Take the Danish cartoons. They were first printed in a country that supports the war in Iraq, where the far-right Danish People's party receives 13% of the vote and where, according to the Danish Institute for Human Rights, racially motivated crimes doubled between 2004 and 2005.He uses this example to illustrate his main point, which is that "those who choose Goliath's corner cannot then claim underdog status once David gets out his slingshot."
Now, it seems to me, those Danish cartoonists who live in fear of their lives because of the things they drew might reasonably be accorded the status of underdog. But Younge wants to deny them that status because of Denmark's support for Iraq, the electoral performance of the Danish People's party and a rise in racially motivated crime.
In other contexts, I've heard Younge argue strenuously against this type of guilt by association, but these days it seems if you're a Dane, you're a bigot - and presumably, in Younge's view, a fitting target for David's slingshot. The fact that the "Davids" in this instance are religious extremists with murderous intent seems not to enter into his thinking at all.
UPDATE
Via PooterGeek: I learn that Shuggy also has a thing or two to say about Younge's column.
