Its not the muslims in the US that are the issue
Why pretend to have freedom if you are going to cower behind not offending someone somewhere who are offended by your very existence already?
Kinda torn on this issue.
On the one hand, free expression is free expression.
On the other, stunts like this DO stir **** and may get people killed in reaction.
Dunno.
Its not the muslims in the US that are the issue
Well like it or not the US is the world leader and everything she does has a consequence, you have soldiers fighting in Muslim countries, embassies and have huge business ties in Muslim countries. A US soldier/ allied soldier/ embassy worker gets killed because of the actions of a radical in your own country is something you have to control. Now if the US were isolationists then I would say crack on but your not and unfourtuntly if you want to keep order/ remain on good terms with these people you have to make some sacrifices.
Its not the muslims in the US that are the issue
What makes you think we want to be on good terms with them? As soon as their oil is gone, they could rot on Hades for all the US government will care.
What makes you think we want to be on good terms with them? As soon as their oil is gone, they could rot on Hades for all the US government will care.
Which makes your disregard for free speech even worse.
People in the United States should not have free speech because somebody in some hell hole like Afghanistan might not approve.
I feel comfortable saying that I place protecting innocent lives above anyones right to free speech. It sounds like that is your point. It seems people are usually all over protecting rights until its their life that is traded for that right. Then you better be damn sure that freedom is actually at risk.
This guy has nothing to do with religion. He's a hate monger. What ever he says should be ignored.
But....
If burning the American Flag is protected as speech, then so should this be.
My concern is not related to the douche bag that calls himself a preacher, but the fact that Free Speech took a hit today.
Our troops in A-stan or anywhere else, do not need our Consitutional Rights infringed upon to supposedly keep them safe from reprisal.
Trust me, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood, or any other Islamic Extremist don't need any additional reasons to attack and kill our military or our civilians even here at home; just the fact that we exist is reason enough.
Don't use the safety of the military as an excuse to stifle Free Speech.
What this guy needs is an old fashioned country ass kickin'. Not to be arrested for some dumbasstic act of burning some books.
Aside from being a rather blatant appeal to emotion, you really should consider you may be speaking to someone who has already placed his life on the line for such freedoms.
If you are not willing to risk your life in defense of what you believe are your freedoms, then you will never truly be free.
Talk about playing the emotion card. You made that choice for yourself. Those who could be impacted by any retaliation because of what this guy did where will not have afforded that same opportunity.
This is not the first time this man of God? has burned a Quran. Any intent to cause a riot should be protected under the First Amendment, right?
The police routinely detain suspects with the formal charges coming later, so no conspiracy there.
I see the freedoms associated with religion like most others, yours ends at my nose. Praise GAWD all you want, but attacking another religion is over the line. Would we sit by and claim 1st amendment rights to burn a BBQ full of Torahs coz them Jews kilt Jesus?
again its fine for you to take this is moral high ground but you are not the one who will be put in harms way when the Islamic world reacts to events like this. Its not even a case of being "bullied" its just common sense.
You are saying you want people to be ruled by fear of what the bully will do if you anger the bully.
You are saying you do not want the bully to stop being the bully.
You are saying you do not care if the bully is given the freedom to continually be the bully.
You just want the bully to leave you alone.
Only, the bully is not going to leave you alone no matter what you do or don't do, because the bully doesn't want to be nice.
The bully wants you to continue to fear him.
The bully wants to control you. . . and you're letting him. The bully's mission is being accomplished because you're too afraid to stand up to the bully.
That's where the US soldier comes into the mix. We stand up to the bully. We're like the referee on the game field, the tough guy who stands up for the little kid on the playground.
Don't you want your loved ones to be free from the bully?
If you cared about them at all then your answer should be yes. Your answer should be, yes, I want the bully to be stopped, ended, thwarted, and overthrown.
But you're not talking peace and freedom, you're talking continuing the tyranny by kissing the bully's arse.
To add:
You're exactly wrong - I am directly affected.
How on earth can you support something that will kill your loved ones because of what one person on the other side of the world does? How can you just tolerate that hanging over your head? Why aren't you standing up and putting a bullet in the bully's head to protect your loved one's?
If I had some gang in my country ruining my life I would not just sit by, I wouldn't want to raise my children, and my grandchildren, in such deplorable conditions - telling them to 'shh, be quiet and the bad guy will look the other way.' I would fight and die if I had to - if it would make a difference.
What's wrong with you?
If the people who wanted this so-called peace stood up for them selves and actually did something about it the US then everyone else wouldn't have to constantly step in and police the world.
But, sorry, we do, because we don't want our countries to be taken over by the same spineless, gutless inaction that has sent the rest of the world into the pit. We refuse to let such tripe control us in that way, and you should too.
If you actually cared.
Quit making others into the scapegoat, it's bull****.
Ah - now your picture is more clear, Higgins - of the British Armed Services.
See - I'm Aunt Spiker - Spouse of a US Soldier, and he feels the same way I do. He's not blind or stupid about who is truly responsible for such actions.
You just don't like the dangers associated with being in the service, and you're just going to have to come to terms with that on your own. I don't like the dangers, either, but some things do hold precedence - like common sense.
But apparently you are, snowflake.
What happened to Paula Deen's rights?
Its not the muslims in the US that are the issue
I was trying to make this point earlier to to avail. The difference I see with this man exercising his right to free speech with this act is that it is not just him that could potentially suffer the repercussions from any retaliation. We also can be assured that the threats of retaliation are fairly credible. If we could be assured that radicals around the world would look for THIS guy to retaliate against then fine, but we can not make such assurances.
The ACLU defended the right of Nazis to march through a Jewish neighborhood and they were right to do so. Freedom of speech needs to be virtually absolute* or it doesn't exist.
*restrictions on libel and incitement of riots are legit, few others are.
No I was fine with the dangers that is why I signed up when I was 16. What I didn't like was taking bullets because of bull**** from back home which had nothing to do with my mission and got in the way of the job I was supposed to be doing. Yes Common sense great word common sense, common sense would be not to let a uneducated fool incite hate and endanger countless lives. Glad you and your husband are ok with that though and of course I imagine you will be willing to pick up a rifle and protect those embassy workers who get attacked on their way to work....Thought not.
You can criticize our country, its people and its constitution as much as you want. It's called free speech. All Americans have it, even the evil ones, and all the snark and indignation in the world is not going to change that, or change our constitution. :shrug:
BTW, you aren't the only one who has lost friends and loved ones to these damned wars. It is you who are playing the victim card at this point.
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