Beyond the issue of protected speech

[cali]

Quite a few DUers have pointed out that the murderous rage in Afghanistan ostensibly triggered by the burning of the Koran in FL by Terry Jones, is more complex than simply rage over that act. I think that point should be acknowledged. They're saying, I think, that though the Koran burning is the focal point, a lot of it is inchoate rage that issues from the war we've waged on their country; that it's not merely about the burning of the Koran but what they see that symbolizing.

Others here have pointed out that the MSM exploited the coverage of Jones last summer, making it a huge story that shouldn't have been. '

Yes, Terry Jones has the Constitutional right to burn the Koran. Yes, those that did the killing bear primary responsibility for it, but I do think that it's a complex situation with a lot of factors.

[hack89]

1. That's fine

I agree with most that Jones is a scumbag. I, like many here, simply draw the line at charging him with some crime or entertaining the idea that violent mobs should be allowed to dictate or limit our civil rights regardless of how righteous their anger may be.

[TomClash]

2. Agreed

He can't and shouldn't be prosecuted. His act is intertwined with his speech and cannot be curtailed. If an Imam burned a bible I would support his right to do so with equal vigor. Even scumbags have fundamental human rights.

That said, Cali is right. The Afghan War and the toll on the Afghan People probably played a role in this episode. Afghanistan is occupied and they may feel the way we would feel if China occupied the US, no matter how much "democracy" or material goods they showed on us. The rationale for that occupation is ten years old and I suspect few Afghans care for that rationale now.

[JVS]

3. 4 of the people killed were rioters, deserved what they got. 7 were UN people who shouldn't be there

[cali]

4. shouldnt be there is an inane response.

[JVS]

5. Not really. It's unfortunate, but they'd have been safe if they'd been back home where they belong.

[quaker bill]

6. There are and have been little men

in charge of tiny congregations, tea party groups, patriot militias, john birch societies, neo fascist groups, KKK chapters, and more all over the US. They do and say stupid things everyday. Since 9/11, I sincerely doubt that this was the first Q'uran to be burned by one of these groups. Someone needs to pay attention to them because occasionally a follower will show up at a congressman's town hall meeting with weapons and ruin everyone's day, if you take my drift. The folks tasked in this distasteful effort should be well paid.

It is when the MSM picks one and elevates him as some kind of spokesperson for a cause that the real problems begin. These folks should live in the obscurity they generally deserve and normally experience. When they break the law, they should be held as accountable as anyone else. They and their stunts should otherwise be generally ignored.

Stating that folks in Muslim countries generally do not like us because we keep going over there with bombs and tanks, is stating the obvious. It would be a far better choice to never do that, but there is at least 100 years of really bad western foriegn policy to overcome in the process.