Many of the deathes occurred in Afghanistan after our good friend Afghan President Hamid Karzai helped things along by highlighting the Florida incident. The dead include United Nations workers. Karzai has been using any opportunity lately to denounce the United States and express sympathy for the Taliban — while insisting that we continue our spending of billions in his country.
Most Afghans were unaware of the incident on March 20th until Karzai made it the focus of a recent speech.
Jones is an example of how anyone can call himself a preacher and the head of a church — even though he seems to have only a handful of followers. He has expressed no regrets: “It was intended to stir the pot; if you don’t shake the boat, everyone will stay in their complacency.”
The fact is that Jones’ hateful act is protected speech in this country. Despite Obama’s support for an international blasphemy resolution, we remain committed to free speech — even speech that others find insulting and sacrilegious. He was roundly denounced in his country and has lost most of the small number of people in his church. Yet, I will not join those blaming him for this violence. It is a mistake to blame unpopular speakers for such mob responses. It is the fault of these murderous extremists. What Jones is responsible for is his own act of hateful desecration. Instead of showing that it is Jones who is the extremist and the symbol of intolerance, these Muslim extremists have played into dreams of anti-Muslims like Jones.
Source: Yahoo
I heard Thom Hartmann talking on his radio program about a 2003 Supreme Court finding that allowed for cross burning (assumes Bible and/or Quran burning are apt substitutes) unless it is done in public and with the intent to harm, intimidate, etc. Would this be applicable for arresting Jones on a federal charge? Please, someone say it is.
Blouise,
Whew! Okay … burn away, lady! 😀
Stamford Liberal,
I only burn the pages that instruct either one of us to stand on our heads …
One wonders what motivated Jones’ actions. Was he trying to make money? Probably. Was he intending to incite violence? Maybe.
It would be interesting to see if people’s opinion of this episode changed if Jones stated his intent was to inflame and enrage people.
I don’t believe what Jones did was illegal and I do not believe he should be held responsible for what happened. But if he were to ever say that he expected or wanted the violence to occur I would hope that the people who were murdered could sue him.
I guess that is the only question: Did he intend or want violence to occur because of his act. He just may be stupid enough to admit it. I know the quickest way to get beat up would be to go to a church on Sunday and burn a Bible.
Blouise,
“as penance for laughing I will now burn another page out of my revered copy of the Kama Sutra, a truly holy book”
ANYTHING but the Kama Sutra, Blouise! To do so would relegate you and your significant other to a future of premature ejaculations and genital warts …
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rafflaw,
“you better get the soap out to wash your mouths out once Tootie reads your virgin lizard reference!!”
Lmao – virginal lizards are the LEAST of Taliban Tooties problems!!!
how dare he burn the Quran? how would he like it if Muslims burned the bible? he needs to take it to a prespective of how this will result to. would you like it if Muslims burned the bible? the answer is no, you wouldn’t like it. Muslims are outraged by the action that he took. Also, he is making things worst for the soldiers in Afghanistan because of him, Afghan people are attacking the soldiers, killing his own people. This is not right, and we need to find a way to make things better. Jones needs to take resonsibility for his actions. nuff said.
Blouise and Stamford,
you better get the soap out to wash your mouths out once Tootie reads your virgin lizard reference!! 🙂
Stamford Liberal
1, April 4, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Dredd,
“… readers were introduced to the perplexing virgin species of reptile leiolepis ngovantrii, a species that is composed of females only.
Virgin mothers are the sole source of the newborns in that population of reptiles”
Uh,oh … are you saying Jesus is a female lizard??
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lol … as penance for laughing I will now burn another page out of my revered copy of the Kama Sutra, a truly holy book …
Dredd,
“… readers were introduced to the perplexing virgin species of reptile leiolepis ngovantrii, a species that is composed of females only.
Virgin mothers are the sole source of the newborns in that population of reptiles”
Uh,oh … are you saying Jesus is a female lizard??
Buddha,
hateful and stupid and the amount of money in the system is dangerous.
A guy burns a book of fables, some other guys kill a bunch of people because they believe the fables and the guy who burned the book should be arrested for a hate crime?
Now that is a crock.
These are the times that try men’s souls … especially since we just discovered a virgin species that gives birth without males … yes males are extinct in that species for heaven’s sake.
That may be the solution to Koran burning … get rid of male burning … if ya know what I mean Vernie …
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2011/04/virgin-momcom-2.html
And proves concurrently that money is also both hateful and stupid.
catch22oy:
” If “hate” speech were indeed actionable, there would be one less TV network on cable. Also, in cities across the country, much of the AM dial would spout only static, as Rush Limbaugh and company are frog-marched out of their broadcasting booths.”
Proves that money talks.
To G Newman: What would be the basis for a civil action against Jones by the relatives of people murdered in Afghanistan?
I believe that the Klan case brought by the Sothern Poverty Law Center was about the murder of a young black man. The SPLC was able to show that the men who attacked the black man were influenced by the hateful rhetoric of their Klan group. There is no parallel here.
Sandy: If there was a “hate crime” it was against a book, not against the victims of Muslim violence.
Somehow otherwise reasonable people want to link Jones to the murders and sanction him somehow. They are welcome to picket his church if they want, shun him, make a pariah of him, but there is no criminal or civil case for him to answer to.
If “hate” speech were indeed actionable, there would be one less TV network on cable. Also, in cities across the country, much of the AM dial would spout only static, as Rush Limbaugh and company are frog-marched out of their broadcasting booths.
I personally think he should be tried for commiting a hate crime. This is not free speach, this is down right a hate crime and should be prosacuted
It is time to admit that people who commit or support violence in the name of religion (both secular as in political parties or overtly religious) are doing so of their own accord. God or the party leader may tell you to do something or to accept it. Because god, his self appointed emissaries or the party leader told you to do it, does not mean it is a good idea or that you should do it. You are making a choice to follow god’s emissaries or the political leader when they tell you to kill or tolerate murder and torture. This is not how a thinking, feeling human being should be living her life. Human beings have the capacity for judgment. We need to use it. Powerful gods or figures who tell people to kill or tolerate killing and torture are not worthy of our allegiance. Neither are holy books who recommend these things.
I’d like to see the “good” pastor go to a Muslim country and burn the Q’uran but that would take balls.
I hope this guy is proud of himself – now he really has blood on his hands.
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“Stamford Shabazz (Malek)”
Nice try, Taliban. Good dog you’re pathetic
Somebody at Unocal needs to get ahold of this Terry Jones fella and explain to him how this is going to mess up natural gas futures. Maybe they could just buy this pud-wacker a new Cadillac and a new mega-church building. Unocal gave money to the Taliban to try to chill them out, howsa’bout turining down the volume on our own crazies? Come on Unocal my 401K needs you!
Rcampbell,
It would be interesting to see how brave he is by trying to burn the Quran in Kabul.