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Pamela Geller’s abuse of free speech [Washington Post Column]
Washington Post ^ | 05/09/2015 | Kathleen Parker

Posted on 05/09/2015 10:38:15 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Edited on 05/09/2015 11:25:33 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]

The recent spectacle of Pamela Geller, the erstwhile journalist who organized a provocative contest in Texas of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, gives pause to even the most passionate defenders of the First Amendment.

Not since Westboro Baptist Church

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: abuse; freespeech; geller; kathleenparker; pamelageller; washingtoncompost; washingtonpost
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To: DuncanWaring

That’s a distinct possibility. The left is setting their neighbor’s house on fire, and hoping it doesn’t get out of control and burn theirs down, too.

They’re playing with fire.


41 posted on 05/09/2015 11:45:24 AM PDT by TheGipperWasRight
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To: SeekAndFind

This would be the same Kathleen Parker that, on Jan 8, urged readers of her Facebook page to subscribe to Charlie Hebdo as a demonstration of solidarity with the victims of the jihadists and to stand for free speech. Jes suis hypocrisy?


42 posted on 05/09/2015 11:48:33 AM PDT by Eroteme
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To: SeekAndFind

Interesting. I haven’t WaPo run a single article lamenting “abuse of free speech” against the continuous parodies and attacks on Morons, Jews, and Christians. Is it because Muslims will kill you and the other won’t, or is it simply because WaPo is in love with Mohammedanism , the religion that treats women worst than cattle and imposes the death penalty on anyone who disagrees with them about anything?


43 posted on 05/09/2015 11:49:25 AM PDT by catnipman (Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!)
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To: SeekAndFind

She connects things that are not similar. Kathleen is a good writer and thinker. Too bad she leans liberal. That is not the problem with this column in that it is not so much liberal vs. conservative. But she is connecting things that are not similar. I’ve read some very sharp criticism and ridicule in some of her very own columns. But I guess that is different to her. Everyone thinks they can and others cannot.

Westboro is in a category of its own. They are in your face tacky for no productive reason other than to help the left make their case. If Geller took her cartoons as posters held up at Muslim funerals then you may have a comparison.


44 posted on 05/09/2015 11:50:31 AM PDT by The Ghost of FReepers Past (Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light..... Isaiah 5:20)
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To: SeekAndFind
That said, we needn’t embrace or celebrate people like Geller, who try to provoke a confrontation...Sometimes the messenger really is the problem.

Kathleen Parker, the faux conservative, seems as troubled by Pamela Geller as she was by Sarah Palin.

Methinks Kathleen has a problem with strong women...

45 posted on 05/09/2015 11:52:16 AM PDT by okie01
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To: Eroteme
This would be the same Kathleen Parker that, on Jan 8, urged readers of her Facebook page to subscribe to Charlie Hebdo as a demonstration of solidarity with the victims of the jihadists and to stand for free speech.

Aha! That doesn't surprise me. The hypocrisy is strong with this one.

46 posted on 05/09/2015 11:54:45 AM PDT by Charles Henrickson (Je suis Charlie Henrickson.)
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To: SeekAndFind
WaPo dumped the snark once too often.

You haul out a picture of Muhammad; “they” haul out a fatwa. Cat puts out cheese; mouse gets eaten. What does one expect?

We are soooooo sensitive vis-a-vis our devout Muslim citizens.. sure they oppose ISIS so do many Arab states.

So we cannot offend them with a stupid cartoon. What's next? Our heritage of justice?

But the name callers would scream "Bigots! Islamophobes! There is nothing in Islam's teachings about taking over the law of the land. Let us teach you about Islam. The Quran instructs that absolute justice -- not religion -- must be the ruling government's guiding principle."

OK fine. What is Quran justice?

From Part 1. "In Islam, justice is significant as it is one of the 99 Divine Attributes of Allah . . . Islam laid down foundations to regulate relationships among all individuals of the society and foremost among these bases is social justice . . . there has been no social justice or anything like it in any society or civilization before the advent of Islam."

Islam and Social Justice Part 2 A human being cannot establish absolute justice because he is just a mere human . . . the divine social justice advocated by Islam is an integrated system for justice enjoined by the Creator of man and all other creatures . . . Justice is Allah’s attribute, and to stand firm for justice is to be a witness to Allah, even if it is detrimental to our own interests (as we conceive them) or the interests of those who are near and dear to us . . . The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has given . . . the moral of justice which [is to be] observed with all people without any sort of discrimination. The story of the noble woman who stole and the reaction of the Prophet to Usama’s intercession [teaches us that Allah's Prescribed Punishments command the same punishment for all regardless of social status : cut off the noble woman's hand]. It goes beyond the scope of this paper to relate the countless examples that show the Prophet’s absolute justice and fair dealing with all human beings, and even with animals.

Being an dumb Islamophobe and all -- I will ask:

How can one be a true Muslim without accepting that only their god can define justice? Screw the islamophobe Founding Fathers.

Name calling not appreciated but contumely welcomed. I have quite a collection over the years. :)

47 posted on 05/09/2015 11:54:49 AM PDT by WilliamofCarmichael (If modern America's Man on Horseback is out there, Get on the damn horse already!)
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To: catnipman

heh heh...morons?....your freudian slip is showing...

