEGES A CHRISTIAN RESEARCH AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION
http://www.mostmerciful.com/moongod.htm

Moon Gods and Moon Goddesses
http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_myth_gods_moon.htm

Artemis (Greek)
Artemis and Selene, just like Apollo and Helius, came to be associated so that Artemis became the goddess of the moon.

Coyolxauhqui (Aztec)
Coyolxauhqui means "Golden Bells." Coyolxauhqui is the sister of the Sun god, Huitzilopochtli.

Diana (Roman)

Heng-O (Chinese)
Heng-O was the mother of the twelve moons and ten suns.

Ix Chel (Maya)
Lady Rainbow was a Maya old woman moon goddess.

Khons (Egyptian)
Amen's consort was Mut. Together they had a son, Khons the moon god.

Mawu (African)
Also spelled Maou. Female.

Selene (Greek)
Moon goddess -- actually moon Titan (Titaness) daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Thea. Selene is the sister of the sun god Helios.

Sin/Nanna (Sumerian)
Moon god.

Soma (Hindu)
A moon god in India.

Tsuki-Yomi (Japanese)
A Shinto moon god.

Yarikh (Ugarit)

[Phantom Lord]

I would love if someone could find a Doonsberry or Boondocks that has an outhouse in it with a moon on it.

If they exist, someone please find them and post them here and ping me. Thanks!

[agrarianlady]

Strange News - AP

Outhouse Door at Iowa Park Stolen
Fri Nov 21, 9:34 AM ET

ACKLEY, Iowa - The outhouse door is missing at a city park, and officials want it back.

Richard Swasand, a volunteer at Prairie Bridges Park, said someone probably took it overnight on Nov. 12 while the group was collecting an award from North Iowa Area Development park improvement program for its unique bathroom and other improvements.

"While we were getting the award, they were stealing the door," Swasand said.

Swasand said the door is special because it was painted to look like a barn door with the words "Outhouse" and a sliver of a moon added to it.

"It was unusual and it was functional," Swasand said.

The thief broke the handle off the steel door and then unscrewed the door from its hinges.

Replacing the door would cost anywhere from $300 to $500, Swasand said.

Volunteers made the restroom from a steel water tank. Crews cut the water tank in half and stood it on one end.

Prairie Bridges Park is an abandoned rock quarry and features a number of bridges.

[CyberCowboy777]

It is only plausible that he wanted to slur Muslims because of the cartoonist's history of evangelizing his Christian beliefs through his comic cavemen.

If he was a liberal atheist...well then no offense was possible. This is the epitome of discrimination.

[L.N. Smithee]

Ain't it something how the media takes CAIR's concerns about Dr. Laura and B.C. seriously, but has nothing bad to say about that arrogant, bigoted pig, Aaron McGruder of The Boondocks?

[Hildy]

Every single solitary day Muslims insult Jews, calling for our death. Where the hell is my apology. Instead of bashing Mel Gibson, why doesn't the ADL ask Muslims to apologize to me.

[King Prout]

Let's assume for the moment that there is no bloody-handed insane death cult called Islam, and thus the cartoonist cannot be poking it in the eye.
From that perspective, the cartoon does make sense, and is still funny, if only slightly: it is the middle of the night in an isolated single-occupancy outhouse - who is the caveman questioning, and why would he be surprised by the stench? Good for a slight quirk of a smile.

Now, let's assume that there IS a bloody-handed insane death-cult called Islam, and that the cartoonist IS poking it in the eye... The cartoon becomes BRILLIANT.

Personally, I'm thinking of printing up T-shirts with a photo of an outhouse with the traditional crescent moon on the door, and a caption reading "Islam"

Probably sell like hotcakes.

[dixie sass]

How absurd.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

My thoughts are "Why go through so much trouble to secretly "malign" a religion that openly supports the cold blooded murder of the women and children of its enemies?"

Why do I care what CAIR has to say - they are bigoted anti-americans anyway. They are an intolerant group specifically formed to "protect" those of their beliefs - folks - they are my enemy - by their own choice and charter. Not my choice - I'm not a member of any special interest exclusionary racial or religious group - which is precisely be definition what they are.

Did the paper, or CAIR for that matter - spend half as much time commenting on the murders going on in in the name of their "religion" all over the world? CAIR - how about starting with the man in the mirror - get back to us when you achieve a civilized society - then we will talk about what the cartoonist has to say. Until then - unfortunately - he is right!

Please - I think the only problem they have with this cartoon is it hits too close to the truth. I'll never forget it - I think - even if accidently - the cartoonist has hit the nail on the head - something DOES STINK in areas of the world under the control of Islam.

[weegee]

Bookmarking for a later return.

I wonder how many of the posters on this thread were among those who attacked the outraged viewers of Bad Santa (or maybe they just choose to denegrate Christians).

I saw Bad Santa a couple weeks ago (free preview) and I could care less how "Santa" was portrayed but I did find the frequent use of Jesus and the Lord's name in vain to be sacreligious (especially in a "Christmas" film) and the point where "Bad Santa" says that the story of Jesus' birth was a "lousy story anyway" is another of the telling points that the film is antiChristian.