Imagine No Religion

[ogrevi]

I haven’t written about the “Ground Zero Mosque” for a few reasons. First, I think I’m the only one who hasn’t. Second, most of what I would say is the obvious stuff that you’ve heard lots of reasonable people say already: it isn’t at Ground Zero, it isn’t a mosque, and anyone who calls it the “Ground Zero Mosque” is automatically signaling that

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[ogrevi]

~~It matters to me, because of the arson at the mosque construction site in whereverville, in... Arkansas or somewhere? And because of the way the crowd turned on that Ground Zero construction worker, who happened to be black and wearing a hat. And because of the cabdriver who was stabbed in the neck.~~
Yeah, that's what I'm saying. When people turned violent, and when local governments across the country started overstepping their bounds, then I started to care.
But as long as it was just Xians and Muslims yelling at each other... well, that's like when the Lakers play the Celtics. I don't want either of them to win. I sometimes say in those situations "I'm just hoping for lots of injuries," but of course that isn't true. I don't want anyone hurt. The best I can hope for is to see basketball played at a very high level, which is in itself a pleasure, although the fact that one or the other must win makes me sad.
In this argument, all I can hope for is people eloquently, thoughtfully, and peacefully expressing their First and Fifth Amendment rights. I'm destined to be disappointed in that, but if it happens I will get a bit of satisfaction from it. No possible outcome, though, will make me happy.

The "words mean things" bit was the only bit I did care about before all this started getting out of hand. I talked about it with folks, but didn't write it because a thousand other people (many of them more eloquent and with much bigger audiences) were already saying the same thing, so my voice was superfluous. But that has bothered me right since the beginning. I did have a Facebook status back then that was along the lines of "not a mosque, not at ground zero, words mean things," and when friends have posted statuses opposing the project I've commented the same thing, but that was all I felt was necessary.
There are some phrases that, when used unironically, constitute proof that the person saying them is not worth arguing with. "The homosexual agenda" is one of those phrases. "Baby-killer" is another. "Ground Zero Mosque" has taken its place amongst them. All those people deserve is ridicule, not a carefully thought-out written response. But as I say, violence against either people or the Constitution requires that each of us say something, and so here I am.