Pop Quiz - 29 July 2007

(CAUTION: Offensive pictures below!!!!!)

This is a simple 1 question quiz:

Which of these is a hate crime in America & represents a felony?

A: Submerging a crucifix in a jar of urine


B: Burning the American flag

C: Putting a Koran in a toilet

ANSWER C

For doing so, 23 yr old Stanislav Shmulevich is facing charges for doing so 2 seperate times at Pace University in New York City.

A aka Piss Christ is considered art & eligible for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to allow you to show it. It can also be either considered blashphemous (I do) or a statement on "what we have done to Christ" (Sr. Wendy Beckett), i.e. modern society's attitude toward Christ. (I agree here also, it is an accurate depiction of society's blashpemous attitude towards Christ & God.)

B is considered protected speech under the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution. It is considered a political statement. & much as I find it offensive, I agree that under the original intent of the 1st Amendment to protect any form of political speech this is protected.

Now why is it OK to do something to a Catholic/Christian symbol of their faith & it is considered art while to do something just as offensive to the Islamic Holy Book isn't? Good question. Either they are both artistic espression or not.

Simple answer, this is another example of the it is OK to attack Christianity & they have no right to complain but it is not PC to attack Islam & thus a hate crime. syndrome. Either they are both hate crimes or neither is. I feel it is the latter. Like flag burning they are a person expressing their opinion. Something they have the 1st amendment right to do. But, that doesn't make either action morally right, neither is & neither should have been done. To me they are equally offensive, equally wrong. Christians & Muslims should be offended & speak out to protest these offenses against their religions.

Let me also add that I have a problem with the idea of hate crimes. Not that things aren't done out of hate, they are & are very wrong. My problem is that by defining something as a hate crime we are heading to the point where we can declare anything we find offensive as such & thus begin stepping on the toes of the 1st amendment. This is happenning up in Canada & elsewhere. Catholic Bishops are being told they can't teach basic Catholic doctrine on the sinfulness of homosexual acts. To do so is considered a hate crime.

See the potential chilling effect it can have on political discussion as a result. If I say that homosexual marriage is wrong & shouldn't be allowed, instead of being protected as valid political speech under the original intent of the 1st Amendment I am considered guilty of a hate crime, even though I don't hate anyone. If I say homosexual acts are SIN it isn't out of hate, but out of love & a desire to get people to repent of their sins & turn to Christ. It is hate to not speak out. To be silent is to ensure that those involved in the sin will end up in Hell. & there is no one that I dislike enough to wish him or her eternity in Hell.

For the full story about Stanislav Shmulevich check out the post on Michelle Malkin's blog (Which of these is a crime in America?) & Student nabbed in Koran dunk (New York Daily News).