Running to Mommy

That's just what I said, Taco. And I'm not your "dear." I don't even know you!

coco

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For the record, I am Taco's dear.

I agree! And if Second Life was based in the UK I would send my solicitor to arrest those responsible for the Bible burn post of late, as it violates UK law relating to the incitement of religeous hatred. Yes. We hate this kind of behaviour so much in the UK as a nation, it is illegal and you can rot in jail for it.

It is not so simple in the US, as nothing ever is - note my Wiki link re "hate speech". And no, burning a book and blowing up a building are not the same thing even if the same underlying factors led to those actions.

Indonesian Christians Frightened After Schoolgirls Beheaded



JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Indonesian troops are on high alert after machete-wielding assailants beheaded three Christian schoolgirls, aged 16-19, and seriously wounded a fourth.

Christian residents say they're afraid to leave their homes.

Muslim leaders have condemned the weekend killings, noting that the killers and their motive remain unclear. But suspicion has fallen on Islamic militants responsible for a series of attacks on Christians over the last three years.

The head of one of the girls was left outside a new church.

In recent months, Islamic radicals have stepped up campaigns to prevent Indonesia's Christian minority from building more churches.

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Just to point out that yes, Christians are persecuted in various parts of the world.

Sorry I don't have a picture of it, like the KKK picture above.

coco

With this in mind, I'd like to note it is disturbing that there has been a distinctly anti - Christian feel to a number of messages in these forums over the past weeks. This is a black area which was definitely NOT a part of Second Life or these forums in the past, and which can lead to no good whatsoever if it does not remove itself sometime in SL's near future.

I love how it's evolved into a "bible burn" post.

The original title was "destroy a bible" which stated "next time you're in a hotel, take or destroy the bible." The closest I came to combustion was stating "the little crinkly pages are perfect for packing dishes in boxes during a move or getting the fireplace going." This was followed by a website here that takes that concept over the top providing many uses for free bibles. It's recommended for its humorous content although I must warn it's a little off color.

It is our First Amendment right to burn a flag, rend a bible in half, or walk on a picture of our president. They are religious and political symbols that through their destruction become transformed into a symbols of protest. I encourage the exercise of these rights even if it offends those who revere the flag, bible, or president.

~Ulrika~

I think it's funny that joking about burning books can get you thrown in jail, but belonging to a group that prays for the end of the world so that a shiny man can come down from the sky, murder all your enemies, and save all who worship him (who were frequently victims in life by both choice and canon) is something to be revered.

pfft.

Undercover nihilists.

And in case you feel the need to play the victim card to this post: I'm not inciting hate, just pointing out an obvious and disgusting double standard that is applied to more than just bible jokes.

I am simply trying to frame a case for a certain type of freedom of expression and the tangled mess that goes on at all levels while trying to define what is acceptable. I have tried to couch my argument such that it did not seem especially anti-Christian. If you see it otherwise, then we have miscommunicated.

Yes, it has turned into "burning" instead of "destroying." That's probably because the most common method of destroying books that is talked about is burning them.

I already saw that website, since you already posted it, Ulrika. I found it not the least humorous; nor would I recommend it to anyone.

I, too, believe in the right to burn a flag, or to rend a bible in half. As little as I might think of the acts. I disagree when it is done to the property of others. I understand there is some controversy over whether that Bible in the hotel in fact is yours to do with as you wish, but if push came to shove, I would argue that it is.

I would also argue, though, that making comments on the SL forums that are religion-bashing should be removed by the mods, on the basis of the TOS.

Beyond that, I would also add that I personally have little respect for people who destroy books of any nature, and little respect for those who go out of their way to indicate disgust with my personal belief systems, when they could as easily just enjoy their own personal belief systems without feeling the need to denigrate mine. Particularly on the forums.

coco

P.S. I didn't take any personal offense at the picture you posted, Gabe.

I would like to say I strongly support the statements made by Coco.

I would add that I personally have little respect for people who place the sanctity of bound paper above one's right to free expression, and little respect for those who go out of their way to indicate disgust with my personal belief systems, when they could as easily just enjoy their own personal belief system without the need to denigrate mine. Particularly on the forums.

~Ulrika~

In fairness, when Gideons put bibles in hotel rooms, they are giving them to anyone who wants them.

So, if you want to take it, you're free to do so. And you can do anything you like with it at that point, as it's your property.

Yes. Such as using the pages to line a bird cage, for instance.

~Ulrika~

I would also like to say that.



Unfortunatly due to the fact that I find her comments to be absolutely the polar opposite of anything I would post, I cannot at this time support her statements.

Then you and I are in agreement regarding the sanctity of bound paper in comparison with one's right to free expression.

The issue in question is your thread advising us to destroy the Bible. That would be a case of you going out of your way to indicate disgust with my personal belief system, on these forums.

It would not be a case of others going out of their way to indicate disgust with your personal belief system.

I have no disgust for your atheistic beliefs whatever. Heck, for all I know, you could be right!

I do, however, protest the repeated and unnecessary belittlement and denigration of my own beliefs on these forums.

coco

I tried that with Jake (my parrot). He prefers to shit on copies of Atlas Shrugged.

Yes, you could do that.

Although it is apparent that you are suggesting such things based purely on a fairly deep hatred for religion (or perhaps just christianity), which I find interesting.

It's always odd to see people who get so worked up over the religion of other people.

This would be an another example of how you persist in blatantly and unprovokedly denigrating the religious beliefs of other residents on the SL forums.

coco

See. Eye of the beholder --I thought she was insulting bird owners as being too cheap to buy a newspaper.

If I remember right, I heard that the reasoning behind putting bibles in hotels stems from the fact that if someone is going to commit suicide and rents a hotel room (to jump out of the window or shoot themselves, or whatever...), they will see the bible there and (I'm assuming by reading the NT parts over the more gruesome OT parts) be less likely to off themselves. So Ulrika is simply encouraging us to prevent these people from being swayed from their original intention of killing themselves, which I applaud.

I also applaud Chip and Kendra's responses. Let me rephrase the question like this, solely for my own sociological interest ; what if instead Ulrika's post instead had read :

"Next time you're in a hotel, gently take the bible and place it carefully in a clean, linen-lined box, and mail it back to the people who printed it. Then place a copy of Anton LaVey's Satanic bible, or the writings of Aleister Crowley, in the place where the bible was."

Would that still be as offensive and be something that anyone could/would consider "hate-speech"?

Why not? Some people want to destroy the earth to protest it.

No, but it would be pretty silly and expensive.

The 'sanctity of bound paper' represents the human knowledge contained within. It is no coincidence that the most brutal and repressive regimes often begin by literally or symbolically destroying books.