What's Your Opinion?

[Jim(RelicRadio)]

Alright my brain trust, I'm interested in your opinion of a little issue that's sprung up.


On the latest "News" post on RelicRadio.com there's an image of a scroll accompanying the text.  That image is posted below.  I got an email today stating that image was the Torah, and could I please replace it with something else.  The person was very nice, and I should probably just pull it, but I'm having a hard time with the decision.


That image is titled "pastarchives.jpg" and comes with the Joomla content management system that runs the site.  That software has been downloaded, installed, and used by probably millions of sites worldwide. If that image, which isn't a photograph but a piece of clipart, was in fact the Torah, it's doubtful it would be included.  I think the image is just a scroll.


Obviously my issue isn't really about the image.  It's the principal of the thing.  Where does it stop?  I've posted old time radio shows that would probably piss off every ethnic group on the planet, though it wasn't/isn't my intention to do so.  Should I blip out every use of the word "Jap" in the Radio At War episodes if one person asks? 


I want to be responsive and respectful to everyone, and I have a hard time saying no when it comes to a request like this, but this kind of bugs me.  Thoughts?

[wednesday]

nothing was done with malice. i say stay the course.
where is the line?
it's certainly not acceptable to smoke in the hospital... pull those episodes!
you can't call women dames... pull those episodes!
so what if it's the Torah? it's not on fire or dripping in urine. who cares.
i saw this movie once, "the Exorcist", and they did some questionable things with a crucifix...
anyway, i say Torah or not, there's nothing anti semitic or hateful about the image.

oh, AND you can't even read any of the script! what if it's the final episode of Lost?
sorry, i think the whole thing is ridiculous. this rampant "PCism" makes me crazy.

[BMJ2K (Barry)]

Leave it.

When I first saw it, my only thought was that, perhaps, it was an odd image choice.
Didn't bother me, though.
As a Jew, I made the association with the Torah, but since there is no legible print of any kind or language on it, it could just as easily be the sacred scrolls from Planet of the Apes.

Leave it.

Stay the course on things like "Jap" in Radio at War. It is, or should be, easily understood that those shows are products of and reflections those times, not current commentary.

[wednesday]

BTW- where do I draw the line? This photo appeared as an "awkward photo" on another site and I had an issue with it.

that's a different game.
that seems to be parents trying to be "cute" with their ignorance.

[Jello Again!]

Hey Jim,

Thanks for your sensitivity and consideration around this issue.  I had the same first take on the picture that Barry did - it struck me as kind of an odd photo choice since I associated it with the "store" link when I first skimmed the new site.  I'm a Christian so do appreciate a certain level of mutual respect and consideration, but would go with Barry's Jewish perspective on the Torah over mine.

Although, I did recently see the Dead Sea Scrolls on display which included the full text of Isaiah from the Hebrew Bible, but (in virtually identical scrolls) it also had land agreements and other secular documents.  I agree with everyone else that this scroll picture isn't necessarily the Torah, even though it looks like it... sort of like all books aren't necessarily Bibles.

If it's easily replaced by another "old scroll" image, I'd say replace it.  But if that's the only image that does the job, go ahead and keep it.  You do indeed need to draw the line some where.

Jello

[Jello Again!]

Finally, if you want a photo that's REALLY offensive check out what some Yahoo did to this beautiful old building...
 

[cygnus2112]

I think this, from a previous post sums it up perfectly:

"I agree with everyone else that this scroll picture isn't necessarily the Torah, even though it looks like it... sort of like all books aren't necessarily Bibles."

Leave it in, it's fine.

Bryan

[wednesday]

Finally, if you want a photo that's REALLY offensive check out what some Yahoo did to this beautiful old building...
 

an obvious philistine.

[Matt Cowan]

Yeah, that's a slippery one.  I'm a Christian as well, but an image like that doesn't offend me.  I can see their point of view also though, if they believe the image reflects the websites beliefs.  I'll be cool with whatever you choose to do, Jim.

[oldtimefan]

I believe you should leave it. You can't see anything that looks offensive, it just looks like an old scroll. If you went down the PC route most of the radio shows we listen too would have to be canned.
Wife bashing, smoking, men taking advantage of women, etc. it would never end.

[oldtimefan]

Here is a link about the torah http://www.chabad.org/library/howto/wizard_cdo/aid/351655/jewish/Torah-Scroll-Facts.htm

[BMJ2K (Barry)]

Without any discernable writing, it may or may not be a Torah. From a certain point of view it could be a torah, from another it could be an Egyptian proclamation. and when I said in my earlier post they could be from Planet of the Apes, I wasn't kidding, as we each bring our own interpretation to the image.

Assume for a second it is, recognizably and without doubt, the Torah. I don't think anyone would try to say thet the image is being used in any offensive way, and certainly not intentionally. The only offense would be that the image of a sacred text is being used in such a casual way.

If the image really is, and could be identified, as a Torah, it wouldn't be PC to remove it, as it would really be slightly inappropriate and possibly a slight offense to certain people.

As it is, it is only an old scroll. You can't be responsible for what meaning people try to impose on it.

[Jake]

I'm a Christian too, and the scroll doesn't present a problem at all. You were not using it in any derogatory way, and, as just about everyone else has said, who says it's a Torah?

As for being offended, this world is becoming more and more sensitive every day. If people have to pull everything that offends everyone, all OTR, Family Guy, Simpsons, Bibles, Torahs, Korans, music... will have to be banned completely. And that would just stink royally...

[Jim(RelicRadio)]

Thank you all for your thoughtful, and sometimes humorous, replies.  I'm going to just leave the thing in, eventually it will float off the front page and not be an issue to anyone.  The only reason that I used it in the first place was that it was included by default in the software running the site, and I wanted to test out an image in a post.  It has led to an interesting discussion though!


Again, to be fair, the email that started all of this was very nice about their request to pull the image.  Had the person been snotty I would have ignored it out of hand.  Nonetheless, the internet, email, etc. makes for some interesting interactions that would probably never take place face to face.  If I walked into someone's house and saw a picture on the wall I didn't like I wouldn't think of asking them to take it down.


So, at the risk of not being politically correct and by the wisdom of my esteemed forum friends, the scroll stays.    


Let's hope this is the last time something like this comes up.

[Jello Again!]

Well handled, Jim!