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"Shock for shock's sake." "Choreographed punditry." And "wrong, childish and needlessly provocative."
That's what some critics think of Thursday's Facebook-ignited campaign titled "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day." But those aren't Islamic extremists speaking. Those are the words of pro-free-speech political cartoonists.
Some people might draw Muhammad on Thursday as part of a socially networked protest to caricature the Islamic prophet. Just don't expect most professional political cartoonists to join in.
"I don't think it's kowtowing to be respectful of another's belief system," says San Diego Union-Tribune cartoonist Steve Breen. "I seldom participate in staged editorial events," says Seattle Post-Intelligencer cartoonist David Horsey. And "the 'Draw Muhammad Day' is a demonstration in the worst impulse for some editorial cartoonists," says Chicago Tribune cartoonist Scott Stantis.