Re: Book burning -- we've made the headlines

On May 28, 9:55 pm, Eliyahu <lro...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On May 28, 5:56 pm, "Fiona Abrahami"



<fiona@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"J J Levin" <jjle...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote

"Fiona Abrahami" <fiona@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote
"J J Levin" <jjle...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote
"Fiona Abrahami" <fiona@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote
"J J Levin" <jjle...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote
"Fiona Abrahami" <fiona@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote
"J J Levin" <jjle...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/05/28/bible.burning/index.html

Once someone gives me gift of a Christian bible, Koran, or Bhagavad
Gita it is mine and I can do with it as I please even if that action
offends the giver; I can burn it, wipe my bottom with it, or shoot
it, whatever I want, in private or in public.

Sure you can. But also be prepared for the consequences.

Oh, so is your complaint against these "bible burners" who have
offended you so much, that they weren't sufficiently prepared for the
consequences?

No, what I am saying is simply that if you decide to do something which
you know will offend many people,  don't be surprised when they are
indeed offended.

So what's the problem? The missionaries did something they knew would be
offensive (distributed Christian bibles to haredi households), and would
you look at that, yup, the haredim were offended.

By your own argument your issue should be with the missionaries, not the
haredim.

Yeah, a few haredim were offended. And instead of throwing the junk in the
trash, they burned it publicly, (1) contravening Israeli law and assuring
legal scrutiny and possible charges and (2) inviting worldwide headlines
which do not help any Jew anywhere, including Israel.

Way to go.

Yeah, in your head, it's all the haredim's fault, isn't it? Even though you
say "if you decide to do something which you know will offend many people,
don't be surprised when they are indeed offended" you just can't accept the
haredim have a right to be offended and to respond to that offence, no
sir-ree, the haredim have got to be the bad guys no matter what.

You just can't bring yourself to say "if the missionaries hadn't cause the
offence, their bibles wouldn't have been burned" can you?

Let's be realistic. Both sides screwed up here. The missionaries for
leaving their bibles in the first place, and the haredim for not
realizing how much bad press it would bring them.

I am of two minds here. Why should Haredim care about the bad press?
They
will get it anyways, no matter what they do. OTOH, why is it just the
Haredim that
are getting bad press. Let's just take a step back and imagine Jews
are a missionizing
people. Let's then imagine that Jews were passing out Talmuds at the
local Mosque or Church.
Would the Christians or Muslims get such a bad name for burning
Talmuds? I suppose we
will never know, because you all are against missionizing. But I have
a sneaky suspicion that
if that did happen, if any stink was made of it, it wouldn't be long
lived. I said already that the
images that come from book burning are sinister to most people and it
doesn't help that
Christians believe in a hell that includes a thermostat that is set
around atomic weapon
heat. I really think the best thing that should have happened was a
collection of the books, and have
them hauled off at the expense of the Christians that put them there
in the first place. Getting
hit in the pocket book is most of the times, worse than getting hit in
the kidneys.

David
.

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