Saturday, April 02, 2011

仇恨是死神的「通行證」 / Death loves Hatred

四月一日新聞報導,美國一小撮極端宗教份子的主首 Pastor Terry Jones 不理政府当局和各方面的勸告,特意鼓吹仇恨,煽風點火,上月將回教可蘭經焚燒示众。這視頻消息由網絡傳至正在戰爭中的阿富汗Afghanistan,那边極端宗敎份子亦借題發揮,在 Mazar-e-Sharif 市的Blue Mosque回教寺內火上加油,仇恨之火一觸即發,憤怒的羣众離寺後無处發洩,就向附近聯合國一個單位襲擊,殺死守崗和職員共七人。翌日在Kandahar 坎大哈市,示威羣众殺死外籍人仕九人。

仇恨是死神的「通行證」, 一個不見經傳丶住在佛羅里達州 Florida 的極端宗敎份子 Pastor Terry Jones,就能夠利用網絡傳播仇恨,給死神一張四通八達的免費車票,利用羣众的憤怒去把死亡傳染到阿富汗,或甚至全世界多個回教角落。

在西方國家,惡意縱火arson燒毀森林或建築物而導致死亡是屬謀殺或誤殺罪,但為什么那些如 Terry Jones 等之輩,卻能以美國憲章第一條言論自由 US Constitution's First Amendment: Freedom of Speech 為藉口,明知故犯地去大發胡言亂語,搧動種族丶宗敎丶或其它各式各類的仇恨?。

我不是法律系畢業,但直覺上總感到 Terry Jones 是有惡意地去廣播仇恨,是有計劃地給死神一張免費「通行證」,所以無論在道德丶或甚至法律角度來看,他似乎都是有第三級謀殺或誤殺罪之嫌!!

以下是 Guardian 在網上詢問讀者意見:

美國佛羅里達州牧師特意燒毀古蘭經,他应否对聯合國工作人員的死亡負上道義責任? Is the Florida pastor who burnt the Qur'an morally responsible for the deaths of UN staff in protests in Afghanistan?

○ 是, 燒毀古蘭經是挑釁性及褻瀆他人的信仰 Yes, it is a provocative blasphemy against others' beliefs

○ 不, 應該被視為合法的自由言語行為 No, it should be considered a legitimate free speech act

++++++++++++++++++++++

*** UPDATED April 5, 2011 ***

Statements and Releases from The White House

1. Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, April 4, 2011

(http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/04/04/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-442011)

Q Jay, does the President believe that Terry Jones is responsible for the killings that have occurred in Afghanistan? And are any -- any thought of taking action against him?

MR. CARNEY: Two points. One, we absolutely condemn the burning of a holy text. We think it’s un-American and inappropriate -- one. Two, nothing justifies -- absolutely nothing justifies the kind of violence and fatal violence that we saw that took the lives of workers at the United Nations in Mazar-i-Sharif -- absolutely nothing.

Q Any thought of taking action against him or is there going to be more communications with him to tell him to stop doing that?

MR. CARNEY: Our interest is not in elevating somebody whose behavior is inappropriate and un-American, or does not represent what we believe are America’s values. Our focus, however, is also on condemning the heinous acts that took the lives of U.N. workers in Afghanistan.

Q One last question on that. It is inappropriate and un-American and so forth. But do Americans -- does the President believe that Americans have the right to burn the Koran if -- as horrible as it is -- if they want to do that?

MR. CARNEY: Well, I would just point you to the condemnations of that act by General Petraeus, by the President who issued a statement, and by other administration officials. But again, I think it is important to note that nothing justifies the reaction -- absolutely nothing.

2. Statement by the President on the Violence in Afghanistan, April 2, 2011

(http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/04/02/statement-president-violence-afghanistan)

Today, the American people honor those who were lost in the attack on the United Nations in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. Once again, we extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who were killed, and to the people of the nations that they came from. The desecration of any holy text, including the Koran, is an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry. However, to attack and kill innocent people in response is outrageous, and an affront to human decency and dignity. No religion tolerates the slaughter and beheading of innocent people, and there is no justification for such a dishonorable and deplorable act. Now is a time to draw upon the common humanity that we share, and that was so exemplified by the UN workers who lost their lives trying to help the people of Afghanistan.

