Do you realize how vile and stupid this kind of thinking is?

I want to write pages and pages, but what’s important here is a very simple concept: individuals are not defined by what other individuals do, regardless of whether they share certain traits.

We all agree there are problems with the Islam in general terms, but you are absolutely foolish to think that there is no Muslim that is worthy of your friendship.

Where is the sense of proportion in everybody focusing on the insult and completely ignoring the real injury?

I see that you’ve yet to learn anything from all the good posts on this. Perhaps I can clarify this for someone with such formidable powers of “reading comprehension.”

After all the suffering and death, destruction and humiliation undergone by the people of Iraq due to our meddling, doesn’t this shooting of their holy book just symbolize for them, in the most succinct and forceful way, the contempt in which Islam and its culture is held by the West, and especially America?

Apparently, this time “they” wrote letters and held a peaceful protest in which banners were held and slogans were shouted. If those people hadn’t been in middle eastern dress and waving arabic banners, would this have deserved the name “riot” or “hissy fit?”

Thank you, Monkeymind. Americans are virtually brainwashed into seeing middle easterners as barbarians. So much so, that we can wage a campaign of slow genocide and mass relocation against the people of Iraq, who’ve done nothing to us, and then conclude that THEY are the ones prone to violence and overreaction when they dare to raise the smallest of objections.

Why the hell is the victim bitching about the inadequate apology for the pissing instead of demanding an apology for the beating and appropriate recompense for that?

I can see 2 reasons why these villagers might be making “such a big deal” of the Koran incident. One is that protesting the US occupation is too dangerous, so protest over this incident has a symbolic value.
Another reason might be that they don”t necessarily want the occupation to end right now, but just want the U.S. soldiers to act a little less like invaders and a little more like invited guests of their sovereign government.
As for all the commenters who made comments about what “they” do when the Koran is insulted – did you read the article or watch the video? Apparently, this time “they” wrote letters and held a peaceful protest in which banners were held and slogans were shouted. If those people hadn’t been in middle eastern dress and waving arabic banners, would this have deserved the name “riot” or “hissy fit?”

To then get put out because, hey, we apologized for this contemptuous insult to their culture, we’re bending over backwards to make up for it and why are they still having hissy fits about one stupid book… it’s utterly missing the point. It’s beyond missing the point. It’s as if a Mafia thug brutally beat someone halfway to death and pissed on their face… and then the Mafia boss apologized to the victim for their face getting pissed on, and got offended when the apology wasn’t accepted with gracious good humor. It’s lacking in a certain, shall we say, sense of proportion.

What the hell is up with the lack of reading comprehension around here? That totally misses my point, as most people did. To use Greta Christina’s analogy, it’s like the Mafia boss pissing in the victim’s face, and the victim getting upset about the pissing and not accepting the apology and EVERYBODY completely ignoring that the beating happened, like it didn’t exist.

Why the hell is the victim bitching about the inadequate apology for the pissing instead of demanding an apology for the beating and appropriate recompense for that? Why is the Mafia boss pretending like the pissing is what deserves an apology and the beating doesn’t matter?

Where is the sense of proportion in everybody focusing on the insult and completely ignoring the real injury? It’s like both sides are buying into the other side’s insanity.

Although I’m beginning to think that around here it’s the lack of reading comprehension that is the bigger problem.

Has anyone considered the Muslims’ perspective? Has anyone imagined how it would feel if someone has shot at something that symbolizes what you hold most sacred? And then claimed that it was “nothing,” “no big deal?”

Except, Linda, that that’s exactly what DIDN”T happen. Did you even read the article? The soldier apologised, a general apologized, some military official kissed a copy of quran, there was a whole ceremony of begging forgiveness and apologizing. What part of that says the US people over there treated it like it was ‘no big deal’? They handled it with kid gloves.

Andrew said

Beeing a soldier and having been over there more than I want to admit, I know that ALL soldiers are briefed specifically on the Quran.

Thanks for that info, Andrew, I did not know that. Assuming this one looked like the ones he was trained to avoid, in that case it certainly means he was lying about not knowing what it was.

His action endangered other soldiers.

US military personnel were instructed to not deliberately mock their religion while in country, simply as a matter of strategy. He disobeyed a lawful order, so he gets punished.

right, b/c all Muslims are bad. how is this any different from Fundie Christians who would never consider being friends with an atheist? It isn’t. congrats on sounding just like them.

When was the last time that Atheists rioted in the streets because of a bullet-riddled book? Do Atheists murder their daughters when they flirt with a Christian soldier? Do Atheists blow themselves up in crowded markets, killing innocent women and children? Do ‘normal’ Atheists fail to speak out when other ‘jihadist’ Atheists do these horrible horrible things in the name of Atheism?