Kudos to Terry Jones

[jordan179]

Terry Jones finally did burn a Koran, and I am glad of it. In doing so, he confirmed our freedom of speech, as American citizens. And I am pleased to see that others have been following in his footsteps

Comments

[sianmink]

If Jones had actually meant any of what he says, he'd have burnt one when he first threatened. You have to understand though, this is a guy who just wants media attention for his little redneck church, who saw that his 15 minutes of fame was almost up unless he actually did something newsworthy.

I'll support his right to do it, but what he did was not admirable. If you know that blowing a certain whistle will make a certain dog go batshit nuts, you don't go blowing that whistle when there's people near that dog without expecting to be called out as an asshole over it.

[jordan179]

If you know that blowing a certain whistle will make a certain dog go batshit nuts, you don't go blowing that whistle when there's people near that dog without expecting to be called out as an asshole over it.

There are so many things wrong with this statement.

I'll start off by pointing out that you've just published a statement which, to any sincere Muslim, would be doubly offensive. You've just compared Muslims to "dogs" (an unclean animal in their faith) and used this comparison to imply that their reasoning powers are subhuman (they lack moral agency and cannot be held to human standards of moral conduct). By your own standards, you should be "called out as an asshole" for posting this comment.

(by my own standards, of course, comparing Muslim terrorists to dogs merely insults the dogs -- dogs are in general morally superior to Muslim terrorists

[sianmink]

I wasn't making a comparison, I was using allegory. If any Muslims were offended I'm sure they'll show enough self-restraint to not try and murder me, even if the choice of animal wasn't entirely unintentional.

I just think this Jones guy should not be held up as the shining paragon of free speech that he is when his only intent is to draw attention to himself. Just because a bad person does something that turns out right, it doesn't make that person any better.

I agree that we can't and shouldn't be cowed into 'not provoking' the extremists; if we don't deliberately give them an excuse to murder people foreigners and infidels, they'll find one on their own just as well. this Jones character though is so clearly in it just for the publicity that it is sickening. Regardless of other factors, innocent people are being murdered as a result of this man's choice, and he pretty much knew that would be the result when he made it.

[marycatelli]

No, they'll murder someone else in their riots and it will be all your fault by your own standards.

[shockwave77598]

If the loonies over there want to rampage and kill everytime we offend them, then it thoroughly disproves their veneer of "religion of peace". Peace of the Dead doesn't really count.

I'm all for showing respect to $religion or $race or whatever. But when that whatever demands that everyone in the world kowtow to what they demand or else, sorry, but no way. When you disrespect the world like that, expect some disrespect back.

[prester_scott]

"Peace" in the Islamic sense means the total submission and subjugation of all creatures to Allah and sharia (and by extension to Allah's chosen enforcers of sharia). Independent thought or will of any kind is to be extinguished, swallowed up in perfect robotic obedience and conformity.

It is completely different from the view of "peace" Western culture has inherited from the Bible: in a word, harmony, which preserves individuality while serving the master plan.

It's hard to underestimate people's ignorance, but one gets the impression that Western liberals don't WANT to understand the distinction.

[sianmink]

Also, some wonderful double-standard from the Muslims in general here. When one of them blows up and murders a crowd of people, he was an extremist and it shouldn't be held against the religion as a whole, despite their refusal to actually come out condemning the act. But when a redneck nobody christian preacher burns a Koran to get more website hits, every American is responsible and needs to be punished with death.

[jordan179]

Very good point! Also, hilariously, most (if not all) of the people the Islamofascists have killed, using the excuse of Terry Jones' political statement in an attempt to justify their crimes, have not been American!

[sianmink]

their Muslim Outrage is so great, that any foreigner is close enough, as long as they bleed. Everybody Knows that the Americans in alliance with the Jews are in control of everything and responsible for all the world's problems anyway.

[pattyoplenty]

Here's what I want to know...how come if this guy burns a Koran, this guy is treated as a nut or something and the muslim world goes ape sh*t over this, but when a demented artist flings elephant dung all over a painting of the Virgin Mary, christians aren't allowed to get upset as it's simply "art". This is some world we live in...really.

[jordan179]

The implicit rule is "if you are violent, you will get respect from us," which is a very bad message to be sending to the world.

[moropus]

YOu're good and that's the real point the FBI missed when they asked him not to do it.

[moropus]

Because Christianity is ALWAYS wrong and Islam is ALWAYS right. That's the way political correctness and the left wing works.

Apparently, to be liberal, you have to be prepared to tramble on Christians at a moment's notice and deny them the rights you'd give anyone else.

[rowyn]

I am content that Terry Jones is *allowed* to burn the koran, but that doesn't mean he's not a jerk and an idiot for doing it. Putting a book on 'trial'? Please. I don't recall burning any book ever doing any demonstrable good.

[jordan179]

First of all, it needed to be done to demonstrate that we still had the right to do it. Secondly, of course it's rude and offensive -- only rude and offensive free speech needs to be protected, as a general rule. Polite and inoffensive speech is rarely threatened, for the obvious reasons.

But if we don't protect the rude and offensive free speech from the Muslims, we'll eventually find speech that we today consider "polite and inoffensive" being threatened as well. And if we establish a tradition of backing down and yielding our liberties, then that's what we'll be likely to do when that happens.

Once you're sliding down a slippery slope, it takes a real effort to stop. Terry Jones made such an effort, and that's for what I praise him.

[rowyn]

Okay, NO ONE is questioning his RIGHT to be an ASSHOLE. I do question your premise that ASSHOLES NEED PRAISE FOR BEING ASSHOLES. I'm not going to go around thanking Nazi apologists, KKK members, or Hamas fans for exercising THEIR rights to free speech, either. Some people are going to be jerks and cretin no matter what. There's no need to cheerlead for how wonderful it is that they are, as if they were an endangered species.

Yes, it's wonderful that they CAN. That's not the same as wonderful that they DO.

[blue_sky_day]

It always amazes me how people will spend more time denouncing a man who destroyed one copy of a widely published book than on people who use that action to murder and riot.

Actually, it amazes me that any non-Muslim spends any time denouncing Pastor Jones at all. I applaud his actions, and am considering sending a donation to his church.