Being an arse is not very polite but it should not be against the law.
Definitely not. But I still hope more and more people will stop being arses. I won't hold my breath though.
About plain hatred, I'm inclined to call it misanthropy. My own view is that there's always a reason behind hate, there's always something that starts it, whether it's hate against a religious group, people of color, people of a certain sexual preference, of a different ethnic group... I find that very few people would say, I hate you because I hate you.
I'd like to say I don't think there should be a preference either, but I'm ambivalent about that. Should the punishment be the same for someone who, say, kills a person during a robbery, and someone who kills a person because he hates them due to their religion? Someone who rapes because he hates women, or someone who systematically rapes women of a different ethnicity as a weapon of war? I don't know. There are many things I'm ambivalent about, and that I struggle with.
About the girl, when it comes to her intention, I agree, it's difficult to prove unless some evidence is found to support the theory that it was a deliberate act of hate, in which case they should sit her down with a counselor and try to get to the reason of her actions. I believe that since she burned something on school property, and videotaped that event, she should be punished for that. It doesn't matter that it was the Holy Qur'an; I'd say the same thing if it was the Bible or the Torah or The Origin of the Species. If it's proven that hate is the reason, then she should be punished according to the religious hatred laws.
You will note that it is the hatred against persons that is illegal, not against the belief itself
As it should be.
29J: Protection of freedom of expression... [snip] Well, thank god for that.
no subject
Definitely not. But I still hope more and more people will stop being arses. I won't hold my breath though.
About plain hatred, I'm inclined to call it misanthropy. My own view is that there's always a reason behind hate, there's always something that starts it, whether it's hate against a religious group, people of color, people of a certain sexual preference, of a different ethnic group... I find that very few people would say, I hate you because I hate you.
I'd like to say I don't think there should be a preference either, but I'm ambivalent about that. Should the punishment be the same for someone who, say, kills a person during a robbery, and someone who kills a person because he hates them due to their religion? Someone who rapes because he hates women, or someone who systematically rapes women of a different ethnicity as a weapon of war? I don't know. There are many things I'm ambivalent about, and that I struggle with.
About the girl, when it comes to her intention, I agree, it's difficult to prove unless some evidence is found to support the theory that it was a deliberate act of hate, in which case they should sit her down with a counselor and try to get to the reason of her actions. I believe that since she burned something on school property, and videotaped that event, she should be punished for that. It doesn't matter that it was the Holy Qur'an; I'd say the same thing if it was the Bible or the Torah or The Origin of the Species. If it's proven that hate is the reason, then she should be punished according to the religious hatred laws.
As it should be.
I agree.