Katie Couric's Notebook: Turmoil Over A Teddy Bear

By: Katie Couric
Topics: Katie Couric's Notebook

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Notebook: Islamic Law In Sudan

Anyone who takes for granted the freedoms we enjoy in this country should watch closely what is happening right now in Sudan, where a teacher could be flogged for naming a stuffed teddy bear "Muhammed."

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by ericmichael1 November 30, 2007 12:18 PM EST: Katie, I am going to go against the grain on this one (surprise, surprise!).

I believe that this was a clash of cultures that could have been avoided if this teacher had done her homework.

We Westerners are ethnocentric. We believe that the entire world should revolve around our beliefs and values.

Have respect for others'' beliefs, whether religious or cultural. Tread lightly when you are on anothers'' turf. Be courteous.

We Americans destroyed an entire native american civilization by being intolerant. Today we say we learned our lesson, all the while showing by our actions with others that we are not repentant at all.

We need to take a good look at ourselves. Tolerance: it''s a two-way street.

Eric; Reply to this comment


by petersemkiw November 29, 2007 3:32 PM EST: Dear Katie,
We should never take for granted the freedoms we enjoy in the USA and it certainly is shocking to hear that teacher Gillian Gibbons was arrested, and could be sentenced to 40 lashes and prison time for what was certainly an innocent act of allowing the children in her classroom to name a teddy bear after one of the children in her classroom. It certainly was not meant to be a blasphemous calculated anti religious act, but it points out the importance of foreigners being especially knowledgeable and keenly sensitive to the cultural and religious beliefs and customs of any foreign land in these troubled times. Apologies have been expressed, but for the teacher Gillian Gibbons to be arrested, and face the possibility of forty lashes and time in prison is an abhorrent miscarriage of justice. The courtroom officials and the diplomats involved in this shocking case must work intensely to see that Gillian Gibbons is freed, and that the severe punishment of 40 lashes and prison time does not take place, and that a just diplomatic solution to this situation can be achieved.
Peter; Reply to this comment


by twalrod November 28, 2007 11:32 PM EST: I agree, this is an abhorrent miscarriage of justice. And I think we can rest assured that this incident, and the woman in Saudi Arabia sentenced to 200 lashes for being gang raped, are not the only examples of these horrors.

But you opened your story with an warning to "those who take our freedoms for granted," and I would like to thank you for that. Our freedoms in this country are very much at risk, perhaps more so than at any time in our history. Under this administration, habeus corpus, a basic right established centuries ago, has been eliminated. Our citizens have been spied upon, wiretapped, and arrested all without warrants. They have been held in jail cells and secret prisons indefinitely with no charges filed. Our government has condoned torture. Treason has been committed and condoned.

So you are very, very right to warn Americans not to take our freedoms for granted. Again, thank you. It is a wonderful thing to see a journalist in this day and age finally coming forward to warn the People of this country that yes, it can happen here. I sincerely hope others will follow your lead, and return your profession to it''s rightful and very vital place in our country as the Fourth Estate.; Reply to this comment


by twalrod November 28, 2007 11:27 PM EST: I agree, this is an abhorrent miscarriage of justice. And I think we can rest assured that this incident, and the woman in Saudi Arabia sentenced to 200 lashes for being gang raped, are not the only examples of these horrors.

But you opened your story with an warning to "those who take our freedoms for granted," and I would like to thank you for that. Our freedoms in this country are very much at risk, perhaps more so than at any time in our history. Under this administration, habeus corpus, a basic right established centuries ago, has been eliminated. Our citizens have been spied upon, wiretapped, and arrested all without warrants. They have been held in jail cells and secret prisons indefinitely with no charges filed. Our government has condoned torture. Treason has been committed and condoned.

So you are very, very right to warn Americans not to take our freedoms for granted. Again, thank you. It is a wonderful thing to see a journalist in this day and age finally coming forward to warn the People of this country that yes, it can happen here. I sincerely hope others will follow your lead, and return your profession to it''s rightful and very vital place in our country as the Fourth Estate.; Reply to this comment


by twalrod November 28, 2007 11:24 PM EST: I agree, this is an abhorrent miscarriage of justice. And I think we can rest assured that this incident, and the woman in Saudi Arabia sentenced to 200 lashes for being gang raped, are not the only examples of these horrors.

But you opened your story with an warning to "those who take our freedoms for granted," and I would like to thank you for that. Our freedoms in this country are very much at risk, perhaps more so than at any time in our history. Under this administration, habeus corpus, a basic right established centuries ago, has been eliminated. Our citizens have been spied upon, wiretapped, and arrested all without warrants. They have been held in jail cells and secret prisons indefinitely with no charges filed. Our government has condoned torture. Treason has been committed and condoned.

So you are very, very right to warn Americans not to take our freedoms for granted. Again, thank you. It is a wonderful thing to see a journalist in this day and age finally coming forward to warn the People of this country that yes, it can happen here. I sincerely hope others will follow your lead, and return your profession to it''s rightful and very vital place in our country as the Fourth Estate.; Reply to this comment

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