No plastic pigs. Might "offend."

Amazing. I'm not a fan of the Brits, but they were a courageous people once upon a time. Something odd happened to them (and most of the rest of Europe, for that matter) in recent decades, and they've devolved into a low, craven, cringing people. I thought allowing Sharia law in majority-Muslim neighborhoods was ridiculous, but now they won't even ship plastic pigs in the little toy sets for fear of "offending"? Breathtaking. And let's be clear: this has nothing to do with "sensitivity" or "celebrating diversity," and everything to do with kowtowing and cowardice. But then, Europe has a history of rolling over on its back and submitting to dangerous religions out of the Middle East. They did it 1500 years ago when a loopy little fringe death-cult showed up on the scene. It was called "Christianity."


http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/plastic-pig-banned-from-uk-toy-set-for-fear-of-offending-jewish-muslims/story-e6frf7lf-1225954697030

Plastic pig banned from UK toy set for fear of offending Jews, Muslims

TOY shop bosses removed a plastic pig from a children's toy farm set because they feared it would upset Muslim and Jewish parents.

A mother who complained to toy store Early Learning Centre (ELC) when she found the pig missing was told it had been removed for "religious reasons," British newspaper The Sun reported.

The mother, named only as Caroline, found there was no pig with the cow, sheep, chicken, horse and dog in the store's HappyLand Goosefeather Farm.

Caroline, who bought the toy for her daughter's first birthday, said the farm set still contained an empty sty and a button that made an oinking noise when pressed.

But after writing to ELC's customer services she got an email reply admitting the pig was removed in case it upset Muslim or Jewish parents.

The Crime of Indecision and the Crime of Indifference

"There are moments when everything becomes clear, when every action constitutes a commitment, when every choice has its price, when nothing is neutral anymore."

-- Albert Camus

During the most uncompromising and dangerous years in the 20^th century, Camus threw down the gauntlet. There were people in France and around the world who wanted to sit on the fence, think about the best course of action, weigh their options, and hide behind the endless alibis for refusal to make a decision and then act on that decision. We all try so hard to hide, to wait out the crisis, hoping that events will move quickly and thus deprive us of the curse of choice, hoping that events will make the decision for us. It is human nature, it is an understandable cowardice. But still, it is cowardice.

Here is a parable for this moment and for all the moments in history when every choice has its price and nothing is neutral anymore:

The semi-mythical Athenian leader Solon made it a law that anyone who refused to take sides in a revolution would lose all civil rights. That way, people could not stand aside and hope trouble would pass them by while they waited to see which side would win.