Obama undermined the case for free speech by pandering to Muslim rioters
He seemed to conflate tolerance of religious differences, which freedom of conscience requires, with respect for other people’s beliefs, which cannot be enforced without destroying freedom of conscience.
Obama muddied matters further by quoting Mohandas Gandhi’s puzzling declaration that “intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.” This statement appears in a 1921 Young India article where Gandhi chastises “non-cooperating” lawyers for looking down on colleagues who did not join them in protesting British rule by refusing to participate in the legal system. That “arrogant assumption of superiority” was crucially different from violence, and Gandhi’s sloppy equation of the two is precisely the sort of confusion that defenders of free speech should be keen to correct.
Rauch explains why in Kindly Inquisitors. Quoting a law professor’s comparison of racial epithets to bullets, he notes the implication: “If you hurt me with words, I reply with bullets, and the exchange is even.”
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A feature, not a bug.
CurtZHP on October 3, 2012 at 4:49 PM
Another missed opportunity for 0bama to demonstrate some leadership at a critical time in world history.
He just ain’t got what it takes.
UltimateBob on October 3, 2012 at 4:50 PM
mission accomplished.
the_nile on October 3, 2012 at 4:52 PM
He also pandered to the LA rioters in the 2007 speech. I think he’s OK with riots.
zmdavid on October 3, 2012 at 4:55 PM
Those pesky amentments? bho went after the 1st, was and may still be going after the 2nd on F&F, the 10th suing states for THEIR rights, and the list goes on and on with bho?
L
letget on October 3, 2012 at 4:59 PM
Barry doesn’t care too much about the US constitution or the white men that wrote it.
Punchenko on October 3, 2012 at 5:08 PM
Yep.
forest on October 3, 2012 at 5:12 PM
He is just standing with his Muslim brothers.
Nothing to see here.
KMC1 on October 3, 2012 at 5:19 PM
Obama’s just okay at debating but he’s excellent at lying and pandering.
Fallon on October 3, 2012 at 5:56 PM
That he did, but he has still got quite a ways to go before he can match Army or even Marine generals and he really has got to step on it to match Petraeus.
VorDaj on October 3, 2012 at 6:21 PM
barry’s whole speech in 2007 was about the bullet.
and Gandhi was talking about non-co-operators? hmmmmm. a little chicago accent there
r keller on October 3, 2012 at 7:16 PM
Frankly I think this is part of this administrations approach. consider this:
“Anti-Israel Advocate Reps U.S. at Rights Conference
Muslim leader who blamed Israel for 9/11 chosen to speak at OSCE human rights conference”
http://freebeacon.com/anti-israel-advocate-reps-u-s-at-rights-conference/
“Al-Marayati drew widespread criticism from Jewish leaders and others when he said that the U.S. “should put the state of Israel on the suspect list,” according to the New York Times.
“If we’re going to look at suspects, we should look to the groups that benefit the most from these kinds of incidents, and I think we should put the state of Israel on the suspect list because I think this diverts attention from what’s happening in the Palestinian territories so that they can go on with their aggression and occupation and apartheid policies,” al-Marayati told a radio host, according to the Times.
Al-Marayati has also defined attacks by the terrorist group Hezbollah as “legitimate resistance,” according to a report by the Investigate Project on Terrorism.
He was invited to participate in the conference as a “public member of the U.S. delegation,” according to MPAC.”
integrity now on October 3, 2012 at 7:32 PM