Stoopid Stuff

No Tolerance for Intolerance

This is really nice to see. We've gotten so cautious about defining something as wrong, so unwilling to draw a line and say "there is no moral ambiguity here", that we have drifted to a point where everything is just as valid as everything else. And all to our detriment.

No. "Intelligent Design" is not science. Global Climate Change is not only a real threat to all our children, but it follows out of a simple understanding of science. There are things that must be established as facts, and arguing against them should make you a crank at best. When those things are reasonable established tenets of human rights, arguing against them makes you a bigot, and the things you say hate speech.

Which brings us to the UK and their announcement of a small group of people who are not welcome in their country. That short list includes Michael Savage, American Hate Radio host. This is good to see. If Americans cannot find a way to draw a line, to create a limit and say that at some point hatred is destructive to our society, then it falls to other, more enlightened communities to point out the turds floating in the First Amendment's punchbowl. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think we should stifle Michael Savage. I am just deeply disgusted and disheartened that he can sell airtime on a commercial radio station with his Neanderthal ramblings.

But it does seem clear to me that if you put yourself in the position of appealing to the most primitive, ignorant, bigoted and fearful extremists in order to make money, you should expect some rather intensive push-back from civilized nations. And now, today, we see that from those eloquent ladies and gentlemen in the United Kingdom.

It's meaningless, sure. So Savage can't visit jolly old England. I'm sure he'll get over it, and in the near term it provides a thug like him with something else to bleat about. These people thrive on victimhood, and will always look for an opportunity to blame others for what is essentially a reaction, not a proactive act. But it makes me smile, and here's why. When challenged, these kinds of bugs scurry back under their rocks, crying "First Amendment!" as a magical incantation to protect them from bearing responsibility for their destructive and irresponsible statements. It's way past time for people to stand up and identify them for the enemies of civilization, peace and progress they are, and expose them to the purifying sunlight of disgust and mockery.

The more quickly we, as a culture and as a species, reject this kind of divisive, tribal hatred, the sooner we can begin to see genuine peace in the world. And the government of the UK has stepped up and accepted their responsibility to identify a true enemy of civilization. They are to be commended, and I look forward to others doing the same...

posted by mikey @ 4:48 PM