The tragic attack on the United States Embassy in Libya last week has spurred the natural question asked whenever such events occur: Why? Why were Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American diplomats killed? Why have there been uprisings from the Arab Spring against United States Embassies in Yemen and Egypt? Why are the attackers burning American flags while laughing and dancing in the ash?
The instigator seems to be a little video on YouTube titled, Innocence of Muslims. The horrendously low-budget, incredibly offensive preview mocks Mohammad as a womanizer and pedophile. Understandably, Muslims were offended by the depiction.
After the murders in Libya, Southern California filmmaker Nakoula Basseley was taken in for questioning for his role in the production of the film. Apparently, creating media offensive to a particular religious group warrants taking someone into custody in the middle of the night for police questioning. Someone better tell Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
The Obama administration asked Google to take the video down from YouTube, but they refused. The video may be insulting, but that doesn’t mean that it caused the current unrest in the Middle East. Violence in that region has been around far longer than YouTube, after all.
It’s scary that President Obama asked for free speech to be squelched by calling for the removal of the offending video from the Internet. One of the greatest freedoms we enjoy in America is the freedom of speech -- the freedom to speak our minds no matter how offensive it might be to other people.
If we’re going to start banning stuff for being offensive, I’ve got a list of things that I’m sure will qualify, from MTV’s Jersey Shore to the common use of the N-word in the black community.
Or maybe we’re just banning things that are offensive to Muslims ... in which case we’ll have to ban bikinis, female equality, homosexuality, swearing in general, alcohol, bacon, and playing chess. Oh, and anyone that doesn’t believe in Allah -- they are the worst offenders of Islam.
This is America, where we have the freedom to believe what we want, and the freedom to mock others. Instead of focusing on this stupid video, maybe we could figure out why the safe house where Chris Stevens, gay ambassador in a predominantly Muslim territory, was not being guarded by the usual contingent of Marines on the eleventh anniversary of the al Qaeda terror attacks of 9/11?
It seems to me that someone dropped the ball, and it wasn’t YouTube.
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Comments 32
Hilary Clinton had the best response to this stupid film - she said (paraphrasing since I don't have the exact quote handly) that she was personally appalled by the film and its portrayal of Islam's prophet, but that she would defend the film maker's right to make the film all day long. Again, not the exact wording, but it is something I agree with. In this country we are free to believe and say what we want. For the leader of our country to ask for this film's removal is a violation of the film maker's first amendment rights - which the president swore, on a bible, in front of the country to uphold. I'm ashamed to see our most fundamental rights being crushed under this administration and I fear for the future if this man is re-elected.
Meghan what are you talking about? That story has been covered and if you read the comments you know its a none issue. The only people offended by way Romney said were people that didn't like him anyway. This is a REAL issue. How is it the Republicans (that you want to say are anti-gay) are the only one's upset about what happened to our gay ambassador? Did you guys know he was raped before he was killed, and that has been confirmed? Our president says this wasn't pre-planned, Lybia says this was preplanned and has nothing to do with the YouTube video. I choose to believe Lybia's president. I would also like to point out that Valerie Jarrett (a member of Obama's staff and one of his mentors) gets 24 hour secret service detail. Why couldn't we give a security detail to a gay ambassador in the middle east? The terrorist are demanding we hand over the director of the video so he can be persecuted through Sharia law, are you prepared to hand him over? I don't think Obama did anything wrong by asking the director to take it down, it sounds like he asked, not tried to forcably take away someone's freedom of speech, so I don't see a problem. But this is a real story Meghan, its a story that should matter.
Wamom, Jenny's not discussing the attacks, she is discussing the video and bashing the president for not wanting to inflame a situation further. This video is more then offensive, it has become deadly. Also, Meghan isn't the only one who wants a conservative to actually have the balls to take their party to task for their priggish behavior. Jenny is avoiding the issue.
Hey, Wamom, cite your source.
No video is worth slaughtering innocent people over. The only ones at fault for this whole mess are the Muslims who decided the slaughter was appropriate. The ambassador didn't do anything wrong. Neither did the other victims. Neither did the filmmaker. It was up to the Muslims to have a mature response and ignore it. They didn't. NO ONE ELSE IS TO BLAME BUT THEM.
Cite what source sickofmorons I thought this was all common knowledge that Valerie Jarrett has 24 hour Secret Service. All you have to do is watch her and look in the background and there the agents are. The state department wont release details about exactly how the ambassador died but there were pictures that are suddenly missing from the Internet. Maybe the rumors are wrong but I wouldn't put it past Muslim extremists to rape him before they killed him, they did it to their last leader before they killed him. Here is my source about the rape http://www.nowpublic.com/world/us-ambassador-j-christopher-stevens-raped-he-was-murdered
What priggish behavior are you speaking of sickof morons? I know you can't be referring to Romney's remarks since none of you took Obama to task for him saying conservatives just want to cling to their religion and guns. You sound like the terrorist demanding that we punish our own people. It is not up to the left to decide Romney's fate, he is our candidate and we will decide what is and is not okay. He isn't making policy, your guy is and he sucks at it. Its not up to you, we aren't mad at Mitt, and we are still going to vote for him. Who cares about what he said when the middle east is on fire and the President can't even be bothered to go to intelligence meetings? Saying Romney's comment from last May is more important than the brutal killing of US citizens is the dumbest thing I have ever heard.