Marvel’s Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, has been spreading positivity and stomping out intolerance in San Francisco. Municipal (Muni) buses there have been running controversial and cruel anti-Islam ads paid for by blogger Pamela Geller’s American Freedom Defense Initiative. The group is labeled as a hate group by the United Kingdom and for good reason. These ads basically equate Islam with Nazism. They feature a picture of Adolf Hitler and Haj Amin al-Husseini, a 20th Century Palestinian Muslim leader, with the words “Islamic Jew-Hatred: It’s In The Quran.” They bizarrely include a line about stopping the hate, but by that, they mean cut off aid to Islamic countries to stop those countries’ hatred of Jewish beliefs.
Wow.
The ads rolled out earlier this month, and they’re not going anywhere. A Muni spokesperson stated, “Neither the city nor Muni endorse the content of these negative ads. However, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, including speech that is considered offensive.†Cue Ms. Marvel.
One intrepid individual is defacing the ads with images of Kamala Khan and messages of positivity such as “Stamp out racism” and “Free speech isn’t a license to spread hate.” The artist is using the “Stop the Hate” line present on the ad against it. Brilliant. Going with Kamala Khan is all too fitting since she’s the first Muslim character to headline a comic book. Islam is part of Kamala’s identity, and I think the hero would approve of this usage.
HT: G. Willow Wilson, photos via Street Cred
Featured Image Powered by DeviantArt // Artist:Â Ana Hidalgo
So, a “brave” and “intrepid” person anonymously defaces a bus ad they don’t agree with? This is what you are applauding? Slacktivism, thy name is Amy Ratcliffe.
Nothing in these ads is untrue. The picture with Hitler was real, not photoshop. And the Quran DOES call for the murder of all non-muslims. It’s great to see Nerdist has no idea what is going on in the world. It’s not racism if it’s pointing out actual facts.
I wonder how many supporting this defacing were “we are charlie” supporters……
I can’t wait for the feature film of Kamala Khan played by Mia Khalifa… Let’s go Marvel, make it happen!!!
This is probably the greatest thing I have ever read about buses.
So the current Ms.Marvel believes in female circumcision, killing all the Jews and her power is blowing herself up? Become that’s what this is defending.
This is inane. It’s probably wrong to compare Haj Amin al-Husseini to Adolf Hitler. That’s pretty extreme, but he did lead violent hate crimes against Jews. So…what are we fighting with this defacement of ads that are anti-hate by calling them hateful? I don’t get it.
I think it’s a coincidence that the ads are anti-islamic. They’re really anti-hate against Jews. It could have been any country or culture. It’s not aimed at Islam for being Islam. It’s not aimed at Islam at all. It’s aimed at groups that act in hate against Jews.
Inane. Just Inane.
I really like Ms. Marvel too. I am however saddened to see her used this way. What happens when two anti-hate groups fight against each other? Hate compounded because it forces people to choose sides. Judaism v. Islam. That’s not even true because they just happen to be Islam. It could be anyone.
a nice way to be anti-freedom of speech?
From the cheap seats to be sure:
The 1.8% of population of Muslim population of Palestine (which according to Google via Wikipedia {i know, I know ;;;;;>.>} is still about 39k people, who are very, very motivated. This is kind of a problem. Granted 39k isn’t much in the grand scheme, that’s still a not insubstantial amount of religious zealots considering that religious zealots are highly motivated and, assuming they are sympathetic to Hamas have a stated goal of the destruction of Israel in their charter : /
The situation is sort of more problematic (dare I say Paradoxical o.o; ) than I feel the vocal supporters of Palestine and Israel give it credit for being. One side of the line in the desert seems to be organized by a highly motivated group of folks who seem to stand for many of the things that embraced by the hard-line Western right but are being oppressed by way of invasion at the hands of highly motivated people who embrace (at least on the surface at the least) values that cater more to the Western left.
So, this would seem to place many in the west as supporting a side of the plate that in many other circumstances they would likely be dead set against O.o;;;;
That’s true, but the police still have the right to arrest any individual who defaces public property, regardless of his/her political agenda/social conviction.
your speech is protected, you dont get to ad who it is protected from, government or otherwise. defacing your speech is not someone else telling you to shut your trap. defacing is a form of censorship by hiding your speech.
no, it is still freedom of speech, as long as you arent employing libel
they could polite us to death…..
You have the freedom to say whatever stupid/Islamophobic shit you like, that doesnt mean you are free from being criticized for it.
Different sides of the fence. You see those who criticize christianity as intolerant assholes, where we on the other side look at all the negativity and hate that comes from Christianity (or any other religion) and reject it because religion is generally full of pretentious, self righteous, intolerant assholes who use stories of magical sky daddies to push their own hateful beliefs.
Absolutely right! (And yes, I have read it!)
This is simply incorrect.