Media Spin 101

I am so annoyed with a recent trend in media spin that I'm doing my part to radically change it by blogging.

Why is the "growing unrest" among people "protesting" those Danish cartoons not being called what it really is? When Iraqis oppose the invasion of their country, they're called terrorists. When idiots attack abortion clinics, they're called terrorists. But when Danish Muslims, who I hesitate to call Muslims much as I hesitate to call clinic bombers pro-life, attack, firebomb, riot, and murder, they're called protesters and demonstrators.

They have a right to be angry, don't get me wrong. I've read that a non-Muslim depicting Mohammed in an unflattering way is the ultimate insult to Islam. Of course that newspaper should apologize for offending an entire religion. I would completely understand people demonstrating at the newspaper where this article was originally published. That would be a reasonable reaction to a large scale insult to one's religion. These recent acts of terrorists are a complete overreaction, and that's a complete understatement. No justification exists for their actions.

People abuse and disrespect the name of Jesus constantly. Imagine if Christians rioted violently every time some yahoo defecated on a crucifix and called it art. Or if we staged a sit-in every time Hollywood gave Him a wife and kids. Hey, let's all march the streets every time someone uses His name as an expression of (insert emotion here). I know, I'll set fire to the post office because once I heard a postal worker say "Jesus f***ing Christ, are you KIDDING me?"** No sir, He's not much of a kidder. He also won't be helping you with the stamp machine.

Muslims should not become resigned or desensitized to the widespread insult to their religion and their major figurehead, as many Christians have. Those who wish to throw a hissy fit every time someone disrespects Islam, however, need to realize that free speech laws often collide with the rules of just plain decency. Sure, nobody should insult your religion, but they will. Some nutcase just painted a picture of an upside down crucifix with Bin Laden's face replacing Jesus', and it's called art. Did anyone kill an imam in response?

No, my friends, this is not protest.

Let's call a spade a spade here. Rosa Parks was a protester. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a protester. The people protesting cartoons (freakin' cartoons!) are terrorists - they are shooting people while proclaiming the name of their god, they are setting fire to buildings, they are creating terror. We should not become so politically correct that we validate the actions of terrorists by calling them protesters. The right to be called a protester ends when your protest results in violence, fire, or death.

**No, I would not set fire to a post office because of some postal worker's potty mouth. If I set fire to someplace every time someone offended me, I wouldn't have a job. Which brings to mind the question... do these terrorists get special time off for stuff like this? It seems they'd have better things to do.

P.S. And for the love of Pete, I am in no way calling all Muslims terrorists because of the actions of a rogue, violent minority. I do believe that theirs is a religion of peace, and it's unfortunate that a focused-upon minority has embraced it - just as my religion is one of peace, and Pat Robertson is one of us. Just had to add that disclaimer in case someone wanted to set fire to my blog or something.