Burning the Koran for fun and profit ... or, not

[unixronin]

Susan Estrich, writing on rasmussenreports.com, compares Dove World Outreach Center pastor Terry Jones' declared plan to burn copies of the Koran "to send a message to Islam", to shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater.

And you know what?  She's right.  There is First Amendment freedom of speech, and there is incitement to riot.  You want to burn your own holy book, flag, or other revered symbols as an expression of protest?  Sure, knock yourself out.  On your own head be it.  But if you want to burn some other faith's holy book, don't be surprised if you're woken up by a howling mob of that faith's followers tearing your house down around your ears.

"We will not be responsible," Jones has said in reaction to the concern that his acts could cause Americans to die.  "We are only reacting to the violence that is already there in that religion."

Or, to perhaps put words into Jones' mouth, "Hey, it's not our problem; we're safe here in the US."

I don't know if it was Jones' intention to bracket his "Dove World Outreach Center" in with Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church, but whether or not that was his goal, I think this stunt is likely to accomplish that.  I wish Jones and Phelps much happiness together, because no-one else is going to have a good word for Jones if his grandstanding causes Muslims worldwide to lash out at American citizens and interests.  And if that does happen, I'd love to be a fly on the wall to see the look on Jones' face when those harmed by the repercussions of this deliberately inflammatory stunt show up with lawyers and hand him the bill, along with process papers for a civil suit to recover it.

Comments

[robhansen]

Jones’ stunt is (according to my admittedly lay understanding of these things) legal and unactionable. While there have been successful torts and prosecutions brought over exhorting people to lawless activity, there is broadly no action against those who speak lawfully but in such a way as receives a violent response from listeners.

If I insult a woman in a bar and her boyfriend takes a swing at me, I am not liable for the damages in the bar fight that ensues. Those damages are borne by the boyfriend who initiated the violence.

Likewise, if Jones insults Muslims around the world by burning Korans and some of them decide to engage in atrocities, the moral and legal culpability for that lies with those who have committed atrocities — not with Jones.

(This is not in any way meant as apologetics for Jones’ intended actions, by the way. Clearly, he’s part of the problem and not part of the solution.)

[ithildae]

I see this as exactly the same, morally, as building a mosque near ground zero. The thing about rights is, just because you have the right to do the things they enable does not mean that it is a good idea to do them. Let's look at the rights of Christians in middle east countries. Like in Egypt, where an infidel's life is not worth the life of a believer, and most murders of christians are not even investigated. We could talk about burning bibles, but they are not even allowed in some middle east countries. Is that not a provocation? When can we present the "bill" for those policies?

We need to graduate from the infantile, "I have the right!" to a more mature, "I will accept the consequences." The reasoned use of rights is the basis of a law abiding society.