Wesley Pruden: Hating the crime, hating the criminal

Washington Times ^ | Tuesday, July 20, 2004 | Wesley Pruden

[JohnHuang2]

The Washington Times
www.washingtontimes.com

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Hating the crime, hating the criminal

By Wesley Pruden
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published July 20, 2004

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Hate is not nice. Everybody knows that. But trying to define and eliminate hate with legislation is not as easy as the busybodies think it is. You could ask Tony Blair.
    The lessons Mr. Blair is learning the hard way have application elsewhere, specifically here in America, where our own busybodies as well lust to fit the tongues of all with chastity belts, and where our own leaders sometimes pander to alien religious leaders who cry peace, peace, when and where there is no peace.
    The usually levelheaded prime minister has succumbed to the persuasion of radical Islamic imams and their apologists in Britain, and has proposed a law to criminalize mere criticism of the faith of Mohammed. A lot of Englishmen are outraged.
    Mr. Blair and his Home secretary, David Blunkett, describe their legislation in more delicate terms, of course. Mr. Blunkett insists that his law would merely "ban incitement to religious hatred," and would protect every faith. But no one doubts which religion the Labor government is pandering to. Jews and Christians don't want such "protection," understanding the dreadful implications even if the government officials don't, and cheerfully concede that all faiths, including Judaism and Christianity, should be fair game for criticism. Vilification, even, as long as the vilification stops short of prescribing the application of sticks and stones.
    The growing number of radical Muslims in Britain has set polite British society on edge. Coming from places where "faith" is imposed by the force of law, and unbelief is occasionally punished by hanging or beheading, many new Islamic immigrants in the land of the Magna Carta are scandalized by the abundance of free and easy speech. They demand the cops put a stop to it.

[Paleo Conservative]

I'm glad we still have the first amendment in the US. Don't we?