I have been pondering the recent ruckus over Park51 (the so called "ground zerio mosque") as well as the planned activities of everyone's favorite pastor from Gainesville. As a result I have a couple of things to share.
- I am 100% in favor of the building Cordoba House
- I am 100% opposed to the planned burning of the Qur'an in Gainesville
I think that there is no contradiction between these two stands because in my view they are not of the same cloth since the two actions have different intent based on what is known about them and based on what I hope is a reasonable person's interpretation of public statements from the folks involved.
Park51 is meant to be a place of community and inclusiveness. If one accepts that then i have a hard time understanding how one can oppose it.
Burning the Qur'an in this case is simply the result of a belief that all of Islam is somehow to blame for the actions of the 9/11 hijackers and thus it is fair game to do anything at all to strike back. In other words, I oppose this because it is a dick move that is motivated by bigotry and/or ignorance. They certainly have the right to do it but it is the action of an asshole.
Notice that I do not mention the feelings of others. I don't mention it because it isn't germane. People do not have a right to not be offended. You also should not be tiptoeing around because someone might be offended by something you do or say (assuming that what you are saying or doing does not fall in the realm of actual illegality). That means that you do have the right to be an asshole. It doesn't mean that I have to like it and I can tell you that it is a stupid thing to do and I can jump up and down and tell you not to do it but I am a private citizen just as you are. I do not have the ability to stop you because I am not the government. I do not think that the government has the right to stop you.
My stance has nothing to do with the reaction of others, my stance has to do with intent. Period. If you are doing something with a pure heart (for lack of a better way to put it) then I am going to support you in doing it even if I think it will offend someone (I didn't say cause actual injury, that is a different issue). If you are doing something that comes from a bigoted, ignorant or just plain stupid place then I am going to tell you that you are an asshole and that what you are doing is stupid and you probably shouldnt do it, not because of hurt feelings but because being a bigoted, ignorant twerp is just morally wrong IMHO.
I don't expect that everyone will agree with me and I am not sure if I have argued it very well but there you.
