Protesting against the right to protest is…well…silly

Soooo, a mess of people are protesting against Islam in Phoenix. And, because freedom, a mess of people are protesting against the protestors. And no doubt someone’s protesting because they like to protest.

In our dichotomous world, we like to divide everything in to right and wrong. It’s always easier and more fun when there are clear good guys and bad guys. (If you don’t believe me, watch Star Wars episodes I and II). This isn’t one of those cases.

The protestors are protesting against Islam because they don’t like it. In a free society, you get to do that. They’re drawing cartoons of Mohammed because in a free society you also get to do that. If you can create art of a crucifix in a jar of urine, and if that’s not hate speech, then neither is drawing a picture of Islam’s prophet. And even if it is, our Constitution allows us to offend each other with what we say. I might not care for what you say–it might anger me to the point of distraction, but when you lose the right to say it, we’re all screwed.

To equate Islam with terrorism is to equate the Catholic Church to the Irish Republican Army or the crotchety atheist down the street to Joseph Stalin.

In that sense, the second set of protestors is right to a degree. It ain’t cool to generalize against a whole group based on the actions of a few members of that group.

But they’re wrong in protesting the drawings. Acceptance of a group doesn’t mean never, ever offending their poor widdle sensibilities. Offending you isn’t the same as hating the entire group you belong to. And if drawing pictures that offend Islam is a bigger problem to you than people killing over the pictures, then, well…

When you assign responsibility for violence someone who drew a picture, rather than to the person who performed the violence–and when you say that offensive pictures are not part of your America, then I’m damned glad I don’t live in your America.

The drawings of Mohammed are a protest against someone trying to impose their religious beliefs to silence certain protests. So the protestors are supporting people who want to shut down certain types of protests. With all respect, who ya crappin?

And honestly, if your god is so impotent that he needs you to take care of someone who draws a picture on a piece of paper, then you might as well worship a golden statue.