Koran Burning

[boffo]

Can anyone explain to me why it's newsworthy that some random idiot is planning to burn a Koran? Obnoxious attention-seekers seek attention by being obnoxious all the time. That's not a story. So why is the media giving him the attention he craves

Comments

[pdbonlj]

I think it's more because journos and editors are dumb and lazy, and this story slots nicely into the narrative that Muslims in general are peaceful and tranquil folk who only start getting all ornery when some Dumb American(tm) does something dumb to rile them up.

I doubt the idea to let this guy's stunt die in anonymity even crossed their minds. There are ratings to think of!

[boffo]

I would bet that tens of thousands of Korans have been burned, shot, used as toilet paper, or otherwise desecrated by random yahoos in the nine years since 9/11. So why is this particular instance considered a big deal?

And of course it's patently racist to assume that brown people are so incapable of handling themselves that some random idiot doing something stupid half a world away will cause them to go out and kill people with no volition of their own. But I suppose it's not like the media shies away from patent racism when that racism fits their preconceived narrative.

[robbbbbb]

Because it's a white, evangelical doing it. Lord knows how awful those people are. And even though this guy only has fifty parishoners, it's obviously a Big Deal because he's a Person in Authority.

Yeah, it's the media letting their biases do their thinking for them.

[pasquin]

It is absurd to treat this Koran toasting stunt as seriously as yelling 'fire' in a crowded theater, it is much more the equivalent of yelling 'Niagara Falls' in a crowd of Stooges.

Yet it is treated as if it 'has to' cause riots. Like a brick dropped on a toe will break it. Ergo, the media believes that Muslims are fundamentally knee-jerk irrational. And crazy people always grab the headlines.

[dsign]

"I love the smell of religion in the morning!"

Things we have Now Learned

[kenshi]

1. The Religion of Peace® is so frickin' terrifying that the US Federal government, Milles Gloriosus The Mighty General Petraeus, and the MESSIAH! President himself are so scared shitless that a hick preacher in Bumfuck, Florida will upset them that they are personally intervening to try and stop him.

2. Hillbillies have a lot less fight in them now than they used to.

3. If Christians ever want to be taken seriously again, they need to start flying planes into buildings.