Just because you can't doesn't mean others can't. Even if it is true you can try to do it in the least offensive way possible.
No one can (compare op. cit. text and all the holy books). It is a matter of fact. However, you do have a point that you can try to be the least offensive. The issue is only that objective criteria for "offense" are lacking which is the reason why it's usually not punishable. Burning a koran is in fact terribly inoffensive; declaring women second-class citizens isn't, for instance. So why should the former lead to an international outcry while the latter - arguably a million times more offensive to us - is just accepted as a core tenet of islam? Who decides what is offensive or not?
Who says offending is wrong? Art regularly offends. The great reformers of all time have offended.
There are different strategies to accomplish once goals and all have their pros and cons; ironically the vocal "offensive" atheists have had quite a lot of success incl. "converting" many religious to rationality. Despite being mean, harsh, offensive and most of all honest..
Being offensive per se is not an unwise move.
Now of course the fundamentalist pastor is (was) planing the burning for all the wrong reasons. Nonetheless you cannot so easily say that his plan was a net negative (or at least completely negative). It illustrates all the things that are wrong w/ our society. Most importantly it shows how dangerous religion often is.
Whenever you enrage people needlessly it causes harm. I wasn't saying it is illegal, just out of respect you shouldn't. If someone disrespects you it doesn't make it okay to do the same to that person.
You do not deserve respect, you earn it.
You can never not enrage people, because so many things are offensive to so many groups.
And I was talking about convincing moderates, those that might be receptive. If you do something out of spite against extremists and it offends moderates as well it causes harm to your cause because others think that life extension is full of bigots.
Anyone who will kill for a book or cover and support those who do is hardly a moderate. While this may scare a few true moderates others may distance themselves from a religion that threatens to kill over a book. Barring evidence, who knows what the impact will be?
and the whole fiasco is not much of a problem for
our community anyway. If you think "offending on purpose" makes one a bigot, you should really look the word up. (of course the pastor in question is a terrible bigot who is burning the koran for all the wrong reasons, nonetheless the situation is a good test for our democracies and will effectively showcase how toxic islam and other religions are - at least there is an upside)
Anyone who went to this website and read your post about burning something sacred to someone else they would stop and leave. That isn't what you want.
It could hurt the cause (hypothetically!), but I don't care for the simple reason that my posts are rather moderate and would mostly only offend the very religious, the bigots and hypocritical accomodationists; people that really are not needed* on this site and would hardly subscribe anyway. My principles - honoring personal liberties - stand above the bickering of a few.
The koran is not sacred by the way. To me and fellow rational minds anyway. The pious cannot demand that non-believers treat their text with the same reverence as if we really believed them. The same way I cannot demand (and get them) to actually reconsider their theological position other than by asking kindly.
(and ofc, I could add that I have not been the most unsuccessful in helping convert people from "supplement fadists" or fence sitters to real life extension, despite my harsh honesty - diff. strategies..)
*IMHO
Try to be as respectful as possible, if human decency isn't enough do it out of respect for the cause.
Speak for yourself. I do not wish to live in such a dystopian world. Thankfully, it's not a black and white dichotomy between "shut up for the cause" and "be honest and die"; We can have both for the most part! Just fight for it and don't be a coward. People have the right to offend.
Edited by kismet, 10 September 2010 - 11:19 PM.