Osama Christ?

This painting is causing an uproar at an art show in New York. It depicts an upside-down Christlike figure, wearing a crown of thorns, that looks like Osama Bin Laden. One viewer said, "This is outrageous. This is an attack against my religion. How can an artist go so low? Most people are outraged, most Christians."

A painting is an attack against your religion? That doesn't speak well for your religion. And who appointed you spokesperson for "most people" and "most Christians"?

The artist, a man named Tafa, says the work speaks for itself but admits that the resemblance to Bin Laden is no accident. The painting makes other connections, as well: it's bordered with hand-lettered expressions and names including "mujahadin," "McCarthyism," and "Amadou Diallo," a man killed by New York City police in 1999.

The art show's producer, Josh Wainwright, says he didn't even make the Bin Laden connection. When asked whether he would have refused to show the painting if he had made the connection, Wainright replied, "Absolutely not." He says he's a military veteran and despises Bin Laden, but "I don't think it's anyone's job or vocation to limit the expression of artists."

Now there's someone who appreciates the meaning of free speech.

If you don't appreciate artistic expression or free speech and want to take the painting out of circulation, it's yours for a mere $12,000 and change.

(Thanks to Eric Dickey, www.ericdickey.com, for the scoop.)

http://wcbstv.com/local/local_story_033162841.html