You do not understand

Submitted by Sidda (United States), Feb 7, 2006 at 15:08

As a Christian, I am very offended by the disrespect shown to Jesus or Christianity in general. I am not in favor of gratuitous insults of religion. There have been many movies which denegrate Jesus and Christians. Here's what I do about it: I don't go and see the movie. If a tv network puts on a series that I find offensive, I'll e mail them and let them know what I think about it. Again I won't watch it if it offends me.

Sometimes, though, certain cartoons or written articles can be thought provoking. They can encourage debate and discussion even if you don't agree with them or they upset you. That can be a good thing.

The bottom line is that you have the right to be offended, to express your feelings in a non violent way. But you DO NOT have the right to threaten people with bodily harm, to riot and blow up buildings. You DO NOT have the right to intimidate people.

If I go to a Muslim country, I expect to respect their culture and traditions. When Muslims come to the Western countries, they have to do the same. Freedom of the press, expresssion, speech and religion are NON-NEGOTIABLE rights in the West. Of course, just because you have the right to print something does not always mean you should. Editorial decisions are made every day. Some will agree and others won't. That's the way it is in a free society.

No person has the right to never be offended. We could not exist as pluralistic societies if we stopped people from doing or saying anything which offended someone because there are all kinds of people with various beliefs and values. So, we learn to tolerate that which we do not like, make our objections known in a civil way when we feel it is warranted.

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