I too have no insight into Deveny's mind, stevenlmeyer.

>>I cannot read Deveny’s mind so I do not know why she refrains from subjecting Islam to the same contempt, satire and scorn that she heaps on Christianity. I guess it’s a combination of political correctness and fear but I don’t know.<<

Nor am I particularly inclined to "guess", as you do.

If I take you and Aime at face value, you are both genuine people without a bone of hatred in your bodies. You get upset when a comedienne uses Christianity as the trampoline for her schtick, fair enough. Not everyone finds it amusing.

But humour is two-way. If the audience doesn't laugh, the gag gets dropped for the next show. So when putting material together for a show, she probably thinks "which would get a bigger laugh, this, or that?".

Which is the one and only reason why I suspected that this had nothing to do with humour, and everything to do with your desire to take every opportunity to bag Muslims.

If you really want to disprove your own theory about people being too scared to make fun of Islam, here's your chance.

Have a look through the lyrics of one really smart Australian dude, Tim Minchin. He has made it big - really, O2 stadium big - in the UK, with such lyrics as you find in, say, his song "Ten foot cock and a few hundred virgins"

"So if you
Cover the bodies of your women
Everybody is grinnin'
Because black is so slimmin'
Though it's not great for swimmin'
But it gives you an erection
With the increased sexual tension
What with the UV protection
That is second to none
You'll find it all in the Koran
Just next to the bit that justifies guns"

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/tim_minchin

He also does a neat line on religion in general, but I'll let you find that out for yourself.

If you happen to be in Sydney, he's at the Opera House for the next few days. Treat yourself.

Pericles

Am I a “genuine” person?

I genuinely loathe Islam. Is “loathing” equivalent to hatred? If so I must confess to having a few bones of hatred in my body.

I also genuinely fear the consequences of appeasing any religion. Right now it is Islam that is being appeased.

I don’t get upset when a comedian “uses Christianity as the trampoline for her schtick”.

Why would I?

I find Deveny unfunny because her jokes are old and tired. They are heavy-handed and lack wit. They are the equivalent of slapstick.

Do I take every opportunity to bag Muslims?

Well, no, my main target is people who appease or try to make excuses for Islam. I like rubbing their noses in the nature of the belief system they are trying to excuse and whose vile nature they try so hard to ignore or minimize or explain away.

Just for the record, of all the world’s major religions the one I despise most is Hinduism with its vicious caste system the effects of which I have seen at first hand. However Hinduism is not an imperial religion like Islam or Christianity. It is not trying to stifle free expression in non-Hindu countries. And while the world’s major Hindu country, India, often falls short of the secular ideals it proclaims it does at least have those ideals and the government does try to help the lower castes. Muslim nations do not even pretend to treat all religions equally and some of them are brutal towards minorities.

I’m not in Sydney but I’ll keep an eye out for Tim Minchin. He sounds like my kind of guy.

Is he any relation to Nick

"If I take you and Aime at face value, you are both genuine people without a bone of hatred in your bodies. You get upset when a comedienne uses Christianity as the trampoline for her schtick, fair enough. Not everyone finds it amusing."

Pericles, I don't get upset by anyone bagging christianity, muslim or any other religion. I just think it's sad that people "bag" anyone at all. Why the heck can't we all get along? Why have you taken a set against me? I really think you're nothing but a bully who likes to hurt the feelings of people you believe are beneath your dignity. If I'm wrong, then I apologise.

By now it should be plain to you that I do not believe in god or gods of any persuasion. I realise that you can't reason with people who have decided to, or who have been brainwashed into believing that they need to talk to imaginary spirits or people in order to be able to face life on earth.

I believe that we're just big brained mammals but with a few extra emotions thrown in for good measure. Humans think they're smart, but to disprove this we only have to look at how humans go about trashing the planet, how they invent bigger and better methods of killing each other and how they are so cock sure of themselves, they can't see that there really is a limit to how much they can plunder natural resources until they run of of things to plunder.

I'm fast running out of years. I was born into a golden age where I really didn't have to worry about wars or upheaval of life as some have know it in the past and I give thanks to nobody in particular each and every day for that fact. I could almost be accused of being religious in that I despise abortion. I believe that people should be responsible enough to keep their legs together. What the heck ever happened to romance, marriage and children in that order?

Gays? Mildly amused, but if they're nice and don't bother me I really couldn't give the proverbial! Procreation? Well, that what animals are good at in times of plenty and humans are nothing more than animals, but times of plenty are fast coming to an end! And when I finally die? Then the lights go out for the last time and that's the end of the game.

And if I'm wrong and god really does exist? Then I hope he/she will say that I lived my life to the best of my ability without hurting anyone and without judging anybody. Sometime I fail badly in that area, but I always try to make amends.

Pericles, I am not your enemy, nor are you a fool. You have your opinions as I have mine and that's what this place is for, but please, be careful what you say and who you try to wound with words.

A beer at the local Pericles?

If my reaction upset you, Aime, I apologise.

It is just that when I see all-encompassing, blanket condemnation of a religion - any religion - I tend to look for ulterior motives. Mostly, I find them in Christians taking free potshots at Muslims. And as there are few Muslims on this Forum to defend themselves, my inclination is not to defend Islam, but to pick apart the rationale that their attackers use.

Hence my question to you, "do you mean that all of them are murderers", intended to point out that, unwittingly or not, you had labelled an entire religion as such.

>>A beer at the local Pericles?<<

Any time.

This is also why I respnded in the fashion I did to your OP, stevenlmeyer. While it is reasonable to express dislike of someone's anti-Christian comedy, I thought it entirely unnecessary to ask why the material was not targetting Islam.

Intriguingly, you now tell us that:

>>of all the world’s major religions the one I despise most is Hinduism<<

In which case why did you not question why Deveney does not target Hindus in her comedy?

The answer is obvious, and is the same for Islam, Scientology (possibly an exception there, they're hilarious), Mormons, Buddhists and so on.

The audience.

If she looked at her likely audience of an evening, and thought "what would be a bigger laugh", the decision on material tends to make itself.

The other variable is the capability of the comic. Deveney couldn't pull it off, where someone with Tim Minchin's genius, can.

And no, no relation to Nick.

Pericles

Interesting you should mention scientology. One of my objections to "hate speech" laws is that they would protect scientology.

Scientology is also an example of what happens when religions are granted special privileges. L. Ron Hubbard made scientology into a “church” because of the tax benefits.

Once you grant religions any sort of immunity from critique, analysis, attack, contempt, satire and scorn enterprising demagogues will simply add some religious trappings to whatever spiel they are peddling and use the law to silence their critics.

BTW scientologists are among the most aggressive practitioners of lawfare