Photo Credit: The Guardians, UK

20 comments:

ecapS rennI ehT said...

很多美加親戚朋友,回來香港旅遊探親,用過香港的
octopus 卡 八達通卡,都概嘆為何科技先進的美國加拿大,沒有相同的塑膠錢幣呢?

我都答不出來,還望 hari 兄 指點指點!

最後我想是要保留工作 JOBs 給一班老臣子罷。

The Inner Space said...

美國人(北美洲人)的優越主義表露無遺!

不過懇請兄台不要污衊我們香港的 octopus 八達通卡,和這位 Jones 先生放在一起。

感謝感謝!

Anonymous said...

Please please remember he is just one crazy stupid American. He does not and cannot represent all Americans.


exile

新鮮人 said...

是無知和自私作怪,
他可能連美國都未離開過,
亦不了解國際局勢,
up得出就亂up,
以為自己講嘅就係真理,
隨時俾佢累死人,
這種人就是我那篇"井底之蛙"要說的人!

Haricot 微豆 said...

ecapS rennI ehT (aka SBB):

A lot of the subway systems here in N America were built in the first half of the last century using old technologies.

Unfortunately, the infrastructure is falling apart and little money has been invested to modernize it.

Just like the gasoline-based transportation system all over the world, it is expensive to replace an already existing infrastructure with a new one, unless you are starting a whole different system from scratch.

BTW, those 老臣子 are getting old and must have retired or close to packing it in by now.

Haricot 微豆 said...

SBB:

>> 不要 .... 放在一起

鎖您,不是有意的 !

Haricot 微豆 said...

Exile:

I know, you know, and many ppl know.

Unfortunately, all we need is one person to throw a match into the religious powder keg and kaaabooom !!

From a legal point of view:

You would think there is a legal balance btwn spreading religious hatred and the First Amendment Right to Free Speech.

From a govt efficiency / effectiveness point of view:

How many billion of dollars the US govt has spent trying to win the hearts and souls of Muslims all over the world vs how much it cost Pastor Terry Jones to partially wipe out this massive govt effort - ONE MATCH plus free uploading to YouTube !!!!

Haricot 微豆 said...

新鮮人:

唉! 根據新聞報導,已經俾佢o黎個「井底之蛙」累死咗25個人!!

ecapS rennI ehT said...

However, I read news on CNN Pres. Obama only condemned those people killing 7 United Nations Employees (now 25 as told by HBB),but he did not say a word about what Pastor Terry Jones did was stupid and endangering others.

Pres Obama yields/ yielded to the extremist when he just annouced he has submitted candidacy to be the next president of United States for his 2nd term!

Correct me IF I were wrong HBB (about Pres Obama he did say something) I would like to read HOW he said that what how twisted his workdings.


p.s. 八達通 可以用 通行證 Passport 代替,I remember the ticket for Disneyland is called the passport, 一票通行所有的遊戲!

Haricot 微豆 said...

SBB:

I have posted two OFFICIAL releases/transcripts from the White House concerning the Burning of the Holy Book.

As well, I have replaced 八達通 with 通行證, as per your suggestion.

Thx for your input!!!

ecapS rennI ehT said...

Orz!

The Inner Space said...

So it was not from the mouth of Pres. Obama condemming Pastor Jones‘s foolish deed,like he was condemming the retaliation at Afghanistan。

哈哈哈 my statement holds then, Mr. Obama yields to extremist exchanging his chances to be reelected president for 2nd term 。。。。。。哈哈哈哈哈哈哈!

10橋 HBB for confirming that!

Haricot 微豆 said...

ecapS rennI ehT:

。◕ ‿ ◕。

Haricot 微豆 said...

The Inner Space:

I am just supplying you with the info from the White House. You draw your own conclusions :P

In the short term, the govt must not shut down. In the long run, Prez Obama will need to turn things around if he wants to be elected. It seems neither the left nor the right are happy with him at this point. So, which direction is he going to take?

