Muslim extremists burn poppies on Armistice Day.

[Kanami]

How does one prove they were provoking aggression?

How is it possible to view it as anything else?

It seems stupid to me to make a rule against something unpunishable. Whoever started a rumor could just say he saw it on Facebook, but doesn't remember where.

It's true that there's no point in making laws if they can't be enforced. However this contradicts your later statement against murder "we still try to minimize it".

I meant the minority opinion, not race. You are saying they should be punished for being rude, essentially, for an act which is only rude because the majority says so.

Are you honestly trying to convince me or at least advocate that slandering the dead, and wishing people death(eternal punishment) isn't rude? It must be me misinterpreting your statement, because surely this isn't about how one perceives the issue. Though if there is a bright side to wishing people death, let me know.

Murder is impossible to eliminate; we still try to minimize it. Arrest prevents continued murder. It does not prevent continued racism. I don't feel it is an appropriate nor useful punishment. Maybe it would be. Maybe some would stop when they realize their voices are useless, or someone confronted them instead of hiding them from the public.

Maybe they'd stop sooner if they were deterred from doing so in the first place? People don't give up when they get ignored, especially if they feel strongly enough about the issue to make a public display out of it. If anything, then public ignoring them would fuel their anger and they'd try to "get in our faces" by utilizing more extreme measures. What you're essentially saying is that since it's their "right" to protest, they should be allowed to protest however they please as long as it doesn't step on the toes of the law. And any decent law student will admit that the law does not cover everything it should, and it obviously doesn't cover every situation it should.

So if their actions are damnable for being offensive, why isn't the media also be accountable for propagating the offense? They are directly responsible for offending many people.

If the media advocated hatred as directly as these people are doing, the station would probably be closed down, if the media ever say "kill all those damn Arabs, or genociding black people is a good idea" and get away with it.... well it does prove me wrong, but it also proves how stupid human beings are.

Are you suggesting we should change the law so it is illegal so that we can punish these people?

I feel like I'm arguing against religious fanatics here <_<

Why does something have to be illegal to be wrong?

Since you people seem to be so unwilling to accept that you don't need to cross the law for an act to be wrong, let me accept this remark,

Yes, make this act of protesting "ILLEGAL!" make it illegal so that someone can stop it, and make the punishment a slap on the wrist for making a public scene. If it's the only way to get people to prevent this sort of behavior then it's the method which should be adopted.

Fortunately for me, where I live, as abysmal as this country is, the security guards do step in and tell teenagers who are being a nuisance to move along. And it's not necessary for a authoritative body to step it and ask them to stop.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Kanami

[Dark Sage]

Popcorn is in order.

Now then...

My view on this revolves around "rights." Namely, the freedom of speech. See, the freedom of speech does not mean "LOL I GONNA SAYZ [insert racial group, president, etc.] SUCKZ LOLSROFLOMG AND NO ONE WILL GET MAD OR TRY TO TELL ME TO SHUT UP!" No, freedom of speech means you can say whatever you want, but you have to deal with the consequences. However, the laws to try to prevent riots also overlap somewhat with the freedom of speech. Like with the protestors. What they were doing, burning objects sacred to people and telling that the British soldiers will burn in hell to the British's faces was clearly an act to start a fight, and the arresting officers saw this and stepped in. They weren't arrested for what they said, they were arrested for trying to start a brawl. That is a big difference.

And no, peaceful =/= not actively attacking people.

I could go on a whole rant about my fellow Americans or fellow citizens in Democracies in general about trying to stamp out certain things being said and then complaining about freedom of speech being taken away from them, but that's going off on a whole other tangent. :P

[eclipse]

*grabs her own popcorn and takes a seat next to Red Magister*

I'd prefer it if everyone simply ignored people who are looking for a fight, like these Muslims obviously were.

"Yeah, I see it, no, you're not worth my time."

[Phoenix Wright]

*grabs her own popcorn and takes a seat next to Red Magister*

I'd prefer it if everyone simply ignored people who are looking for a fight, like these Muslims obviously were.

"Yeah, I see it, no, you're not worth my time."

Imagine me calling your mom a fat whore, and I was about ten feet in front of you. Are you telling me you'd let it slide? Yes? Well, what if I got even more graphic, annoying, and offensive?

It's hard to ignore something when it's offensive to you. The easiest route is to just laugh at the other person. Or to not be so sensitive. However, personally I'd need to have quite a bit of self-control when people are telling my fallen country's fallen soldiers to burn in hell. Depending on who that person or group is is how I would react.

In this case, I'd laugh at them. I've no reason, and I'll probably never have a reason, to listen to idiot extremist Muslims shout bullshit.

Edited November 20, 2010 by Phoenix Wright

[eclipse]

Imagine me calling your mom a fat whore, and I was about ten feet in front of you. Are you telling me you'd let it slide? Yes? Well, what if I got even more graphic, annoying, and offensive?

It's hard to ignore something when it's offensive to you. The easiest route is to just laugh at the other person. Or to not be so sensitive. However, personally I'd need to have quite a bit of self-control when people are telling my fallen country's fallen soldiers to burn in hell. Depending on who that person or group is is how I would react.

In this case, I'd laugh at them. I've no reason, and I'll probably never have a reason, to listen to idiot extremist Muslims shout bullshit.

Actually. . .I would laugh, then ignore it.

[Raven]

I fucking love popcorn.

It is hard for single-minded people to ignore such things. I personally wouldn't attack them, but there are people who would. For their own safety, they would be arrested if there were people there who the police felt would have tried anything on them.

Edited November 21, 2010 by VanguardRaven