(kidding)


48 posted on 05/09/2015 12:04:56 PM PDT by Crim (Palin / West '16)
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To: Eroteme
This would be the same Kathleen Parker that, on Jan 8, urged readers of her Facebook page to subscribe to Charlie Hebdo as a demonstration of solidarity with the victims of the jihadists and to stand for free speech. Jes suis hypocrisy?

___________

Subscribe "Charlie Hebdo" magazine in solidarity via Amazon. $186/year. It's tres cher, but freedom doesn't come cheap.

Must have been tongue in cheek. I can't imagine anybody paying $186 a year for a French humor magazine.

Maybe the conflict here is over whether Geller is Paul Revere calling out the alarm, or a passenger on the Titanic who assumes that nothing can go wrong.

What I mean is that Geller's fans see her as brave and ahead of the curve, but Parker sees her as complacent and careless about the possible fallout of her actions. If the terrorists had killed the police officers and others, rather than being killed by the police, would more people regard Geller as reckless or irresponsible?

49 posted on 05/09/2015 12:12:12 PM PDT by x
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To: SeekAndFind

ok, let me see if i understand this...

1) burning the flag = NOT an abuse of free speech
2) Harry Reid on the senate floor calling Romney a tax cheat without a shred of evidence = NOT an abuse of free speech
3) democRATS calling George W. Bush a NAZI = NOT an abuse of free speech
4) democRATS making films fantasizing about assassinating George W. Bush = NOT an abuse of free speech
5) democRAT actors/comedians advocating that people they don’t like be imprisoned/murdered = NOT an abuse of free speech
etc.
etc..
etc...

however, Pam Geller holding a drawing contest with the subject being the FALSE pedophile prophet of a phony religion who personally murdered, raped, and enslaved many thousands of people during his lifetime, and whose followers have done the same to many millions more since his death, while also waging war against anyone who doesn’t share in their belief that this FALSE prophet acted and spoke on behalf of God = an abuse of free speech.

hmmmm.

seems legit.

/sarc

PS - for many more examples of liberals abusing free speech, see http://www.conservapedia.com/Liberal_hate_speech


50 posted on 05/09/2015 12:26:46 PM PDT by TangibleDisgust
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To: SeekAndFind

Muslims don’t like pics of Muhammad. They also don’t like homosexuals and women’s rights.

So should we respect all the muzzie wishes or just the ones the liberals select?


51 posted on 05/09/2015 12:32:24 PM PDT by boycott
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To: SeekAndFind

How is it that desecration of Christian symbols is ‘art’, but mocking Islam is hate speech? The liberals taught America how to trash religion and think it’s cute-what’s the problem now?


52 posted on 05/09/2015 12:40:07 PM PDT by Spok ("What're you going to believe-me or your own eyes?" -Marx (Groucho))
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To: SeekAndFind

How interesting the Left gets to define what’s abusive speech. What next, criticizing the IS will be deemed abusive.


53 posted on 05/09/2015 12:55:59 PM PDT by RginTN
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To: SeekAndFind

Freedom of speech is only abused when one doesn’t say (or think) what the liberal left wants one to say or think.


54 posted on 05/09/2015 1:06:53 PM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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To: TheGipperWasRight
Muslims, just like all the other groups of useful idiots the left is using to destroy the republic, will be tossed aside when they are no longer needed.

Um, no one is going to be tossing Muslims aside. That generally doesn't happen until things get REALLY bad. Then, a LOT of people die in the process.

55 posted on 05/09/2015 1:08:49 PM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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To: BwanaNdege

By the way, VOLTAIRE DID say it!

Do you even have the foggiest idea who Voltaire was? Thought not.

Voltaire’s writings were well known to our founding fathers and most likely had weight in writing the First Amendment as the education of our F.F. was not limited to left wing political cartoons.

“I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”


56 posted on 05/09/2015 1:19:26 PM PDT by Mollypitcher1 (I have not yet begun to fight....John Paul Jones)
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To: jmacusa

Believe me, the same bile came out of the WaPo then.


57 posted on 05/09/2015 2:21:08 PM PDT by Regulator
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To: x
Must have been tongue in cheek. I can't imagine anybody paying $186 a year for a French humor magazine.

Highly doubtful this was tongue in cheek.

Maybe the conflict here is over whether Geller is Paul Revere calling out the alarm, or a passenger on the Titanic who assumes that nothing can go wrong.

Oh, I think Geller knows exactly who and what those people are...which is why she has professional security (not mall cops or minimum wage badge-checkers)for all her events, not just this latest one in Garland. There, she had more than 40 heavily armed security personnel. She has long been the target of threats for her outspokeness. She neither minimizes nor ignores them.

58 posted on 05/09/2015 3:09:32 PM PDT by Eroteme
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To: Regulator

Oh, I know. That thing has been nothing but a Leftist broad sheet since it’s inception. I’m so glad Ben Bradley is dead.


59 posted on 05/09/2015 3:10:20 PM PDT by jmacusa (Liberalism defined: When mom and dad go away for the weekend and the kids are in charge.)
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past

As awful as Westboro are, they haven’t killed anyone.


60 posted on 05/09/2015 3:37:39 PM PDT by mrsmel (One Who Can See)
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