I remember a saying my parents taught me. Never judge a book by it's cover. Of course this does not only refer to books or their covers. It refers to everything one will encounter through life. Be it race, religion, or way of life. It is not "wise" to judge based on appearance or in one case a name.
I am a man so I subscribe to various mens magazines, one of which is Playboy. I was reading an article in this months issue that makes me fear the direction of our societies. Most people claim they want peace. And yet again we have a display of irrational reaction based on a publications name.
Playboy is now on news stands in Indonesia, along side Maxim and other "for men" magazines. So far they have had 3 publications hit the news stands all of which have sold out in a couple days. Okay now to hit you with the kicker. Playboy Indonesia is not a nude magazine. In fact the publication is less offensive than other "for men" magazines in the area. This publication is a symbol of freedom. It has articles pertaining to area and they are not tails of sex or sin.
The chief editor visited the Press Council and proposed what the publication would be about and contain. There were no objections to it. In fact in order to not just throw what he knew might be a controversial publication out on the streets, he reached out to the Islamic organizations in the area. But of course the largest group had issues with it. I would not even call them issues, more or less they said we don't care what it is about. I am speaking of the Front Pembela Islam (FPI). It is organizations like this that make me fear the worst. To not even enter a meeting with an open mind is just plain silly these days.
Of course when the first issue was released there were protesters lined up outside the offices to voice their opinion. Was it a peaceful display? Hell no, it got out of hand property was destroyed and it would seem that the group was out to hand out judgment. A lawsuit was filed against Playboy Indonesia for breaking the law with respects to Piracy and Pornography. (Time to remind all that this publication was not a pornographic publication.) The editor was found innocent of the charges brought against him and the publication was deemed free of filth.
Why do I care? Well, there are many poor people in Indonesia and there are no jobs for people to get. This publication adds to the available work in the area. I mean what ever happened to that saying "Never judge a book by it's cover." Seems to me that we as a race are slowly drifting further and further into a pit that no one wants to be in. Oh yeah, and it is all for the "good" of our community, humanity, etc., etc. Every day I find more and more things that try to destroy my hope for peace. And every day it seems that people are not looking or listening. I hope we soon find a way to think rationally and open minded. I personally feel bad for what the next generation of humanity is being left with.
May peace find it's way to all.
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4 comments:
I completely disagree with violence when protesting. I think any violent retaliation against Playboy was clearly wrong. However, I do want you to think about things in a different light. For me, I do not support pornography in any form for personal reasons. I will not judge anyone who does support it, however it is not in my interest to see publications like Playboy flourish. And due to this fact, I can understand why a religious organization would be against taking part in a magazine that, although was not a nude publication by itself, was still part of a corporation that was recognized for its nude publications and had made a fortune off of it. You are correct to not judge a book by its cover, but just because one regional magazine doesn't contain nudity doesn't 'sanctify' the corporation that publishes it. However, I wholeheartedly agree about peace and humanity's lack of effort towards attaining it.
Yes I agree that a religious organization should not "have" to take part in a publication. However, it is your right to just not purchase the publication. It is not being forced on anyone and the fact that the religious organization is making a big deal about it is silly. Instead of actively protesting with violence a publication because of it's name why not take the time to fix other more pressing issues. Also, the magazine is only associated to the American publication in name only. The magazine is written, edited and published locally offering jobs where jobs are needed. The people working for this publication are trying to feed their family and survive. The added stress of harassment and death threats from this "religious organization" is uncalled for. I find the actions taken by this group only hurt Islam as a whole. It is these extremists that give Islam a bad name, and as such they should be dealt with by the Islamic community. Who cares who gave this man his start up capital, let the content of the magazine speak for itself. Publications will flourish if there is a market for them. Religion is a personal choice and by that simple fact should be dealt with personally. Choose not to support "Playboy" if you wish, but you do not have the right to force that onto others, especially in this case when the magazine itself is an avenue to improve the quality of life for many.
Yes, I completely agree that they have no right to 'make it a big deal'. People are just waiting for anything with a hint of controversy and they will blow it out of proportions. Yes there are matters that are for more pressing than a magazine, but I'm sure those matters are not the concern of people in power. Their only desire is to cause more turmoil amidst the chaos. It is pathetic and they do ruin the name of Islam. My earlier post was concerning one's right to not take part in a magazine. As much as I love to disagree with you, the matter of religious organizations only making matters worse is something I do agree with you on. ;)
Is it bad that I have never gazed the pages of Playboy? Does that make me a lesser man? Did I judge the book by its cover? I personally believe that there is always an exception to the rule. Does judging the book really have anything to do with judging the book based on its purpose and reputation? With Playboy, it is most popular for nudity and salacious sex thrills..as opposed to the Bible as a symbol of faith and enlightenment. So, I agree that maybe the PLayboy version in Indonesia is NOT a nude magazine...but it is still primarily marketed as one. it could also be a ploy to get the magazine started, and slowly, they will start to induce the same cheap indulgence that they print on those pages. this way....the readers are treated as if they are just given sneak peeks of the real thing. But the bottomline is....PLAYBOY is not going to stop using nudity as a way to make millions.....do you think the US version of Playboy Magazine will stay being circulated if they stopped putting pictures of naked women? I rest my case.
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