Now that a man in Germany has been jailed for insulting Islam under a law that provides up to three years of jail time for insulting religious beliefs, one can only wonder if anti-Mormons are next. Somehow, though, I don’t think they have much to worry about. Of course, it’s not that anti-Mormon antics in Germany are sometimes been offensive and bigoted.
Much as I detest anti-religious bigotry, I’d rather live with it than have our opponents locked up for expressing their views.
Jeff, Good observation. Someone once said “When you give your government a hammer with which to hit the other guy over the head, that hammer can also be used to hit you.”
There’s a difference bewteen having opinions and acting on them. This man acted on them. No, don’t but ex-mos in jail for their opinions but if they act on their opinions in such a way as to make others feel pain or fear, then something does need to be done. The more that kind of thing is tolerated the more it will be done.
–harpingheather
“but if they act on their opinions in such a way as to make others feel pain or fear, then something does need to be done.” …..
Alright! The entire federal government goes to jail for causing us to feel pain. 😎
So is expressing an opinion acting on it? Is stating that something is wrong – such as homosexuality – acting on an opinion that could cause someone else pain?
Hate crime legislation could well be used to go after Christianity and LDS religion in particular. Watch it happen….
Some Muslim nations are asking that one of the UN committees consider wording that would oppose denegration of a prophet or religion. Would that make it a UN affair if someone disses President Hinkley or one of the 12?
Seems really 1984ish to me. The whole idea of this makes my skin crawl…
“So is expressing an opinion acting on it? Is stating that something is wrong – such as homosexuality – acting on an opinion that could cause someone else pain?”
The man in question didn’t simply express an opinion. He printed “Koran” on a roll of toilet paper and mailed it to a mosque. If he wants to print anything on toilet paper that’s his lookout but he should keep it at home or other personal venue. Not shove it in the face of the people that he KNOWS it will offend.
–harpingheather
harpingheather: If President Hinckley stands in the Conference Center and tells the world that homosexual conduct is a sin, is that shoving it in the face of those he knows it will offend? If Joseph Smith announces to the world that all churches except his lack authority from God, is that shoving it in the face of those he knows it will offend? If I state in the course of a political campaign that allowing same-sex marriage will be destructive of my society, is that shoving it in the face of those I know it will offend?
There are plenty of loud, shrill voices out there who would say yes. The owners of those voices are gaining political influence.
We have two missionaries in Germany now, young kids. They’ve both encountered strong anti-AMERICAN sentiment. Those who dislike America have criticized American SUV’s and gun ownership and the war in Iraq. Some active Mormons have been virulently anti-American and very rude to these young ment.
That is unfortunate annegb. Stuff like that makes me sick, especially from members of the church. I highly doubt it is isolated to people in Germany. I wonder how any missionarys in the US from France felt…
Heather, if someone wrote “Book of Mormon” on a roll of toilet paper and mailed it to the chapel, or CES building, or bishop, do you think that person should be prosecuted and sentenced to jail like the man in Germany was?
Maybe they should be. There should be some consequences to that kind of action.
And I don’t buy the comparision of Gordon B. Hinckly speaking out on homosexuality. If he were to do so in the middle of some kind of gay-rally then I could perhaps see it. It’s not the opinion or the action alone, it’s the context. If my right to swing my fist ends when it hits your face then your right to free speech ends when you use your words as fists.
If people see that it’s okay to defile and mock sacred things in that manner, what will they do next? If this man had painted a swastika on the building would you still defend his right to do so, simply because he was expressing his opinion? If he’d merely marked it on the windows with soap would that have been better, since it didn’t involve the destruction of property? The intent was still the same.
I’m not advovating jail time for every such infraction. But yes, I DO think that there should be consequences for people who abuse their rights to the detriment of others.
–harpingheather
Gee, way to go Heather. If governments enacted laws along the lines of your reasoning, most of our missionaries would get thrown in jail.
Heather, I agree with the sentiment that the man’s actions were despicable and should be viewed as reprehensible and unacceptable, but how do you write legislation for something like this? The line is blurry, if it even exists at all, and leaving it up to some judge to decide what is “in bad taste” or not certainly makes me uneasy. Free speach necessarily means that people will say and do rude, stupid things. That’s just how it has to be.
If someone wrote “Book 0f Mormon” on a roll of tp and sent it to any LDS site — we’d throw it away.
That simple. We’d assume the person, who sent it, to be woefully ignorant and as having too much time on their hands.
No one should be rude about other peoples beliefs, but no one should become violent over another’s rudeness.