The GOP: Fighting Hard For Your Right To Agree With Them

Time once again for another episode of "Why I Hate Conservatives."

So a couple of groups at the University of California-Irvine, the Campus Republicans and the United American Committee (i.e. - right wing nutjobs) had a forum on Islamic extremism that included them showing the cartoons that are the center of all the riots happening around the world. This, of course, cause all kinds of controversy and protest at the so-called forum. All in the name of "free expression" according to the vice president of the College Republicans:

"We're not going against Islam whatsoever. This is about free speech and the free marketplace of ideas."

Oh goody for them! Suddenly the Republicans see themselves as the ACLU, defending the right of free speech across the land. Funny thing though, whenever they seem to stand up and defend the First Amendment it just always happens to be speech that they whole-heartily agree with. Amazing how we never see "open forums" and "free exchange of ideas" when the subject is something that Christians find insulting. When The Book Of Daniel had its short-lived run on NBC, I didn't hear conservatives screaming for the right of free expression and having open discussions about the topic. No, they wrote angry letters and threats to NBC and the sponsors to get it pulled off the air. They staged protests outside screenings of The Last Temptation Of Christ. They even protested Kevin Smith's Dogma.

Hell, they went nuts even when nobody was doing anything to wrong them. The imagined "war on Christmas" nonsense was way out there. They tried to get boycotts going against stores that said "happy holidays" instead of "merry Christmas", and claimed that these stores were guilty of "religious persecution" (I still start to belly-laugh over that one. As if any American Christian even has any idea what real religious persecution is.) Hell, there was a group that threatened a lawsuit against the city of Boston for calling their Christmas tree a "Holiday Tree" on the city website. Oh the horror these conservatives have suffered at the hands of the big mean video store clerk who had the nerve to wish them happy holidays. HATE CRIMES! HATE CRIMES!

Even beyond religion they don't believe in protecting free speech that is not their own. They have been fighting for years to make flag burning illegal. Every year some Republican brings up the Amendment to the Constitution to outlaw flag burning. They even tried to shut down an art exhibit in Chicago that included a flag laying on the ground that people would walk on. Really, they actually tried to prohibit people from walking in the museum to see it. Great free speech defenders those conservatives.

And they continue to call the ACLU the biggest threat to America, even though the whole purpose of the organization is defending the Constitution. Bill O'Reilly has said that if Hitler were alive today he would be a "card-carrying member" of the ACLU.

But now they are all calling for freedom of speech like they are some great group of civil libertarians.

In this forum they had at UC-Irvine they showed more than just the anti-Muslim cartoons to show that they weren't just attacking Muslims. They also showed three cartoons that were anti-Semitic from an Iranian newspaper. Wow, what a sacrifice by a group of conservatives Christians to show some anti-Semitic cartoons. How daring. How brave. How full of shit can you get?

Funny, the night didn't seem to include example of anti-Christian sentiment. Not even the supposed anti-Christian stuff that they like to bitch about. Nowhere did I read that they had a showing of the "crucifix in a pool of urine" photograph that had them up in arms several years ago. Or a showing of The Book Of Daniel or The Last Temptation Of Christ.

Look, as I wrote before, I totally agree with the right to draw/say/do whatever you want. But I believe in that for everybody, not just the people who agree with the things I believe. It sure is easy to defend your own. But standing up for the ass-holes you can stand is a whole different story.

So I whole-heartily support the right of the jackasses at UC-Irvine to have this forum and show anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic cartoons. But at least be honest you stupid jerks. This wasn't a forum to discuss free speech. It was a forum to attack those who aren't like you.

At least when the KKK and the Nazis have gatherings they don't pretend it's about anything other than what it is: a hate rally. What happened at UC-Irvine Tuesday night was just that.