(no subject)
Britain released its "least wanted" blacklist recently. Included on the list, amongst former Russian skinheads who'd killed at least twenty people, are radio host Michael Savage and God-wants-you-to-protest-at-funerals-because-Heaven's-for-asshats-only "preacher" Fred Phelps. As much as I can't stand both of those assholes, punishing someone for simply having different beliefs is wrong. Putting them on a list with people who actually commit murder is wrong. Publishing such a list and saying, "I think it's important that people understand the sorts of values and the sorts of standards that we have here" is idiotic and wrong.
First of all, don't ever claim that your entire country has the same values and standards; that's just simply never going to be true. No matter how uniform your society may or may not be, there's always going to be someone who is completely random and different. And in this case, I don't think it's going to be too hard to find someone who hates gays, feminists, the Irish, Catholics, liberals, etc. or someone who thinks that autism is a sham.
But you know, more importantly than the individual ideas at issue here, I would like to ask Home Secretary Jacqui Smith what kind of values she thinks she's putting forward Cause from where I sit, what she's really saying is that a person is allowed to have free speech, so long as it doesn't upset anyone else. She's saying that personal beliefs are okay to have, so long as nobody's feathers are ruffled. And that is way more dangerous than anyone saying, "God hates Sweden," could ever possibly be. While I agree that have to speak out against that kind of hatred, I don't believe there is any idea that is as offensive as the idea that freedom of belief is conditional.
*sigh* I hate when I feel the need to defend people who piss me off. D:
First of all, don't ever claim that your entire country has the same values and standards; that's just simply never going to be true. No matter how uniform your society may or may not be, there's always going to be someone who is completely random and different. And in this case, I don't think it's going to be too hard to find someone who hates gays, feminists, the Irish, Catholics, liberals, etc. or someone who thinks that autism is a sham.
But you know, more importantly than the individual ideas at issue here, I would like to ask Home Secretary Jacqui Smith what kind of values she thinks she's putting forward Cause from where I sit, what she's really saying is that a person is allowed to have free speech, so long as it doesn't upset anyone else. She's saying that personal beliefs are okay to have, so long as nobody's feathers are ruffled. And that is way more dangerous than anyone saying, "God hates Sweden," could ever possibly be. While I agree that have to speak out against that kind of hatred, I don't believe there is any idea that is as offensive as the idea that freedom of belief is conditional.
*sigh* I hate when I feel the need to defend people who piss me off. D: