this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2023
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I do not approve of burning holy books, but I think it should be legal.
What people shouldn't do and what should be banned are different things. I don't want to live in a place where what is not mandatory is banned. There has to be some room for freedom of expression, even for people expressing ideas we dislike.
I do not approve of burning books, full stop. I couldn’t care less whose imaginary friend the book is or isn’t about.
But I completely agree that the government should categorically not be legislating which books you can and cannot burn. Burning a book is a form of free speech. It’s often offensive to many people, but it’s still important - if for no other reason than it lets the people doing the burning show their true colors.
Yes! That's something I have also thought about. When some angry folks burned the rainbow flag this summer, I was unhappy that they did, but glad that they showed their intolerance publicly so that we can learn about who they are.
Exactly. People can burn anything they want in their backyard. Just keep out of public spaces
That’s absolutely not what I am saying.
And it remains legal, you just can't do it in public.
Feel free to buy a cartload of qurans to use for your backyard barbeques.
And there still is plenty of room of public expression of opinions without burning a book representing a religious group. Seriously there are thousands of ways to do so.
But European countries did learn some lessons and that's why some actions such as calling for religious or other minority groups to be killed or to intimindate such groups with displays of violence isn't allowed in many of them. And burning a religious book in public is such an act of intimidation which serves absolutely no constructive purpose. That's why many European countries don't allow such behaviour.
You act like there would be less of a reaction if people ripped up, walked on, or in other ways desecrated the Quran. This isn't about book burning, this is about a group of people not tolerating that on of their symbols is desecrated.
Imagine if we prosecuted people for burning flags or signs with slogans... but maybe you think that should be illegal as well?
Doyou care if I burn a stack of paper? Then you shouldn't care if I burn a fucking book.
I certainly care if you burn a stack of paper in the middle of the street, there's no good reason to do it and it's a public danger.
Okay, people will rip the holy book of the week instead. You may not have a good reason to do it, but others should be free to do so.
Then why are you giving groups who threaten violence an incentive to do that more often by giving in to their demands?
So we now should base our laws only on doing the opposite of what a few lunatics demand regardless on how it will affect a lot more people? I really don't think so.
Well, rightwing people have proved over and over again that they’re willing to not only burn books but to burn people.
So we should make action A by right-wing people illegal because they are known to do action B?
Buddy, the people getting angry over the quran burnings are also right wing. They indeed have shown they are willing to burn people.
I just think we shouldn't tolerate intolerance, from christians or muslims alike.