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Permalink Reply by Gallup's Mirror on February 10, 2013 at 2:07pm

I'm also unwilling to sacrifice my life to fundamentalism...but what if your message had no impact under a nom de plume?

If you produce good work it really doesn't matter what name is on it, or if it has no name on it at all.

For example, if you are a new author, then the name on your book doesn't matter. If you are an established author with a name that sells more books, you could use your name to find another willing publisher.

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Permalink Reply by Kairan Nierde on February 10, 2013 at 10:33pm

I want to agree with you, but we live in a celebrity obsessed culture.  Sometimes books need a marketing strategy that includes the author promoting her/his work in order to break through the noise and reach an audience.

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Permalink Reply by Gallup's Mirror on February 11, 2013 at 8:24am

I want to agree with you, but we live in a celebrity obsessed culture.  Sometimes books need a marketing strategy that includes the author promoting her/his work in order to break through the noise and reach an audience.

True enough but what if you're not a celebrity? The book publisher generally handles the marketing end.

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Permalink Reply by onyango makagutu on February 10, 2013 at 7:05am

The barbarism of christianity was checked by those like Voltaire, Dante and others before them who stood up and satitised religion. For those coming after us, I would publish a work critical of Islam as long as it gave me pleasure even if this would lead to loss of life.

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Permalink Reply by Ed on February 10, 2013 at 1:24pm

I wonder if the threat of retribution has managed to limit the criticism of Islam. I am certain there is a growing group of Muslims in our own country who have grown to like much of the western lifestyle and prefer to look at the berka as a relic no longer apropos. But even this group remains largely silent on the issues of violence in Islamic culture.

There is a secular element in the Middle East (look at the events in Tunisia & Egypt recently) and I believe efforts should somehow be made to support their cause without turning them all into martyrs. 

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Permalink Reply by Gallup's Mirror on February 10, 2013 at 1:50pm

There is a secular element in the Middle East (look at the events in Tunisia & Egypt recently) and I believe efforts should somehow be made to support their cause without turning them all into martyrs.

That's the right idea but it's also a pickle; the secular population is so small. Democratize and the people vote for Islamic states. Otherwise you end up with secular dictatorships.

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Permalink Reply by Ed on February 10, 2013 at 10:11pm

Saddam Hussein and Gadaffi are classic examples of secular dictators.

The pickle you described is unfortunately true. Education is the key. That is why the Taliban is so adamantly opposed to the education of women. They realize their misogynistic stranglehold will be loosened once women properly identify themselves as equals in their society. 

The people voting for an Islamic state when afforded the opportunity to vote in a democratic election (Egypt & Tunisia) is an uneven playing field as many of the women are ordered to stay home and keep their butts out of the voting booths otherwise they can expect the beatings to be extra brutal or even deadly. The male dominated culture of Muslim society infuriates my sensitivities of right and wrong. As a man it is almost embarrassing to watch the Islamic male subjugate and rule the females of their society with an iron fist. It makes me want to vomit. 

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Permalink Reply by Gregg R Thomas on February 10, 2013 at 7:04pm

Which is worse Religionism or Nationalism?

Don't both reside in the same part of the brain?

Would you slap a psychopath in the face, hand him/her a knife, drop to your knees and beg not to be harmed?  After the psychopath started stabbing you, would that be too late to consider whether or not to slap the psychopath?

France and England are overrun by Islamic nutballs...how are they doing?

I live in the middle of America, I'm not overrun by Islamic nutballs, I am overrun by Xtian nutballs, first things first.

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Permalink Reply by Ed on February 10, 2013 at 9:53pm

Gregg,

I live in the South and deal w/ the same nutballs. The only difference is that Xtian nutballs are not generally strapping on vests w/ explosives and carrying out overt acts of violence against their detractors. Islam takes no prisoners. Their willingness to murder in the name of Allah is startling. And the vicious methods they often employ (ie beheading) is downright scary. 

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Permalink Reply by Gregg R Thomas on February 11, 2013 at 8:08am

@ Ed:

I doubt Islamists (or xtians for that matter) will be swayed by rational attacks on their ideology, so writing books to show them the error of their ways is futile in my humble opinion.

I can't see placating religious nutballs of any stripe as a practical use of my time, so NO I wouldn't publish a book telling them they're crazy-stupid.

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Permalink Reply by Ed on February 11, 2013 at 9:07am

If not books then perhaps leaflets dropped by the millions. We need to get the message to the oppressed somehow. The change must start from within -women & young people.

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Permalink Reply by Gregg R Thomas on February 11, 2013 at 2:11pm

I'm fairly sure the "oppressed" have figured it out by now.

But you may be on to something, an air drop of leaflets saying;

You're Oppressed and Stupid.

signed by doG. :)

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