The decision on blocking Facebook seems to be a futile exercise.

Earlier measures censuring YouTube and other websites from displaying blasphemous illustrations had also proved to be ineffective and anyone desirous of viewing the same could easily do so with the click of a button, at times on the very websites that may have been banned earlier.

It would be a delusion to believe that anything on the Internet can be censored with its massive deluge of information and millions of data points for transmitting the same.

By taking such a step, we are not doing ourselves any favours and the whole endeavour can make a good case study of an exercise in futility since there are myriad of ways for accessing Facebook still.

A more proper and civilised response would be to ignore such sketches and images which would in turn diminish any incentive anyone may be having for drawing the same, especially if the objective is only to rouse frenzied emotions of a particular creed.

But by reacting the way we do, we only make ourselves the subject of squeals of many around the world. They would like to see nothing better than to see us react in vain, and to watch some of our countrymen parade around spewing hate and carrying within them the threat of wanton destruction.

We cannot afford to let ourselves become an object of their amusement. It is imperative that we do not play right into their hands by stumbling along the blind alley of state sponsored censorship campaign.

HASAN JAMIL
Karachi
Source: Dawn
Date:5/21/2010