Burn the Koran, lose your job!

The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that burning something in protest, even an American flag, is a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment.

Unless that something is a Koran. Burn a Koran and if you work for New Jersey Transit, you're fired.

In my mind buring a book, any book, is sacrilege. Books are a cornerstone of our civilization. Burning the book does nothing to erase the ideas which are embodied in it. It would be far better to refute those ideas with better ideas.

If Mr. Fenton had instead burned a Bible I suppose Imam Rauf and his buddies in the ACLU would have pinned a medal on him. Remember, this is the country where sticking a crucifix in urine gets you a lifetime sinecure courtesy of the taxpayer.

But if you're NJTransit or Justice Stephen Breyer burning a Koran is somehow different.

Not to me it isn't. Burn the flag or burn the Koran, they're both equally provocative. Mr. Fenton is well within his constitutional rights to express himself as he sees fit. The NYPD, which didn't arrest him, understands this fact far better than the brass at NJTransit.

Give Derek Fenton his job back.

(See the Memeorandum thread for more.)

UPDATE 15 Sep 2010 15:19:
Linked by Bob Belvedere!

Thanks!

Posted at 09:23 by Chris Wysocki   [/islam]   Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Koran Islam NJTransit Derek-Fenton Stephen-Breyer   |   Tweet