Anonymous said...

I'm kind of hoping that the government will be shut down! Stir up some real trouble for those in office :)

No one can turn things around in the U.S. No one!
Not even Donald Trump (if he really decides to run for office), HAHA...I think Americans should stop voting. Let the country go to hell !

Pres. of the U.S is not supposed to tell "the truth". He is just a tool to promote national policies. I think Pres. Obama is handing the Quran issue just fine. Constitution always comes first. Just because one nutjob did something in poor taste, does the whole country have to pay for his crime. No, not how it works here.

Burning religious book is legal. Killing someone base on religious belief is illegal. That's the legal balance that our constitution provides. The only ones who should be punished are the ones who killed. U.S foreign policies have always been full of holes. What can you do? Yea, you would think our government has spent all these money over the years, we should expect things to be better. All the money just made their rich "friends" richer. Muslims around the world aren't stupid. They know one person's act doesn't represent what America believes.

I actually like the response from the White House Press Secretary. Looks like a good PR piece to me.

Anonymous said...

p.s forgot to sign, sorry.

exile

Haricot 微豆 said...

Exile:

Sorry for the delay in responding to your comments. By the time you are reading this, the US has narrowly avoided a shut-down of the federal govt but the multi-trillion deficit crisis still looms dangerously on the event horizon. I agree: Not even Trump would be able to turn things quickly around should he become the next US Prez.

It is my understanding that one of the main purposes of the First Amendment to the US Constitution is to protect religious freedom from a tyrant government. However, is there anything to protect one group of citizens from the hatred of another group?

In Canada, we have hate laws that draw limits to where freedom of speech ends and promotion of hatred begins. I do agree with you that one person's extreme view does not represent the overall position of the American ppl.

Haricot 微豆 said...

Exile:

Thanks !!
+++++++++++++++++
Ref:

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_Rights_to_the_United_States_Constitution

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Constitutional_Amendments

Anonymous said...

Oh, yes, you bet we have hate crime laws!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_crime_laws_in_the_United_States

I was seriously hoping that there will be a long shut down. I (in fact every American) have been the beneficiary of all the irresponsible spending, so it is time for some real pain. I don't cry about it like some unrealistic individuals who think money falls from the sky.

exile

Haricot 微豆 said...

Exile:

Thank you for the link to Wikipedia which says ...

".... Hate crime laws in the United States protect against hate crimes (also known as bias crimes) motivated by enmity or animus against a protected class. Although state laws vary, current statutes permit federal prosecution of hate crimes committed on the basis of a person's protected characteristics of race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)/FBI, as well as campus security authorities, are required to collect and publish hate crime statistics...."

Now I understand why you said "... Burning a religious book is legal. Killing someone base on religious belief is illegal..." Terry Jones is not legally responsible for the killing - because his hatred was (technically) directed toward a book/religion, as opposed to an identifiable group of ppl.

According to Wikipedia, the US statistics show that the majority of the hate crimes is racially motivated. So I look up "Ku Klux Klan" in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KKK) and this is what I've found:

".... The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has provided legal support to various factions of the KKK in defense of their First Amendment rights to hold public rallies, parades, and marches, as well as their right to field political candidates. Current Klan splinter divisions have grown substantially since the 2008 election of U.S. President Barack Obama, the first African-American to hold the office; the Klan has expanded its recruitment efforts to white supremacists at the international level. Current membership estimates by the ADL hold at a national estimate of five thousand. Ex-Grand Wizard David Duke has claimed that thousands of Tea Party movement activists have urged him to run for president in 2012 and he is seriously considering entering the Republican Party primaries. Duke has also released a video detailing his platform. In the video, he pledges that as president he would stop all immigration to the US, including legal immigration, and says that he "will not let Israel or any nation dictate our foreign policy." He has also claimed that he would be "willing to risk life and limb, endure the barbs of the media" to mount "the most honest campaign for president since the time of our Founding Fathers ...."

With the First Amendment being such a double-edged sword in American politics, plus the different opinions abt the deepening deficit, I guess the 2012 US Election will make the 2011 Canada Election like a tempest in a tea cup!!!

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